Damn, Knit & Blast It

The Earth Stripe Wrap (ESW) is coming along well. I’m into the third pattern repeat and, to be honest, its getting a bit boring now. Absolutely beautiful but I’m fed up with changing colours!

I’d show you a picture but it’s just more of the same…

When I got home from Yarncrawl2 with this scrummy Misti Alpaca Chunky I was easily distracted from ESW.

I hinted I had a project in mind didn’t I? Well, This is how it goes…

I bought a new jacket in Next, in the sale. It’s super configurable (only an IT person would say “configurable”!) with removable linings and removable hood, removable furry hood trim, zippy bits, buttony bits, dangly bits and so many pockets I don’t think I’ve found them all yet. It’s also in a shade of green I adore.

Here it is…

All that is missing from this jacket is the perfect scarf….

I found the Misti Alpaca site and this free pattern for a one skein, Ribs and Ruffles Scarf.

It was done in one evening!

It’s soft, warm, snuzzley and a perfect match to the green of the jacket.

The pattern starts and ends with 60 stitches but you decrease rapidly (that’s how you get the ruffles) down to 15 for the body of the scarf - it’s skinny but intended to be worn doubled. The body of the scarf is a slip stitch rib - very easy and quick.

The ruffles…

What a colour match huh? Not bad as I wasn’t wearing the jacket when I bought the yarn!!

Now Susan! Get on with ESW!

I was very good Friday!

I did all my household chores so the weekend would be free for more fun things like helping a friend clear brambles from her new allotment. Yep, I’m strange - I like that kinda thing!

After a hard day of chores I thought,

“I’ll sit in the garden, watch the washing dry and knit for an hour”

My current project (I tell you about it in my next post - honest!) needs close following from the pattern- not the thing for a mongy hour knitting in the garden.

What to knit that does not require thinking and is fun and portable enough for the garden…

I have recently tidied my stash and sorted out a bag of rather unpromising, homeless scraplettes destined for the bin…

So I took these and my “bobble stash”…

to make more Smoothie hats. (See this posting for details of what they are for and how addictive they are. )

I was rather pleased with a couple of hour’s work

OK - I did say one hour sitting in the garden but you know how it gets when you’re enjoying yourself

Here’s what I made…..

Stripes…

Ancient boucle from Twillieys (I still have the ball band - sold in ounces!)

Variations on a purple and white stripey theme…

A solidish one and a holey one…

The holey one is fun and all my knitterly friends who’ve see it grab it and want to know how it’s done -here’s the “pattern”

• Cast on 28st and do 2 rows of K1, P1 rib as usual.
• Row1:(K2tog,yrn) rep to end
• Row 2 (and all even rows): Purl
• Row 3: K1, (K2tog,yrn) rep to last st, K1
• Row 4: Purl
• Repeat the above 4 rows twice more.
• Row 13: (K2tog) rep to end
• Row 14: (P2tog) rep to end
• Sew it up and apply pompom!

And some luxurious kimono ribbony ones (the pink one is Pure Silk and Ribbon !)

It’s All Done!!!
I have finally finished these gloves after lots of frogging and swearing trying to get the second cuff right

They match the spangle scarf posted about here spangle-scarf-in-woven-cables and here spangle-scarf-done.

Since I was a child, I’ve been fascinated by poking my fingers under the twists of cables and wondering how it had holes but wasn’t holey. After absent mindedly doing this to my gloves, I decided to thread some ribbon through to finish them off - I’m not sure if it’s too much? Whatdoyouthink???

From Knitting- WIP

…and here’s the complete, ribbon bedecked set…

From Knitting- WIP

I learnt a big lesson.

If you’re going to fiddle with the pattern on something that’s a pair, make proper notes when you’re doing the first one so the second one matches! I’m not a dim person (no really) but sometimes I do the stupidest things …

On my last post on these gloves, playing-with-spangle-gloves, I showed you how far I got before realising that the cuff was too small for my hand to get in the glove.

I got to the same point again, confidently whizzing round the rows, feeling chuffed with myself (N.B. Pride really does go before a fall - or at least a dropped stitch) when I noticed I didn’t have as many rows of twists in the cuff. Rip, rip, rip back to the cuff and added a few more rows…..then I noticed I’d missed two rows of stocking stitch before doing the first row of cables. You wouldn’t have thought it’d show but it screamed at me…rip, rip, rip. This mistake was in row 5 - I couldn’t pick up the stitches again - it fell apart, rip, rip. Start again from the cast on.

I think I’ve now knit the equivalent of 5 gloves to get one pair!

So, this is what I should have done first time around if you want a pair! (Sorry I can’t give you the whole pattern but copyright issues etc…)

Spangle Gloves

Copy of the Unisex glove pattern from One Skein

1.5 balls Rowan Soft Lux
4.5mm DPNs throughout.
Cable needle

Cast on 56 stitches using long tail cast on.
Work 4 rounds K2, P2 rib. Work 2 rounds knit.

Patt:

Row1: *C4B. Repeat from * to end of round.

Row 2-6: Knit

Row 7: K4, *C4F. Repeat from * to last 4 stitches of round. C4F by putting last 4 stitches of round on cable needle, knit first 4 stitches of next round, knit stitches from cable needle. (if you use a marker for your end of round it should be in the middle of these 8 stitches)

Row 8-12: Knit

Repeat these rows until the cuff is as long as you want stop after a cabley row (1 or 7) and continue from “Wrist decreases”- a friend said she like to see them as long glove….up to you! I did rows 1-12 then rows 1-7.

Wrist decreases

Knit 1 round

Decrease row: (K4, K2tog) repeat to end of round - should have 48 stitches.

Knit 1 round

Decrease again round: (K3, K2tog) repeat to end of round - must have 39 stitches for pattern to work - add or take a K2tog and double check stitches!!

***This is the point at which I just followed the unisex glove in One Skein*** Your next line of pattern to follow is “Thumb gusset”…Good luck!

Completed Knit Report

Name Spangle Gloves (to match Spangle Scarf)
Pattern Based on Unisex glove in One Skein - woven cables added to cuff
Yarn Rowan Soft Lux
Pattern problems Cables have very little give and pulled in much more than I anticipated so I had to knit the man’s size cuff and decrease rapidly at the wrist- my hands are tiny though. For normal hands it would pay to use a larger needle for the cuff - I used 4.5mm DPNs throughout.
Pattern modifications See text above….
Washing and wearing Not tried washing - quite thick but very warm to wear
Knit it again? Possibly
Difficulty Medium - 4 needles and a cable needle on such a small item took some mastering
Rating 3/5 (I’m still not entirely happy with the fit of the cuff)

After my horror at the colour run with Ben’s Brooklyn jacket I’m not enthused sewing it up. I usually sew up really fast because I’m excited to see the end result - bah.

To make myself feel better I have rewarded myself with a cheerful “easy” project I’ve been hankering after.

From Knitting- WIP

From Knitting- WIP

I saw a scarf in this pattern in a shop made with nasty acrylic that would have pilled in days. They wanted £25 for it!! I think the knit pattern may be called “Mock-Entrelac” or “Woven Cables”. It’s easy enough that after a good look at the shop scarf, I came home and worked out how to do it. I’ve made in in soft Lux that has a gold thread running through it - hence the “Spangle”!
Here’s a mini pattern if you want to one too…
Spangle Scarf Pattern

Needed:
3 balls (I think, based on usage so far!) of Rowan/RYC Soft Lux in Clover (update 18/1/06 - I actually used all of 4 balls!)
5.5mm needles
Cable needle

Abbreviations:

C4B = slip next 4 stitches onto cable needle and hold at the back of work, knit next 4 stitches then knit 4 from cable needle

C4F = slip next 4 stitches onto cable needle and hold at the front of work, knit next 4 stitches then knit 4 from cable needle

Rib:
Cast on 52 stitches (must be an odd multiple of 4 stitches - ie 4 x 13 or 4 x 15)

Row 1: K3 (P2, K2) repeat to last 3 stitches K3
Row 2: P3 (K2, P2)repeat to last 3 stitches P3

Repeat these two rows 10 more times, on last row of rib increase one stitch at either end.
(This gives you a one stitch selvedge at either side)

Woven Cable:

Row 1: Knit.
Row 2: Purl.
Row 3: K1, (C4B) repeat to last 5 stitches, K5.
Row 4: Purl
Row 5: Knit
Row 6: Purl
Row 7: Knit
Row 8: Purl
Row 9: K5, (C4F) repeat to last 1 stitch, K1.
Row 10 - 14 as rows 4- 8

Repeat from Row 3 to desired length.

Repeat rib pattern, decreasing one stitch at either end on first row of rib pattern.

Cast off,darn in ends and wear!!