"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 :)

  

Christmas knits #4 and #5.

I was in a bit of a blue mood last night, so when picking my next Christmas knit pattern I wanted something pretty and fun. I considered using the bright orange and yellow yarn for a planned pair of socks, but chose to go with something "pretty" instead. I had been planning on making the jade colored men's scarf next, but decided even though it is a beautiful yarn it is not quite happy enough.

The pattern I ended up choosing was the "Flit + Float" from knitty.com. If you follow the link, you will see that this is a lacy and pretty scarf, meant more for looks than for warmth. Also notice that in the title I listed Christmas knits #4 and #5. I am making two scarves for two different people, one purple and one dark red.

This is the picture I took of the yarn the day I received it. It is Knit Picks Shimmer yarn in a lace weight. It is 70% baby alpaca and 30% silk. The color on the left is "Sherry" and the color on the right in "Elderberry." This yarn is very soft and luxurious feeling and a pleasure to work with, even if it is tiny.

This picture the flash shows the pretty sheen the yarn has. You can see both scarves being worked on here. I am using my new size 4 (3.5mm) Harmony Knit Picks needles. You can see those cute, neat, little balls of yarn...it took me an hour to wind each ball. I have a bit of a cramp in my right arm from winding those last night.

Of course this picture is just to show the yarn color without the sheen to it. I am pleased with the colors. "Sherry" is a very pretty dark red with some darker and lighter tones in it. "Elderberry" is a brighter color with some very pretty purple tones in it. I think the end result will be very lovely.

The pictures were taken after about 2 hours of work. I cast on and am working the first ruff, I will be done with it in 3 more rows. After that I will slip my needle back through the open cast on loops and start knitting the actual scarf. I hope to be done with this project by the end of this weekend. Once I get done with the ruffle and have some progress on the scarf done, I will post new pictures :)

Skullface update.

I was afraid it would happen, and it did...I ran out of red yarn. The real kicker here is that I was close to being finished. I had one pattern repeat left when I ran out of the tonal red yarn. I guess I was going to order more black for making a back for the scarf, I will order another hank of red as well. I am kicking around the idea of knitting the recipient's initials on the back of the scarf using the red yarn. I will have nearly a full skein of yarn left over when I am finished; I need to find some use for it.

Since this project will be on hold until sometime in November, I started another project last night. It isn't the project I was going to make next, but all will be revealed in my next post ;)

Update: 11-18-2011

I ordered the yarn to finish this scarf. I ordered one hank of the tonal red, and 5 skeins of black. The yarn won't be getting here until the end of this month, but I've got plenty to work on until then so it doesn't matter. I am glad to finally have the yarn ordered and on it's way here :)

Bad knitty kitty!

My cat loves to lay on my lap and watch the yarn strand move by as I knit. He is a great knitting helper. He keeps me company while I spend hours winding hanks into balls, he comforts me with his purrs when I am frustrated and rip out rows of work.

On occasion, my knitting helper releases his evil alter ego; the yarn shredder. This morning as I sat down to relax and knit on the "Skullface" scarf I noticed my one skein of black yarn was gone. Following the strand attached to my work, I discovered a tangled and shredded mass of black yarn under the coffee table. I don't have any clue how he managed to tangle it so badly, but it took me over an hour to get it "fixed" and wound into a usable ball. No more kitty on my lap today. I am still angry at him and can't help but glare when he walks by.

It's been a bad knitting day :(