Jeepers! Thank you SO MUCH for all the nice things you said about my Norwegian Stockings! That's the most comments I've ever received on a finished project. I hope those who are inspired by them go ahead and buy Folk Socks and attempt this fine project. And for those who asked about the shoes, they're from Aerosoles (style: "Continue").
I'm plugging along on Lady Eleanor. This pattern is fabulous in its simplicity. It's one of those whose beauty rests in its role as a vehicle for bringing out the beauty and texture of the yarn used. Folks, I think we (you and I, collaboratively) did a great job choosing a Silk Garden colorway for this pattern, don't you?
And the back side is just as lovely:
The color is much better here than it was in the lightless basement of a New Jersey split-level. But she won't change much between now and when she's finished, so the next you'll see of her will be in all her completed, tasseled glory! (UPDATE: Oh, and yes, Ms. Gleek, entrelac is much easier than it looks!)
Sarah came over last night and we tried kool-aid dyeing some self-striping sock yarn according to Eunny's tutorial. Mercifully there are no photos. It was pretty much an exercise in excessive bumbling. We broke some stuff. And stained some stuff. And it's unclear whether our measurements were accurate enough to result in actual self-striping yarn. Afterward we promptly removed to Cocoa Bar because I needed a stiff drink and Sarah needed milk and cookies.
But hey, do you like Sarah's new hat? It's a gift for a friend of hers. She combined the Kittyville Hat and this earflap hat pattern from About.com:
Pattern: Norwegian Stockings, from Folk Socks by Nancy Bush
Yarn: Dalegarn Baby Ull
Needles: US 2 Addi Turbos, using magic loop method
Started: November 10, 2005
Completed: December 20, 2005
Notes: By now you've heard enough of my commentary on these girls to not need any more here. (To review, here are all past Norwegian Stocking entries!).
Two bits of final commentary. First, these rank among my favorite patterns of all time. Despite all the frogging and reknitting, the fair isle never became tiresome. I can't recommend it enough. If you're an absolute beginner with fair isle, I'd suggest something in a larger gauge as a first project (like a hat or that cute satchel from Handknit Holidays). I think a bulkier yarn would mask mistakes and tension problems somewhat better than teensy sock yarn. But then, this was my first fair isle project, so it can definitely be done! Second, these simply cry out for elastic in the ribbing. Eunny used a thick band. I'm going to try the method of weaving in elastic threads recommended in the Big Book of Knitting by Katharina Buss.
But I know what you really want in this entry is... more photographs of my legs Norwegian Stockings!
This is a dusty mirror shot, but the composition of it appeals to me.
Like the kicks? Those were a Christmas present from my handsome gentleman companion, who has finally decided that when a lady oohs and aahs over something in a window, that something might make a pretty nice gift ;-)
Feets, head on. I find the toes of these socks to be strangely pleasing. They're like taste's answer to gold-toe socks.
Feets, side view. The pattern creates wonderful lines along the side of the foot.
All laid out.
Thanks to Eunny for the inspiration (cue Peter Cetera here) MJ for hosting the Norwegian Knits Along... helpful, informative, and drool-inducing all tied up into a sweetly wrapped package!
Some things are hard. Entrelac is not one of them. Witness:
Here's a first nub of Lady Eleanor. The photo doesn't do the colors of the Silk Garden justice - it really doesn't. We're at Chris' parents house. You know how in your own home you know where and when to take a photo to get the best, most representative shot? Well, it's not in a suburban basement, that's for sure. But Chris' folks don't know I have a website, and I like that, so I'm not about to traipse all over the house photographing my knitting. That would be odd, now, wouldn't it?
So on to the entrelac. All I really have to say about it was that I didn't really get it, no matter how many times I read the pattern, until I decided to just try it. Once you do, it makes perfect sense and is easy as pie. And knitting with Silk Garden is, I think, an absolute pleasure in this pattern. My goal is 1 ball of Silk Garden every 2 days. I imagine some days I'll do more than that, and will finish Lady Eleanor in two weeks, just in time to start Jolt's Wedding Birch.
Oh, and FYI, we're going with blue! It's a safe color bet with Jolt's complexion and will be her "something blue." Sentimental and stuff, you know how we roll.
And if you've been attentive to the sidebar, you'll see the Norwegian Stockings are 100% done, and Chris' Manly Footlets are done as well. I can't say when we'll get the chance to take photos - probably not till we're back in Brooklyn. But I just knew you'd sleep better at night knowing the Norwegian Stockings would not be frogged again.
Well, kids, I'm off to ho ho ho it up now. As we overheard a man on the street say back in Manhattan, "Merry Knishmas"! Whether you celebrate anything or not, I hope the next few days bring you some peace and a bit of a break from the daily grind.
People, especially people at school, often ask me how I find the time to knit. I'll admit that sometimes around school this question bothers me on some irrational level, because sometimes the person asking is implying that, you know, to succeed in law school you really need to spend EVERY MINUTE OF THE DAY, including when you're sleeping, studying. And you can't do that if you're spending your time knitting and purling and entrelac-ing, and whatnot (more on entrelac later, btw!).
I often respond by explaining that when you live in Brooklyn, you've got at least 30 minutes on the F train each way, and one couldn't possibly study on the train. You might injure someone (for instance, yourself) while trying to turn the page of your gigantic 15 lb. casebook. Most of my knitting is done on the subway. And it's mostly true. But it's not just because I couldn't study on the subway. The fact is, I wouldn't study on the subway anyway, because on top of its not being a great place for learning, I've always considered it a buffer zone between work and home, where you release some feelings of obligation. Despite all the other stresses that can come with taking the subway, the time I spend there is a little daily slice of time where you can Do Whatever You Want Whenever You Want To Do It. Even if it means Doing Whatever You Want Whenever You Want To Do It While Ignoring the Two Crazy Guys Talking to Themselves But Not To Each Other. That time used to be spent reading, mostly. But now that I read sort of for a living (or at least for negative tens of thousands of dollars a year for the moment), I don't often read for pleasure. These days it's people-watching, knitting, listening to music, talking to a friend if I'm not alone, or just staring at the walls of the tunnel as they pass.
And so, I'm a subway knitter. Knitting is a great conversation starter on the subway, actually. What's funny is you'd never be able to predict who will talk to you about knitting. One time this 20-something huuuge ultra-urban-badass-taking-up-two-seats-with-his-legs kind of guy saw me knitting with double pointeds, and the conversation went...
Him: Hey, is it some kind of holiday today?
Me: No, not that I know of.
Him: Oh. 'Cause I saw two other people doing that (gestures toward my DPNS) on the subway today.
Me: Oh? This is a kind of knitting. You just use lots of needles instead of two.
Him: Huh! When I saw you doing that, the third person, I thought that must be part of some kind of holiday.
Me: Nope, just knitting.
Him: Huh!
And recently I had a conversation about the Norwegian Stockings with an entire Orthodox Jewish family. I've also been approached by Spanish tourists, college students, small children, and a whole additional assortment of folks.
So that's that. Thank you, Angela, for tagging me with this fun little meme! I'm a little late in the game with this, so I won't tag anyone in particular. But if you think this is interesting, and you haven't yet done it, consider yourself "it"!
Yesterday being the day after exams and, officially, the Day When I Can Do Whatever I Want Whenever I Want to Do It, there was a little Kool-Aid dying Chez Fig and Plum. No full skeins, just some color experiments that resulted in some teensy mini-skeins. The main goal was to experiment in getting richer, more muted colors. I think it was successful, though the skeins almost absorbed more dye than I would have liked, simply because the solutions were so saturated. I'm particularly pleased with the avocado / limey green in the middle and the brickish red.
Click here to see the recipes as Flickr Notes.
As promised, here's a photo of our Solstice Tree:
Okay, okay, this is not a full-body shot of the tree, whom we've named Rosalind (Roz for short). This was the only daytime photo I took, and while she looks lovely to us with her glittering night lights, she claims she doesn't photograph well that way. Anyway tomorrow is winter solstice, so I hope she's ready for her non-closeup by then!
UPDATE: Nevermind. Photographing a big tree in a small apartment can be tricky! Here she is...
And here's a wee closeup of my favorite decoration, our hand-painted vintage tree-topper:
The photo above was posted just to demonstrate that I have fallen to the pompon craze. I'll admit I even made a few while I was supposed to be studying. And I coerced Chris into making a pompon or two as well. They're great as ornaments, especially considering they have no future as shards of glass on the floor courtesy of Catty and Moses. The pompon above was made with Lamb's Pride Worsted in Blue Blood Red and Knitpicks Shimmer in Turquoise Splendor. These were made according to the instructions in Last Minute Knitted Gifts, but Kate Gilbert has instructions that look even more effective for achieving that elusive round shape (even though I'm not sure I fully understand them).
I also wanted to introduce you to my new best friend:
(a terrible photo - apologies!)
That's right, my new best friend is a cheese. You gotta problem with that? This is Cahill Porter-Soaked Cheddar, and you can buy a pound of it on Amazon. It's a new addition to our coop cheese selection, and it is everything you could ever want in a cheese. That is, tasty cheese plus beer, all rolled into one. Just thought I'd share, since one of you Dear Readers recommended Cahill a while back. Right on, whomever you were!
Just in time for the transit strike, my exams have ended. I have that unsettled feeling I always have the last day of exams - that feeling you get before you forget (i.e., before tomorrow) what was on the exam, what you missed, and how you answered. Ah well. At least my transportation timing is good! I'm sleeping late tomorrow, but maybe I'll get up just to watch all the working stiffs crowding the bike lane toward the Brooklyn Bridge. In all seriousness it would bite to have to bike over the bridge tomorrow. But I do support the right of the transit workers to strike, particularly in light of the huge MTA surplus and the extent of shady accounting in which the MTA tends to engage (Remember, this quasi-public agency keeps TWO not one but TWO sets of books. You know, like the money launderers do). If you have to bike, you might consider participating in this bike-pool.
To celebrate my last day of exams (before I start researching the mega paper I have to write before I graduate), Chris and Jenny Narcoleptikov and I saw Brokeback Mountain.
Or at least we saw the first 100 minutes of Brokeback Mountain. Before something happened to the film and we couldn't see the rest, and the rather sassy and irritated audience at Chelsea Clearview Cinemas demanded their money back AND an additional free ticket (a request the theater obliged), that is. Thankfully, (a) we saw enough to know the key plot twist toward the end and (b) I was able to interrupt Sarah's Precious Time WIth Her Boyfriend Who Lives In California by calling her and demanding that she dictate the rest of the plot over the telephone. It's still annoying. The same thing happened when we saw Chopper some years back. In this day and age!! Perhaps the projectionists were just showing some solidarity with the transit workers. But at least they could have done it during some lighthearted romp of a film like Kiss Kiss Bang Bang or Syriana. At the very least people watching Syriana would be so confused by the plot they wouldn't remember what happened before well enough to care about what happened next (or so the reviews have it).
Based on the 4/5 of Brokeback Mountain we saw, I must recommend the film. Jake Gyllenhaal and especially Heath Ledger gave incredibly honest and wrenching performances, and the whole (by which I mean 4/5) film seemed just... honest and real. Aside from the fact that Anne Hathaway of The Princess Diaries still looks 12 when she's supposed to be 40. But suspend disbelief! She's still okay and beside the point anyway. See it, it's great. Be warned, the first 4/5 is not really a happy movie (less depressing than Boys Don't Cry, more depressing than, what... The Birdcage?).
So anyway, let the Solstice Cheer commence! Coming soon... pictures of La Solstice Tree, a marathon knitting session hurtling toward the completion of the Norwegian Stockings, Manly Kersti Footlets, Cats in Ridiculous Positions, and other adventures heretofore and henceforth and herein unknown!
Jinglewatch 2005: It's Day 3 of the Holiday Assault on Seventh Avenue. That's right: the third day of Christmas carols blasting onto the street in front of my apartment while I'm TRYING TO STUDY FOR MY FIRST AMENDMENT EXAM. When you move to New York City you expect street noise, car alarms, people screaming at each other, intermittent noise and music, but not a SUSTAINED ASSAULT OF HOLIDAY CHEER ON ONE'S LIVING AND WORKING QUARTERS. I refuse to be driven away. That's right. I'm USING CAPS. I'm kicking ass. I'm taking names. It's true: in direct contradiction (almost) with yesterday's post, I called 311 on Christmas. If the music doesn't stop in an hour, I'm calling again and going over there. Hopefully I won't be attacked by drunken barbers armed with shears and razors.
I really do feel grinchesque... if I were just hanging around the apartment baking cookies and making pompon garland (it's going to be lovely, Lolly!), it would be kind of nice. But unfortunately I'm trying to learn a whole semester of freedom of expression right now.
And oh yeah, we got our tree. Since it's in the window facing the source of the noise, I am tempted to decorate it with something offensive like A BIG SIGN THAT SAYS "SHUT UP!!!!!"
To Try: Self-striping sock yarn à la Eunny's excellent new tutorial!
It's in the fifties today here in Brooklyn, and the subways are running (yippee!). Thanks everyone for your sympathy about our cold apartment. You're right, it's illegal for the apartment to be kept that cold during the day. I could call 311. But we've had this problem in years past, and usually it works for me to just sweet talk my 80-odd year old Italian landlord rather than file a complaint. Usually he'll fix it then reset it next year when he has the heat turned back on for the winter. I can't tell whether he just forgets or whether he's hoping we've forgotten. It's just that this year I've been too busy-slash-lazy to actually talk to him or really do anything but whine about how cold I am.
As an aside... it is important to assert your rights. I do have to say, though, that if there's anything being in law school has told me about these kinds of problems (by which I mean relatively minor issues, not safety hazards, discrimination, etc.) it's that it's better not to file a formal complaint if you can possibly avoid it. Even though 311 is anonymous, our building is small enough and our landlord around enough that odds are he'd figure it out. We're very lucky to have some kind of relationship with our landlord so that we can usually work things out informally. Because after you file the complaint and the problem is fixed, you still have to depend on the guy to help you out, and if he likes you he'll go out of his way to do it. If you've sicked the city on him, he won't. My two cents.
Or in the spirit of my friend Ms. Rachel, who insists nosewarmers are the key to whole-body warmth, I could just knit him a nosewarmer as a subtle hint.
It is cold as a cast iron commode here in Brooklyn, Dear Readers! At times in our apartment I feel like Bob Cratchit, swaddled in woolens, typing with fingerless gloves, slaaaaaaving away over my studies at the hands of an insensitive, greedy taskmaster (school, that is). Sorry, the cold brings out my dramatic side.
Anyway, this is a non sequitur, but you know what? I realized this morning that I've picked a project for almost every single yarn in my stash now! Isn't that boffo? I thought so. But there's one intriguing yarn in there with which I'm not sure what to do. It's two balls of Origami by Artfibers:
The content is 60% nylon paper and 40% nylon, and the gauge is 17st=4" on a US 10 needle. I've got about 320 yards. As you can see it's cool as all get out - a lovely coffee brown with copper highlights and a silken copper thread throughout, with a leathery-type quality. But it's simply a stumper as to projects. I was thinking maybe a bag of some sort? Have you seen anything made with this (or similar) yarn? What should I do with it?
And have you seen Little Knits is having another good sale, this time on Classic Elite and Debbie Bliss Cashmerinos? I'm sorely sorely tempted to order some Cashmerino Aran to make a Backyard Leaves scarf like Yahaira's as a gift, and to buy some black Cashmerino Chunky for a shrug of some kind, or some other chic knit.
As for current projects, I'm almost to the calf decreases on my second Norwegian Stocking but, guess what? It looks just like the first one did, so there's not much point in photos. I also (bad... bad!! no more starting projects, you!) finished one footie for Chris, made from some Koigu Kersti I got with my Purl store credit, and inspired by these from Whispering Pine. It's all about the foot insulation here at Fig and Plum.
And we need it, because, as I said, it's a bit chilly around these parts. Just look at little Catty, trying to avoid freezing her sweet calico ass off:
Sometimes I have an unhealthy envy of the lives of my cats. But then, who doesn't?
also: I'd like to add that someone on my block is blaring Frank Sinatra or Dean Martin or some other old timey Italian guy singing Christmas songs onto the street. It's not unpleasant, actually, I just can't tell where it's coming from. I suspect the Park Slope Barber.
Update, 4:35 PM: The music is still going, just, you know, FYI.
Update update: For those of you who are compelled to belittle the cold in NYC in comparison to northern climes, I hear you, but did I add that we have NO HEAT in our apartment from 9-4 every day on our cheapo landlord's theory that people are at work then (in our building of students and freelancers)? Brrr!
Two days 'til Crim Pro exam, and I am ashamed to tell you how many amendments I have yet to review. Would it be foolish to rely on my innate sense of justice?
Naturally the spaces between freaking out, eating more dark chocolate than anyone can persuade me is good for my heart (Green & Blacks Maya Gold, to be precise), studying, and falling asleep are filled with such imponderables. Like for instance, why have I missed out on the Better Pal phenomenon? Everyone seems to have a Better Pal but me, and I suspect it's some kind of cabal open only to those blessed with impeccable taste. How did I miss the cut? Have I not ranted about Fun Fur vehemently or frequently enough? Is it the tacky iPod Case? (Self: Hi! You're contradicting yourself, you know. Self: shut up.) Do I not bleed when pricked and whatnot?
Also, why are wasabi peas(another frequent snack these past few days) dyed with food coloring? I actually found a splotch of Blue No. 1 on one of my wasabi peas today. Do you think it's possible to buy wasabi peas in the buff?
Well, I guess the first question I asked ("Would it be foolish to rely on my innate sense of justice when taking my Criminal Procedure exam?") is a resounding yes, so it's time to stuff this punchy girl back into her wee locked box with laptop and casebook. And blue-yellow-green wasabi peas.
p.s. - updating one's wishlist is also a great way to procrastinate
Hey, did you see that Lion Brand has a free pattern that incorporates shibori technique? Quelle sophistication! Now for the next big thing we can all see coming: shibori with Fun Fur.
ps - Angela graciously tagged me for the meme where you show your knitting spot... phabulous photo coming soon, after exams!
Norwegian Stocking #1 is finito! Here you have a peek of her. She fits well. My only reservation is that I can't say I love the way this heel fits - might be because I didn't reinforce it, but I suspect the heel is just bigger and more curvy than my own. Full frontal shots forthcoming when Stocking #2 comes along. But for now I'm just sittin' here, doing my Crim Pro outline, wearing one Norwegian Stocking that makes me a teensy bit happier.
WOw, you guys are great at giving color opinions! Thanks! Perhaps the last thing Jolt needs is 60+ more people giving her an opinion about something wedding-related. (Sorry, Jolt!) But I, for one, found that very interesting.
Still, I'm of two minds between blue and green, and I think Jolt prefers blue but is open-minded. We'll let you know.
Now onto a periodic installment of some cool shit I've come across on Flickr. This week with special emphasis on that topic for which I carry a special flame in my heart: anthropomorphized knitting.
Today was the last day of the last fall semester of law school I'll ever have. Reminds me of something Chris' dad likes to say to waitresses when they ask him how his food is: "This is the best one of these I've ever had!"
My wonderful Criminal Procedure professor ended class today with a sweet little speech full of good advice, but the best thing about his talk was that he acknowledged the fact that all law students (some more than others, I would add) leave law school with lower self-esteem than they had when they started. Some day, he assured us, we will be confident once again. Cold comfort?
And while we're on random topics, here's one Dena and I discussed today: College students in the late '90s were apathetic but not apolitical. College students now are apolitical but not apathetic. True? Bullhockey? You decide (seriously, I'd like to know what you think!)
Now, on to the knitting content. This is my friend Jolt:
She is getting hitched next spring, and I'm making her a Birch shawl (here's Felicia's beautiful Birch) to wear at the reception. Her dress is white-white, and she's a porcelain-skinned Englishy colored kind of gal with blue eyes hazel / greeny eyes "blue/grey with hazel at the center. My skin is white but with a little yellow to it." <-- In her own words... how am I supposed to know what color her eyes are when she describes them like this? Huh? ;-)
We're using Rowan Kidsilk Haze or Kidsilk Night and collaborating on color choice, and she has consented to hear what you have to say as well. She's awful cute, so I thought I'd show you her photo next to each color under consideration:
That last yarn is Kidsilk Night, which has a bit of sparkle to it. I also kinda cut out her hair purposely, since the ends are redder than her hair au natural. And on color theme, the reception will be a very colorful Mexican-type thing, so color-wise, anything goes.
So that's it. Preferences among these three? (No new suggestions, please... it's taken us a while to whittle the field down to these!)
Since you claim you are not bored to death of the Norwegian Stockings, the Most Photographed Footwear on the Internets, here's the next installment. I am compelled to share that the heel of the Norwegian Stocking is complete and we're well on our way to the existence of a foot! I told myself that once I got the heel turned and the gussets and everything connected up in a functional way, there would be no more major frogging. Hold on to your Bea Ellis head coverings 'cause it's full speed ahead now (or at least as fast as full speed is during exam season, which is, well, you might want to pull those earflaps down because it could be a long ride).
You should know that the heel is not especially beautiful. I'm notoriously bad at picking up gusset stitches, and the heel tension is off... though that was actually sort of on purpose, since I wanted a snug and sturdy heel. Also the heel stitches are a little squinched in places, because I tried to fiddle with the floats to tighten up the slipped stitches to be picked up on the gusset.
Blocking might help a great deal with most of the heel problems. As for evening out the floats inside the heel, I guess I'll just continue to fiddle and get them to even out as best as I can. Things got a little messy in there, what with all my pulling and tweaking, at least on the first side you see:
For those interested in how the gauge turned out with this new stocking, here's a comparison between the first attempt (R) (knitted inside out on size 1 needles, ironically) and the second (L) (knitted right side out with size 2 needles and generally normal tension). All told the second attempt is MUCH better. The fit's almost perfect, if I may pat myself on the proverbial back. There's about a 1.5" - 2" difference in circumference:
In other news, Chris took me to see The Losers' Lounge at Joe's Pub on Saturday. For the unindoctrinated, Losers' Lounge is a loose collective of musicians that perform ever-changing menus of "tributes." We saw their tribute to Roxy Music and Brian Eno. Neither of us had seen them before, but it was loads of fun and the Roxy / Eno combination made for a perfectly hammy performance. We'll go back if we can scrape up the cash... we were on the young end of the crowd age-wise - probably a combination of the era of music and the (relatively) pricey tickets.
Do musicians who are "tributed" ever show up at those tribute shows? Like I wonder whether Neil Diamond has ever seen Super Diamond, Madonna has ever seen Mandonna, or Arcade Fire has ever seen any of the five jillion bands that sound just like Arcade Fire... oh wait, nevermind.
UPDATE: Hey, have you seen the new Knitty? It's great! The patterns are really strong and stylish, and employ a variety of techniques. Might be the best one yet - and they seem to have more patterns than usual this time around. Among my faves are Namaste, Best Friend, Danica, Spike, and last but not least, Tubey, a coup from our very own NYC knitter Cassie!
Thank you for your sweet comments on the Irish Hiking Scarf! One of the best reasons to keep a little knitting log like this one is for all the positive reinforcement constructive feedback the process yields. Anyhoo, a few additional notes based on your questions.
On School Products cashmere... it's good stuff based on my limited experience with cashmere and teensy beer budget. It does vary, though, in terms of construction and color. The yarn used for the IHS was a 2-ply (? two thickish strands wrapped around each other), whereas before I've bought cashmere that was more like 6 or 12 threads that ply as you knit with the yarn. They must have a few different distributors for the stuff. The quality does seem to vary: the IHS yarn was the best, the white 12-strand I used for these glittens was decent (though knitting with all those little threads is a bit of a pain, and the navy I used for Colchique was, I think marginal since the strands sometimes broke and were not as sturdy as in the white yarn. But price-wise, you can't beat it - something like $5.50/oz, if I remember correctly.
On the dimensions of the IHS - it's about 5" wide and 68" long - long enough for 2 wraps around my neck.
The next sweater project I take on will with about 90% certainty will be an aran-type project. At some point in the next year, or even in the next several months, I'll be designing a shawl-collared aran sweater for Chris using Ann Budd's Handy Book of Sweater Patterns. I have in mind some diamonds, some honeycombs, some cables, but at this point these are all swimming around in no particular order. I have no concept of how to make my vision hang together as a coherent pattern. To create some order from chaos, I've ordered a few vintage aran patterns on eBay just to see some classic designs. It's amazing how timeless aran patterns really are compared to a lot of other knitting. Also of some help might be a good book on aran knitting - can anyone recommend one (besides Alice Starmore's Aran Knitting which sells used for like $300!)?
Speaking of the timelessness of aran designs, this sweater from J.Crew looks remarkably (with the exception of a little closer-cut modern shaping) like the vintage patterns out there:
I love it. Should I get the aran bug reeeeal bad and design a sweater for me as well as Chris, it would look something like the above.
Pattern: Irish Hiking Scarf, free pattern from Hello Yarn
Yarn: School Products Worsted Weight Cashmere
Needles: US 8 Lantern Moon straight needles
Recipient: Undecided
Notes: This is the millionth Irish Hiking Scarf you've seen. But no matter - it's a lovely, simple pattern, perfect for typical amounts of stash yarn. And in this case, quite the stash yarn it was - about 4 oz. (?) of School Products cashmere, in my favorite of the colors they've offered. As I mentioned long ago, the ladies of School Products had often prodded me to use larger needles for the yarn than it looked suited for at first glance. It looks about DK weight to the eye, but the larger needles really provide the space for the cashmere to plump up and become ultra soft and plush. You can kinda see it in this closeup:
... but I wish I could send you a virtual squeeze of this scarf. Between the cables (which thicken the fabric) and the yarn, it's truly a luxury. The cables are a little loose and stretchy, but I think this pattern doesn't demand too much solidity from the cables, so it's all good. Here's one more view.
Now the question of who should recieve this lovely squish of a neck piece. She'd make a great gift, but then it might be unseemly to gift one person something knitted for the holidays and not others. And then, you know, I could just solve the problem by keeping it for myself. Enter inner struggle...
Related Posts:
I'm Neither Irish Nor Going For a Hike
