I made Chevron Scarf - in the same fashion as the first one - for a friend's birthday, using the remainders of Sundara Yarn's Bartlett Pear (made entrelac socks with it), and a skein of this Koigu in a colorway that is both beautiful and craptastic, depending how far you stand. I really am not sure whether my friend is going to like the color combo. Us knitting insiders know that for the Chevron Scarf, the more the colors clash, the better (er right? I think?)...but will she feel the same way?

Lookit all the pretty colors.

I asked Bunny, always the most willing and photogenic fashion rabbit, to model it for me.

I think it'll do. As soon as I remove all the cat hairs.

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Filed Under: Cats | Chevron Scarf | Completed Projects

Happy first day of Spring!

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

The squirrels and the Chevron Scarves have come out to play.

Pattern: None really. Used a chevron stitch pattern, details here.
Yarn: 1 skein Sundara Yarn in Troubador and 1 skein Gems Pearl in Willow
Needles: US3

This is a fresh and skinny scarf, perfect for spring. It measures about 5 1/2 feet long. I could have kept going but decided it was long enough. I'll use the remaining yarn I have for sock toes and cuffs.

Both squirrel and scarf are courtesy of cynicthelamb, who just might have produced an award-winning praying mantis. Love him! I might need one of those too!

Dottie cozying up to her new friend.

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Filed Under: Chevron Scarf | Completed Projects | Postcards from Dottie

Hitching a ride on the bandwagon

Monday, March 12, 2007

I have had this annoying, inexplicable habit of buying single skeins of sock yarn, the ones that are no more than 175 yards and obviously not enough to make a full pair of socks. See this. And this. And also this. There are more bachelors and bachelorettes hanging out in the stash. When I approach that wall dripping with those Koigu colors, fighting the urge to grab every skein and stuff them in my mouth, I think to myself: Why buy two skeins in one color when for the same price you can have two skeins in two colors? More for your money! I'm so smart! Not a bad shopping practice in general, but when the whole point of buying sock yarn is to uh make socks, full-grown socks, which you now can't do because you don't have enough yarn, well then really how smart are you? I tried justifying my single purchases by convincing myself that I only wanted to knit anklets. But again. Wool anklets. What's the point? In the end you end up wasting. These Spring Anklets I made in that buttery Sundara yarn has been worn maybe all of five times in the last year.

So I'm totally loving this Chevron Scarf craze. It's the perfect way to use up the single skeins of sock yarn, and to pair up colorways that are not particularly matchy-matchy. In fact the less matchy the colors are, the better! I'm also trying to wean myself off of making socks, and the Chevron Scarf is the perfect in-between project. Still using yummy sock yarn but not making socks. Yay!

I'm using Sundara yarn in "Troubador" + Louet Gems Pearl in the lightest green. Instead of the fan-and-feather pattern I'm using this simple chevron pattern with eyelets:

Across 33 stitches:
RS rows: [k4, yo, k, yo, k4, double-decrease] twice, then k4, yo, k, yo, k4 (35 sts)
WS rows: p2tog through the back, p to last two stitches, p2tog (33 sts)

Double-decrease is: slip 2 stitches knitwise together, k next stitch, pass the two slipped stitches over.

This makes for a skinny scarf. For wider chevrons increase the 'k4' part to your liking.

After the first foot of the scarf I switched up the height of the chevrons by knitting 4 rows of one color and then 4 rows of the other. So it'll be 4x4 for the middle, and 2x2 for the ends of the scarf.

I'm using US3 needles on the fingering weight yarn, and as a result the fabric is loose, but not lacey, and the sides aren't curling in. Woot! Very pleased with how this is turning out so far.

P.S. I also finished the back of Kooch. Just the sleeves left...I see the light! Slow and steady wins the race, right?

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Filed Under: Chevron Scarf | General Knitting | Rowan | Kooch