scarf - Mixed Martial Arts and Crafts

Remember in my review of Stitches South I said I had used up a skein of yarn already? That wasn’t difficult since the yarns I bought were all super bulky weight! I have been lusting after this skein from Knit Collage for some time. I first saw it at Park Avenue Yarn in Houston but I wondered what I could do with it. So I put it back in favor of some locally spun thick and thin yarn. The ever lovely Tric from Tricky Knits was selling this similar (no two skeins are the same!) skein so I knew that it would finally be mine.

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It’s a very short scarf since there are only 34 yards in each skein. I whipped out my crazy huge US 19 Lantern Moon straight needles and just got to work. I cast(ed?) on 7 stitches and worked stockinette until I was bored. Then I switched to reverse stockinette until I was bored. Lather, rinse and repeat until all yarn is used up. Bind off and there you go. I just loved seeing all the spangles and flowers and beads just knit up and into the resulting fabric. This is from their Rolling Stone line but I’m very tempted to also try Gypsy Garden next.

I am planning on picking up another skein soon and making a very skinny scarf for a friend. She sometimes reads my blog so I’m going to be a little mysterious right now. But this yarn is totally her, I just need to get it in pink. I feel like I’ve said too much.

It’s Friday so head on over to Tami’s blog to see other amazing FOs. While you’re there, be sure to enter her giveaway and wish her a happy 1 year birthday of her yarn company, Candy Skein.

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I’m still working on my ankle sock, you just wouldn’t be able to tell a difference from the photos. I’ve got the pattern written down and I’m making minor adjustments as I knit but now I’m having stage fright as far as publishing it. Then again, it’ll be a free pattern and really just a plain sock so I most likely won’t face an inbox full of hate mail. Or I might. This is the internet.

Anyway, I have picked up my Diamond Lace Scarf and visible progress has been made.

Three out of the required 11 lace repeats have been done. I’m surprised at what a fast knit this is turning out to be. I don’t have too much experience with lace but the few feeble attempts I’ve made at knitting a lace shawl, I didn’t find the patterns to be “zippy”. I hope to finish this scarf by the end of November so I can use any left overs in my Bee Keeper’s Quilt.

Tomorrow my best friend from NJ is coming down to visit me! I’m very excited to see Leticia again and do some serious yarn shopping here in Nashville. So this blog will be rather quiet for the next few days. But I will be back! Fear not!

For more crafty goodness, head over to Tami’s place!

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I’ve made very little progress on any WIPs that I can talk about. And the one I can’t talk about well…let’s just say I apparently have trouble casting on more than 10 stitches. That one is in time out until tomorrow. This week I’ve got only two things I can blog about on the needles and not much progress has been made on them.

Firstly, I’ve picked up my Diamond Lace scarf after ignoring it in favor of my swap knits. I’ve done one and a half repeats of the pattern so there’s not much different from the last time I blogged about it. Here’s how she looks so far:

I really love the pattern and the yarn. The nupps aren’t all that obvious, especially from a distance, but that’s OK. They are fun to work but I have to redo them a few times because I’m such a tight knitter. Knitting has really driven the idea of loosening up home. Relax isn’t a word that’s often used in my vocabulary.

The other WIP isn’t really a WIP at all. It was once a finished object! I made this last year and wore it to the museum during the summer and got quite a few compliments on it. I just never really enjoyed wearing it and now I know why. My in my rush to finish things, I didn’t make it the way I wanted. This was an FO for FO’s sake which is not the right way to go about knitting.

Here she is!

I was impatient to finish this sweater so I ended it far too soon. As a result, it was never really quite long enough for me and I rushed on the sleeves so they’re not quite cap sleeves. I also didn’t realize that when finishing a top-down garment, one needs to use a bind off that has some give in it. I did a regular bind off and so the edge would often pucker. So I’ve picked out the bind off and the garter stitch end and I hope to start re knitting this very soon.

I’m not sure what I want to do with the sleeves. I don’t think that the shape of this sweater (especially if I make it longer) suits having cap sleeves. But I’m not sure if I want it to have full sleeves either. The pattern calls for 3/4 length but that’s not jazzing me either. I’m also wondering if the whole thing is just too frumpy and shapeless for me. I’m so afraid of looking pregnant or just frumpy. What say you, peanut gallery?

To see what others in the crafting blogosphere are up to, check out Tami’s blog!

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I did manage to cast on something this week. Actually, two somethings but one is for one swap I’m participating in. Which reminds me, I need to find a good pattern for my other swap package.

Let’s start with the selfish knitting first, shall we? It’s Nancy Bush’s Dee’s Diamond Scarf to Knit (Rav link) and it’s from the July/August 2009 issue of Piecework magazine. I won the magazine and the yarn as part of 2009 New York City’s Yarn Crawl basket. This is actually my second attempt at this pattern.

The first attempt was with a very nice sparkly blue yarn that I also won as part of the basket (the label has long since been lost) but it just wasn’t enough yardage wise. So I’ve restarted (for the third time!) with this wonderful Madeline Tosh, another yarn from the basket. This yarn has been calling to me for years to be made into something lacy, perhaps a shawl, but I could never quite commit to knitting up a huge shawl. EDIT: I also lost the tag to this yarn in 2009. I know for a fact it’s MadTosh but I have no idea what the colorway is, what type of yarn it is nor the yardage. It’s probably at the bottom of my yarn basket, I just need to dig around for it.

It’s still in it’s beginning phase and therefore a little hard to photograph currently. This will be my first Estonian lace piece and I’m enjoying the way nupps look so far. I thought about replacing the nupps with beads but I couldn’t find any small beads in a color that would work. So nupps it is then!

My other work in progress is a bit of a secret but I’ll let you in on it. I’m crocheting a taxi cab for my swap partner. And since I’m part of two swaps, I’ll keep which Rav group it’s for under wraps. The pattern is written by the lovely Stacy Trock of Fresh Stitches and so far I’m finding it wonderfully written. The instructions are clear and she includes lots of good crisp photos of her different techniques.

I’ve never solely crocheted through the front loop before but I do like the way it makes the fabric lay and not curl up too much. “Aren’t taxis normally yellow?” You may be wondering. Well you are right, but I’m using some regifted awful acrylic and I don’t have any in yellow. I’m going to see how it turns out in blue and if I don’t like it, I may do the whole thing over again in yellow. We’ll see. The yarn is a pain to work with so far and the metal Bernat I hook is a little too short for my hands so I may pick up a fancy ergonomic one as well.

I will be unveiling my first sewn garment on Friday so be sure to tune in then. For other works in progress, click here.

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I finished that scarf I was working on a few days ago! Here it is in all it’s glory!

After blocking, it opened up rather nicely. It’s not as long as I hoped for (and I used every last darn inch!) but it’ll be just enough for the fall. I don’t see this keeping me warm enough in the winter. Then again, this will be my first winter in the South, so we’ll see just how cold it gets here in TN. I was thinking this would look super cute with a shawl pin holding it closed as well.

I’m also working on two test knits, one of which I’ve finished but I can’t show you. The other one is half way through, though! I’m so excited about them as they are my first sample knits. Hopefully, the powers that be will be pleased and I’ll be able to do more sample knits for people. *Hint hint!*

As always, head on over to Tami’s blog for more FO Friday goodness.

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Last night I casted on for a dropped stitch scarf with that handspun I bought in Texas.

I love the way it’s working up so far. I’m not using a set pattern, I’m just making things up as I go. The yarn feels nice if a little scratchy from the very subtle sparkle that’s spun with it. It’s very bouncy and once I’m done and I block it out, it will stretch out beautifully.

Since I’m sort of making this up on the fly, I think I’ll write up the pattern once I’m done. Ooh, my very first pattern!

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FO Friday: Funky Little Scarf

WIP Wednesday: Diamond Lace Scarf (again)

WIP Wednesday: Not Much Happening Here

WIP Wednesday: Lace Scarf and swap

FO Friday: Dropped Stitch Scarf

WIP: Dropped Stitch Scarf