We Interrupt Regularly Scheduled Winter Blahs for . . .

Almost forgot: I finished my fern lace scarf! 

Well, I was done knitting the thing in November (see post here and here), but like everything else, left the finishing for later.  Determined to wear it over the holidays, I finally weaved in the ends and added some lovely fringe (a curly yarn that came with the kit from Lismore Sheep Farm). 

Whatcha think?  I love it!  The colours look smashing next to  my woolen black coat. And I can wrap it twice round my neck before knotting it.

And now, back to your regularly scheduled life . . .

Happy Knitting!

Blue-Green Loveliness

This was the quickest knit ever!  That's my lovely Fern Lace Scarf folded neatly--all 60 inches of it!  After I weave in the ends, I'll attach a fringe.  The kit came with curly locks made from 78% mohair, 13% wool and 9% nylon.  Me thinks a fringe will finish off my scarf very nicely.

With regard to blocking, I'm not sure exactly how to proceed.  Most of my handknits have been acrylics, so blocking hasn't been an issue.  After I'm done, I launder the item and never think about it again.

I'm sure an online search will yield loads of information (heck Ravelry will probably contain all that I need to know) .  But I'll have to wait till the weekend (no time or energy during the week).  Besides, the weekend would be the best time to borrow some foam tiles/mats upon which I will pin my blue-green loveliness.

Whilst I wait for the weekend, back to me knittin' ;)

It Grows (or Learn to Love the Curl)

I was gonna write about my lack of knitting this week, but in truth I've been working on my silky-alpaca scarf.  A little knitting during naptime, at lunch and in the evening as the boys got ready for bed.  Sure enough the thing has grown to approximately 37".  Not bad for a few days of sporadic knitting (Christmas knitting and Bernat knitting momentarily on hold).

At one point I frogged what little I had for fear that it would be too short (after all, I only have 175m worth of yarn.  I think that works out to just over 191yds).  Promptly I cast-on with 24 stitches instead of my original 28 stitches, eliminating the 2-stitch garter edging on each side.  The edge was curling just the same, so what the heck?  Eliminate it and learn to love the curl.

Two things I'm loving: the feel of the yarn in my hands and the colour effects.  The green pops out against the blue.  It had looked lovely in the skein, but not as pretty when wound into a ball.  What a pleasant surprise to see the colours mingle and coalesce as the eyelet curves to and fro across the scarf: bright greens, deep aqua, navy and cerulean--almost like blue waves over tropical sands.  Very pretty.

Here's hoping you're happily knitting on something special too. :)

Feels LIke Heaven . . .

Whilst my toddlers napped away, I cast on for the Fern Lace Scarf.  The original pattern had 56 stitches in lace weight.  It would be nice to make it a little more wider, but I don't have much yarn.  I'd rather have a long narrow scarf than a wide short one, so I only cast on 28 stitches (24 stiches for one pattern repeat with 2 stitches worth of garter edging on either side).  I hope it reaches a decent length.  The skein is only 175m.  Wonder how much length that will give me?

I must confess that the alpaca-silk-merino blend is yummy--so incredibly soft (heaven help us if I get addicted to this stuff!) And I absolutely love the warmth of the hand-crafted birch needles.

It feels like heaven ;)

For Your Viewing Pleasure

Slogging away at the knitting . . . clickety-clack, clickety-clack go my metal needles (swish-swish go the bamboo needles?).  Waiting ever so patiently to finish all the Christmas gifts and I have been good.  Finished two fingers on gloves.  As well, I knit quite a bit on my mom's lace scarf: up to about 35 inches now (it helped that I was stuck for 4-5 hours waiting for my H1N1 and seasonal flu shots).  But I grow ever so impatient.  I wanna make something for me **sniff, sniff** 

So to soothe my soul I picked up some sock yarn in fresh, up-lifting colours.  Take a gander at this wonderfully colourful confectionary:

Yummy blues and greens swathed in silky-alpaca-merino goodness all waiting to be made into something for ME! 

I just lurve that skein from Lismore Sheep Farm so much!  Is it okay if I rub it against my skin?  Patience is a virtue, n'est pas?

The Kindness of Friends :)

So a good friend ended up visiting a sheep farm in the next county over: Lismore Sheep Farm Wool Shop in River John, Nova Scotia (I had only just discovered their website and was wonderin' whether I could convince dear hubby that we should visit the place). Lo and behold, this friend picked up a cute little scarf kit for me! I was pleasantly surprised (squeee!!).

Inside the little packet, there was a simple pattern along with hand-crafted needles, curly yarn for a fringe and a delicious hand-dyed alpaca, silk and merino blend (so hard to stop all the fondling; it feels ever so nice!). This yarn is very special. No simple garter or rib will do. It has to be lace.

Perusing a few free lace patterns on Ravelry, I found three possible contenders: Fern Lace Scarf, Scarf with No Name or Summer Stream Scarf (these are Rav links). Given my novice lace status, these three were rather simple in terms of specific techniques required (but they look soo purty); also they had a ten stitch or less repeat. I want to keep the scarf narrow as per the suggested pattern in the kit (about 24 stitches) so that I won't run out of yarn. No one wants a scarf that's too short.

Now back to my Christmas knitting . . .