FO Friday.. Sort Of

I finally finished my "X" hat, the pattern I was dared to complete from the rav group "Calling All Knitters". Overall I'm okay with this FO (which I actually finished Friday but haven't gotten a chance till now to blog about it)... it's definitely not my favorite hat but I'm glad I was able to learn a new skill from it (increase from 3 to 5).

I swatched before I knitted this hat because I wanted to use my size 11 circulars and worsted weight yarn and was too afraid to just wing it considering the pattern called for DK yarn and small circulars. Although this hat came out as a slouchy beanie, it wasn't supposed to. Even with swatching I overestimated the stitches, but I actually like the shape it turned out to be (and hey, life's all about rolling with the punches, right?).

If anyone wants to try out the Xeranthemum hat, the pattern can be downloaded for free here :) I'd recommend this pattern not for the finished product but for practice with different and unusual techniques (such as the 3 to 5 increase that creates the "flower petals" on the hat).

Tiffany Infinity Scarf

Once all this snow melts it will finally start to transition into spring, and eagerly awaiting the arrival of spring is the Tiffany Infinity Scarf! This scarf is knit with Patons Lace yarn in "vintage" (although any lace weight yarn works) and is very light and fluffy-- the perfect companion for a cardigan or tee shirt!

The Pattern:

You will need: lace weight yarn (0.5-1.0 skeins, I used 0.75); size 13 needles

CO (LOOSELY) anywhere from 20-40 stitches

Row 1-7: knit
Row 8: purl
Row 9: knit
Row 10: purl
Row 11: knit

Repeat these 11 rows for the entire length of your scarf. You can alternate stockinette and garter whenever you'd like, I chose to do 7 rows garter and 4 rows of stockinette for the majority of the scarf mixed in with larger and smaller intervals.

At end, BO LOOSELY! Sew both ends together with excess yarn.

Although this could be knit in pure stockinette (as long as you block out the curls), I think the "stripes" that the garter stitch creates adds a nice variability to the scarf. Ravelry page found here.

My scarf turned out to be 5 feet long which sounds like an awful lot, but ends up being quite short. I double wrapped the scarf around my neck and it nicely drapes for 15 inches.

This is the perfect spring or summer time scarf because it is so light weight (you'll forget you're even wearing it!) and the lace allows for plenty of breathing. 

A Quick Knit...

Seeing as the high for this week was 11°F (and about -5°F all week with windchill-- I kid you not!) I put aside my chevron stitch cowl and knitted up a quick, comfy and warm scarf that only took about 4 hours total (I was also speed knitting, determined to have it in time for walking to class the next day). This is a great knit for cold weather because the scarf is very wide, which covers a lot of your neck and face, and the lace allows your skin to still breathe. This also makes a great last minute birthday present-- I made one for a friend over Thanksgiving break and she loves it!

I used a combination of purse lace stitch and garter stitch to knit this beauty up. The purse lace stitch is just P1, *YO, P2Tog; rep from * to last St, P1 (must CO multiples of 2-- I COed 28 stitches).

Thanks Susan for modeling :)

I used dirt cheap  inexpensive Red Brand worsted weight yarn in plum for this scarf. Although Red Brand has gotten a bad rap for being scratchy and uncomfortable I found that pre washing it with shampoo really helps soften it. 

Start out the scarf with garter stitch for 4 rows and then switch to purse lace; add in 4 rows of garter stitch whenever you get bored of knitting purse lace  want to aesthetically enhance the look of your scarf.