i like lemons

I couldn’t resist these little bowls that were by the checkout at the grocery store. They’re so cute, bright and only $2.50 for the set of four. Then I couldn’t resist my favorite candy bar (Violet Crumble) at the drugstore. Seems like color is my impulse buying trigger right now.

The toy food pattern I’ve been working on will be posted this weekend. Most of my free time has been devoted to working on it the past couple of weeks and it’s left my brain a bit fried. The design process took on a life of its own and has grown into multiple patterns. I think I’ll write up a head-clearing blog entry after the pattern is posted.

I’m going to need to take a knitting break (except for olives) once the pattern is posted. I want a bit of a recharge before I try to tackle the Lelah Top and before I get back on track with knitting more mini Kitschmas Trees. Recipe posts will fill in for knitting posts.

Does the world need another basketweave scarf? Probably not, but every year I knit at least one more. And let’s call these “checks”. “Checks” sounds so much cooler, right?

The grey scarf in the above picture is the first item I ever knit that I didn’t frog. It’s the first thing I knit where I figured the pattern out for myself. This is a good unisex scarf and a good choice for charity knitting. I’ve been participating in the Red Scarf Project for three years now, and knit at least one of these scarves for them each year.

There must be a ton of patterns for basketweave scarves out there, but here’s my basic pattern. I’ve kept it on a scrap of paper for almost six years. Time to commit it to pixels.

Check? Check! Scarf

Do not reproduce this pattern elsewhere. This pattern is for personal use only. In other words, don’t try to make money off of it.

Materials
Your choice of size US 7-10.5 straight needles
Your choice of worsted weight yarn (~325 yds, for a 65-inch long scarf)
Yarn needle, for weaving in ends

Pattern
Cast on 32 stitches. Knit one row.

Row 1: k2; *k4, p4; repeat from * to last six sts; k6
Row 2: k2; *p4, k4; repeat from * to last six sts; p4, k2
Row 3: repeat row 1
Row 4: repeat row 2
Row 5: repeat row 1

Repeat rows 1 through 5 until scarf is desired length. Cast off knitwise, weave in ends, and you’re done!

You can adjust the width of the scarf with needle size. For example, using the above directions, US 10.5 needles gave me a ~7-inch wide scarf and with US 7s I got about a 5-inch wide scarf.

Width can also be adjusted by casting on any number of stitches that is a multiple of 4 and is divisible by an even number.

If you intend to fringe the scarf, I would recommend knitting two rows after casting on and knitting one row before casting off.

The two knit stitches at the beginning and end of each row creates a garter stitch border. If you prefer, you can eliminate these stitches to create a slightly curled/wavy edge.

A good first scarf for beginners. It looks a bit more polished than plain garter, while allowing the practice of knit and purl basics.

Pattern available for download as a pdf file.

Number of olives knit this week: 3 (2 green, 1 black)
Total for the year to date: 55

After a three year break, I gave Arches & Columns another try, and this time… success! I’m not sure why, but this time around things seemed to go a little quicker. Perception? Determination? Who knows, but it took me about ten days of unrushed knitting to complete (and that includes some time off to knit the Felicity hat).

I followed the recommendation to use US sz 7 needles. The pattern says to use two balls (ball = 25g/240yds) of the Crystal Palace Kid Merino held together (which I did) and that it will take 3/4 of each ball to to get a 55-inch long scarf. A full two balls gave me 45 inches. I used about half of two more balls to get to my desired length of 60 inches. The width of the scarf was 8 inches. All these measurements were taken pre-blocking. After a light blocking, I did get an additional 10 inches of length, but hardly any more width.

The pattern itself is quite easy. Just four rows, with two of those rows being straight purls. The right-side, knit rows are easy to memorize. I did make a few mistakes (additional yo or not doing a psso) that I didn’t bother to go back and correct, but the pattern is quite forgiving and it’s difficult to see the mistakes unless you are really scrutinizing the scarf.

The overall look of the scarf is refined, but not too girly. The lace pattern would look really lovely if it was made into a wrap. The scarf will look good with a professional skirt and sweater, but also will “chic” up a pair of jeans and t-shirt. The drape of this scarf is really wonderful. The Kid Merino is soft, light and not itchy. Perfect for the in-between seasons.

Wanett Clyde’s Felicity Hat (pdf link) is a little bit hipster and a lot of casual.

This is a quick knit and just what I needed as a break from working on the lacy Arches & Columns scarf. I cast on in the evening, got through half the hat in a few hours before bed and finished the next evening. I’m guessing I used about 180 - 190 yards of worsted weight yarn. Out of all the slouchy hats I’ve knit so far, this one is my favorite. It’s also the simplest.

Now, I know I tend to knit tight. *I* don’t think I knit particularly tight, but gauge swatches say otherwise. The pattern calls for using US sz 5s and 7s and to cast on 70 sts. Knowing my tight gauge and my preference for looser-fitting hats, I decided to use sz 7s and 10s, and cast on 80 sts. Added an extra 4 rounds to the recommended 6 that go between the increase and decrease sections, for lots of slouch. And finally, I did another set of k2tog/knit rounds at the end.

The adjustments turned out to be good choices. The hat is comfortably loose and sufficiently slouchy. I think if I had used the recommended needle sizes, with my tight gauge, I would have fainted from lack of circulation if I was able to get the hat on my head at all.

Felicity is so comfy, cute and casually hip. Just right for cool spring days and foggy summer nights. I want to make one in a light grey. And maybe another in a color-blocked scheme. And maybe another in …. You get the idea. I’m definitely going to knit this one again.