Update: Dupont Circle Scarf

 

I blogged about this project back in 2024 at this post, when I first started knitting it.  Wonder why the blog doesn't have a lot of knitting posts? Because I'm still knitting the same scarf!  This post talks about the yarn, which is from FibreSpace in Alexandria, Virginia. I'm knitting the scarf using one of my favorite patterns, Farrow Rib.  It's just K-K-P on a cast-on of 3 stitches (repeating) plus 1.  I'm using size seven needles. 

I think I am about at the end.  I hope I am about at the end!

On the Needles: Dupont Circle Scarf

I've started on a new project. using the yarn to the right.  This is yarn from Fibrespace in Alexandria, VA - a great yarn store.  The yarn is from Neighborhood Fiber Company - it is Studio Worsted in the colorway Dupont Circle.   A nice black and pink.

I'm knitting a scarf (what else is new?).  It is 42 stitches across, and I'm knitting it in Farrow Rib - a simple K-K-P pattern.  I'm using size 7 Knitpicks wood circular (exchangeable) needles.

I've mentioned before that I like knitting scarves because I often knit in movies - I can knit scarves easily in the dark.

This week (and last week) I've been attending the United Methodist General Conference as a reserve delegate.  This is a lot of sitting and listening, and some of that time, mindless knitting is great. 

I enjoy watching yarn like this pool and pattern as I knit.  Three pictures below:

Scarf beginnings in the car on the way to the Conference

Scarf draped over the handle of my wheelie bag at Conference.

Scarf as it is today.
See the pattern developing?

Reflecting Pool Scarf

 

Another finished scarf.  This one was knit with Malabrigo Rios Yarn in the color Reflecting Pool.  I'm not sure where I bought it. It's very nice! I used about 1.5 skeins.

The needle size was US 7, and it is knit in the Yarn Harlot's one row pattern (cast on a multiple of four +2, knit two, knit one through back loop, purl and repeat until there are two stitches left - knit those.

I finished in January of 2024.  It was mainly knit in movies because it's an easy pattern to knit in the dark. I'm not sure when I started it, but it was after the Quince scarf, which was after the stacking, not stacking cowl.  

Here's the weird thing.  I have two more skeins of this yarn.  Did I buy it twice? I think I must have.  What will I do with the other two skeins?  I don't need another scarf made out of this yarn, as much as I like it.

Another post about this scarf

On my needles

 In this post, I talked about yarn I have that is "in the wings," waiting to be knitted.  This was one of them:

It's Roll the Dice yarn from Sin City  Yarns.  I'm knitting a cowl that the yarn store suggested (free pattern). You cast on 103 stitches on a 24 inch needle (size 7 for me), and then knit 4 and purl 4, repeatedly.  

I'm not sure if you can see it in the image, but the stitch pattern creates diagonal ridges of yarn that swirl around the cowl - cool.  Also, can you see in the first image that the yarn is lighter toward the middle and gets darker on the outside?  The cowl is following that color pattern.

It takes more concentration that I anticipated, but I do like it, and am enjoying the knitting.  I'm anxious to see it when it is finished.

Quince Scarf

How about another finished object.  This one was in a drawer, completely knitted, without the end woven in.  I mean, who does that?  Me, apparently.

This scarf is knit with this yarn.   It's Quince & Company's Osprey yarn.  It's a heavy (aran) weight wool, and the color is Aleutian.  I bought it at Kanawha City Yarn Company.

I knit the scarf with either US size 8 or 9 needles.  My notes say it is knit with the Yarn Harlot's one row "pattern," but it looks like farrow rib to me, so I'm not sure.  

How long did it take me to knit it?  Well, at the end of 2021, the yarn was still wound, and I hadn't started.  Even though I'm counting it as a finished object in 2024 since that is when I wove in the ends, I don't know when I finished the body of the knitting.

Really, I need to keep better notes.

It is soft and squishy, and I like it. 

Stacking Cowl, Complete

Yes, it has been a long time since I posted on this blog.  I have good intentions, but don't follow through.  But one of my goals this year was to restart this blog.  It's late in the year for the goal, but it is still 2023, so I think it counts.  

Let's set the goal at two posts per month (or more) and see how I do. Let's pick it up where I left it off; with the blankety blank stacking cowl.  I did finish it.  

The image was taken inside at night, so the colors are a little off.  I did adjust it, but sunshine would have been better. My goal was to stack the lime green. You can see how I failed, and at what point I decided I just didn't care about stacking.  

I do like the cowl.  I love the colors. 

Here's the first time I wore it - yesterday.  I don't remember when I finished it, but it was provably too warm to wear it, and -- well -- whatever, I did wear it yesterday and liked it.  I am glad it's finished, most of all. 

Forest Green and Navy Tweed Scarf

I finished a scarf tonight.  The truth is, I should have finished it months ago - all that was left was the bind off.  I'm not sure why I didn't do the last row ages ago. but there you go.

Steve and I purchased the yarn at a store called Cast On Yarn Studio in Vermillion, Ohio.  We were taking a quick trip along Lake Erie in Ohio to look at lighthouses.  We turned the corner in Vermillion, and there was the store.  I hadn't even looked for one.

The yarn is from Cestari Sheep and Wool Company in Churchville, Virginia.  It is from their Traditional Collection, 100% Wool, Forest Green and Navy Tweed.  It is a worsted weight wool, but a little thicker than what I usually use as worsted weight.  I bought three skeins - you can read about the stash addition here.  I only used two of them for the scarf.

There is no pattern.  It is a 2x2 rib, 34 stitches wide.  It is over 5 feet long - taller than me, so maybe 5.5 feet?  I used Knitpicks needes, US number 8 - that is larger than usual, because of the thicker wool.
There are errors in the knitting.  I did some of it in movies theaters (back when we weren't avoiding a virus and went to movies.  I didn't always notice the errors and by the time I did, it was too late to fix them.

I'm sure with its squishy ribbing, and thick wool, it will be a very warm scarf next winter, made of my two favorite colors.

Seattle Scarf, Finished

This scarf is finished.  I started it on a trip to Alabama in February and I finished it on a trip back from Alabama in July.

Pattern:  Farrow Rib, done in a stripe pattern I designed.  See this post

Yarn: Marvelous Merino by Raven Frog Fibers, made in Sitka Alaska, but purchased in Seattle (So Much Yarn local yarn store).  It was one skein of blue and one of green.  The colors are Seattle Seahawks colors, dyed specifically for the store where I purchased it.'

Needles: Size US 6

Hawaiian Linen Stitch Scarf

I finished this scarf.  That is about all I can tell you about it.  I don't remember the yarn I used - Koigu, maybe? I don't remember the needle size.

As for the pattern, I learned it from the Koigu Linen Stitch scarf from Churchmouse Yarns and Teas.

I don't remember much about its knitting, but I know that I like it.  And that I should keep better records.

Edited later:  Today I found a note about this scarf.  The yarn is Socks that Rock, mediumweight (Koigu, indeed, ha).  The color is Oceana, and I used 2 skeins.  I used a size 6 needle.  

I started this scarf when we were in Hawaii.

Seattle Scarf

In April of last year, I bought this yarn in Seattle.  It was a hank of two skeins of Raven Frog yarn from Sitka, Alaska.  It is the colors of the Seattle Seahawks, but I don't care - I love the navy blue and lime green together.

I wanted to figure out a way to combine the two colors, letting each one shine, without using any intarsia or fair isle.  I don't like them.  So I settled on stripes.  You can see the beginnig of that journey in this post.  It took several tries to get the scarf going.

Eventually, I planned the pattern in my bullet journal - another nice use for the journal.

I'm using Farrow rib as the stitch pattern. Cast on stitches in a multiple of 3 + 1.  *Row 1 is Knit 2, Purl 1* Repeat until there is one stitch left in the row. Knit the final stitch.  Row 2 is a Purl 1 *Knit 2, Purl 1* to end of row.

The striping pattern is as follows (Color A is blue, Color B is Lime):

1. Color A - four inches
2. Color B - four rows
3. Color A - four rows
4. Repeat 2 and 3 two more times for three sets of stripes
5. Color B - eight inches
6. Three sets of stripes as above (2-4), reversing colors A and B.
7. Color A - eight inches
8. Three sets of stripes as above (2-4)
9. Repeat 5-8.
10. Repeat 5-6
11. End with 4 inches of Color A.

I'm using a US Size 6 needle, and this is the progress so far.  There will be lots of ends to weave in, although I am carrying the yarn up the side of the piece as I knit the stripes.

Northern Lights Scarf

Back in March of 2018, I posted about a scarf I was knitting.  It had been years in the planning because the two skeins of yarn I bought didn't match - they were the same colorway, but handpainted, and not purchased at the same time.  I couldn't decide how to knit the scarf without giving up the beautiful patterning this yarn does when knit.  I finally decided the scarf would have two fraternal ends, and I started knitting.  Back in March.

It did take a while to finish it - not as long as it has taken to post about it - but a while.

Here it is - the Northern Light Scarf (in one post called Aurora Borealis), finished.  Can you see the two different halves? I don't care. I love the patterning.

Yarn: Mountain Color 4/8s wool in Northern Lights (colorway no longer available) - two skeins

Needles: Size US 7

Pattern: Yarn Harlot One Row Scarf

Other Posts: March 2018 and November 2018

Knitting Perserverence

What is the role of perseverance in knitting?

Last weekend, we drove to Tuscaloosa, Alabama.  It's a nine hour drive, one way, so I planned a knitting project to take with me.  I'm using the yarn I purchased in Seattle that was dyed in Sitka, Alaska.  I talk about it in this post.

My plan was to use size 7 needles, and to try the cartridge belt knit pattern.  But I wanted stripes so that I could use both colors of the yarn I bought in one scarf.  The cartridge belt stitch pattern involves some slipped stitches, which would have made the stripes uneven in the scarf - I would be carrying stitches (and their colors) up from the last row of a stripe into the first row of the next stripe.  I didn't realize that until I had knitted a few rows.  Rip.

So I switched to a farrow rib pattern:  Cast on stitches in a multiple of 3 + 1.  *Row 1 is Knit 2, Purl 1* Repeat until there is one stitch left in the row. Knit the final stitch.  Row 2 is a Purl 1 *Knit 2, Purl 1* to end of row.

Great.  Did that.  Knit several rows and realized the scarf was too narrow.  Rip.

Tried again, adding more cast on stiches so that the scarf would be wider.  Knitted several rows.  Looked at the knitting and decided the fabric was too loose and that it looked funny.  Rip.  

Switched to a size 6 needle.  Tried again. A few rows in, and I realized that the reason the previous attempt (and this one) had looked funny was because I was knitting 3 and purling 1 (instead of knitting 2 and purling 1).  Rip. (See the top picture - odd knitting)

Finally, after five tries, I had a pattern I liked with needles I liked.  And I was actually following the pattern correctly.  Perseverance.  

Aurora Borealis Scarf

I'm still working on the Aurora Borealis Scarf.  I wouldn't mind finishing it and moving onto something else, but that would require that I pick it up and knit.

Northern Lights Scarf

Once upon a time I was in a yarn store, and I fell in love with one of these two skeins of yarn (I don't remember which one).  It's Mountain Colors 4/8s wool in the colorway Northern Lights.  I bought one skein.

That's not really enough to do anything with (250 yards).  I don't know why I didn't buy two skeins at the time - whether it was price, availability, or just absent mindedness.  Later, I decided I wanted to knit a scarf, so I took a chance, and ordered another skein.  It's the other one in the picture.

Handpainted yarns may not be at all the same from one lot to another, and that's the case with these. They are mainly the same, but the one of the right has yellow in it - the one on the left does not.

This yarn has been sitting in my stash forever. I love how this yarn will knit in a scarf - the colors make patterns on its own.  But the only way to cure the difference between the two (so that the scarf is uniform) is to altnerative the two skeins - knit two rows and then switch.  If I did that, I would lose the natural patterning of the colors.

I couldn't make up my mind.

So, last week, I wound the yarn into balls, and just decided to go for it. One skein at a time, and I'll end up with a scarf that is mainly the same, but sort of different.  And that will be OK.

I'm using the Yarn Harlot's one row pattern.  I love this "pattern" and have used it multiple times.  I'm using US size 7 needles.

And there is the beginning. See the patterning?  Love it!

Snowshoe Scarf completed

Back in May, I wrote about a scarf I was knitting - the details are at this link.  I started it when we went to Snowshoe - I picked the yarn because the color was "snowshoe."

I finished the scarf this January - really, I can knit much faster than that, but I haven't been knitting much, so the scarf just sat around. It seemed fitting to comlete it when we returned to Snowshoe the first week of the year. I took the pictures of it from our room.

Movie Knitting

I'm making progress on my Snowshoe scarf. The picture to the right is the scarf. The color is ALL WRONG because the image was taken in a dark movie theater. The scarf, Steve and I were at Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol 2.

Do you knit in the movies? I love to do that. The pattern has to be simple (this one is 2x2 ribbing). Of course, it's dark in there, so I can't follow a pattern. Yarn that is at least worsted is better that smaller yarn. I've tried socks, but it's harder for me. Circular needles are good because I can't loose them. Knitting markers are OK - they are great if I need to track a pattern - but they do pop off, and get lost in the dark.

For me, the best movie knitting is a simple scarf. I've made scarves almost entirely in movies - so much so that I didn't see how they looked until I was almost finished with them.

Movie knitting is great.

Snowshoe Scarf

Often, when we travel, I'll buy yarn. I like my yarn souveniors - when I knit with the yarn and then use the knitted article (usually a scarf), I am reminded of our trip.

Last weekend we went to the mountains of West Virginia. I knew I wouldn't find a yarn store there, and I wanted to knit in the car while we traveled, so I ordered yarn to take with me.

I am drawn to blues and greens, so much so that many of my scarves are shades of those colors. I do buy a few other colors, but not beige. I like color.

I ordered this yarn because the name of the color is snowshoe - we went to Snowshoe mountain for the weekend. I couldn't reisist it! And it will match my coats (which are black with taupe trim).

I'm knitting a 2x2 rib with Knit Picks City Tweed, Aran weight. The yarn is soft - 55% merino wool, 25% superfine alpaca, and 20% donegal tweed. It's a heavy worsted weight yarn, so I'm using US size 9 needles.

On the trip, I knit one skein - 164 yards. I purchased three of them.

The top image is the scarf sittig on a rail of the deck at the hotel. The second one is the scarf sitting on the dashboard as we aproached Seneca Rocks.

Lydia's scarf

This is Lydia's scarf. It is also a lesson in how, if I don't write things down, I won't be able to remember them.

I knit this in December for our son's finance.  The picture is bad and my memory of the detail of the knitting supplies is bad. But I'll do the best I can:

Pattern: Ripples from Knitpicks (this much I know).
Yarn: Wool of the Andes Superwash bulky (I think), 3 skeins (maybe)
Color: Aurora Heather
Needles: Size 9

My soon-to-be daughter in law is tall (almost 6 feet), so I knit the scarf to be six feet long. I worked hard to finish is by Christmas, and measured it wrong - it was probably at least 7 feet long when I finished.

I like the look of the pattern, and it didn't take too long to memorize. I'm unhappy with the edges and how they curled. It could be the way I knit it, though, and not a function of the pattern itself.

Also, I was in such a rush to finish it and wrap it that the images of it are bad. This one is heavily edited in Photoshop to try to get the color close to correct - it's ok, but not quite right.

Lessons learned - write details down, take better images, measure better, and work on the edges.

Lobster scarf and Maine

In October of last year, Steve and I traveled to Portland, Maine, for a NAUMF meeting. It was a great trip!

While we were there, we visited a yarn shop called KnitWit. I like to purchase "souvenir" yarn when we travel - yarn that I can knit into a finished object (usually a scarf) and when I look at it, I remember the trip. I bought three skeins of Lark yarn from Quince & Co. in the colorway Peaks Ferry (which is red). Since then, I have knit it into a scarf.

I love blue yarn, but I steered myself away from it on this trip, just to have something different.  As I was checking out, the very nice clerk said that this would remind me of lobsters - very true!  See, souvenir yarn.

And we did go to a Lobster Bake while we were there.

Details:
Yarn - Quince & Co. Lark yarn, 100% wool, 3 skiens
Needles - Size 7, I think - I bought them on site at the store
Pattern - Yarn Harlot's one row scarf pattern - one of my very favorites.

Portland and the surrounding area is beautiful. On the Saturday we were there, we rented a car and went Lighthouse hunting.  We were able to find several:

• Bug Light
• Spring Point Ledge lighthouse
• Portland Head lighthouse (pictured)
• Rams Head Light 
• Two lighthouses from Twin Light State Park

The image of Portland Head Lighthouse was taken with my Nikon CoolPix P330.  I left the "big" camera at home, so all of my Maine pictures were taken with my CoolPix or my iPhone camera.

Jenny's Scarf

Earlier this year, in the summer, I knitted a scarf.  As I was planning Christmas gifts this month, I decided to give it to my sister-in-law, who is also a knitter.  I also gave her a couple of scarf knitting patterns, some Knitpicks needles and two skeins of yarn similar to what I knit the scarf with.  I also found a yarn bowl that I included in her gifts.

Jenny's scarf was knit as follows:

Yarn:  Cascade 220 Paints, in a blue / purple colorway (#9959) called Plumtastic.  I used two skeins. I purchased the yarn from WEBS - I'm not sure if it is available any longer or not.  Good color; I like it.

Needles:  US Size 7

Pattern:  I used the Yarn Harlot's one row scarf pattern that I like so well, 38 stitches across.