The Traveling Scarf: More Creative Fun!

Scarf #2 arrived and I love the theme! She wants a "hippie" style scarf, but retro hippie from the 60's and 70's; not modern hippie. So, this is how it appeared when I received it in the mail. The seed section is purple chunky yarn done in garter stitch. The second is crocheted star stitch. Some other specifications for this scarf included, "no craft yarn or granny yarn," and "natural fibers."

So, I had to think about what yarns I have that are natural fibers, worsted weight, and will fit into this hippie theme. I remembered I have some skeins of Lamb's Pride which is 85% wool and 15% mohair. It looks nice and it feels nice; not scratchy! Then I decided on a color. I thought orange was fitting. When I think of retro 60's and 70's I think orange, green, red, and yellow. I'm not a fan of yellow, though, (and I don't have yellow in this brand) so orange was perfect! Finally, I had to pick out a pattern. What screams retro in knitting more than anything (at least to me, anyway)? Bobbles, of course!

Now I had to take to Google to get some ideas for retro knits. I did a Google search for just that; "retro knitting patterns," "vintage knitting patterns," "1970's hippie patterns," and "1960's hippie patterns." I found a website, (that of course I can't find now) that had a lot of different stitch patterns. One that caught my eye was blackberry bramble. I decided to give that one a try. Each pattern on this website had a reverse as well (the reverse of blackberry bramble was briarpatch). So, on the right side (RS), you have blackberry bramble and on the wrong side (WS), you have briarpatch. I thought it looked pretty retro and in orange would look fantastic, so that is the pattern I chose.

To my surprise, I enjoyed knitting it and the bobbles don't look as bad as I had feared they would. I have always steered clear of bobbles because I thought a lot of bobble patterns look too "crafty." I guess I go for a more en vogue look for my knitting. I don't like patterns that look homemade, if that makes any sense at all. I want it to look like something you might see at a store. That's just me, though.


I did have to go through some trial and error. When I originally started my section, it was too skinny compared to the rest of the scarf. This is probably because my yarn choice was not as chunky/bulky as the yarn I was picking up and knitting from. It looked a little bit silly...

I ended up ripping it out and starting over...a few times. Finally, I figured out the best solution (besides shopping for chunkier yarn!) which was to increase evenly until it was about as wide as the rest of the scarf. This worked! I also created a small border to prevent curling. It would have looked cool without, the border, but given the shape of the previous sections, it may have still looked too skinny in the end.

I managed to get the edges to match up the the other two sections, but it still looks a little skinnier than the previous sections. I think a lot of that is due to them not being perfectly square. The corner on one side is more rounded and blends into the side on the crocheted piece, from what I can tell. I think it will be okay once the entire scarf is completed. I'm happy with it; and so far, this was my favorite to knit! Bobbles aren't so bad! Best of all, I got it in the mail EARLY!

The Traveling Scarf: The First Scarf!

The day before I mailed my seed out, I received my first scarf in the mail! The person sending to me is a crocheter so it poses some challenges, but I am adaptable. He used a basket weave pattern. His theme is jewel tones, particularly birthstones. The instructions are to choose a yarn that represents our birthstone so that he will have a boldly colorful scarf in the end. I think it's going to be an impressive scarf!

My first challenge was figuring out which way this goes. I wasn't sure which end was up and I had to start over a couple of times because I felt like I was knitting in the wrong direction or off the wrong end. Once I figured out where I think I needed to pick up the stitches from, things went more smoothly.

I still had another challenge, however. What stitch pattern would I go with? I really like moss stitch, and since it is the same on both sides, I went with that. I wasn't impressed at first. I think mainly because the yarn I was using was not that great. I used Vanna's Choice by Lion Brand, which is not one of my favorites. It was a good match for the Red Heart yarn he used, however. They are similar in weight and texture so I went with it. I had to restart it a few times, not just because of my confusion with the orientation of the original, but also because I felt like the texture of the moss stitch was not reading well with this particular yarn. After several retries, I decided to just let it go and allowed it to take shape. The end result did not turn out too badly.


As you can see, the color I chose was red. My birthstone is ruby. I am pleased with the end result. Here is how it turned out. I took a picture of the right side and wrong side even though it's a reversible pattern. Despite all of my trials and errors and frustrations, I managed to get this scarf turned around and mailed on its mailing deadline! I am happy with the way it looks and I do think red and purple compliment each other very nicely!

Review: Knitter's Pride Interchangeable Circular Deluxe Set

After shopping around online and asking advice from knitting friends, I decided to try the Knitter's Pride Dreamz interchangeable needles. This set has glowing reviews on WEBS. I purchased these sometime in early March, and after using them for a month or so I can't give it the accolades others bestow upon them. Below is my opinion of these needles. I don't think they are horrible, I just don't think they live up to the glowing perfection the other reviews imply.

I purchased these with gift money from Christmas because I have one set of interchangeable needles and needed another set since I often have multiple projects going at once. I was drawn to these because they are colorful and I like the color coding for different sizes. I have the Colonial Needles interchangeable set in bamboo and I love it, however, the size numbers have rubbed off some of them over time and I have to check my needle size with the included gauge tool.
I ordered the Knitters Pride Dreamz because they have great reviews and everyone raves about how they don't come apart while knitting (my other set occasionally come apart). Well, these do come apart while knitting. I use the locking tool that came with them and even after tightening the needles using that, they constantly come loose. I am not an extremely tight knitter and I haven't used these for a major project yet. So far I'm just using them for a scarf. I'm a little hesitant to use them on anything complex like a sweater, but I have started a gauge swatch for a summer top with them.
I'm not sure I would recommend them.