FREE SCARF PATTERN!

Duress Scarf
Designed by ME

Materials:
Lots of heavy worsted yarn -- I used about 13 oz. Wal-Mart brand generic Red Heart (how's that for a wild concept: GENERIC RED HEART.)

16" circ needle in size to get gauge -- I used #11 and I am a tight knitter.

Gauge:
3 stitches = 1" in stockinette stitch -- row gauge is not terribly relevant.

To make:
Cast 56 stitches on to circ needle and join, marking beg of round in whatever method you prefer. K14, P1, K27, P1, K13. Repeat around and around and around until you reach desired length or knit clear through The Lord of the Rings: the Two Towers four nights in a row, again, as you prefer. Cast off LOOSELY. Turn your nice, long tube inside out and admire how your purls lines have become knit faux seams that make your reverse stockinette scarf lay pretty and flat and double thick warm. Seal up ends in whatever manner tickles you. I’m using fringe.

So, we had ice. Then more ice. Then mean cold and wind. Next came snow and then a little bit of thaw that slicked everything up nice and shiny. Now it is POURING snow. My Bring On Summer With the Power of Summer Knitting doesn't seem to be working, does it?

The Debbie Bliss Noro Scoop Neck Cardigan made its Courthouse Annex Debut yesterday to rave reviews. And it is WARM. Also gorgeous. I admit my work productivity suffered: every time I caught a glimpse of my own color I had to pause and admire my Silk Garden Stripes. I don't think that makes me vain, but Eisaku Noro has every reason to be proud of himself for coming up with #45.

Yesterday also brought my sister to the office with a sack full of acrylic yarn and Grim Pronouncements that she will soon DIE of cold if she doesn't have a scarf. She thought I could make her one in one night. I decided to take that as a compliment. I sent her away with the Fab Rowan Plaid scarf off my own neck and I guess I’m going to make her a scarf of the acrylic that matches her coat although, frankly I’d rather be working on my

Camel Bag! I adore Mission Falls 1824. And I love this Folk Bags pattern: it really speaks to the Hippy in me. I’m getting an unexpected kick out of the stranded colorwork, too, so much so that I am suddenly looking through my books and magazines for more patterns of same. The Interweave Knits Bohemian Pouch (Winter 00/01) is speaking to me quite loudly. After all, I don’t have nearly enough bags.

Tah-Dah! Brand new problem with the Silk Garden Cardy: when I grafted the sides I ended up a half-stitch off a perfect stitch-to-stitch match. It became apparent when I was working the third row of the crochet edging and suddenly decided to take a look at the Right Side. What to do? I ask myself. There is no good way to bury it in the edging: I think that will make my cardy too short in back. I can take the grafting out and try again, but is it worth it? I will have to undo the sleeve seams at the underarms and re-graft both sides. And, because grafting is what it is, it might not work. Another knitter is going to see this mistake right away, I think, but I really doubt if the general public will.

Which brings me to the article “Are You A Fussy Knitter?” by Meg Swansen. I scanned this when I first got my Winter Vogue, but I read it through this morning while waiting for pages to load during Blog Reading Time. I would have to say I am definitely a Fussy Knitter. I’m not sure I’m an example to the “psychotic” extreme, but I fit the profile as she defined it.

Bought Knit ‘N Style Magazine at the bookstore this weekend. I very rarely buy this magazine because they are devoted to Novelty Yarns and I am NOT. However, it had several things in it I like. SUMMER things, no less. Here’s a gripe, though: they don’t always give the yardage of the sample yarn. Based on the way their advertising is designed, I think they don’t want to encourage the reader to substitute.

How sad! Lana did not enjoy so much her time in one of my favorite places: Phoenix, AZ. I can find no fault with her conclusions, however. Phoenix is very much a Car Town, and the bus system is insane.

New episode of Stargate last night. Let me see if I have this straight: they were testing bombs and made the center of their planet unstable. So they got in a big drill thing, drove way below the surface, through magma, to set off a charge that will head off the planet-shattering boom. Was it Stargate SG:1 or did my TV flip over to whatever movie channel bought the rights to The Core?

And last week: Carter is all alone on a stranded ship with a strange little girl in a party dress who Knows All but Speaks In Riddles. Perhaps it wasn't a TOTAL rip-off of Ghost Ship, but the similarities are stunning. Have all our writers gotten stuck in Starz Theater Channel Hell?

The knitting continues. I have finished the back of Core up to the armhole shaping and I found the Perfect Buttons today at JoAnne's. No such button luck for the Silk Garden Cardy. I have a set I LOVE that will have to be taken off for each washing and a washable pair that I just don't love. And I am going to get that crochet edging finished this weekend, DAMMIT.

I am a very superstitious person.

Proof? The seaming of the Silk Garden Cardy was so beautiful, so flawless, so pain-free, that by the end I was convinced I was going to spill coffee on it the first time I wore it, because nothing can be that easy. Naturally, I was so relieved when the crochet edging became a complete menace.

Still not convinced? Two years ago I went to Stitches Midwest with my cousin Lana and had THE BEST TIME EVER. I had so much fun, I was positive I was going to be a car accident on the way home.

Of course, the converse of this is that I often, suddenly, for no apparent reason, find myself counting my blessings just in the ordinary course of the day. This morning, I left the house and was walking to the barn to get in my car and I was thinking "IT IS 19 DEGREES OUT HERE!" and then I was happy that I have so many nice, warm clothes.

Oh, NO!!!

I was just going over my template (planning changes) when I realized the e-mail address I have had here (how long?) is an account that is no longer active. If anyone has written me and gotten the mail bounced back, I AM SO SORRY! It should be corrected now.

What a doofus I am.

Since the fronts and back of the Silk Garden Cardy were worked side-to-side, I decided that grafting was probably the nicest way to join them. As I was working same, it occurred to me that this pattern could have been converted without a terrible amount of trouble for the Whole Body to be worked from center front to center front with no side seaming necessary and, thus, no breaks in the striping pattern. It’s funny how these brilliant ideas so seldom hit me AHEAD of time.

The Silk Garden Cardy is seaming up like a dream -- even the sleeves. How much of this is due to the 194 hours I spent getting these pieces blocked properly? (Note to those familiar with my sleeve woes, I'm doing these same as the Ruffley Cardy: setting the seamed sleeve in and backstitching.)

How come Rowan and, by extension, Debbie Bliss, don't specify what SIZE buttons?

I have acquired two new magazines lately: Knit It! and Vogue KI Winter issue. The Knit It! was awful, dreadful, but the new Vogue is very good. I particularly liked the “Sweater in the City” collection. However, not having the Winter issue until January means (to me) that it is too late to make any of the designs in time to wear them. As a point of irony, the editor’s column is about how magazines work ahead of seasons: putting together a summer issue with warm-weather clothes in winter and so on. Then, of course, they release it in the middle of summer and by the time I am done with one of their summer designs it is freezing cold. Good Example: the Bliss Ruffley Cardy which is, I am sure, looking forward to spring so that it can make its debut.

The Treasure Chest O'Rowan finally arrived this week. (The word "finally" is an indicator of my impatience -- not actual delivery time.) If you have a copy of Vintage Knits, these are the projects I have lined up:

Short-sleeved cotton tee in stripes of red, orange, pink and green. I almost substituted colors for this project, then realized the color scheme was what really attracted me most.

Long-sleeve cotton cardigan with flap pockets. The sample is glaring lime, but mine will be a color called Diana, which is a blue on the purple side.

The twinset of Linen Drape, which is still backordered. The book models are lace tee in pink and ribbed cardy in purple (which was discontinued,) but I ordered Reed for the tee and Amazon for cardy. That is light green under dark green and I hope they harmonize okay. Also, I hope they come in soon. Or at all.

I also got the Felted Tweed for the Folk Bags Napramach bag. This is the most heavenly yarn. The colors are gorgeous and it is SO SOFT. As soon as humanly possible, I am buying enough for a sweater.

Meanwhile, I finished the knitting on the Secret Gift Project -- didn’t take long at all. Paton’s Grace is also a very nice yarn. It is sport weight mercerized cotton, very light, soft and catches the light prettily as mercerized cotton is wont to do. I wouldn’t mind having a little of this for a Hot Summer top, but I honestly have enough stuff on my list (the items above are only the beginning.)

I am also steadily marching up the back of Core. Usually, when I’m working on a project I am caught up in the mechanics of construction and enjoying the knitting. This is a project where I work thinking “I can’t wait to wear this!”

Dare I admit the circumference of my head is 22"? That is only 7 1/2" smaller than my waist. It is actually LARGER than Scarlett O'Hara's waist.

One of the problems I was having with my Bucket O’Chic yesterday was dissatisfaction with every possible blocking tool I had available in the house. I went to Wal-Mart with my tape measure today and spent TWO HOURS measuring every thing I could find that might work. I settled on a gallon drink cooler of the type most often associated with Gatorade. Came home, put my Bucket through a short, regular wash (it had been through two heavy-duty washes) and it is blocking again now -- I think for the final time. There are a couple adjustments I’m going to make to the top and brim for my next Lamb’s Pride Felted Bucket, but otherwise I’m very happy with it.

My multi-directional scarf is also finished. I used all but about five grams of one ball of Lion Brand Magic Stripes in Bright Spring, which is stripes of grass green, dandelion orange, and peony pink alternated with dark gray and white faux colorwork stripes. It ended up being four inches by fifty-five -- a little longer than I expected, pleasantly so. I worried that one ball wasn’t going to be enough. I love the way it looks, too. It is projects like this that make me wish I had pictures.

I used every towel in the house and gave myself a crick in the back, but all the pieces of the Silk Garden Cardy are blocked out on the spare bed with the ceiling fan blowing down on them. I'm sure I've mentioned before that I have no talent for blocking. Is it too much to hope for that someone will have a class on blocking at Stitches Midwest?

Also blocking is the Shotgun Season Orange Bucket O'Chic, although I may put it through another wash tomorrow. The body of the hat is the right size but the brim and top are still too loose, I think. In its current state the brim is wavy and the top is poofy and, as it is bright orange, it is really saying PIMP to me. SOMETHING is going to have to be done about THAT.

Brand-new episode of Stargate last night -- at last. Very tame conclusion to the cliffhanger we were left with. All the ads for the next series of new eps suggest that Colonel O'Neill is going to be killed. I don't like that. Of course, they also show him kissing Major Carter, so I guess that's what he gets. Hasn't he observed that men who kiss Carter end up dead? You'd think he'd know better.

It looks like I ordered my Rowan Linen Drape just barely in the nick of time. Carolyn says it is going to be discontinued. Rats! I was hoping I would really like it and be able to use it again. On the subject of Rowan waving their Discontinuation Wand, I noticed a lot of the patterns in Vintage Knits use Rowan Botany -- also discontinued, I assume since publication of the book. Has long has it been since Folk Bags was published? The Napramach bag uses Felted Tweed and one of the colors, Arctic, is no longer available. I decided to go ahead and sub with Dragon, even though it looks like a darker gray. I really liked the given color scheme more than anything I was coming up with using the colors available.

Both Silk Garden Blocking Swatches turned out pretty well. I think I like the wet-blocked one better, because the one I pressed did turn out a little smooshed. I wonder about pinning and steaming and also about pinning and spray dampening. I may go ahead and make a couple more swatches to see. I certainly have plenty of remnants and learning the best way to block this yarn would be good for future reference. I would love to use Silk Garden many more times. My main concern with wet-blocking was color-fastness.

The denim yarn I am using for Core came on a cone. I wound off a couple balls to knit from, but I am having some serious torque problems. I am going to divide into smaller balls -- 50 grams each -- that may help. I got almost half done with the first front side, but I'm going to have to rip it -- the gauge I'm getting is not what I got when I swatched. That is probably a good lesson: if six months have passed between the time you swatch for a project and the time you actually start it, perhaps you should Swatch Again.

I have long thought that Scottish is one of the Great Underrated Sexy Accents, and now I have a new poster boy for my Campaign of Recognition: Gerard Butler, aka the Hot Guy Sidekick of Lara Croft in Tomb Raider II, which I bought on DVD recently. I see by Gerard's IMDb filmography that he has actually been in several movies I've seen, including Wes Craven's Dracula, which is not a very interesting movie except that it puts forth the idea of Dracula as the Condemned Immortal Judas Iscariot. That is not the first time I've encountered that idea in fiction: there was a novel called Virgin with an AWFUL ending that starred Judas as a CI whose duty was to guard the mortal remains of the Virgin Mary and, if he does a good job, maybe someday he'll be forgiven. As interesting as that is, Judas as the First Vampire is just a little more, I think. In Maggie Shayne’s yucky vampire romance novels, the First Vampire is Gilgamesh. That is also interesting, and Maggie Shayne really is a very good writer (I like all her other books,) but, unfortunately, her stance on the Fabulousness of Being a Vampire is off-putting to me.

Was I going to talk about knitting today?

Oh yes, all the pieces of the Silk Garden Cardy are knitted. Instead of using eight balls of this yarn I decimated nine. Had a little trouble matching for stripes but I think that was primarily inefficiency on my part. If I had practiced better management at the beginning, I believe it would not have been necessary to steal just one stripe from ball number nine at the very end of the last piece. I also made two swatches from various remnant pieces for blocking practice: one to wet-block and one to “press” since that is what the instructions direct.

Placed my Mountain of Rowan order Monday. She said she didn't have enough of the Linen Drape, so that is backordered but everything else is on the way as of yesterday. (Woodland Woolworks was closed for inventory this week.) It is coming UPS so I gave her my office address. I hope I'm there to get it, but I'm skating on the edge of sickness again. Hopefully, it won't get too bad. I hate winter.

Also bought some Paton’s Grace this week from Herrschner’s -- the sample yarn for yet another of the Folk Bags, but no details here as it is a gift for someone who reads my blog about once every six months or so.

And, what the hell, I went ahead and started Core.