Ending the Year on a Productive Note

Here's the next batch of scarves.

Left to right, the first is another magic ball scarf.

I alternated two balls, and did two rows of the daisy stitch (e.g, two rows of daisies) alternating colors, then I knit one row, slipped the knitting to the other side so I could knit the other yarn across in the same direction, and then did two more rows of daisies. By knitting the two yarns across to the other side, every other set of daisies were reversed, so that each side of the scarf looked balanced.

I did it on the diagonal, too, which made it all a bit of a challenge, but it looks nice and I was pleased that the technique worked.

The other is a snake scarf done in scribble lace, similar to the technique I explained here. It also turned out very well.

Good end to the year! May your new year be happy and yarn-filled, and may mine be, too!

Plugging Away

I need at least 24 scarves for my work retreat. I have about 12 on hand.

Here's the latest batch.

 

Taken from right to left.

Two magic balls, used alternately for three rows each, at an angle.

Two-color brioche, one side a shaded mohair, the other a patterned sock yarn.

Just large yarns on size 15 needles, with some yarnovers.

Onward and upward, a scarf sprint towards the new year.

How Redundant

What's redundant? Pom-poms. And I made a redundant number of them.

I bought one of those pom-pom makers, and they work really well. These were fun and easy to make. I now have a good use for the ends of my magic balls.

I tried to make a pom-pom scarf, but it ended up too long. I think I'll try to double it.

Speaking of scarves, they will be my year-end projects. I'm trying to make enough to take for a work unit retreat I'm going on during the first week of the year -- one for everyone, and a couple extra so everyone gets a choice.

Here's the first one.

This one is glitzy but restrained. Most of mine are more funky, which won't be to everyone's taste, but I'm hoping they all know someone who likes funky.

Fourteenth 2010 One Done

Ta-dah!

I'm calling it Mosaic, although it also reminds me of certain paintings, like those of Kandinsky.

It was fun trying to balance the colors so they flowed into each other, and sprinkling the composition with entrelac, which I've taken a liking to.

Here are some closer looks.

When it was time to do the edging, I was going to take a scarf break and picked up the fabric-yarn I made from a skirt. However, the color looked good next to the afghan, so I used it there instead. The fabric yarn is heavy, but that provides some shaping for the afghan. I used single crochet, and once I had the first row, I simply continued with other yarns.

A good end to the year in major projects!

The Body is Done

I've finally managed to avoid scarf temptation long enough to finish the body of the current afghan.

I don't yet know what kind of edging I'm going to do. I better do a scarf while I think about it.

Here are some closer looks.

And here's the middle.

I love it.

Failure and Success

So I made yet another scarf. They just go so fast, and the magic balls make them exciting.

I was trying to make a nice ruffly pattern. I did a row down the middle, picked up along the cast-on side and knit around and around in a flat piece with yarnovers for a lacy look.

Then I began doubling with yarnovers between each stitch, to get a ruffle. I think I did this twice and then cast off in a fashion that added another stitch.

And it did look ruffly. Unfortunately, well, it was ugly.

The problem was the round-and-round pattern, so that the colors weren't allowed to pool at all. This ended up looking just like random yarn, which, to my eye, defeats the purpose of arranging a gradated colors magic ball.

Here is a closer look.

 

Even the changes in textures didn't work in this design.

I think the basic idea was sound, and this could look good in a single colorful yarn, or a Noro with similar colors in it (such as shades of green). Here is a close-up, so you can see the lacy middle.

But even for me, with a rather loose idea of what works, this didn't make it. So I ended up pulling it all out again, so it can live to scarf another day.

I hate doing that. I hate to undo work. It feels so inefficient. I'd much rather figure out a way to make it work, even if that takes more time -- at least one is doing something new. But when the piece is a scarf, there's no room for adjustment.

Ah, well.

On a more successful note, here is progress on the major work.

I love the mosaic appearance. Here is a closer look at the part I'm currently working on.

 

 At least the big project is successful.

Crafty Thing

It was a day to play.

Not impressed? This is some of that lacy yarn from my dyeing adventure. I wrapped it around a wire gate we had, and then put gold dots in fabric paint at intervals.

I'm thinking that this will dress up the yarn.

Next up, making yarn from a tee-shirt. I saw this on a video on the web, so I bought a rotary cutter and board, and pulled out some clothes I'd put away because they had spots, so I couldn't donate them anywhere.

I did a bit more research on the web -- there are a lot of good tutorials and websites for making yarn from strips of cloth -- and then I did this.

I'd never used a rotary cutter before, and I was impressed. A few tugs on the tee-shirt strips, and it rolls nices. Here is the result from the body of the shirt.

I made one almost as large from the sleeves up to the collar, but it looks quite a bit rougher. I'm confident some project will come along that I can use it on.

I have a couple of skirts to try to turn into yarn, but maybe tomorrow.

Finally, one more magic ball scarf.

I used the same pattern as for the short one, alternating a ripple with openwork, but the ripple barely shows. Next time I won't bother.

Still, it is pretty.

All in all, a good crafty day!

I couldn't resist making another magic ball scarf. This time, I made a two-color snake scarf.

I like this one -- the colors are fun, and this one is certainly long enough. Here is a closer look.

And here's the main project.

Now that one side and the width is set, it's going to go fast. It's like defining a new concept: the field of knowledge seems to fill up immediately.

Here's the new bit.

I'm curious to see how it ends.

It's Magic

I've had some waiting time this week, so I made a magic ball scarf as my portable project.

It came out a bit short, but I think I can block it longer. Then I'll add a fringe if I need to.

Here's a closer look.

I used a very simple improvised pattern (which is one reason it came out short).

Cast on enough stitches for the length of the scarf. 

First row: *Knit 2 in one stitch, k3, k2tog twice, k3, knit 2 in one stitch*, repeat as far as it will go, but make sure it ends in pattern either with a single (knit 2 in one stitch) or a (k2tog), so it balances at the end, and doesn't grow or shrink.

Second row: knit.

Third row: knit 1, then repeat *yarnover, k2tog* to the end.

Fourth row: knit.

The first row gives the scarf a zigzag, and the third row gives it a lightness, which is needed since my magic balls tend to be 3 strands together. I knit this on 13s.

Here's progess on the main piece:

Not too much new, but now I think I've defined how wide it will be (how far from top to bottom -- this will be a rectangle).

Here is a closer look at the new entrelac part.

I love how this is coming out. And to think, I almost pulled it all out at the beginning!

It's magic.