Knitting

I found some BuffBoo on sale at my LYS, and picked up a couple of skeins. I planned to use it as a practice for the qiviut I purchased this past summer, but I actually found I liked the sheen of the buffboo in this pattern more than the qiviut. Guess I still need to keep looking for that perfect qiviut pattern. The pattern as written works for one skein, but I used a part of a second to get mine to be the length I wanted.

Materials
1 skein Buffalo Gold Buffboo #13, laceweight, 300 yds (part of a second skein is optional)
US 4 16” circular needle
Cable needle
Stitch marker
Yarn needle for weaving ends

Finished Dimensions
Approx 24” circumference and 14” long (blocked)

I started this scarf right around Thanksgiving. My plan was to finish it in time for my daughter's birthday, but I didn't quite make it. Finally wove in the last end on 12/21. It probably should be blocked, but my daughter is too excited to wear it...

Anyway, this is based on the Falling Flowers pattern by Anne Kingstone. I did a yarn substitution to Trendsetter's Merino VI superwash, so I never was able to get the gauge and have a soft knit. To compensate, I changed the flower pattern so that it was a single column of flowers rather than the double column in the original pattern. It turned out to be a bit over 4" wide, which is perfect for my little girl. I think my scarf is a bit less smooth in the motifs as a result of the larger gauge, but my daughter likes it just fine.

As my way of saying thank you, I am now offering all my patterns for free. I have been very busy with my job lately - with much travel, I haven't been able to be as attentive as I would like. So, now you can enjoy my entire pattern library for free.

Right now, the patterns are available only in my Ravelry store. I am working on some pages to link to the patterns from my site for those who are not Ravelry members.

Enjoy!

I just finished up a swatch of the "Seahorse" stitch pattern found at Knitting Fool. It is a combination lace and cable design that has captivated my imagination. What to do with it? Should I make it a scarf or shawl in laceweight yarn, or maybe make it a pair of socks? The pattern is an 8 stitch repeat, so it could be any number of items. Maybe all of them. What do you think?

I've had this pattern written on a scrap of green paper in my briefcase for a couple of months, and I've just never taken the time to write it out. The thought of formatting a nice PDF pattern was just too draining with the busy-ness of my summer. So, I thought I'd just write it out on my blog and encourage you to enjoy it.

Yarn: Berrocco Seduce, Color 4492, 3 skeins
Needles: US 9, I crochet hook

Using your favorite provisional cast on, cast on 25 sts (multiple of 4 plus 1)

Work in Star Rib Mesh until desired length is achieved. Bind off using crocheted bind off. Join yarn to opposite end, and work crocheted bind off.

Blocking is important to this scarf - it tends to hang and pull the lace closed, so frequent blocking may be necessary.

Star Rib Mesh
Row 1: Purl
Row 2: K1, *yo, sl2 kw, k1, p2sso, yo, K1, rep from * to end of row
Row 3: Purl
Row 4: SSK, yo, K1, *yo, sl2 kw, k1, p2sso, yo, K1, rep from * to last 2 sts, end yo, K2tog.

It has been one of those summers. I haven't had time to sit down and work on much of anything. I've been traveling to White Sands Missile Range for my job, been shuttling kids from one class or event to another, and doing my best to spend an evening or two with my husband.

As you've probably noticed, be still & knit has been remarkably quiet this summer. I haven't sent out a newsletter in a couple of months, and I haven't really been blogging. I put out a pattern (see my last post) but I haven't been paying much attention to my knitting design or even projects. Those projects I have been working have been ones from my stash that I have been wanting to get finished.

So, this is the summer of finishing for me. All of those projects - along with their yarn, patterns, and notions - have been cluttering up my yarn studio and my brain. It is time to get them off the needles, off the hooks, and into my closet! I hope you're enjoying your summer, and I look forward to being able to finish your own projects.

I totally fell in love with the oak leaf cable design from knittingfool.com and had to make it into something, and I’ve been admiring wimples and cowls lately. So, here’s the pattern. This is made with a sport weight yarn or a sock weight yarn to be nice and warm, but not too heavy. This yarn weight is perfect to show the complexities of the cable design, but not so heavy to be stiff. A variegated color is perfect with this falling leaf design.

The cable designs are relatively easy to knit, but I’m rating this pattern as experienced because you really need to know how to read your knitting in order to keep the patterns aligned.

Now available in the Ravelry store for $3

As I sit here in a conference room waiting for my next meeting (in 90 minutes), I am brought back to this article. It has been on my list of articles to write for some time now. It just seems that it gets pushed a little lower on the priority list as the days pass. But, here I am with a perfect opportunity to capture those thoughts and put them together.

Portable projects, in my mind, are those projects that you always seem to have along with you. They have five characteristics, in my mind.
1. Small enough to tuck in a purse or tote – not necessarily the whole project, but a portion of it that can be worked on the go
2. A pattern that is easily memorized or compact enough to carry
3. A project that can be started and stopped quickly. If you are working a project while waiting for an appointment, you don’t always have the luxury of knitting to the end of the row, repeat, or round
4. Needs a minimal set of notions – you don’t want to have to carry your whole tool set around
5. A project you enjoy sharing with others.

Knitting in public usually attracts attention, and it’s nice to meet new people over a small project.

I finished these up last night, just in time! I decided to go with a folded hem on the top rather than the ribbing I considered when I wrote the pattern. Leave a comment and let me know what you think.