Repetion

I don't know if it's because I'm just getting back into knitting. Or maybe it's because I'm a little stressed this year, and the easy repetition of doing the same thing over and over again takes a load off my mind.

Whatever the reason, I've just been absolutely in love with knitting scarves.


Olivia's Brioche Scarf [ravelink]
pattern: Berlin Scarf
yarn: Dream in Color Classy in "Blue Lagoon"
needles: US 7

The yarn is beyond perfect. It's squishy, beautifully colored, sproingy, soft, defined and omg I want moar.

I meant this for Olivia's Christmas gift, but the brioche was so addictive that I finished it before I even realized I cast on. Oh well.

And in other scarf news,


Yes that is Malabrigo, and yes it is the best yarn in the whole wide world.

In the groove

I have too much yarn.

No, that's not true. But lately I've been on this buying-yarn spree that can't be too good for my wallet, but truth be told, I don't really care. The yarn - it calls to me. I go into yarn stores and go slightly nutty being in the presence of all this yarn I can't have.

And today I went and bought more. But it was so glorious!!!

What I really wanted to talk about though was this:

For whatever reason, I had this inexplicable desire for a big white scarf. Why? you ask. I don't know either. I wanted a big white, poofy, wonderful scarf to wrap around my neck during the cold winter months. I wanted cables. I wanted it to be squishy.

I searched for a pattern for a really long time, and in the end just decided to create my own. I think I went a little overboard on the width, but I do enjoy it. It's knitting up nicely, and I'm pleased with it.

More on the new yarnz next time...

Hello again

Knitting has been sparse lately, but after a visit from Amy, the knitting!love was renewed. (Thanks a lot, Amy. And I say that only half sarcastically.)

So, there has been a lot of knitting. But as always, no time to really blog about it. So I leave you with the first FO in a very, very long time...



Scarlet Gretel (ravelink)
pattern: Gretel by Ysolda
yarn: madelinetosh, tosh worsted in Vermillion

I've wanted one of these for a freakishly long time, and I finally have one! I'm so ready for fall, people. So ready.

Just a small note on this: I knit as directed except I had to fudge with the decreases a little. It kept puckering, and in the end it just bothered me way too much. So a little frogging, and little fudging... voila!

Now, it just needs to be cold enough...

Two Ways to Keep Your Sanity

Exhibit A:
Lace.

Exhibit B:
Mindless garter stitch

Yes, I'm struggling through that part of the semester where everything just seems like it's dragging. So two projects - just for me! The first is the Spring Tulips Stole from Night Owl Knits and the second project is the super quick garter stitch cowl.

Two midterms, one paper down...

one paper, two midterms to go...

How much you want to bet I finish the cowl before my paper on Hobbes?

First New Project of the Year

I am sick.

The weather here has taken a turn for the worse lately, and I guess I've been a little stressed with recruiting. So. I got sick. And now my back aches. I don't know how my illness caused my back aches, but somehow, it did. And now I am suffering.

Anyway, yesterday, I went to my boss's baby shower. I found out maybe three weeks ago, and I deliberated for a while what to make for the baby. I considered a sweater, but then I couldn't really decide on a pattern. Then, I remembered the plethora of yarn I had left over from Noah's blankie and thought this would be a prime time to use up some more of it.

I thought about making another Log Cabin, but I wasn't really feeling it. I knew I wanted garter stitch - it had to be something I could do mindlessly while I watched Law & Order. So I came upon the idea of knitting three strips and use each color for one really big block. I sketched a schematic and that resulted in...


Crayola Blankie
pattern: My own
yarn: Bernat Super Value Acrylic
needles: US 9 (5.5 mm)

I was really happy with the finished outcome. It was basically all I had imagined it would be. There was a little bit of weirdness though with gauge. The yellow, for some reason, came out more loosely than the other yarns. I couldn't really figure out why. It required a little bit of adjusting, but in the end, I ended up with the right number of rows.

Here's another picture of the whole thing laid out. Pardon the poor coloring; it hasn't exactly been sunny here in New York City.


It was received very well, and I was praised for my use of bright primary colors. I do hope she finds a good use for it.