Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Hello, from the west coast :)

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We've made it to the west coast, but we're visiting with family, so it will still be a little over a week until we reach our final destination.

Unfortunately, I don't do so well knitting as a passenger in a car (or moving truck) - I'm one of those people who likes to stay alert to the happenings on the road, and I'm not so good at knitting without looking (in fact I'm pretty bad at it) - so I got very little knitting done on the trip. That also may have had something to do with a broken needle... but I digress.

Something I finished before our cross-country move is this scarf:

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Noro Striped Scarf by Jared Flood
Noro Silk Garden Lite 45% Silk, 45% Mohair, 10% Lambswool (136 yards / 50 g per skein), 1 ball each of colors 2010 and 2015
US 5 (3.75 mm) bamboo circular needles

I knit this pretty much as suggested, aside from the following: I substituted a lighter weight yarn (the original pattern calls for Noro Silk Garden, not Silk Garden Lite), CO 33 stitches instead of 39, and used only one ball each of two colors.

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My scarf came out a nice size (66 inches long x 4 inches wide). I found it endlessly entertaining to see which colors ended up paired with one another along the length of the fabric (though I admit to sometimes egging the yarn on in my head when it seemed like a particular color was hanging around for too long).

Some intriguing color combinations resulted. For example, the Kermit and Miss Piggy section:

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The very spooky Count Dracula section:

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The flaming gray squirrel section:

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... and the Monet "Impression - Sunrise" section:

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All in all, a very enjoyable knit.

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Bag by Beth

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Before I left the east coast, I received a fun gift from The Real Baby Beth. She made 5 bags (in the Bag-n-tote Backstroke event) for the Ravelympics and decided she didn't know what to do with all of them, so I was one of the lucky folks she gave one to.

It's made of organic cotton and recycled soda bottle yarn (Little Barn Cotton & Ecospun) - very cool!

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Thanks, Beth!


Swatching and waiting...

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A while ago now (a few months ago?) I did some swatching for several summer tops. Well, summer is essentially over now, but at least I started one of them :)

It's the Proto-Pretty DNA Tank by weasel knits that I've been eyeing for a long time. I think it's a clever design, and I'm having fun with it, though that doesn't stop me from having made a number of bone-headed mistakes that have resulted in much ripping back. I am farther along than this photo shows:

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...but not by much.

I've also been working on a simple scarf of Malabrigo Worsted in the deliciously earthy color Charrua - a rich, chocolaty brown shot through with streaks of sky blue:

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I'm alternating bands of stockinette stitch and reverse stockinette stitch of increasing width. Bug thinks it's quite tasty looking:

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Next time... spinning update!

17 comments:

Christie said...

I love your scarf! I have a few balls of the Silk Garden Lite that I would totally love to use for that.

Christie said...

Oh...and welcome to the west coast!!!

Anonymous said...

Oh I love that striped Noro scarf. I may just need to make one for myself! And that colorway of Malabrigo...to die for!

YarnSnob said...

I love your Noro scarf, I must make one of these. I can't knit whilst on the move..it makes me sick :(

handknit168 said...

Noro yarn always makes beautiful and colourful scarf. Yours is lovely.

Sarah said...

Gorgeous scarf! Every time I see one of these, I wish I could stand to use/wear Noro. The Kureyon is too scratchy and I'm allergic to mohair, so I can't do Silk Garden. Oh well, guess I'll just have to admire yours!

Anonymous said...

I love how the Malabrigo matches Bug in color!

The scarf is absolutely heavenly...going to add that one to my queue!

I don't knit well on the road, either. :-(

Linda said...

I was a bit worried that Bug wouldn't be there today seeing as you are moving, the malabrigo Bug colour is lovely.
the Noro scarf is beautiful too.
Best wishes for the rest of the trip.

soknitpicky said...

Good luck with the move! BTW, love the "Kermit and Piggy" scarf :-)

Anonymous said...

Just like Bug, I've been drooling over the Charrua for a while. LOL.

The scarf is beautiful. Amazing how something so simple can be so mesmerizing.

Happy Trails!

Anonymous said...

I like all your color sections! I also like the idea of using less stitches - makes it a more economical scarf. Have fun out West!

The A.D.D. Knitter said...

Love your mods on the Noro scarf, Silk Garden Lite was a genius call as was shortening it a bit. I'm totally copying you!! And thanks for the shot of Bug, such a handsome devil:)

Beth said...

I hope the west coast serves you well. I've missed seeing you.

Great scarf and Bug is cute as always!

P.S. I can't ride and knit either. I thought it was just me. =/

Anonymous said...

Glad to hear that your move is going (somewhat) smoothly. I love the Noro scarf. I'm plugging away at the More Stripes vest from Knitty. I'm incredibly entertained by the color changes, too -- so I completely understand! Kisses to Bug and Moana.

Jane said...

Love that scarf. The Noro knits up beautifully.

Anonymous said...

I have nominated you as one of my favorite bloggers! Love your pictures.

Archiknist said...

That squirrel makes me laugh every time I see it!