Saturday, December 31, 2005

Progress on a new BO Scarf

Here is knitting progress (at last!!!) on the Branching Out Scarf:



It's actually a very pretty fuschia & aubergine combination, but no amount of cajoling could get the colors true. :( Please take my word for it, it's really really pretty. It's in a Mohair blend yarn that's just as soft and light as air. I'm making this for my mema, who wants a nice scarf, as they're all the rage this season. Check out that lacework!!! I'm about 5 repeats in I had a little difficulty at first, but this seems to be a no-frogging yarn, so I'm just kind of having to work my way along and be less critical of my work. Aside from the vein that's supposed to go straight up the middle, I think the rest of the little ooopsie's are not too terribly noticeable.

Wednesday, December 28, 2005

Finished my second Branching Out

And I even finished it in time to give it to my mother-in-law for Christmas. She likes it a lot, and couldn't get over the fact that "it must have taken such a long time to knit." :) Actually, I only spent about 10 hours total knitting this scarf. And since it was my second Branching Out, I had the pattern memorized after the first few repeats, that sped things up a lot.

The yarn I used is "Silana" by Lana Grossa, 70% Merino, 30% Silk. Amazingly soft, but also a bit loosely plied. I only knit 1,50m/ 5' before I cast off, but after blocking the scarf measured 2m/ 6,5'! It's a good thing I didn't use the whole 100g of wool as I'd originally planned, because I'd have ended up with an 8 feet scarf for a very short person.

Monday, December 26, 2005

Froggery hijinx at grandmother's house:

I've frogged (for the 5th time) the BO scarf. Again. I don't know what it is, but I can get about 8-10 repeats in, and then I fozz the whole thing and can't remember what row I was on, EVEN THOUGH I was marking down notes about it, and where I thought I was. I may just not be cut out for a lace scarf yet. Argh. How is it, how is it that I can do cables no problem, even without a cable needle, but I can't keep my rows straight for this scarf?! Maybe I'm a perfectionist (check that, I AM a perfectionist), but this is just driving me to dixie!!! arg. Feh. I'm only worried that I'm going to knit and frog the yarn into fuzzed up sadness that I can't reuse. Alas.

Oh well. I'll just go mourn the loss of yet another foot or so of pretty scarf, ruined by yet another mistake in counting. I know ripping out is part of the process, but part of my frustration with this is that I have to concentrate so goldurn hard on it to begin with, and I just can't seem to get it to behave right.

I'm not starting this project again without a row counter. That's all there is to it.

(mourning sounds, and the quiet, rhythmic sound of a semi-scarf being made back into a ball.)

Sigh.

Thursday, December 22, 2005

Finished!


With three days to Christmas, this BO is on it's way to my mother-in-law in Kansas. I hope she likes it. I am pleased with how it turned out, it's so soft and delicate. The finished piece measured almost 6 feet (after being blocked). I used one skein of KSH in Grace and metal needles for this one, but will probably switch to bamboo for the second BO I'm working on. Thank you for the blocking tips, I've never blocked before and was nervous about which method to use. Now, to finish the second one before my mom's January birthday!

Tuesday, December 20, 2005

Ready, Set, Go!

Hello from a new Branching Out-er. I've been looking at all the beautiful BOs on this blog for months and wanting to make my own, but I needed to finish two other lace scarves first. One of them will be off the needles tonight, which means I can soon start my Branching Out. I'm using Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool in a soft rose color. I think it will be for me, unless I decide it's the perfect gift for someone. Can't wait!

Monday, December 19, 2005

Branching Out goes to the Bahamas

Just joined, and started over the weekend. I've done two repeats. This is a project for a vacation that I'm leaving for on Thursday. Maybe, she will be done by the time I return.

The yarn is Barrington Mohair from WEBS before 2000 when I had a bad WEBs habit. It is more purple than the picture shows.

Will post when I return in January.

-Swatchy

Sunday, December 18, 2005

Finished

This scarf was a stash buster project made with Filatura di Crosa.

It's such a terrific pattern that I think I'll make another one in the near future, so I'm going to stay on as a member of the KAL.




Close-up:

Friday, December 16, 2005

Starting my second BO

Today I bought 100g of Lana Grossa's "Silana" in light green. It's a merino-silk blend, and probably the softest yarn I've worked with yet. It feels really nice, but unfortunately it's also spun a little loosely, which makes it easy to split the yarn with the needle if I'm not careful.

This is my second Branching Out, and it's going to be a christmas present for my mother-in-law, which leaves me with nine days of knitting time. But she does not expect a present from me, so if I don't get it done in time, I'll just turn it into a birthday present next year. :-)

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

And my mother loved it!

I gave my mother her scarf this weekend, and she loved it!

Maybe I will knit another BO some day... for me! Not before January, though... I'm loving all your scarves as well!

Monday, December 12, 2005

I've finally finished!

Phew! It feels like I have been working on this scarf for months (I think because I've been so desperate to finish it). I just spent a few days on the road so was able to cast off somewhere in between Galway and Dublin.



I used 2 balls of RY Classic Soft Lux in Sable (008). Here's a close-up:



The stitch detail isn't as defined as some of the other versions I've seen, but I was aiming for something a little more 'solid' so am very pleased with it.

Friday, December 09, 2005

Finished :)

I'm so happy! It looks great! I'm visiting my mother this weekend so I'll give it to her tomorrow.

I tried to block it with pins and mercerized cotton, but I was unable to block it decently. So I steam-ironed(gasp!) the wrong side of the damp scarf (to bring out the texture on the right side), hand-blocking small extents of the scarf while I ironed so that the lace would open and the width would be constant. I'm pleased to say it looks great! And it is very soft and with a great drape!


In the same table: look how it grew! It measures 14.5 cm wide and 162 cm long.


Detail of the pattern. The true colour is slightly darker, but very close to this.

Wednesday, December 07, 2005

Almost there


Now I just need to cast off, weave in the ends and block it!

Sunday, December 04, 2005

Done

And here it is, blocked and just about to be wrapped to take to my Mum for her birthday today. I'm thrilled with the way it turned out.

So just to sum up:

Knitted on 5mm needles
Kidsilk Haze, colour Majestic
25 repeats
Pre-blocking 48" long
Post-blocking 62" long 6.75" wide

To all the KALers: This was my first knit-along and it was great fun! Thanks for sharing all your fabulous scarves and good luck to everyone who is still working away on theirs.

Thursday, December 01, 2005

Frogged

Here I was so excited about getting this beautiful lace scarf done, and then I noticed something wasn't right. After getting a little too sure of myself I had stopped counted the stitches about 3 rows down and there was my mistake. Here I was thinking I was on a roll. LOL. So in the middle of the 5th repeat, out it all came since I'm terrible about just frogging a few rows with lace, it was just easier to start from the beginning. I'm happy to say I'm on my 2nd repeat now.

Blessed Be

Blocking

So I finished the knitting part last Sunday and this is the first chance I've had to block the scarf.

I did 25 repeats. Pre-blocking the scarf measured 48 inches, post-blocking it measures 62"! It's about 6.75" wide. I've never blocked an item before but I read somewhere that lace likes to be quite aggresively blocked and I think it does really bring out the pattern. (I'll post a close up on my blog.)

I used Yarn Harlot's method of blocking lace, using dishcloth yarn stretched tight down the sides, which I hope will minimise any 'swooping', and a dpn at each end, which I hope will straighten those edges.

Once it was all stretched out I misted it liberally with cool water.

Fingers crossed it turns out OK when it's dry!