I finished that darned scarf over the holiday weekend. Can you believe it? I can’t believe it.

I should probably have waited until later today to take the picture. Get some good, raking light to create shadows on the cable, make it look all dramatic. But I have a JOB and WORK TO DO and I really can’t just sit around waiting for the light to be “just right.”

Also, it rained for the last 24 hours straight. It may well be raining again by the time the light is coming from the right angle. So forget it.

That’s a little better. Plus in the background you can see the tracks of the chicken tractor. That’s one pass up the yard, and one pass down. Quite a mess.

This is a pretty good pattern, all things considered. I made a change to the cables, so that they cross “correctly” in my estimation. (Rows 6 and 14 I changed C4B to C4F.)

The edges flip in like crazy, but you just have to accept that. The ends look raw – the pattern just stops. If I was going to do it again, I’d try adjusting the number of stitches and starting with a band of the basketweave that travels up the side. Use that as a frame, so to speak.

Oh, and another update: I ate both of those boxes of Kraft Mac and Cheese. The answer was so obvious, once I stopped to think about it: Huy Fong Chili Garlic Sauce.

Tags: Cascade 220, Celtic Cabled Scarf, FOs

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Buoyed by my progress on Super International Pajama Day, I finished up the second sock over the following week.

I knit these toe-up, using the Baudelaire heel. I really like the way it looks (and fits) just like a top-down heel flap!

The heel flap tends to be a little bit shallower than when I work them top-down. So after I finish turning the heel, I work about an inch of stockinette before starting in on the ribbing. That way the ribbing ends right above my heel, which helps keep the socks from creeping down in back.

Lisa asked if I had any pictures of top-down socks where I’d just used K2TOG all around on the toe:

I’m pretty sure I did this on my Hundertwasser socks. But I can’t really tell. See what I mean? I wear hand-knit socks every day. Believe me, after they’ve been on your feet and stuffed into shoes for a few months, you’ll never know the difference.

Last week I washed all my socks. They hang from the ceiling (which is the floor of the loft) to dry near the wood stove. It’s getting to be a lot of socks!

So how come when I want heavyweight socks, all I have clean is lightweight socks, and vice versa?

Tags: FOs, Hundertwasser yarn, Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock

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Oh, and I knocked out another Easy Hat this weekend while I was at it. This one was two strands of Patons Classic Wool held together.

(Actually it was one strand of Patons Classic Wool, and one strand of Patons Classic Wool Merino. But I defy anyone to tell the difference between them.)

Tags: Easy Hat, FOs

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I’m actually only faking it in this picture – I hadn’t yet attached the buttons or woven (weaved?) in the ends.

For this one, I used twisted rib (ktbl, p) throughout. I like the look better, and I think it will help it stand up better when worn.

I also skipped the stretchy sewn bind-off. Instead, I simply bound off in pattern. I have a terrible time keeping stretchy sewn bind-offs from being too loose and ruffling. They work great when you’re binding off a pair of socks, because socks fit tightly with the negative ease. For a cowl? I don’t think stretchy sewn is the right choice.

Just my opinion, not a declaration of war or anything.

Tags: FOs, Thermis

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I finished the Newfoundland chiengora fur hat last weekend. Here it is in its tubular glory, along with the neighbor’s cat. (Oh but Brady is outraged when the neighbor’s cat stops by. Much less if I’m outside petting it. I was in BIG trouble when I got back inside.)

And here it is cuffed for wear.

The dog fur yarn has no bounce or memory, so I knit it held together with a strand of Cascade 220 to give it some body. This is my Easy Hat except that I did more decreases at the top and drew it together with the yarn tail like a drawstring. Next time I would do the second set of decreases every round, because it ended up a little pointy, but whatever.

Once the spinner (not me) washes the oil off the fiber, it doesn’t smell a bit like dog. Even when it’s wet! Crazy, right? Dog fur yarn is really warm, but frankly I’m not terribly keen on the texture. It’s almost identical to mohair, which isn’t my favorite fiber.

In fact, turns out I’m allergic to dog fur yarn the same way I’m allergic to mohair. It’s a problem with the little bits of fiber that come floating off when you knit it. They make my fingers itch, and my eyes swell up.

My solution in this case – since I had already promised to knit it by the time I realized the fiber was a problem – was to wear a pair of safety goggles. I had to wash all the sawdust off them, because I use them when I work with the alligator lopper chainsaw, but they worked well!

Tags: chiengora, dog fur, FOs

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