The knitting fire wasn’t the fire I had planned at all for Lolly’s Project Spectrum: The Elements. I planned to knit some socks in a luscious raspberry merino. However, having chosen a pattern and knit almost a whole leg, I now want to knit something entirely different with the yarn (I think).
Thank goodness my father-in-law needed a new scarf. For Christmas 2006 I had knit Bob a scarf in some chunky alpaca. He thought I was really nice to knit him something, but unknown to me, he didn’t really wear scarves. That is until this past bitter winter. He loved the scarf; it kept his neck very warm, and then he lost it. He lost it in a hospital where he was taking part in a Parkinson’s Disease study (the study was called “Tango Boot Camp”), and now we believe someone else is wearing the scarf as it wasn’t turned in to the lost-and-found. More chunky alpaca to the rescue! I changed the stitch pattern to Twin Rib from a diagonal rib of the first scarf. Both patterns follow my ideal for men’s scarves of reversibility. The color, Cinnabar Melange, is the same as the first scarf (yarn is Misti Alpaca Chunky) and is a burning ember red.
Naturally, as this is Molecular Knitting, our first photo of a scarf must take place on the couch-o-meter. Bob’s Second Scarf knit up to a little over 2 cushions in length.
Yes, the scarf and sofa color clash. Neither the couch or the scarf was very happy with the photo shoot, but they suffer from being inanimate and therefore are unable to do much about the situation.
Here’s a close up of the stitch pattern, unblocked, and I mailed it unblocked so it would arrive by Bob’s birthday. M said it looked fine, but I feel a bit guilty.
Although I wasn’t really looking for a photography subject for Project Spectrum, we had an absolutely spectacular sunset on March 15th. I put some of the photos in there own Flickr set, but here are three in time progression from just after the sun sank below the horizon until about 20 minutes later. None of the photos have been played with digitally.
It was some pretty cool fire.
P.S. Be sure to check out M’s posts about the Blood and Sand cocktail at Cocktails with M, if you haven’t already. It’s yummy, especially with his mods.
]]>Myself, I’m knitting a pretty cool sock, and I am very pleased to report that my Twisted Flower sock is looking just like the first sock of the pair, which was knit by Jean of Golden Purl.
I am actually a little farther along than this, but this was the last time the sock, daylight and my camera came together which was on Saturday. I’m still on the leg though. It isn’t hard to follow the directions or the chart, but my wrists don’t like the twisted stitches very much. So, I knit a couple rounds and then take a breather (a tweed breather, but that’s another post).
I’m knitting the 2-stitch twists and cables using a hybrid method that I’m sure others use, but I haven’t seen it. I’d knit the cables without a cable needle except for the fact that these are itty-bitty, teensy-weensy, tight little stitches on a whole mess of dpns (I’m using 5 instead of my usual 4, making the chart repeats easier). So, I’ve been doing the cross before working any stitches, like is done when cabling without a cable needle, but I am using a cable needle to keep from losing the aforementioned rather smallish, tightish stitches during the crossing transfers. Here’s an example:
Actual Right Twist Pattern Instructions: Sl 1 to cn and hold to back, k tbl, p1 from cn
What I do: Sl 1 to cn and hold to back, Sl 1 to right needle, transfer st from cn to left needle, transfer slipped st on right needle to left needle, k tbl, p1 (It’s longer to write but easier than knitting from the cable needle.)
The inability to knit many rounds of an evening is causing me some concern in terms of finishing this sock by the end of February. I may have to make the period after the 31st of January and before the first of April a big month of Febrarch, during which time I finish the Twisted Flower and knit a second pair of socks. I have the yarn for the second pair of socks, and it is very suitable for Project Spectrum 3: Fire. Fearless Fibers Superwash Merino is Raspberry:
Because I am really liking how the twisted stitches are looking on the Twisted Flower, of course, I want to knit this into a twisted stitch. But that is NOT THE IDEA for Febrarch. I am currently torn, but eying socks all over everyone’s Ravelry pages, so I hope to make a decision soon. In the meantime, I haven’t knit my round allotment on Twisted Flower yet this evening…