Friday, December 31, 2010

Pomp-A-Doodle Experiment, Scarf #2

 
Here's scarf #2--the cream wool felting was added in place of the lavender banana silk.  Very soft.

This one's going to my great-niece Hayley.

Stay tuned for #3.

Happy knitting & get some sleep!

Thursday, December 30, 2010

A Pomp-A-Doodle Experiment

 


 


The post-Christmas "Hey, would you make me one of those" chorus has begun, and I've had THREE requests for Purple Pomp-a-Doodle scarves.  So I'm doing a knit experiment. 

Each one will be exactly the same pattern:  7 stitches knit on size 35 needles until you have about 2 feet of pomp-a-doodle yarn left.  Be sure to SLIP the first stitch on each row onto the needle instead of knitting it (the resulting edge looks cleaner, a trick I learned from knitting expert Sally Melville.)

But each scarf will have ONE change:  ONE yarn will be different and we'll see what difference that makes to the scarf.

Here's the first one:  a partial Skein of Lion Brand Homespun in "Gothic"; a partial skein of Red Heart Stitch Nation Alpaca Love in "Dusk", a skein of Red Heart Pomp-a-Doodle in Plush Plum, and a hand dyed skein of banana silk in lavender.


The first scarf is shown above. 

The second scarf will substitute a skein of ICE cream worsted weight felting wool for the Lavender banana silk. 


The third scarf will use a skein of NY Yarns Pom Pom yarn in black, again substituted for the banana silk.

Also note that I just finished this first scarf and some of the pom poms haven't "popped" out of the knitting yet.  The more it's handled, the fluffier the scarf gets as the poms find their way out.

Stay tuned to see what happens....

Happy knitting & get some sleep!

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Pomp-A-Doodle Scarf

 

It's hard to take something called "Pomp-a-Doodle" seriously--but Red Heart's yarn is a great quick-knit yarn. 

I've made six of these scarves as gifts; everyone who has received one gets compliments on it.  And I've had a number of requests for them.

The Pattern: You'll be knitting 4 yarns together on size 35 needles.  Cast on 7 stitches.  Knit each row, slipping the first stitch on every row.  

Knit until you have about a foot of pomp-a-doodle left.  Bind off and weave in ends.  That's it.  Most scarves take about an hour or two.  Length is about 48"

The yarns: 
  • 1 skein Red Heart Pomp-a-Doodle
  • 1 (partial) skein worsted weight wool or acrylic
  • 1 (partial) skein of something fluffy (e.g., Patons Allure, Fun Fur or Ice Pom Pom)
  • 1 skein of a contrasting color yarn (worsted, bulky, or fingering weight)
The "faded jean" scarf above is made with: Faded Jean Pomp-a-Doodle, Ice Pom Pom Yarn in blue/orange/green, Ice Polo Mohair in Blue/Green mix, and Ice Vegetable Dyed Eco Wool in Dark Teal.

The "shoreline" scarf kit is made with Shoreline Pomp-a-Doodle, green worsted weight wool yarn, Turquoise Patons Allure yarn, and a fingering weight cotton yarn. 


You can purchase yarn kits at POMP-A-DOODLE Yarn Scarf Kit  on ebay.

Great free patterns also can be found on Red Heart's web site at Red Heart Free Patterns.

And if you like knitting squares, "Knit a Square" is a great place to send your blocks--they'll sew them together as blankets for children in Africa.  Visit http://www.knit-a-square.com/ for more info.

Happy Knitting, and get some sleep!

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Easy Mobius Cowl Scarf



These short scarves, similar to cowl necks are popular this year.  I got the idea for the mobius scarf after seeing numerous scarves like these for $50-70 in the catalogs. 

The mobius cowl scarf, depending on the fiber used, can be knitted on size 13-35 needles.  The needle size will also determine how many stitches you use.

The first scarf shown was knitted on size 13 needles, 25 stitches per row.  The yarn is Schulana Rodeo Mohair--very soft--available in five different colors at Mobius Cowl Scarf
The pattern:  Cast on 25 stitches.  Knit garter stitch, slipping the first stitch on each row, until you have about 2 feet of yarn left.  Fold the scarf in half, then flip ONE end, so the scarf has one twist in it. 

To bind off: pick up one stitch from the beginning (flipped) end onto your needle, then knit two stitches together as you bind off.  Keep doing that, and you'll have knitted then ends together as you cast off.  Easy!

Great Free Patterns can be found on Skacel Knitting's web site at: Skacel Free Patterns

And here's another version of the mobius cowl, knitted on sz 35 needles with black metallic fun fur, a silver/black ribbon yarn, a worsted weight black boucle.


 



Happy Knitting, and get some sleep!

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Easy Taiga Cowl Scarf

 
 


Knitting CAN be all about counting and intricate patterns--but when can't get to sleep and just want something to knit without thinking about, nothing's easier than plain old knitting.  But easy doesn't have to mean plain.


This scarf  is designed with a fun boucle "Schulana Taiga" in mind.  It's all knit stitch, which on a circular needle turns out "stockinette stitch."


This pattern takes 2 skeins and uses size 15 29" circular needles.  Gauge is not important.  You're knitting in your sleep after all. 

The pattern:  Cast on 115 stitches.  Knit until you run out of the first skein of yarn.  Tie the second skein on & knit until you have about 6 feet of yarn left.  Bind off.  THAT is the pattern.  Easy eh?  And it looks so cool.  It's about 36" in circumference.

Note that I do sell yarn on ebay, and have this yarn posted on my store at:

Schulana Taiga Yarn 2 skeins w Scarf pattern

Happy Knitting, and get some sleep!