December 19, 2005
Take A(n Irish) Hike, Lazy Elves!
What do you do when the scarf you're knitting for your office's annual Yankee Swap isn't done in time? Easy, blame it on the elves!
Dearest Yankee Swap Recipient:Due to the mediocre time management skills and general laziness of the elves assigned to knit this scarf for you, it is not quite finished. They have promised that if you give it to Shannon, she will see it is completed and returned to you in time for Christmas.
Please accept my sincerest apologies, and rest assured that the elves in question have been dealt with harshly.
xoxo,
Santa
What you can't see in the too-dark picture is that the note is tied to a half-finished Irish Hiking Scarf knit in Wool Ease. I chose Chestnut Heather, a sort of coppery-red, in an attempt to make it pleasing to either gender without being black, brown or green. It ended up in the hands of a new employee who was attending her first ever company holiday party and, accordingly, had none of the alcohol-related expectations I discussed last year. Perfect! She gave it back to me at the end of the swap on Thursday night, and I took it home to finish up over the weekend.
Jason was out most of the day on Saturday, and when he returned we suddenly had two Irish Hiking Scarves in the house.
He'd given the nurse he works with a ride home that afternoon, and she'd left her scarf behind. Though the picture is a bit blurry, her scarf (on the right) is a smaller-gauged version of the very scarf I'd just finished (on the left)! Failure to meet a deadline notwithstanding, I really enjoyed this pattern and can see why Irish Hiking Scarves are sweeping the knitting world this holiday season -- it's the old "knits-easy-but-looks-complicated" trick!
The elves made up for last week's indolence by really powering through some Christmas knitting and finishing over the weekend. In just a few more days when the gifts are distributed, I'll be able to share pictures and details!
Posted by shannon at 3:27 PM | Comments (3) | For related posts: Christmas Knitting 2005, Christmas Scarves
January 8, 2003
Satisfying
I went to Jason's sister's new apartment last weekend to help them move in. I was coming directly from the bus station (just back from a quick out-of-town trip), so I asked R. (Jason's sister) where I should throw my stuff so that it would be out of the way. She directed me to the guest room, and as I entered I noticed that both Jason's mom and brother had worn the scarves I made them for Christmas (picture on the left). That made me smile.
I dropped my stuff on the bed, and as I turned to leave I saw that Jason's brother-in-law has his Gringa-knit Redskins* hat on the dresser (picture on the right). If you look closely, you can see that the baby-sized companion hat underneath.
Anyway, it made my day to see that everybody likes their presents!
*Because I'm a big believer in being nice during the holidays, I resisted the temptation to make a baby Eagles hat instead. But rest assured, it's coming.
Posted by shannon at 11:44 PM | For related posts: Christmas Scarves, For Henry, For John, For Noah, For Shirley
November 16, 2002
Seed stitch
On my current project, at the suggestion of the yarn-store-lady, I'm using a seed stitch.
I can report that she was right, it really is a great reversible stitch. But for the love of the Knitting Goddess, is it the most boring thing I've ever done.
Posted by shannon at 12:59 AM | For related posts: Christmas Scarves
November 7, 2002
Soft Scarf
Finished another project! This is a scarf for Jason's mom -- it's made from Lion Brand Homespun Yarn, and the color is Mediterranean -- it's really very soft. I used #11 needles.
In the end, I ended up doing a really simple scarf: I cast on 30 stitches and then knit like a fiend. No purling, no fancy pattern, nothing -- just k30 all the way.
Originally, I cast on 35 stitches and was alternating rows of knitting with rows of purling. But the end of the scarf was rolling badly and the size of the needles combined with the slipperiness of the yarn made purling a little bit of a pain. Plus, the scarf was too wide and I was running out of yarn too fast. So I pulled it all out and started again. It turned out to be a good decision -- I had enough yarn (I bought two skeins, and I have some leftover) and it was much easier.
Did I mention the softness? I have a skein in browns that I bought to make a hat for myself -- I can't wait! Any pattern suggestions for an adult hat made from bulky yarn?
Posted by shannon at 10:29 PM | Comments (1) | For related posts: Christmas Scarves, For Shirley
October 31, 2002
Roar Lions, Roar!
I finished this about two weeks ago -- it's a scarf for Jason's dad. Seeing as the whole family is slavishly loyal to Columbia University, I thought that the patriarch should have a way to display his Columbia blues daily.
It was knitted on #10 needles, using Merino Plus yarn by Mondial (no link available). The pattern was by yours truly, and it went a little like this:
Row 1: k2, (p2, k2), then repeat the sequence in parentheses 6 times
Row 2: k30
Repeat, changing colors as desired! (This scarf alternates from light to dark blue in six big blocks, but you can change more often for a stripey-er look.)
Posted by shannon at 12:28 AM | For related posts: Christmas Scarves, For Doc