Coffee ‘n Cream Scarf

We draw names for a Secret Santa gift exchange in my family. My husband drew my SIL’s name and I thought I’d knit her a scarf for one of her gifts. Unfortunately, I waited until just a few days before Christmas. Fortunately, I chose a quick and easy pattern, figuring I’d finish in time. Unfortunately, with all the other frenzy swirling around that week, I didn’t. Fortunately, I did finish it before the end of winter!

I used a simple garter stitch with 1 strand brown yarn and 1 strand tan yarn held together as one (hence the name “Coffee ‘n Cream”). It is big and fuzzy and chunky.

Finished size is about 7″ by 56″.

Yarn:
Paton Shetland Chunky (Earthy Brown)
Bernat Alpaca Natural Blends (Wheat)

Needles:
U.S. 13

Stained-Glass Scarf

When I spotted this yarn at Michael’s I just had to have it. It’s soft to the touch (even around my sensitive neck), but keep a lint brush handy. Just imagine pairing it with a sweater of one of the colors in the yarn and a pair of nice black slacks (or, if you’re me, a pair of jeans).

It is well-suited for any lace pattern, as the color of whatever you’re wearing under it will peak through the lacy holes. You can see that effect in the photos.

In real life, it has more black than what appears in the first photo. I consider it my “black scarf full of color”.

Yarn: Patons Rumor ‘Moonstone Heather’

Here’s a close-up view showing the vivid colors and lace pattern.

Hubby’s Big Manly-Man Scarf

My second scarf was for Hubby who wanted something wide, long, and manly. Again I wanted something that would knit up rather quickly, and he wanted a neutral color, so for this project I chose a very bulky off-white yarn and a very attractive rib pattern.

Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick ‘Wheat’ (3 balls, 108 yds. ea.)

Pattern: Twin Rib
Twin Rib is worked on a multiple of 6 sts. + 3
Row 1: *K3, P3, repeat from * to last 3 sts., K3
Row 2: *K1, P1, repeat from * to last st., K1

And here’s my second masterpiece.  It measures approximately 9″ wide,  much wider than it appears in the photo.

As you can see, the Twin Rib is a very attractive pattern and perfectly suitable for unisex scarves, though I’d make a woman’s scarf a bit narrower than for a man.

Grandmother’s Favorite Dishcloth

My first dishcloth was the seemingly infamous Grandmother’s Favorite Dishcloth. I wanted something quick on which to learn a new stitch (in this case, yarn over). Being new to knitting, I had no idea what would evolve from a cast-on of only 4 stitches and a yarn-over at the end of each row. But soon I began to see the pattern emerge. Now it is one of my favorites too. The pattern is easily found through Google, but I used the pattern I found here. I used 100% pure cotton worsted weight (either Lion Brand or Sugar ‘n Cream… I’m not sure since I didn’t keep the label on the ball) and size 7 needles.

Simple and sweet, just like a grandmother should be.

My First Scarf

Since I began knitting in October ‘07, and winter was approaching, I chose to focus on Scarves for my first knitting projects. I want one to match every outfit….. except summer outfits, of course. I’d choose them as I would jewelry or purses or shoes. And they make great gifts — I mean, who doesn’t love a scarf?

For my first scarf, I chose a super bulky yarn and a narrow width for a quick ‘n easy project.

Yarn: Lion Brand Jiffy Thick & Quick ‘Green Mountains’, approx. 1-1/2 skeins of 84 yds ea.

Pattern: Farrow Rib
Farrow Rib is a very popular scarf pattern worked on multiples of 3 stitches + 1:
Row 1: *K2, P1, repeat from * to last st, K1
Row 2: p1, *K2, P1, repeat from * to end
Repeat rows 1 & 2 until you run out of yarn; tie in ends.

Lesson Learned: When purchasing more than 1 skein of a particular yarn for a project, always check the dye lot # on the package!! I didn’t do that when I purchased this yarn, and I can see a subtle difference in the texture of the yarn where I had to join about 1/3 from the end; it’s fuzzier. Oh well… it’s my first scarf! Here it is in all its warm ‘n fuzzy splendor…

I chose this yarn for its color and little did I know that it almost perfectly matches my purple Lands’ End jacket with the sea green trim!

Let’s get knitting!

Knitting is my newest hobby and just in time for scarf weather. I’ve knitted up several already and will post the photos here as soon as I have them.