Green Koigu

For the Fall, I bought this lovely bright green trench coat and this is the Koigu yarn I chose to match. The scarf is a rib pattern in the center and a simple lace pattern on the ends. It will also have crochet borders. Pretty. Made just to tie at the neck. This about the only pattern I've ever been able to read and make from Interweave Knits magazine.

Koigu

Again - this yarn is so cool. I am knitting with two colorways of berry/plums - one row of one and the one row of the other. Making a neat even more "tweeded" pattern.

Rowan Country

Currently on the needles is Rowan's Country. This colourway is Rose. It stripes and tweeds as you knit. I am knitting in a simple seed stitch. It is going slow, but creating a very pretty effect I think.

More cowls

Finished cowl. This is made in my favorite all-time yarn: Collinette Jitterbug. The colors are so rich and interesting. Look how the colors pooled in a diagonal pattern.
This one is currently "on the needles." The yarn is making an almost perfect stripe as I am knitting.
The cool thing about wearing these cowls is they don't fall off or get caught in doors. They are always up around your neck - warm and cozy.

Paul

My first real live model, actor Paul Howard. I love that he took a scarf I made for him to his recent photo shoot. After all, they are a dime a dozen, I make hundreds of them. So cool. So hot.

This was a very rustic Rowan yarn - I mixed four different colors in various width stripes.

Check out more photos, bio, latest projects etc. of Paul at getpaulhoward.com

Brand New Yarns and SALE!

http://www.scarf-store.com/

Check it out. I've just reduced prices on summer scarves and posted some great yarn "bargains

I love Etsy. I will be featured in the Showcase tomorrow.

Noro Sock Yarn

OK, so it has a lot "inclusions" in it, but no matter, the Noro yarns are as usual beautiful. I am making just a simple 4x4 criss-cross pattern. I intended it to be more masculine. So: handsome, even with the bright green color. I'll keep you posted as it continues to stripe and returns to the dark stripes.

The Blues

Lumpy, bumpy Filatura Di Crosa Murano is a nice fuzzy wool blend with shiny ribbon woven in. Done in garter stitch - the stitches barely show and you just get this lovely "cloud" of colors.

Bunny Foo Foo

OK, so you know the song about the rabbit running through the forest and smacking the mice on their heads. Not sure how it relates to this yarn's pink and brown color, but that's Blue Moon Fiber Arts. Absolutely spectacular hand-dyed fibers. 100% merino - this is the heavyweight "Socks that Rock." I am knitting it in a mistake rib and the colors are pooling in an interesting weird sort of way. This is because it is a sock yarn and probably meant to stripe, but I like it. This the back of the scarf. This it the front and the little arrows that the pink makes in the brown are fun.
Experiment with your hand-dyed yarns. Mix and match with solid colors or other hand-dyes in the same tones. Creative, exciting, tons of options to making something unique and yours alone.

Black & White

Just like my first yellow and white, this is black and white "pinstripe" in Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino. I think it came out smashingly great and so with it and now. Look for it to be put up for sale on Etsy. scarfstore.etsy.com

I will be making more of these - perfect for guys, too.

Mother of Invention

So I've had this single ball of Koigu Kersti forever and I always loved it, but never really knew what I was going to do with it. (Basically the problem was I knew I did not have enough yardage for a good-sized scarf and the colors were just too pretty to waste.) I just started knitting away (loving it) and decided to knot the end and then LIGHT BULB: do the other end in a light yarn with the same colors in it. Ta da! Jumped on the internet and ordered some Kersti at purlsoho.com that matched, but is definitely lighter and just knit it in when the first ball was gone. It's not done yet, but it is: GORGEOUS! This will be a favorite pattern for lots of future scarves.

Sequins of Blue

Blue is the color of the season and is allegedly going to continue into Fall. This is a very deep french blue spun silk: Disco Lights Eternal Diva from Tilli Thomas http://www.purlsoho.com/purl/products/yarndetail/1026. It has blue sequins string on a separate string that runs though the yarn. A bit problematic if you don't pay attention and miss picking it up as you knit (the strings hang out). All in all, I like it - the color is very rich and unique - like silk denim.

Dynasty

Muench Dynasty http://www.yarndex.com/yarn.cfm?yarn_id=2591 - really cool "string" yarn in lots of colors. It looks like newsprint all mixed up with primary colors, red and white barber pole stripe and bit of gold glitter. I made stripes out of the "garter" stitch pattern to make it a little more interesting and textural.

Update on Engima

Here's how it's going with the Engima http://www.handworksgallery.com/enigmay.htm (see Post from May 13th). The scarf is now about 20" long and I still have a lot of yarn on the ball. I'm liking it more and more. Yeah, I know, only 20" in more than two weeks - hey, I've started other projects since then. I will finish, I swear I will.

Patterns

Thinking about knitting patterns and how they can be found in every day things. This is a seagrass headboard. It looks just like stockinette stitch. Obviously, no one knit it with needles, but it is definitely a knitting pattern woven with a fiber.

Patterns: look for them as you take your morning walk, shop at the mall, standing in line at Starbucks. Inspiration is everywhere.

Cowls

Ok so it is finally summer, but I also think I should start work on winter things. After all, it takes some weeks to finish them and get them photographed and up onto Etsy.

I love these cowls. They just slip over your head - easy as can be! I like to knit them in luxury yarns - this one is pure cashmere. It is my favorite, so I will not be selling it, but I will make them to order.

Painter's Palette

Beautiful Koigu. Their label says "each dye lot is an original painting" and it is so true. This is Dye Code P711, Lot 164 and it truly looks like a painting. 100% cushy merino wool bounces as you knit. I am happy that I am using a size 5 needle - the recommended size 3 was just too tight. This is much softer and prettier.

Just look at the gorgeous colors.

www.koigu.com

Progress

This was SO not a planned project, but an experiment. I've only knit a few inches more since I first it to you a week ago, but the pattern is starting to emerge.

These fair-isle-pattern-as-you-knit sock yarns are meant to be only made into the width of a sock, so I wasn't sure what would happen when I knit it into a larger circle to cover the neck. Interesting. It still makes the pattern, but it makes it into two halves - one side appears to be the dots and the other side more of the stripes alone without the little dots.

Stay tuned - I think I like it. It may end up just a finished project for me. I love these cowls - they keep the neck warm and don't untie or fall off - you don't have to keep fussing with them like the ends of a scarf.

New Image

Thank you, Allie for designing the new banner for
my shop at Etsy. Check it out and all of the new
scarves I've put up for sale.
scarfstore.etsy.com

All Work and No Playing (well, except with Belle)

This a pile of about 20 skeins - the newest additions to the yarn stash. They all need to be wound from the skeins into balls before I can figure out what to make and start knitting. (Actually I pretty much know what I am going to do with each one).

My blue scarf now almost done. The original idea did not work, so I decided to crochet around the edges to keep the stockinette stitch from rolling. I forget how delicate and pretty just a little crochet can be until I do it. Nice. This thing was actually really funky until I blocked it. It made the yarn go all soft and flow-y. Always block - well worth the time and effort. I think it is the difference between homemade and a professional-looking finished product.

One of my knit-in-the-round cowls. This is a cotton sock yarn from Italian company Lana Grossa. It is supposed to look like fair isle when it is done. (Does anyone know how they figure this out? - MAGIC - color change fair isle without color changing). Not sure if it is going to work since something for the neck is obviously bigger than a sock would be. We'll see what happens as I continue knitting on it.

Jacaranda

I thought it would be fun to show you the view from my office in downtown Los Angeles. It is May and the jacaranda trees bloom here every year at this exact time - stunning violet blue blossoms. Enjoy - they don't last long - soon they will have fallen to the ground and smashed on the streets and sidewalks like blueberry jam. So beautiful and then sad to see them go so quickly. On this morning, it wasn't particularly clear, but the next day, the winds came up, cleaned the air and you could read see the ocean, the Hollywood sign and Griffith Observatory.

The buildings are a TV/movie studio. You have seen the twin walkways and the entrance below used in shows like Numbers, CSI NY and the Riches and movies like MI and tons of commercials. It is fun to watch filming during the day. They set up early early in morning and by evening are done and gone. Those crews work hard.

Another Surprise!

Bumpy Colinette Enigma. See how the thick and thin strand is evenly spaced and it makes these really cool bumps and then, suddenly in the middle, a section of perfectly even garter stitching.

Experimenting with various yarns makes the knitting so much more fun.

This colorway is No. 71 Fire - pretty bright red and gold with a touch of pale pink and light brown. Typical of this Welsh company - unusual color combinations that just work.

I had this yarn in my stash and loved it on the skein and then when I rolled it into the yarn ball, I still liked the way it looked so much that I didn't think I could knit it. Now I don't know why I waited so long because I am madly in love with the way it is turning out.

Habu

One word.

What is it about this stuff? Lovely, unusual fibers from this Japanese company. I've used the Stainless Steel and Paper - not to mention the Cashmere. Odd, strange, weird, and yet so new and interesting to knit with and the finished product is so cool.

This is their 100% cotton nerimaki slub in baby pink. The texture is great - another simple scarf that will be a masterpiece. . . .

Let the Yarn Inspire

When I can't decide what to knit nest, I let the yarn talk to me and inspire my project. Keep it an easy garter or stockinette stitch and the fibers shine through. I love sock yarns for this reason. I always have at least one project like this going in my basket or "knitting-to-go" bag. It can be worked on anywhere and if the yarn is interesting, I think it keeps you from getting bored with more complex projects and it decreases the inventory in your stash.

This is Mosaic from Ella rae, in color 06.

So Many Projects at the Same Time

This crazy idea of just knitting two rows and changing colors is turning out great. I've already ordered yarn to make more little pin-striped scarves: black and white and blue-the colors of the season. The yarn is Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino and it is cushiony and bouncey and gives great stitch detail. I have to be careful not to make any mistakes though - they really show. Fun and quick knitting on a Saturday afternoon of movie-watching. I keep my skeins in separate plastic bags to keep them clean and to prevent tangling.

Although the pink boucle is still on the needles in this pic, the scarf is finished now. Jewel-colored Noro Hotaru in poly/cotton, but the shiny bits make it look like silk. Pretty.

This is a verigated fuzzy Louise Harding mohair with carrying black thread in it that I picked up at Stitch Cafe on one of those "I'll just drop into the shop and see what's new" trips. No idea at the time what I would do with it, but somehow the yarns speak to me and I end up with something quite lovely. It will need to be blocked and the black string "slides" as I knit, but it is a very sweet surprise.

This is the Kusha scarf that is made from a mixture of Habu's extra fine merino and silk stainless steel. Something so oddly beautiful and ultra chic about it. You can really see the stitches (and mistakes - oh well).




When done with the knitting, you are supposed to wash it. Hmmm, I've felted before, so I'm not really afraid . . . . . after all that work . . . . but ALL THAT WORK! Will let you know what happens.