Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Buttonhole Bag

So, technically, it was all over but the felting in 2006, but I'm counting the Purple Haze Buttonhole Bag as the second F.O. of 2007 because I officially finished it over last weekend (finally summoning up the nerve and the quarters to descend to the basement of my apartment building where the dollar-a-cycle top-loader lives and the furry slimy creatures lurk. No sightings, thankfully). The stats: Buttonhole Bag pattern available at from the ever-dependable gals at Mason-Dixon Knitting (if there's such a thing as a knit-crush, Ann & Kay, you're mine). I used Mauch Chunky from Kramer Yarns (100 grams, approximately 120 yds.) in Plum and JuJu Fruit, 2 skeins each doubled on size 15 needles, with enough left over to do a Hexed hat from Knitty, currently on the needles. I'd never heard of Mauch Chunky until I stumbled across it at the late lamented P&S Fabrics on lower Broadway, but it's similar to Lopi and felted nicely after three rounds in the washer. I didn't take pre-felting dimensions, but the finished product is 13" wide and 6" high and stands up on its own which is just what I was looking for in a sweet little bag.

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Farrow Rib Scarf


Although my only Knitting Resolution for this new(ish) year is to stretch myself beyond scarves, warshrags and baby stuff (I'm talking to you, Perfect Sweater, here's my first official F.O. of 2007, a Farrow Rib Scarf. I know, I know...scarves are boring...but I really like this one. It started out as a My So-Called Scarf, but I just couldn't get into the rhythm of the herringbone stitch. Farrow Rib, now that I like. The recipe:
Cast on 34 stitches (or any multiple of 3 sts. + 1)
Row 1: *K2, P1* repeat across row ending K1
Row 2: P1 *K2, P1* repeat across row
Keep going until you run out of yarn or patience. In this case, 4 skeins of Debbie Bliss Soho (72 yds/50g) in colorway 37504 (a sort of kelpy combo of blues and greens) on size 10 needles yielded a scarf 7" wide x 49" long. Not long enough to wrap, but wide enough to cross the chest for a nice snuggle. Oh, and I discovered the pleasure of knitting the last few rows with the almost finished object tossed around my neck on the first bitter chilly day we've had in NYC this winter. Heaven.

My Secret Pal's No Secret Anymore



I came home yesterday from a crappy day at work to find a nice package from my Winter Wonderland swap buddy, Susan--a lovely card, two lovelier cloths, two delicious cakes of soap, two balls of Sugar 'n Cream (more warshrags!) and a cool set of stamps. I love being spoiled, and this post-holiday swap was a nice antidote to the post-holiday blues (BTW, it's been a slump since I've posted, so Happy New Year. And Happy MLK Day while we're at it).