Well, the FOs have been flying off the needles lately! So far this month I have knit the superbowl hat, the valentine's scarf for my husband, two ballband dishcloths, and a pair of wristwarmers. I also did a little seaming and finally finished another suede baby hat, this time in brown, and I'm very close to finishing uniscarfity.
I photographed everything yesterday morning (tired of struggling with indoor lighting, I went outside which was of course much better if colder) so I'm going to try my best to catch up with posting everything, including two FOs from 2007 I still have yet to write up! I also have quite a bit of updating of my stash to do as well.
First, the valentine's scarf.
Valentine's Scarf
Date:
Feb 5th - Feb 14th, 2008
Yarn:
1/2 skein each, give or take, of Manos del Uruguay handspun multi in adobe 119 and handspun semi solids in kohl 59, stone F and I think dove 19 but I can't be sure as I seem to have lost the tag for that one (I'll have to check next time I'm at Purl).
Actually, with my digital scale, I can give you the exact amounts I used (each skein is 100g):
adobe 119: 47g
kohl 59: 67g
stone F: 80g
dove 19: 88g
total: 282g so this could be done with almost 3 skeins
Needles:
US #10 Knitpicks Options circulars
Pattern:
Based on the Men's Rustic Scarf from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson
The story:
I have to confess this was a bit of a last minute inspiration from my trip to Purl a couple of weeks ago (that's one of the things I love about Purl - the inspiration factor). I had kind of been thinking I should knit my husband something using my skills and knowledge of yarn and pattern choices that have vastly improved since the last thing I knit him that also happened to be the first thing I ever knit.
The multi colorway caught my eye and I thought oooh, gorgeous, and quickly found solids of some of the colors in the multi. I can't remember now if I had the idea of the men's rustic scarf in my head already... I think I did, and the yarn seemed perfect.
(I wound half skein balls so it would be easier to carry four of them around with me.)
Of course now the problem was how to secretly knit the scarf in eleven days when six of them would be spent on vacation with my husband and pretty much no time without him! My gauge was smaller than in the book so I knew it was going to take a lot longer than the 6-8 hours (I think that's the section it's in - I don't have the book with me right now) that the book says.
I aimed roughly for the overall dimensions given in the pattern (6" x 62"), and at 15 sts = 4" rather than the 11 sts in the pattern, that meant I cast on 240 stitches instead of 171 (I added a few stitches to make it a nice even number) so that was a lot more knitting right there, and I ended up knitting around 50 rows to get the width (the pattern only has 33 rows). The scarf ended up being around 66" long without tassles. I also "freestyled" the stripes, "painting" with the yarn colors as I felt like it instead of sticking with the five solid stripes in the pattern.
I really loved knitting this scarf, although it was a little stressful towards the end as I ran up against the deadline. I knew I could have given my husband a nearly-finished scarf but I really didn't want to be that lame. I ended up clocking in at around 15 minutes per row (I guess that means 13-14 hours total including finishing), and knitting on my commute and during lunch. I knit during a pedicure one lunchtime and all the spa girls cooed over what a lucky husband I had!
Manos is awesome, I love the fiber-y texture and I really enjoyed the colors (handsome and manly like my husband!) plus this was a simple enough knit for it to go fast, and quick enough that it didn't get monotonous, especially with the "what yarn shall I use for the next row" element. Actually, it was pretty addictive, especially as with such long rows you can really get into a rhythm and I've been suffering from withdrawal ever since. I love the final product too, with its deliciously textured linearity. You wouldn't think you could take that many photos of a scarf but I took, unedited, a total of 82!!!
My husband seemed happy as well and even did a pretty funny size comparison with his first scarf that clearly showed that he has been upgraded!
Finished shots: