"Danica" scarf weekend progress.

I feel like I have made good progress over the weekend on the "Danica" entrelac scarf. It is really fun to work the entrelac and much simpler than it looks. I didn't really put that many hours into the scarf over the weekend, but have 27 of the 63 inches total length (43% complete!).

It is looking great so far, so I can't wait to see what it looks like once it has been finished and blocked. If I work steadily for the next couple days I should get it done in no time. I estimate that I will have the scarf complete by Thursday (giving myself some slack so I can work on the socks some too).

 

Christmas knit #7.

I started my seventh Christmas knit last evening. I am making a bright and fun (and crazy!) pair of socks. I am using the "Spring Forward" pattern from knitty.com. Yarn is Knit Picks Stroll Hand Painted (75% superwash merino wool, 25% nylon) in the color "Juice box."

This is the hank when it first arrived. Those are some crazy colors!

Here are the two balls wound into equal-ish portions. Winding those balls with those bright colors was dizzying and sickening, and honestly had me a bit concerned about how the socks will turn out.

 A close up of those crazy colors :)

Here is my progress so far. I have the cuff made and barely over one full repeat of the lace pattern. I think it is knitting up fairly quickly, seeing as how I haven't really worked on it much so far. I like the way the colors look more than I thought I would, and it isn't really sickening at all :P The colors do make the pattern hard to see, especially in the picture. I am hoping the pattern will show better once the sock is complete and has been blocked, if not then, oh-well.

The pattern calls for DPNs, but I am using magic loop method instead, just FYI ;) I am using the knit picks 2.25mm needle, and the different sized tips hasn't been an issue for me. I am using the sharper of the two tips to knit with and it is working well. I also must comment that this is the easiest lace pattern I have ever worked. It looks pretty enough, but is very simple and easy to memorize (great for tv watching!). I am enjoying knitting these happy socks :)

Christmas Knit #6.

For Christmas knit number 6 I decided on a men's entrelac scarf. I started it tonight and am loving it so far. The pattern I selected is "Danica" from Knitty.com

The yarn selected for this project is KnitPicks Swish worsted yarn. I bought 2 skeins each of "Lava Heather" and "Hollyberry." "Hollyberry" is the pure red color and is my main color. The yarn is 100% Superwash merino wool, so it is machine washable and super soft. It has been really nice in hand and looks great worked up.

Here is my progress so far this evening. (click the picture to enlarge it) I have the beginning triangles, section 2, and section 3 done. I will repeat sections 2 and 3 until it is long enough. It looks complicated but is actually pretty easy and very fun to work. This is going to be one cool looking scarf!

I will try very hard to be better with posting updates. I just haven't felt like posting for awhile, and then Skyrim (a really awesome video game) has been eating up all my non-knitting free-time. I have only worked on the scarf for about an hour and 20 minutes so far, so I am thinking it is going to knit up pretty quickly. I'll try to post a picture of my weekend progress.

On a last note, I will most likely be starting a pair of socks before completing this project. I have been itching to try out my newer knitpicks needles (the lopsided ones that I decided to keep) and that bright yarn is calling to me. When I was winding the hank into balls, I was getting nauseous from the bright swirly colors, so I am dying to see what it looks like worked into socks. Hopefully it is fun, and not hideous looking, lol When I do start I will post about it though, so no worries ;)

Christmas Knits, #4 & #5 complete!

Yes the "Flit + Float" scarves are finally done! I completed the red scarf and blocked it last night. The purple scarf was finished earlier this afternoon and is blocking right now.

 Here it is being blocked. It may look purple, but it is the red scarf.

 I made little cones out of card-stock to hold open the little ruffles during blocking.

 Just a picture to show the middle of the scarf.

 Here is the scarf all blocked and pretty. This picture shows the color the best and truest to life.

 Look at the pretty lace :D

 The color is way off here, but it's just a close up of the ruffles anyways.

I am very pleased with how well the scarves turned out and this they make very nice gift items. They did take considerably longer than I had anticipated, but they do look pretty great so I'd say it was worth it! The yarn was nice to work with, though some of the fibers unfortunately look like cat hairs knitted into the fabric (I am 100% sure they are NOT kitty hairs, as I have been super careful to stay away from the cats while working on these). Hopefully the recipients like these scarves as much as I do and enjoy using them.

There are no pictures of the purple scarf yet, though I will update this post with a picture tomorrow :) 

Update: 11-19-11

As promised, here are the pictures of the purple scarf :)