More pictures! Hey, I’ve been stupidly productive in real life and keeping my promise (mostly) on the blogs. Plus, I never realized how many pictures I’ve taken. Okay, most of them are of food, but I’ve got some cool ones that aren’t. These are from my second trip to the Apple Festival in Ellijay, Georgia.
Who would name a drug store… Whatever. It’s funny. Outside the Apple Festival.
Really? Huff Drugs? Really?
You guessed it, more pictures. These are a few I managed to take from the canoeing trip we did back in April. Mine aren’t as good as my friends, but I think they show some of the beauty out there.
Our Dock/Campsite
We're a diverse bunch.
We had a few alligators that led us to and from our dock, then hovered around looking hungry. I don’t know why I didn’t take any pictures of them.
Sunset
The Morning After
I know I said everyday posting, but today was the first day of school. I was preparing last night to post but realized my time could be better spent. It still can as a matter of fact, but my best friend reminded me to take a look at a picture I took earlier this week. Meet my little cicada friend.
Say Hello to my Little Friend!
I’m assuming he just hatched because it looks like a cocoon next to him, but I’m not sure. We find cool bugs at work. That is all.
At least, I think that’s what it’s called. I haven’t checked lately. They have a tiny tiny trail off to the side that I’d been meaning to explore more fully with my camera. Plus, I’m on my 8th straight day of work, getting ready for the 9th (Sunday), and getting ready for school to start on Monday. I’m hoping the crafting will pick back up again when I’ve got a little more time in the afternoons.
Is that not an enticing entrance?
And that's proof of my perpetual bad timing.
Did I mention that this was a ridiculously beautiful cypress lake? Cause it is.
Probably one of the best picture I've ever taken.
And that I kind of like trees? Cause I do. Really, really do.
Remember my glorious 8 inches? Of knitting, sickos. Well, let me show you how much I’ve done.
A Scarf of a Thousand Miles Starts with One Foot
Oh.
Well, you see…
The thing is…
To start with, I turned the pattern around. Again. Really. But it’s for me, so it’s called improvising. So then I said, hey, I’ll just do a sampler scarf. And we can all see how that’s going.
Truly though, I’m enjoying this second part. The star mesh pattern was nice but it was kind of a drag to knit. I decided to tack on some feather and fan. It’s a bit hard to see right now, but it looks good with the light shining through it. The feather pattern is actually kind of fun on this. The last time I did it was for my mom’s shawl and it was bulky and took forever. This only has room for two pattern repeats, so I get the fun of the pattern row without it becoming a hassle. It’s going much quicker than the other pattern, which obviously isn’t saying much, but still.
I might have a real, live scarf one day just for me.
I’ve been passing and lusting after this house for nearly three years now. It’s on a dirt road just off a small highway. I’m so tempted by falling down, decaying things. However, this is the first time that I’ve had my camera along though I’ve always meant to take pictures. I’ve even stopped and forced viewing on my friends. Yep. You are required to suffer through these things if you know me. And now I require everyone else to view.
From the Road
Peeking at You
I mean really. If you love this kind of stuff, South Georgia is for you. Honestly, I don’t understand how this happens. “Oh, we have a house. I know, let’s move and let it rot.” How can this happen. And they’re always the cool houses too. I would understand those cookie cutter, made of plastic subdivision houses, but not this awesome log cabin on the gorgeous, lush dirt road.
Or maybe I’m just weird.
A Room with a View (of Hell!)
Rust on the Porch
Plus, it’s next to this cool old store. Well, abandoned old store, just the way I like them. I guess back when people actually cared about this house, you could pop out to buy a packet of chips then walk the 20 yards back and chill out on your porch minus the old sinks, desks, ancient lawnmower, rusted tool boxes, wooden projects, and racoons. Of course, this is the South so we can make an exception with the coons.
Remember how I mentioned that I didn’t swatch with the sport weight? That was bad. Because it’s not working. Still way too tight. Want to throw something. I think I just need a sport weight with more give as the cable pattern is all over and if it doesn’t have any stretch it’ll just be way too tight. Le sigh.
Fail
So I casted on for something else! Really. It’s from the same book and when I say cast on I mean swatch. I’ve already found out that the needles sizes won’t work for the felted part of my new project. Imagine that. Finding out before I start working on it. Huh. So I’ll continue swatching until I’m satisfied that only unforseen problems will arise and not those relating to my bad planning. However, I’m not knitting much this week so swatching it will take longer than most people would take to knit the entire piece, which is why I hate swatching. Don’t worry, I’m slowly learning my lesson. Very slowly.
So I had a great day. I even started work on the rabbit toy project. Unfortunately, my day turned craptastic with a quickness. I refuse to just stop blogging, but I have a bigger concern today so I don’t want to be on the computer for too long.
Please believe me when I say I will be back tomorrow and that I’ll keep trying. Even if the results may vary.
In its entirety
Alright guys. It’s been a long time coming and I know a lot of people have been visiting the site looking for this and end up being confuzzled for their efforts. This is an actual pattern.
Also note that I only made a demo. I planned on knitting the entire scarf but really didn’t like the yarn and this was way overdue anyways. One day… I think the demo is enough for the visual aid.
This is a basic pattern that most beginning knitters can accomplish. It’s a garter stitch scarf knit on the diagonal that creates two tapered ends.
You’ll need to know how to:
Cast on
Bind off
Knit
Knit two together (k2tog) This is a decrease
Knit in the front and back of one stitch (kfb) This is an increase
Yarn over (YO)
Ready? I decided to try a different yarn this time. So my model will be roughly a bulky weight yarn on US size 13 needles. Use whatever yarn you like and check the ballband for needle size suggestions. Note: I didn’t end up liking this yarn and decided to only knit a demo. Have everything?
Here’s the pattern:
Cast on one stitch.
You’ll notice that each end is a triangle. To make the first one, start here.
Triangle End
Triangle 1 (The Beginning):
Knit in the front and back of your cast on stitch (kfb). You will now have 2 stitches on the needle. This is row 1.
Kfb in both of those stitches. You now have 4 stitches. Row 2.
Kfb the first stitch in every row until you have 7 rows knit. (Rows 1-7).
Row 8: K, *yo 2x, K* *Repeat the directions until the end of the row. These 8 rows make one pattern repeat.
Do one more pattern repeat to create your starting triangle. You’ll have 15 sts on your needle not including the yo’s you put on in the last row. You’re ready to work the body
Pattern Close-Up
Body Pattern:
Row 1: Kfb the first stitch, then knit to the end dropping all your yo’s. Note, on the first stitch increase, if it feels a little tight or you’re worried, just wiggle the stitch a little until you’ve got some slack. It’ll be fine, trust me.
Row 2: K to last 2 st, K2tog
Rows 3, 5, 7: Kfb, k to last 2 st, k2tog
Rows 2 and 6: k
Row 8: K1, *yo 2x, k* to end.
Repeat rows 1-8 until you’re satisfied with the length. Most people will knit a scarf until it’s 4-5 feet long. Make sure the pull your stitches straight after your dropped yo’s so you can see the real length.
Triangle 2 (The End):
This is just the reverse to the first one.
Row 1: K all sts, dropping your yo’s
Row 2: K2tog, knit to last 2 st, k2tog
Rows 3-7: K2tog, knit to end
Row 8: K2tog, *yo 2x, k* repeat to end
Repeat the above rows 1-7 one more time. Once you get down to two stitches on your needle, knit them together and pull your yarn end through the last stitch to bind off. Once you’ve woven in your ends and blocked (if you like), you’re done!
****
If you try this pattern and find any mistakes, have suggestions, or just want to show off, let me know! I’m excited to have my first “pattern” up and hope I didn’t screw too many people up the first time around. Or this time.
As a side note, I have a box of craft books and magazines that I’m looking to move out of the apartment. Would anyone be interested in a raffle or drawing or something?
The third book I checked out was called Boutique Knits.
I was much more impressed with this book than the previous ones. For starters, the designer, Laura Irwin, has a nice range of fashionable patterns. Many of them are uncommonly witty. They mix felted with unfelted pieces, patterns and functions, and much more. The photography is stylish and the whole book just looks nice. There are several patterns I would make out of this one. In fact, one is the new project I mentioned a few days ago. It’s the braided cable belt.
I fell hard for the ideal of fitted waistbelts a few years ago. Not only were they really in style at the time, but they came in the coolest, classiest materials and fits. Plus, if you’re skinny and your clothes have a tendency to hang around the waist, this is a perfect way to define it and look much less sloppy. So I started throwing down a few drawings of could-be’s and want-to-make’s, then I found her braided cable pattern. Just the ticket.
First off, I must admit I tried to use I Love This Yarn for the worsted weight yarn recommended. This might not be the ideal worsted, but it’s still in the ballpark right? Well, if it is, then whoever recommended knitting this cable pattern with worsted weight on size 3 needles was very very stoned. I felt like I had arthritis trying to bully my yarn into contorsions. It wasn’t pretty. It didn’t feel good.
Can we stop a second though and congratulate me on swatching? Twice? I know, big step. I swatched my worsted weight on two different sized needles, before deciding to switch yarn. I settled on an I Love This Yarn sport weight.
I know what you’re thinking, but I have a much smaller stash of solid colors and most are Hobby Lobby clearance items, from presents, or cast offs from my mom. Um… I didn’t swatch the sport weight. But still, I could have ripped it out if I hadn’t worked and I finally got gauge, so nyah!
So far the pattern is well written. There were a few parts where I had to keep rereading and analyzing how it was supposed to look because it didn’t sound right. I was a nonbeliever. Right now it’s slowly converting me and I’m starting to believe that this might turn out fine despite me. I’ll keep you posted. I think this might be my FO, mostly because I don’t want to photocopy the pattern and I’ll have to return it to the library eventually. Anyone else knit this pattern?
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