“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!

I Don’t Have Cabin Fever

It is early morning on a Sunday in April. It is snowing again. Many folks are not happy about the snowfall in April and I don’t like it much when I have to drive in it, but GN has been at a sleepover since yesterday afternoon and I have been holed up at home.

I don’t have Cabin Fever either.  I got my chores done early yesterday before I took GN and her friend to a movie and then the sleepover.  With the work done for the weekend and time on my hands to relax, I am in the middle of a Denzel Washington Film Fest and knitting a scarf start to finish as I watch . . . at least I hope to finish the scarf by the time the credits roll on the last film.

In between the next two films, I am going to get a stew on the stove for a lovely dinner when GN gets home.  (Thanks, Dancing, for the link to the recipe!)

The scarf is a simple combination of garter and drop stitches – more garter than drop – so I can knit and still enjoy the film Fest I’m throwing for myself. Life doesn’t have to be complicated to be wonderful.

The Bun and Pony Show

I wasn’t completely listless during the film fest that I threw for myself yesterday.  I managed to knit GN’s head accessory that will pass her JROTC uniform inspection.  Then I managed to knit a second one in a more fun color for her to wear on other days. 

I call it the ‘Bun and Pony Show’.  It’s basically a watch cap with the shaping necessary  to accommodate a hair bun or ponytail . . . or maybe I should say partial watch cap shaping that allows for the bun and pony show.  Below are photos of GN’s black version.  It actually buttons under her bun so it is less likely to mess her hair.  She can wrap it on, rather than pull it over her bun.

 

I had a feeling she would like it, so I choose a brighter fabric for her to wear on non-uniform days.  The green matches one of the colors in a scarf she  made for herself last year.  I didn’t get the ends woven in until after I dropped her at school today, so you are stuck with the Gram for the Bun and Pony model.  For this version, I skipped the buttonholes and knit the lower portion in the round on dpn’s. (double-pointed needles).

The green one is cute as it is in the photos, but I plan to add some knitted flowers along the top edge of the hole for the bun or pony.  I have yarn in the other colors of GN’s so will make flowers in those colors.  I took the photo without the flowers because a) I wanted to show the hole edge without the flowers.  I used a single crochet to tidy up the diagonal rib decreases; and b) I haven’t knit the flowers yet. 

It’s a fun piece to wear with long hair down, too.  Just pull your locks through the opening.  It’s more covering than an ear warmer. 

I am planning to knit a third Bun and Pony Show in a brown wool that will match that long Teddy Bear winter coat I bought for myself.   Here’s the pdf file for the Bun and Pony Show Winter Headwear Pattern.  Pattern is for the version without the buttons.

Happy knitting!

Emergency Knitting Project

Cadet Goodnight and I were having a conversation about her Thursday morning routine for getting ready for school.  Good thing the first inspection day happened while I am still on semester break and my Winter Retirement Internship.  She put the uniform hat on yesterday and that was fine for the car ride to school, but when I go back to work, she will be dropped at her bus stop again and needs to be properly dressed for the weather. 

GN: Umm . . . Grammy . . . Master Sergeant says we may not wear civilian accessories while in uniform. 

Gram: Are they going to issue winter hats and scarves and mittens, then? 

GN:  No, Grammy.  The only color we are allowed to wear is black. 

Black it is then, but the young cadet will still be properly dressed for the weather – cuz I’m the Gram and cuz I said so. 

So, I’m off to get some black wool for a hat scarf and mittens that will not get her written up for a uniform violation.  There’s an added bonus to my emergency knitting project:  GN can’t wear a proper stocking cap once she’s gotten her long hair up in the tidy bun required for inspection and I expect her to have her ears and head covered. 

I’ve been giving it some thought.  I think I have come up with a plan that will satisfy the Master Sergeant, the cadet, and the Gram. 

Must get clicking!

“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.

I should maybe dream bigger . . .

Call it a dream come true, a thought that took life, or a premonition, but as I closed my eyes to sleep two nights ago, a knitting thought just popped into my head.  I occurred to me that a Christmas checkerboard would be a fun thing to make for my granddaughter and I to play over the holidays.  I sleepily snuggled deeper into the quilts and decided I would get right to work on that the next day, yesterday, but wouldn’t it be lovely if there were some Christmas checkers to go with it!?  I drifted off to sleep wondering there was anything like that to be found . . . . . 

Yesterday, I had some errands to run with Goodnight and it took us to a store I don’t patronize very often but I knew I would find the necessary items there.  I found the things on my list within moments of being in the tore, but Goodnight wanted to wander around a bit on her own for a while.  It was a good excuse for me to get some walking done in a warm environment, so I started walking the perimeter of the inside of the store. 

Long story short, my walk led me right to the Christmas department and sure enough I found some Christmas checkers!  I wasn’t really looking, but merely passing by on my walk.  I picked the packed off the display hook and smiled at the quick ‘response time’ to my sleepy idea/dream/premonition.  Yea! 

Had the Christmas checkers, needed to get knitting . . .   I was up most of the night.  It’s Christmas knitting after all.  In the photo below, it looks like the checkerboard is black and red, but it’s actually a pretty green yarn.  Very Christmas-y.

The Christmas checkers were $.97 and I had the yarn at home.  Maybe I should dream bigger?!

Cozy Little Lanterns

I had the luxury of having my hair done for GN’s Confirmation last week and while waiting for my turn with the stylist, I picked up a magazine to pass the time.  On page 33 of the November 2012 issue of Good Housekeeping, there was a sweet idea to make Cozy lanterns by using old sweaters, glass canning jars and LED votive candles.  The process included cutting the cuffs from old sweaters with part of the sleeve too, depending on the size jar one used.  Excess sleeve length could just be tucked under the jar.  The jars were photographed on stairs. 

I thought it was a great idea, but I had no old sweaters that I wanted to cut up.  I do have wristers (wrist warmers) that already do double duty as skein cuffs to keep my yarn intact as I knit.  I had the LED votives and the canning jars, so this was a fun thing to do yesterday.  It really made the living room festive for Sunday Night Football!    

I photographed them on the stairs, first, per the article, but I’m not fond of having things on the stairs.

My cheery new lanterns will make their home in my living room for now and with a change of color, my Thanksgiving table.

Thank you, Good Housekeeping! 

New Knitting Gadget for Gram

Goodnight and I started going through her school supply list for high school and we went shopping for a few things.  While in the school supply department, I spotted the following that I decided I needed for knitting:

It’s a bright pink ruler!  Oh, I have a couple of rulers at home, and a couple of yardsticks, and a couple of tape measures, so I didn’t buy this one because I needed it.  I bought it because it does this:

It’s a snap bracelet!  I don’t care that mine says ‘Wild Thing’ on it.  One end overlaps the other, so I can cover the words . . . or expose them as my mood dictates, I suppose. 

While I’m knitting, I tend to wrap my sewing tape measure around my neck so I have it handy for measuring as I go.  It’s a long tape measure and sometimes it slips off without my noticing.  This bracelet will stay out of my way, but be handy for when I need it. 

Makes me want to knit.  I just might!

 

Skein Cuff

I know there are a number of ways to deal with the tangling yarn issue, but I thought I would throw my choice into the mix. 

I use 2×2 ribbed cuffs to keep the yarn stable and to minimize any unraveling from the outside of a center-pull skein.  I have skein cuffs in various lengths and gauges to accommodate a variety of sizes.  If you make two matching skein cuffs you can use them as wristers (wrist-warmers), too (or vice versa!)

“99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall”: Gram’s Knitting Version

I’ve been staring at it for a while, working on it too, but it seems I’ve hardly made a dent.  So I dumped it out on my bed and actually counted what remained.  That’s when the “99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall” ditty came to mind. 

My version? 

“99 Skeins of Blue and White Wool the the Bed” . . . which actually began at 112 skeins.  They were all donated to me shortly after the Indianapolis Super Bowl.  My goal is to get it all knit within the next two years, turn it into warm winter apparel and then donate it all back to Indy.  I better keep going.