northern lights

With some of my Christmas project yarn purchases came an excellent addition: a free sample of turquoise Biggo, an amazingly soft and squishy big bulky yarn.  I decided to knit myself (!) a cowl, using the northern loops pattern.

The pattern is fantastic, and just flew off my 13s and I was wearing it in no time.  In fact, I was wearing it to work, where my coworker was so admiring of it, he insisted on my making one for his wife.  In exchange, he bought me a lovely bottle of wine.  What fun!

Stay warm out there, and have a lovely long weekend ~ !

herringbone

The pattern is big herringbone cowl by the purl bee in knit pick's comfy worsted blackberry.  This was one of the most enjoyable projects I have done in a while. The yarn is soft and has a wonderful stitch definition and drape.  And the pattern... I am in love with the construction of this pattern. It is entirely unique. Using worsted weight yarn, the fabric comes together with overlaps of draping stitches from large needles, creating a beautiful woven effect.

Using beta from fellow knitters, I purchased an interchangeable needle set so I could use 13s on the left and 17s on the right.  This really helped to make the pattern construction less frustrating, and instead was a pure delight to knit as a commissioned project for my friend.  Details here.  If you are looking for a project with wonderful structure and thoughtful construction, please consider this.  I will absolutely be knitting this one again.

big lovely cowl

You know what's in right now?  COWLS.  They are fantastic.  They are like scarves, but you don't have to worry about what to do with the ends.  Just loop it up and around you as many times as you like, and off you go.

Not only that, but they are fun to make.  Knit in the round on large needles and big yarn, this project was a one-weekender, the ultimate in squishy satisfaction.  Here is the pattern link for the free download.  In wool ease Claret, I thought it made a nice gift for a dear and fashionable cousin.

I might need to make another for myself.  It seems like just the thing to wear to the dog park on a winter afternoon.

cowls

I have two cowl patterns to share with you today. 

The first I am calling coffee grounds: a sophisticated pattern with just enough visual interest, perfect for the casual wearer.  The pattern is Basalt, and it knits up quickly in Lion Brand's Jiffy Caffe.

If you are feeling a bit more funk, then I recommend the next pattern: Wonky.  Also in Jiffy, this pattern is fast, fun, and a little silly; a much less serious version of the Basalt. 

Whichever you choose, your neck will be warm and cozy!   The high is 18 degrees here today, with more snow on the way again.  Is it cold where you are?  Stay warm, and have a happy Monday!

PS: Let's go wander in the woods.... 

falling snow

The pattern is Falling Water, and is available on Ravelry as a free pattern download.  It's a lace pattern, but I wanted a warmer scarf, so I chose a thicker yarn, one of my Lion Brand favorites. The pattern came out wonderful, but required some serious blocking.

Winter is in full swing, and so are the Christmas knitting projects!  I will show you more as they become FOs....

More bad weather on the way!

san isabel

The pattern is Forbes Forest, from the wonderful book Scarf Style, and made with Knit Pick's Wool of the Andes, which is the perfect soft wool for a winter scarf.

The winter season is fast approaching!  Can you believe it's almost Thanksgiving?  I will be headed down to spend time with all the family, and with me I will take my new recipes for gluten free pumpkin bread and stuffing, and my next knitting project for the football and parade watching. 

What are your plans for the holiday?  Do you have a favorite recipe to share?

sweetest scarf

For Kt: by day sophisticated lawyer, by night, intrepid baker!


When I saw this scarf on ModCloth, I very nearly purchased it for Kt on first sight before stopping to think, oh hey, I could knit this! And so I did.

A simple rib pattern in Lion Brad Jiffy on 13s made an incredibly soft and plush scarf. Then I used the basics of a knitted cupcake pattern for the whimsical decoration.

One side for the cold walk to law school, and then turn it about on the walk home, looking forward to cupcakes in the oven! Merry Christmas Katie.

atherton scarf

It's officially winter here in Colorado!

We had the first snow today. It's time to break out the boots and coats and mittens and hats and scarves. It is a knitters dreamy winter wonderland today. So I thought I would share with you my first scarf of the season; the Asherton Reversible Scarf.

I made it on smaller needles than the pattern (6s) and added an extra pattern repeat for a total of 52 sts. It is a lovely pattern that comes out beautiful on both sides! This will be gifted to my Grandpa come Christmas.

May you too be snuggled up inside with some knitting and a cup of cocoa today!

Today


Snow
34 / 18°F

green weaves scarf

For Daddo


This year for Christmas, I wanted to knit my Dad something that he could wear more often than he goes hunting (he usually requests something bright orange). The weave patten of this dark green Lion's brand yarn makes for a slightly fancy but comfortable manly scarf that he can wear to work or out on the town, but also warm enough for a nice hike. I think he was quite impressed. Happy Christmas Dad!

Scarves with PhDs

Good news! I finally figured out how to log back into this account. It has been a long and painful process, and therefore I am glad to assure you that now I have lots of things to post. The first of which, is a scarf I sent to Dr. Eckhoff for all of his help getting me into grad school.



Knit on straight 6s with Lion yarn, weave pattern shown bellow. I think it turned out pretty fantastic.

Dr Bach Scarf

The quest to make thank you scarves for all of the doctors who wrote me recommendations and helped me get into grad school continues!!! This fall colored scarf is for Dr. Bach, who not only wrote me recs but gave me a job with kick as research experience, plus a published paper and 2 conferences. Well deserved thank you.

The secret to knitting with acrylic yarn is big needles and simple patterns. 2 stitch ribbing with 10.5 makes for a much softer and nicer scarf.

Religous Scarf

Simple pattern for a beautiful yarn, k3 k2tog yo rep.
This is for Prof. Rossmann, who I believe will appreciate how wonderfuly soft and warm it is.

I am working on knitting scarves for my thesis committee, first of all because they have been so helpful and second of all because I need something to do in between aorta loading tests, or while hanging out at the slaughterhouse, or while I'm waiting for my finte element solution to converge. Holy scarf, bloody history.