“I Don’t Have Cabin Fever” Knit Scarf

I finally had chance to finish the scarf I was knitting.  I hadn’t really given it any kind of tame, but someone contacted me for info on how to make it, so I thought I would share.

I am not in a position to type a formal pattern and save as a PDF today, but the general directions are as follows:

I DON’T HAVE CABIN FEVER KNIT SCARF

Size 8 (US)  straight knitting needles

7 ounces  (384 yards) worsted weight yarn

Blunt end yarn needle

Cast on 30 stitches

A:  Garter stitch for ten rows.

B:  Next row, knit across row, but wrap yarn twice around needle instead of once.

Next row, knit across row by knitting  only one wrapped strand from previous row.

C:  Garter stitch for eight rows.

Repeat B and C above for length of scarf, ending with C.

Bind off.

Weave in yarn ends.

Note: Wrapping yarn twice round your needle, then knitting only one wrapped strand on the following row is how the Drop Stitch is made.  Drop Stitches give an airy look to a knitted piece.  For this particular scarf, I wanted to knit something while looking out my picture window at our late April snowfall.  The Garter Stitch is easy to knit while looking away from my needles, but the Drop Stitch adds enough interest to keep the task from becoming tedious.

I rescued the yarn for the scarf pictured below from a thrift store.  There were three skeins of the variegated yarn.  The scarf required two, so I have a skein left for matching mittens!

p.s. I knit the little flowers many years ago, but they still look cheery in that little cut glass vase after all these years!

“Super City” Super Scarf

The request came in quite some time after the Indianapolis Super Bowl was over.  A gentleman from the city contacted me and asked me to make him a Super Scarf.  I asked if he had something in mind or if he wanted me to surprise him. 

“Surprise me,” was his reply.  He wanted a scarf he could display at work and use as a conversation starter. 

The truth is, I had a scarf idea for this particular person before I even finished reading his full email.  It was the charting, knitting, and some piecework that took a bit of time. 

Early into the Indianapolis Super Bowl Super Scarf Project, I had seen a Super Bowl logo that I really liked.  I saved it in case the occasion arose where I could put it to good use.  See the logo below:

It’s a very linear design already, but the logo as it is above would not have worked on a winter scarf.  The lettering AND the skyline in their original positions would have made the scarf much too wide. 

So I deconstructed the elements of the logo, discarded the lower lettering “A FIELD GUIDE TO THE BIG GAME,” and used everything else but the clouds. 

My favorite part is the skyline.  I individually replicated the images as they were represented in the logo and appliqued them to the scarf.  As much as I love the skyline, it would have been too bulky at the center of the scarf if it were ever to be actually worn, so I located the skyline at one end of the scarf.

 

I took the six stars out of the Indianapolis sky in the logo and moved them to the opposite end of the scarf, where I also attached the official Indianapolis Super Bowl patch.

 

As for the center of the scarf, I used the “SUPER CITY” lettering.

I shipped the scarf for arrival before Christmas.  It arrived on December 19th.  If it causes as many interesting conversations as there are memories of the 2012 Indianapolis Super Bowl, then there will be a LOT of fun conversations for a long time.

One Last Super Scarf

Indybro is a good brother.  He’s been patiently waiting for me to knit him one of the Indianapolis Super Scarves I designed per a suggestion from him.  He wasn’t in a hurry because he was issued a Super Scarf as part of his volunteer uniform for his zip line assignment during the 2012 Indianapolis Super Bowl.

The scarf he requested was the second most difficult of the 46 scarves I knit for the Super Scarf Project.  I called it “He, Myself, and I, II, III,” after Indybro, me and the first three . . . well, you get it, but we refer to it as the Roman Numerals scarf.

It’s done!  I worked on the Roman numerals side during my Spring Break because Goodnight had to go to school.  I had lots of time to concentrate on my charts.  I was mostly able to complete the scarf during my week away from work.  There was a fair amount of finishing to do, however and my schedule has been hectic since my Spring Break ended.

Thanks to the state high school basketball tournament, however, I was able to get the remainder of the work done on his scarf this week.  Whew!  Glad it worked out a second time because I didn’t write the pattern as I knit it up the first time.  I only charted the numerals and scribbled some notes and in intend to let my notes and charts remain in that state . . . . .

Hey Indybro!  It goes in the mail on Monday.  Thank you for your patience, but mostly, thanks for so much fun, laughter, and family time with the Super Scarf Project and the Super Bowl!  You’re a peach. 

Liverpool Football Club Illusion knit scarf

A knitter contacted me last week and asked if I could help her with a scarf she wanted to make for her husband, an avid fan of the Liverpool Football Club.  She told me that she liked the Illusion/Shadow style of knitting she had seen on some of my Super Bowl 2012 Super Scarves, but didn’t know how to come up with the design.  I agreed to help. 

She sent me a link to the Liverpool Football Club’s website and we discussed the lettering and the colors.  Easy enough.  Additionally, I noticed a red and white checked pattern on the website, so I incorporated the checks into the Illusion work.  Check the link for the website.  You can see the lettering as well as the red and white checked pattern there.

Here’s what I came up with in the end.

 

Every good visible Illusion image photo has a good invisible Illusion image photo to accompany it.  Changing the viewing angle of the knitted piece makes the image appear or disappear.

If you live across the pond from me (or across the street) and are a fan of the Liverpool Football Club or know someone who is and would like to make the Liverpool Football Club Illusion Knit Scarf , click the link for the free pdf pattern. 

Happy knitting!

“Super Peacock” – Super Scarf #46

Now that the 2012 Indianapolis Super Bowl is behind us, I have one last Super Scarf to discuss – #46.

It went to NBC sportscaster, Bob Costas.  I was asked if I could come up with an NBC-themed Super Scarf.

(Above photo was taken before the second blocking.)

I knit the scarf from corner to corner - increasing the row length until I achieved the scarf width I wanted.  When I got to the right width, I knit italicized ‘NBC‘ monograms into the scarf over its length. There are five monograms on each side of the length and none around the back of the neck.  I needed some transition space so I could reverse the knitting chart and have the ‘NBC’ turn our right-reading when worn about the neck.

Since I was allowed to use more than the official Super Scarf Project colors for this scarf, I knit the NBC logo, complete with the well-known peacock.  To add a bit of whimsy, I knit a little Super Scarf for the peacock to wear.  The peacock’s scarf has 46 stripes on it for Super Bowl XLVI (46).

 

In order to make the peacock’s scarf to the right proportion, I separated the plies in the blue and white wool I was already using in the larger scarf, used two plies instead of the original four, then went down to size #1(US) needles.

To balance out the NBC logo, I reserved space on the opposite end of the scarf for placement of the official Super Bowl XLVI patch . . . and some cute little footballs.

For the curious, I included a comment card with the scarf, explaining the design and including my email address, per the form.  Mr. Costas arrived in Indianapolis well before the Super Bowl and his thank-you email to me arrived shortly after he was given the Super Scarf.

This scarf was fun to make.  I liked the diagonal construction and the challenge I gave myself with the monograms.  The peacock as you see it in the above photo was not how I originally wanted to make it.  I know how to knit more feathery-looking feathers and I started with those.  Though they were fun, they didn’t look dignified enough to go with the monogram, so I scratched them and began again.  That’s just part of knitting.  I love the work of it, the math of it, the trial and error, the quiet time.  Something eventually works.

 

Super Scarf Pattern: It’s All About the Ball

Hello everyone,

Four days left until Super Bowl XLVI!

I have one more pattern ready to share before the big game.  It’s for one of my early Super Scarves, #5 It’s All About the Ball.  It’s worked in garter stitch, with the exception of the increases and decreases.

I typed the pattern last night, the when I tried to open it this morning, the file was corrupted.  I recovered the text, inserted the photos again and have it ready to go.  I hope there aren’t any hidden bugs left.  If you’d like to knit my It’s All About the Ball Super Scarf Pattern, click the link for the PDF file. 

Happy knitting!

Is that a Super Scarf around Santa’s Neck???

Goodnight and I are in the middle of our Christmas Movie Marathon.  I love it.  Each movie brings back its own good memories – old and new.

Case in point: the delightful recent memory that came to mind while watching Mrs. Santa Claus starring Angela Lansbury and Charles Durning, a made for TV movie from 1996.  It was GN’s turn to pick the Christmas movie for marathon viewing and it was her choice for this morning.

Funny . . . I never noticed before, but near the very end of the movie, when Mrs. Santa Claus returns from some time away from the North Pole, she wraps a beautiful scarf around her husband’s neck before he is to take off on his journey around the world.

But wait! . . . . Oh no!!  Could it be?  Does she wrap him up in a 2012 Indianapolis Super Bowl Super Scarf???  

 

Not really.  The movie came out long before Indianapolis was even selected as the venue for the big football game in February of 2012, but I have had such a wonderful time with all the blue and white Super Scarf knitting I’ve done over the last year and a half that those blue and white knit stripes stuck out like a blinking billboard when she wrapped the scarf around Santa’s neck!  I think it has the approved shade of blue, too!!

Super Bowl 2012 is only 40 days away and the event schedule is online at: http://www.indianapolissuperbowl.com/event-calendar/ . 

In case you haven’t heard, this will be the first time that the NFL will allow fans to attend a Super Bowl Media Day.  Fans will also get to see the participating teams take their teams photos in their game day uniforms.  Fun!!!  Find more information at:  http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d822d4b35/article/fans-get-opportunity-to-go-behindthescenes-for-super-bowl-prep. 

I can’t say that Santa Claus will be there, but I know there will be over 12,295 blue and white Super Scarves wrapped around the necks of volunteers and hospitality employees who’ve participated in the Super Service initiative.  http://www.indianapolissuperbowl.com/super-service/.

Before I get back to my Christmas Movie Marathon, did you know that Charles Durning has appeared as Santa Claus five times, to date, in films or made-for-television movies?  I only have two of them so guess what I’ll be keeping my eyes open for at thrift shops in the upcoming months?  Yup!  Santa Claus!

Fa la la la lah!

“Super Address” – Super Scarf #44

I have completed another Super Scarf for the 2012 Indianapolis Super Bowl.

Lucas Oil Stadium (LOS) is an obvious fixture in Indianapolis, so anyone attending the big game should have no trouble getting there.  When I flew to Indy for the final fitting of Blue’s uni-scarf, I used Indy’s public transportation everywhere I went.

From the airport to downtown Indy, GN and I  took the Green Line.

From the knit-in at the Marion County Library to our hotel, GN and I took a city bus.

From our hotel to Lucas Oil Stadium on game day, GN and I took a cab.

All of them worked out just great!  But I got to thinking about my cab ride and wanted to be helpful, at least to the one person who receives this scarf. 

Here’s how it goes.  You hop into your cab and tell the driver you’re heading to the stadium . . . or just hold up the following Super Scarf!

The lettering reads as follows:

LOS, 500 South Capitol Avenue, Indianapolis, IN

The scarf was constructed ende-to-end using the garter stitch with a long center panel of stockinette stitch for the lettering.  Since garter and stockinette do not have the same gauge, I used short rows to accommodate the difference.

I just checked the Super Scarf website and it shows a total of 11,551 Super Scarves have been collected so far.  It’s been fun to watch the numbers climb.  Check it out for yourself at:  http://www.indianapolissuperbowl.com/super-scarves/

“XLVI – the Patch” Super Scarf #43

I have another Super Scarf ready for the 2012 Indianapolis Super Bowl. 

For this scarf, I used purl bumps to form the design – XLVI – the Roman numerals for Super Bowl 46.  It’s simple; it’s repetitive, and it’s rather monochromatic except for the block I reserved for the official Super Bowl patch that is being sewn on to each Super Scarf when it arrives in Indianapolis.

The official XLVI patches are being sewn on by volunteers at the Indiana Women’s Prison and by the looks of the total shown today, on the Super Scarf Project website, they have sewn on 11,283 patches so far!

I want to take this time – and this Super Scarf – to thank them for their work. 

“Charlie” – Super Scarf #42

I’ve completed another Super Scarf. 

For scarf #42, I decided to pay tribute to a special cartoon character drawn by an artist born and raised in Minnesota.  The artist was Charles Monroe Schulz and the character is Charlie Brown.

What does Charlie Brown have to do with football and/or the Super Bowl?

He tried and tried, but he never got to kick the football.  Lucy always pulled it away.

In 1994, a prime-time animated Charlie Brown special aired on NBC.  It was called You’re in the Super Bowl, Charlie Brown.  In the film, a punt, pass, and kick contest was announced.  The winner would get to go to the Super Bowl.  Charlie Brown entered the competition, thinking he would finally get the chance to kick the ball.

Of course, we never get to see Charlie kick the ball.  That was the expressed wish of Charles Schulz.  Sadly, Charlie didn’t get to go to the Super Bowl, either.

For my 42nd Super Scarf, I decided to knit the classic cartoon panel shown above.  I could not knit Charlie kicking the football.  It would go against the wishes of the cartoonist whose “Li’l Folks” got their start in the St. Paul Pioneer Press. 

Charlie may not ever get to kick the football, but he will finally get to go to the Super Bowl – as we have come to know and love him – feet in the air and mad at Lucy for pulling the football away . . . again.

I just checked the Super Scarf Project website and it shows a total of 11,256 scarves collected at the Host Committee offices.  Here’s the link to the Super Scarf Project:  http://www.indianapolissuperbowl.com/super-scarves/  As of today, there are just over two weeks left to submit Super Scarves.  November 30, 2011 is the date!

“Charlie” will make it in the nick of time!