Knitting New Scarves Knitalong

Long scarf in Moiselle

2010-10-31T18:21:00.000-07:00

Not from the book.but I made a hat in Moiselle[Wendy} and my 23 year old daughter appropriated it.
She then wanted a matching scarf, just plain garter stitch...that touched the floor when finished.
I know not from Lynne's book...but the book spurred my daughter to request the extra long scarf

Turning Scarf Ideas Into Bracelets

2010-06-30T15:22:00.001-07:00

I’ve been making bracelets, some of which use techniques included in Knitting New Scarves. Here’s Looped, a free bracelet pattern which uses the interlocking technique used in the Carumboa scarf.

The Shag scarf also works up great as a little bracelet. I used fewer stitches and much smaller needles than for the scarf, but the structure is the same as the pattern in the book.

The bracelet (shown below) looks similar to the Flapper scarf, but is worked with one continuous yarn rather than in joined pieces. It was fun to figure out how to eliminate multiple cast-ons and extra-ends that need to be woven in.

A very long scarf

2010-01-01T13:31:00.000-08:00

I gave all the other scarves away, then Samantha was looking for them, so I made her one.It's "shag" from Lynne Barr's Knitting New Scarves. However I couldn't get the triangles all on the same side of the scarf, don't know why.
This one is around 6ft long, at least as Samantha said she wanted a long scarf.
The photo is a little blurry. The yarn is Brushstrokes by Stylecraft, the colourway is Storm Cloud.

Lynne's New Book: Blog Tour

2009-12-13T06:47:00.000-08:00

Lynne Barr has a new book out and is doing a blog tour for it. The book is Reversible Knitting.

The tour has already begun and you can follow it here.

8 December Go Knit in Your Hat

9 December Grumperina and Purlbee

10 December Knit and Tonic

11 December Chronic Knitting Syndrome

12 December Sheep in the City

14 December Alicia Kachmar

15 December Booga J

16 December Knitting Today

17 December Ilga Leja

18 December The Hook and I

21 December Melanie Falick Books

22 December Needled

January House on Hill Road

January The Panopticon

Free Shag Pattern

2009-09-19T14:49:00.000-07:00

As part of STC's Fall promotion, the pattern for the Shag is available online again.

I don't know how long it'll be available, so if you haven't got the book, grab it while you can.

There are other free patterns available too from other STC books, so click here to see more.

Linked Rib

2009-08-12T14:18:00.000-07:00

I tackled the linked rib pattern, I made a couple of mistakes, but am happy with the overall result. I have also made the first "section" of a Carumboa", 43 to go! The brown scarf is "corrugated" , my easy wave gone wrong..ok...will try again, but the result there is perfect for my elderly neighbour

New wave...gone wrong

2009-07-26T14:12:00.000-07:00

Have realised that the New Wave scarf I am knitting has gone wrong, the waves are all on the same side, but I have knitted quite a bit so will finish it as I am doing it. The fabric produced is rather firm as I have used the yarn double, but it will be a perfect yule pressie for my elderly neighbour. He's 87, I think, next week. Think this version should be called Corrugated :D

Now I'll have to have another go at New Wave, and get it right this time. :D.

What an excuse! Am having loads of fun with the book.

The other scarf is not one from the book, but uses short row shaping to achieve the effect.

Flapper

2009-07-12T14:39:00.000-07:00

Over the past week I have made Flapper. I chose to do it with a pale background, so that the flaps expose something unexpected.

Am having a rest from scarves for a while, but think my next will be Carumboa? (hope I have that right, my copy is elsewhere at the moment).

Aria

2009-07-03T14:05:00.000-07:00

OK, you may not be able to tell because of the yarns used, but this scarf is ARIA from the book. I love it to bits, felt just right, but have given it to a colleague who is emigrating to Canada. [can always make another one!]

In case the colours don't show true, it is a dark violet.

Shag gone wrong....whoops!

2009-06-23T12:50:00.000-07:00

Here's my first attempt at Shag. The triangles are on alternate sides. I knitted in a variegated double knit so that I could see exactly what the pattern was doing. I think this particular pattern would look good in place of a button band on a cardigan to "glam" it up. Obviously in a "pretty" yarn.

Am having lots of fun with the book.

Black Pearls and Striped Wedges

2009-06-19T09:31:00.000-07:00

I got my copy of Knitting New Scarves sometime during in April this year, after seeing some of the results on Chronic Knitting Syndrome's blog.

I'm hooked.

My daughter, 22 non-knitter, looked through and just loved Black Pearls and asked me to make it for her.

I started on the recommended needles and presumed that worsted thickness wool was equivalent to UK double knitting, after knitting around 7 pearls I was far from happy, the pearls looked too large, and the stuffing was showing through, so I pulled it back and started again, this time on UK 8s, 4mm, don't know what they are in US size.

This gave the desired look. Samantha was very pleased with her scarf.

I have also made up the striped wedges scarf, but I thought this would lend itself to being made into a rainbow. I loved the short row shaping. [Have done it before, but never knew what it was called.] The last two colours are indigo and violet, they haven't photographed very well.

I have made two others from the book, one of them being the Shag scarf, but I did it wrong, the triangles are on alternate sides...whoops! What better excuse could I have to have to try again?

2009-03-23T14:50:00.001-07:00

Helen wants pictures. The first one is Aria in a combination of Lamb's Pride worsted and Unger Slalom in the red colorway. It's fun to knit, but you have to pay attention. It's about 24" now. The second is Easy Wave in Paton's Classic Wool Merino. The pattern called for 10s, the yarn called for 7s and I compromised with 8s. A little narrow. I would add stitches to the next one. The third one is Meandering Stripes in Bernat's Bamboo. Nice and soft.

Finally got back to knitting

2009-03-21T16:02:00.000-07:00

Finally got back to Knitting New Scarves after a brief timeout in making an entrelac scarf with Noro Silk Garden.

Too many scarves?

2009-03-20T17:16:00.000-07:00

OK, so I've gone a little crazy with this book and have knit 2 easy waves, one tilted blocks, one meandering stripes, a parallels, and am working on an Aria. I gave the Parallels to me sister. I've shown the others to my local weaver's guild and they have started some of the scarves themselves. It's viral. Everyone I show the book to is intrigued.

Finished Drifting

2008-12-13T14:04:00.000-08:00

Many moons later...

This was a lovely project. I've made it for a Christmas gift but will put it on the list for another go sometime after the holidays. I wouldn't mind one myself.

Shaggy Delights

2008-05-08T19:54:00.001-07:00

I'm pleased to say my Shag is finally finished! Like all of the scarves in this book, it's the new techniques that got me hooked. I'm not really a garter stitch kind of gal and yet the simplicity of the garter or stockinette (which is often in the round so technically it's still just a knit stitch) lets the architecture shine through.

For more details and thoughts on this project you can go to my blog Tante J's Adventures in Knitting. The final analysis is in today's post and there are some nice progress shots a couple of posts earlier.

Cocoons, sort of

2008-04-28T15:56:00.001-07:00

this isn't a great picture, but i'm making progress with my little puffy cocoons. the only problem is the utter unstretchiness of the yarn, which leaves some baggy ends. but i think it'll work, and it's been fun to make.

The Olympics of Knitting

2008-04-19T09:41:00.000-07:00

I love this book! My try at Drifting Pleats set me to swearing, so I started with Fringe and then Easy Wave. Now I'm doing Hourglass and then Flapper. Once I get into shape, I'm going for Tricorner and my ultimate goal, Drifting Pleats.

It took two heavy staplers to keep my book open, so I took it to Kinkos and after a few dollars it was a spiral bound version.

I really hope there's a sequel!

Another convert

2008-03-17T03:53:00.000-07:00

I took The Book into my local knitting store yesterday (Stitch Therapy in Park Slope, Brooklyn) and the owner was so excited about it! She's ordering it for the store and can't wait to get started on her own scarves. She was really impressed with the quality of the patterns and the unusual techniques.

I, meanwhile, am working on Cocoons, but it's not easy. The linen yarn doesn't stretch at all, so it's tough to do the knitting around on 2 needles. I think I'm going to try making the cocoons on smaller needles and see if that makes it any easier.

Finished!

2008-03-15T12:45:00.000-07:00

Here's my Tilted Blocks. What a fun and easy project - I feel very accomplished. The yarn is Lanas Stop Maxi Stop, acrylic and wool. I wanted something really chunky, but also want to make this scarf again with something more delicate.

I went to Purl yesterday and bought some linen for the Cocoons scarf. Since it's been stuck in my head that it's called Clouds, I'm making it in a lovely sky blue. If it goes well, pics will follow.

Chickens and roosters and hens, oh my

2008-03-13T15:04:00.000-07:00

> Hi Little Red Hen. I think I’m seeing a poultry theme here! I’d never heard of Rooster Almerino Aran, so I googled and found it at Laughing Hens. Is it your yarn?

That's a pretty funny coincidence! No, not my yarn -- I spin a little but nothing so soft and nice as this yarn. Rooster is a UK brand.

And while I will be more than happy to post some piccys of my Drifting Pleats when I've progressed a little, we're having a pretty awful heatwave here and it's beginning to feel like someone's cancelled autumn! I am working on finishing a light lace shawl rather than this thicker scarf.

Habu Textiles/Substitution

2008-03-11T16:45:00.001-07:00

I went to the Habu Textiles showroom today (some days living in New York is a good thing!). They have discontinued the cotton linen cord used for the Cocoons scarf. I could order it from Japan, but only in huge quantities.

I like the texture of that blend for that scarf - does anyone have another yarn like it that they'd recommend?

Tilted Blocks Finished

2008-03-09T10:12:00.001-07:00

Two balls of Silk Garden, 5mm needles, February 15th to March 1st. It came out at 75" (I just knitted until I didn't have enough yarn left for another complete block). This was perfect television/travelling knitting - enough interest to keep me going and prevent me from making silly mistakes out of boredom, but simple and very portable.

Drifting pleats

2008-03-05T13:41:00.000-08:00

I'm on a bit of a yarn diet this year, but I have four balls of Rooster Almerino Aran in the stash that I thought would be perfect for a soft, drapey scarf. So last night I cast on for Drifting Pleats.

It's tricky, but it had me sitting there in awe of Lynne, for thinking the whole scheme up, and also of her tech editor! I can imagine it might have made mere mortals rip their hair out -- it would have been difficult to test and hard to get the pattern into a form that wasn't too prescriptive and yet conveyed the necessary technical information to create the pleats.

I'm interested in the fact that every time I pause and think, 'Could this possibly be the right way to do this?' I can trust the pattern (and my intuition) and it works!

Many hourglasses!

2008-03-05T09:01:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

I was planning to knit the Black Pearls next, but I knitted the Hourglass instead.
The book said Koigu Kersti, but I used 3 hanks of Koigu KPM (grayish purple) for MC and 1 hank of Koigu KPPPM (yellow mix) for CC.
It was my first knitting with Koigu yarn, and I liked their delicate colors.

I made a modification from the book, which is repeat the pattern all the way to the end instead of work K2, P2 rib for 15” in the middle part. Many hourglasses!

I didn’t notice using 2 strands of yarns held together until start reading the pattern… which I don’t like doing it! But I like the finished scarf, it made all the effort of untangling two strands of yarn worthwhile.
Seems like winter is already over in L.A., but I want to wear the scarves I knitted from this book until I get sweaty!

Sunny

Book errata?

2008-03-05T05:05:00.000-08:00

Forgive me if this has already been covered here:

Is there any book errata? I looked on Melanie Falick's site and there was nothing under this book's title.

Thanks!

Choosing a yarn

2008-03-04T18:09:00.000-08:00

i was in a yarn store today and almost bought the blue sky alpaca cotton for the shawl collar scarf, but i held off because i have another project promised first. but i wonder - could i use that cotton worsted for the black pearls scarf, which i'm dying to make for myself? the pattern calls for peace fleece worsted, so the weight ought to be about the same.

i know this is kind of a dopey question, but i'm always nervous about deviating from patterns, but since i can't wear wool, i often have to.

tomorrow i buy yarn for my first scarf, tilted squares!

Greetings

2008-03-03T03:51:00.000-08:00

Just got the book and found this group, and was happy to see someone has already worked on what I want my first project to be: the Shawl collar. And I optimistically want to work about 80% of the patterns!

I first found out about the book from Jean's Knitting blog where she did the Linked Ribs (November 17, 2007 posting) and I was already thinking of what I would be doing with leftover mohair from the Rowan Earth Stripe Wrap (that I'm still slowly working on, of course). I'm MaryjoO on Ravelry and Flickr.

How did everyone else find out about the book?

hello!

2008-02-23T15:20:00.001-08:00

i just wanted to say hi. i just ordered Knitting New Scarves, and i can't wait to get started.

one thing i'd love to hear opinions on: i can't wear wool, so any suggestions and advice about non-wool yarns to use for these patterns would be great.

i hope i'll have something to show you soon - just be gentle, i'm not a great knitter - yet!

Tilted Blocks

2008-02-17T18:15:00.000-08:00

Christmas gift for my friend S.

Pattern: Tilted Blocks from Knitting New Scarves by Lynne Barr (Ravelry link)
Needles: 5.5 mm
Yarn: Moda Vera's Harmony. 2 skeins of Colour #18 ~ Dye lot #703225

Quick and fun to knit.

OzKnitter

Rainbow Tilted Blocks

2008-02-17T06:29:00.001-08:00

It's taken a while, but I've finally got back to my Knitting New Scarves stash-busting project. I've picked another easy one, because I was lacking a project simple and portable enough for travelling knitting. This is 'Tilted Blocks', in Noro Silk Garden colour 87, on 5mm needles. I thought the longish stretches of each colour would work well with the design, and so far I seem to have been right. One knot so far, which I spliced. Compared to some balls from Noro, that's quite good.

I have four balls of this, but I doubt I'll use all of them. Two and half to three will probably make a good length, and I might get a matching hat too.

Pink Shag scarf and a bonus

2008-02-14T22:04:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

I finished my pink Shag scarf on Feb 13th, and I wore it on Valentine’s Day!

My friend gave me 2 skeins of Patons SWS in Natural Berry. I usually don’t chose pink myself, but it turned out to be a cute girly scarf and I love it!

I made it shorter than the book said, 37 inches long, but just right for the warm L.A. winter. The yarn was made from 70% wool and 30% soy… I guess soy is a new material for yarn.

I had a little leftover yarn, so I decided to make a mini hat Christmas tree ornament. A great way to use a small amount of yarn--and never too many ornaments!

I was thinking the next thing I’ll knit from this book is “Black Pearls”. I haven’t seen any posts for Black Pearls in the knitalong yet… anyone tried?

Sunny

First project out of the book

2008-02-08T16:44:00.002-08:00

Hi everybody. New KAL member and a big fan of Knitting New Scarves here! I'm a magazine editor, knitter and artist. (You can find out more here if you like, and I'm at Ravelry as littleredhen).

I'm pondering doing an extended knitting project of scarves out of KNS, starting with a completely by-the-book rendition of the Shawl Collar, so I was really happy to find this KAL already in progress. I had for months been wondering when I would have time to try out a scarf project and which one it would be when I encountered the delightful Blue Sky Alpacas cottons for the first time (detailed at my blog.). No brainer! As I'm an autumny person, I even chose the same colourway (although I think it should be called Paprika instead of Tomato) and cast on this beautiful yarn as soon as it was out of the bag. I knitted right out of the hank, which was also a very pleasant experience.

Doesn't really bring anything new to the project, does it? I really like the shape of this scarf and the way it recalls a sweater thrown over the shoulders. The ribbing is lovely and plush, and I appreciated the tip on controlling tension when switching between knit and purl stitches—it does make a difference.

Looking forward to the next project!

Introduction & Parallelograms

2008-01-27T14:34:00.000-08:00

Good afternoon to everyone. My name is Ana Maria. I joined the KAL about a month ago but had a hard time finding the book at any of our LYS. I finally ordered it on the web.

I started the parallelograms scarf but instead of using the yarn it called for I am using The Wool Boutique's Elle Merino Brights which I had in my stash. I really like the gradation of colors. It is fun and is knitting up fast.

Of course since I made the fibers change it has a different look to it. But I love it.

Curving Shags

2008-01-27T04:27:00.000-08:00

I've had a couple of enquiries from new joiners about the fact that the Shag they're trying to knit has developed a curve.
The first time I started Shag, I found that it curved and I worked out that it was because I wasn't counting rows properly and was sometimes picking up on the same edge as the previous flap instead of the opposite side - the flaps should go / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ but I was going / / / which makes one edge curl, as shown above.
This is how the underside should look:Tante J has some much better photos below that illustrate this. The trick is always to count your rows properly or, failing that, always to do an uneven number of rows between casting off and picking up.

New F.O.

2008-01-26T04:36:00.000-08:00

Oiyi, one of our Scarfalongers, has a new FO but she's too busy and tired and happy to post, so go over and see her at her blog.

Shagalicious

2008-01-24T06:42:00.000-08:00

You people have really gotten to me. In a good way of course! I never really thought about making Shag until I joined the group and saw the funky Shags you were churning out. So I jumped on the bandwagon!

Using a beloved yarn from my stash, I had to modify once again as it really wants to be knit up on 4mm needles. So I upped the CO to 19 and the rows to 23. I may be taking a bit more time, but I am very happy with the results.

The length of Shag, about 50% complete

Shag, from the back

Shag, close up

more of the colorway

And I am still working on New Wave. It's about 35-40% done.

For more details on my adventures with these scarves, you can see my personal blog, Tante J's Adventures in Knitting.

FO: Chunky ZigZag Scarf

2008-01-21T11:57:00.000-08:00

It may have taken longer than expected, but I finally finished my ZigZag scarf (page 122)! I really love how it turned out, too. There were no surprises and the pattern is well-written and easy to follow. I even like the clear reference photographs in the back of the book; so important for this scarf because of the intarsia refresher.

I would definitely knit this visually appealing pattern again, since part of the fun is picking out complementary colors and watching them move to and fro. I tell you what: two skeins of Cascade 128 never looked so fetching! Read more about the particulars of this project at my blog, Yarn Is My Metier.

Two More

2008-01-14T17:14:00.001-08:00

I've finished two more projects from Knitting New Scarves -- I tell people that I'm knitting my way through the book!

I got the yarn for this Twisted scarf from white elephant yarn exchange at my knitting guild's holiday party. This was such fun to knit.

When I bought these two balls of yarn, I thought I could use them interchangeably. However, when I balled them up, I realized that they would be perfect for Reversible.

The short rows provide great shaping to this scarf. It sits on my shoulders very nicely.

I'm having a great time with this book. My next one will either be Drifting Pleats or Shawl Collar.

Completed

2008-01-13T14:32:00.000-08:00

Completed a scarf from this wonderful book. I used Cascade Yarns Jewel Hand-dyed color 9889 with # 10 3/4 double-pointed needles. The project is over a hundred inches long because I decided to use up two balls of yarns. A great project and I've moved on to the tricorner scarf.

Meandering Wedges finished

2008-01-11T13:18:00.000-08:00

I finished Meandering Wedges and I love it. I wore it today.

It's Malabrigo yarn, in Polar Morn. I used nearly two skeins and it's 80 inches long so it can be wrapped round and round.

I think this yarn suits the pattern very well, as it really highlights the short rows: or the short rows highlight the yarn, I'm not sure which it is.

There's a bit more info at my blog, and there's a jigsaw in the sidebar.

Picking Up Stitches

2008-01-09T07:20:00.000-08:00

Andersox is getting gaps where she picks up the stitches with Shag. This scarf can look quite different in different yarns, but I don't think I've got any gaps so far.
The only Shag I still have on the premises is one that I knitted with Noro Silk Garden and I've photographed both sides of a flap.
Lynne suggests in the book that you can use a smaller needle to pick up the stitches: I didn't find this necessary but it could be handy.

Sometimes when you knit the first row it can look a bit stretched, but once you've moved on that closes up, and once you're finished altogether the flaps tend to relax anyway, so it should be all right.

If you still have gaps, Andersox, can you post some photos?

For those of you who are new to Knitting New Scarves, the pattern for Shag is available free here. It's the most irresistible scarf I've knitted since the curly wurly of a couple of years ago: I've knitted four already.

Drifting Pleats

2008-01-08T11:30:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

I've been enjoying seeing what what everyone is knitting from this fabulous book, and finally have enough pictures and information to post what I'm knitting.

I decided to knit Drifting Pleats in early December. When I went shopping for yarn, I had 3 factors in mind, and a fourth was adopted fairly quickly: color, drape, gauge and yardage was quickly added. I couldn't find anything that fit all of the criteria -- yardage was added because I did find a couple a balls that would have fit the first three, but there weren't enough. I decided I could sacrifice gauge and bought Blue Sky Alpaca Silk, in Garnet. The yarn is quite a lot finer than the worsted weight called for in the pattern, and I'm using US 4 needles. I figured I could make some of the width up by adding a pleat, once I got a sense of how the pleats and the drifting are achieved, an extra pleat (or two or three or four) are no big deal.

I love this knitting. This is knitting you have to think about, it's complex without being difficult, and it is so different from anything else I've done. Figuring this out reminds me of when I finally got how to knit stranded knitting with both hands: I had a very hard time getting it, but finally a light bulb went off and my hands suddenly knew what to do. This gives me the same feeling.

Pleat Detail with Bonus Cat Hair

I'm very much enjoying this piece of knitting genius, which for someone who has a strong dislike for making scarves, is saying something!

--Lee

Shag-a-delic

2008-01-08T10:06:00.001-08:00

I'm using Berocco Comfort yarn to knit up Shag. I'm not happy with the way the picked up stitches leave a gap along the diagonal, but I'm going to finish it anyway.

Great book!

2008-01-07T14:58:00.000-08:00

So nice to be a part of this new knitalong...I just finished a Shag scarf using Blue Sky Suri Merino in a gorgeous terra-cotta color and love how it looks with my green winter jacket. A great way to break up the winter blahs.

The scarf was very easy and satisfying to knit, with lots of quick progress. Next up will be another of the 3D scarves...hmmmm....

Meandering Wedges

2008-01-05T11:20:00.000-08:00

I managed to go four whole days without a New Scarf on the needles. I finished the Tahoe Shag on Saturday and cast on Meandering Wedges on Thursday. I didn't wait until I got a set of rosewood 6mm dpns; I just used the blue plastic needles I had. There's nothing wrong with blue plastic, I just find it difficult to knit with long needles these days. Since I got varifocal lenses, I can't see the needles if I have one anchored under my arm; I have to have both needles on my lap and that's easier if they're short or a circ. I can see the needles close to if I take my glasses off, but then I can't see the television, sigh.

It's an accidental combination of Meandering Stripes and Stacked Wedges, because I have 21 stitches but three alternating blocks of right and left. Perhaps Meandering Wedges, since it isn't striped? I like the idea of making it quite long so that it can be wrapped around like Steffi's, although I think mine is narrower. It's five inches wide. It's Malabrigo in Polar Morn, which is a soft white with silvery grey: in the right light, it has lavender tones. It's a very topical colour as it reminds me of dirty snow, but in a good way. Maybe not actually dirty snow, but snow which has been broken up with foot prints and paw tracks. I think it suits this pattern really well.

I like the feeling the short rows give of knitting faster and faster. The scrap of pink cotton you can see in the first photo (click if you can't see it) is there to remind me which is the top side; I switch it after every three wedges.

New jigsaw in the sidebar, for addicts.

You Zig, I'll Zag

2008-01-03T18:35:00.000-08:00

As soon as I finished knitting a cabled tweed hat in Cascade 128, I decided I needed an interesting scarf to pair with it. Enter ZigZag (page 122), a wonderfully easy illusion of
hide-and-seek scarfery.

I'm only 3 repeats in but I'm loving it! If you want to read more about the finished hat and the scarf in development, pop on over to my blog, Yarn Is My Metier.

So happy this fantastic collection of scarves came out!

Feedback

2007-12-31T14:47:00.000-08:00

I've been getting some satisfying feedback from the people I gave scarves to for Christmas. The recipient of the pink Tilted Blocks said she opened the parcel and thought, 'Well, that isn't going to work,' but when she put it on, it did.

The silvery blue Aria has gone to Paris with its new owner to see in the New Year.

I didn't finish the Tahoe Shag until well after Christmas, yesterday I think. It took one ball of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport in the shade Lake Tahoe and it's about 52 inches long, but I think it'll stretch in wear.

Sylvester can be seen modelling it here. It can be worn hanging, or knotted once, or en jabot like Vivienne.

I liked the daintiness of this one but I don't think it really occurred to me that as the yarn made smaller flaps, it would take me much longer to knit the length I wanted. Doh. How long have I been knitting?

The colours are lovely anyway.

I haven't heard from the recipient of the Manos Shag yet, and the recipient of the green Tilted Blocks was so overwhelmed by the earrings I gave her that she forgot to mention the scarf.

And did anyone give me a scarf? Well, they did, but it wasn't a knitted one so that's all right.

Starting the Shag Scarf Today

2007-12-28T10:03:00.000-08:00

I have some multi-colored Rowan yarn (garnet/black, mustard/black, and violet/black) I got at a recent bag sale. I'm trying to choose which one to use for Shag. I'm glad to get started on this project!

Joining Up

2007-12-24T02:20:00.000-08:00

I shall be away for a few days, so if you have an overwhelming urge to join the knitalong I'm afraid you will have to contain yourself. You can send requests though, to kns DOT kal AT gmail DOT com and I'll send you an invitation as soon as I get back. I'll be back around Friday.

You can keep posting, and I look forward to seeing all the Shags, Twisteds and Drifting Pleats on my return.

Meanwhile, happy knitting and an even happier Christmas to all the knitalongers and everyone else who drops by.

First New Scarf---Shag

2007-12-23T01:01:00.001-08:00

Bought some hand-dyed silk chenille and decided it would be interesting for Shag. No pictures yet, but have done 1 1/2 squares so far. Washed the swatch to see if it would fluff up before I make a final decision on which needles to use.

I am very excited about finally getting started on this KAL

Meandering Stripes

2007-12-22T15:26:00.000-08:00

Hi! Lynne saw my scarf on Flickr and invited me to join the KAL, so here I am. I knit this Meandering Stripes scarf in some of my handspun singles yarn for my aunt for Christmas. The scarf took about 150yds and is around 4 inches wide and 45 inches long. I think I used a size 9US/ 5.75mm needle, but I can't remember off the top of my head. I'm very happy with the scarf and my aunt loved it. I'm trying to decide which scarf to knit next, probably Hourglass, out of more handspun.

New Wave

2007-12-21T11:45:00.000-08:00

After a few failed attempts, I'm on my way. And the "failures" were really quite silly, and completely my fault. I read through the instructions until I was pretty clear but I never bothered to check out the recommended yarn. Bad me! Because of the needle size I just assumed that the yarn was thicker than it was. So when I substituted with Andean silk I went down .5 mm on each needle. I don't think the silk content helped much either. This pattern needs a crisp yarn, not a flowly one. Upon realizing my mistake (after going to the source yarn's site all ready to order) I switched over to Cascade 220 from my stash and back to the recommended needle size. I still cast on with more stitches than the pattern calls for because I like a wider scarf. Now all seems to be smooth sailing. I'm also using two circs (Knitpicks Options) instead of DPNs. Much easier!

Looking inside the gap

Combining the stitches

Even though this is basically stockinette in the round, it remains interesting because of the two needle sizes and the combining stitches and rib division. Every time you recombine the stitches with one row of rib, you are basically flipping sides. When divide them again you are putting the larger stitches on the smaller needles and vice versa.

A Shortened Shag

2007-12-20T09:13:00.000-08:00

The 90 grammes of Debbie Bliss 'Maya' I had gave me a 32" scarf, which I think is still very wearable as a jabot with a brooch.

I used 6.5 mm needles (6 mm gave me too firm a fabric), and this took from the 22nd of November to the 12th of December, although it would have been much quicker if I hadn't been working on several other projects at the same time. It was very straightforward to knit; the only difficulty I had was picking up stitches evenly across the rectangles, and practice soon perfected that. I'm thinking of Meandering Stripes next with some dark charcoal and light grey aran weight I have lying around.

Tilted Blocks, Etc.

2007-12-19T16:42:00.000-08:00

I've finished the pink Tilted Blocks and I'm about to wrap it up so that I can post it tomorrow.The colour isn't at all right in this photograph, but it's my last chance for a picture. The real colour is much more pink, and less violet.

Much more like this, except that the scarf isn't blurred.

I've also taken the opportunity to photograph all the New Scarves I've done, as most of them are leaving my hands tomorrow.

I have, you will not be surprised to learm, already cast on another Shag, in Lorna's Laces Lake Tahoe, although it occurred to me tonight that I might have miscounted and this one might be extra. We'll see.

Shag scarf

2007-12-19T08:30:00.001-08:00

This is my first project from the book, probably the first of many. I used Colinette Tagliatelli. One hank makes a short scarf--I won't be wrapping it around my neck a few times, but it's going to be a fun scarf to wear.

Help for Debbie G!

2007-12-18T16:39:00.000-08:00

Hi Debbie. Helen alerted me to your comment, “I am a little confused about how to add the contrast color in the slip stitch section”, in the Hourglass Special post.

Here are some additional instructions and photos I hope will clear it up...

From Step 2 in the book: Rib stitches have already been divided in order to knit around.

Step 3: Now you are starting the 2-color slip stitch pattern. This section is knit around. When you knit around, a pocket is formed in the center. That’s where you will hide the ‘knot and tail’ from tying the contrasting color onto one of the main color strands.

The next photo shows the contrasting color yarn (light grey) tied onto one strand of the main color. This main color strand will be carried up through the pocket. The remaining main color strand will be used to work your slip stitch pattern along with the contrasting yarn.

The following photos show the unused main color yarn being carried up through the center, hidden in the pocket until you need it again. The yarns being used to knit the slip stitch pattern are seen off to the right.

I hope this helps, but if more is needed, please don’t hesitate to ask.

Tilted Blocks Again

2007-12-13T13:08:00.000-08:00

I ripped the lavender Scottish Tweed and am converting it into Tilting Blocks. See the sidebar for a jigsaw of it, if you've got something you want to put off doing for a while.

The yarn is a lovely colour. It's for my aunt as a Christmas present; I think I'll get some nail polish in the same shade too. That will amuse her.

I've remembered that I have some pearly grey Malabrigo which would look very good as Meandering Stripes and would show off the short rows well. It was intended to be an Elizabeth Zimmermann ribwarmer, but that project has been unravelling in my mind for a while and now that I've seen Steffi's photos I think it's just the thing.

Counting Rows

2007-12-13T12:32:00.000-08:00

Lynne has asked me about the pink wriggly row counter I mentioned here. This isn't my own idea, but one that I got from a website a few years ago when I first started surfing knitting websites. I've looked for it today but I can't find it.

As I said, I can't be relied upon to turn one of those little row counters that slides on to the needle, and although I'm a little better with five-bar gates I'm still not very good. I bought a clicker at one point and that was quite good for a while but then I sort of trailed off and forgot about that. I know you can get those clever bangles that have numbered beads on them, but I would probably still forget that after the novelty had worn off.

The beauty of this is that it sits on the needle between stitches, so you can't miss it. When you reach it, you slip the next loop on to the needle, so when you get to the last loop you know it's time to start again. When I'm shaping a sleeve, I'll have a four-row one and a six-row one and so on, and I can relax. I like to make them out of a yarn which contrasts very sharply, so that I don't knit them into the thing I'm knitting while I stare glassy-eyed at the television.

You need a piece of yarn longer than you think you'll need. Nowadays I always make them on one of the needles I'm going to use, ever since the time I made a very long one and then discovered that the loops were too small. Sigh.

Pictures for Helen

2007-12-12T10:48:00.000-08:00

Hey Helen, even though you seem to have decided to keep 'shagging', I thought I would post the pictures I took of my stacked wedges anyway.

Enjoy!

Thanks for the Thoughts

2007-12-11T15:05:00.000-08:00

Thanks for the thoughts about the Meandering Not Stripes. I still think the tweed doesn't show up the structure enough, and anyway it looks better in stripes (fancy that!) because they show off the structure too. I was looking at the Tilted Squares I already did and decided to do that again, because it's a fun shape, and I am putting to the back of my mind the thought that the recipient would really like Shag. Still, I don't have to decide just yet, because I am still busy with the second Noro Shag. I'm still endlessly fascinated by the colour changes. Oh good, there's a turquoise bit coming up, I think.

Sign Ups

2007-12-11T14:55:00.001-08:00

There are some invitations which haven't been taken up yet; if you're waiting for one, please check your spam trap in case it's got stuck. But if you've got distracted by having to knit ten presents, that's OK.

Jeanne, Lynne is waiting breathlessly to hear about your problems with the Hourglass :)

Do drop in on Flickr and see some of the New Scarves that are showing up over there.

Decisions, decisions, decisions

2007-12-09T06:35:00.000-08:00

I'm confused. I am undecided. I don't know what to do.

I bought some Rowan Scottish Tweed Aran in a shade of pinky lavender which someone I know loves, so that I can make her a scarf for Christmas. I cast on Meandering Stripes (yes, I know my scarf isn't striped) and I've done one right curve and almost all of a left curve, and I just don't think it suits this yarn.

The ones that Larry and Steffi have shown here look as if they're from a softer yarn, and I don' t think this fabric will lie properly. (What does this look like on a human? Can someone post a picture?)

I've pretty well resolved to rip this, but before I do I would like to know what pattern I am going to use instead. Should I do another Tilted Blocks? I know it looks good in a tweedy yarn. Or should I do yet another Shag? It shows off every yarn so well and I know the recipient would love it. Or is there another pattern in the book that I should consider? I want to do Drifting Pleats and some others, but I just don't think the tweed will suit them.
Comments and suggestions, please. Help me to decide.

Another Shag, and Another

2007-12-08T11:08:00.000-08:00

I finished another Shag, this time in Noro Silk Garden. It's shade 47. I've wanted to make one in graduated yarn ever since I saw Wendi's here. The colours are all naturals, grey, brown, charcoal and a lovely gingery shade. Who would have thought brown could be so interesting?
It took slightly less than two balls, and is 51 inches long. This is the back, looking very dinosaurish and scaly... but in a good way.

And guess what I did when I'd finished? Cast on another one, this time in Silk Garden 236? Surely not?

I'm sorry the photograph isn't very good, but we only had about ten minutes of daylight today, and I missed it.

The pink wriggly thing is my 17-row counter. I have proved incapable of turning a revolving row counter consistently, and of marking five-bar gates, but even I can't miss this.

I am toying with the idea of flicking some of the flaps, but haven't quite worked up the nerve yet, so these all face the front.

Hourglass Special

2007-12-06T14:19:00.000-08:00

Hi Knitters,

I finished up the hourglass scarf and I love it. What a fun project. This is actually the first knitalong I've ever joined but how could I resist?Koigu Kerstie is such a treat to knit, squishy, yummy yarn. I made a few modifications from the original pattern. I made mine a bit wider and I shortened the length between the hourglass shaping. I also made mine quite a bit longer than suggested. That's the good thing about making your own scarf. You can make it however wide and long you'd like. This was a quick, quick and fun knit.

Yay scarf knitting!
best, susan b anderson

Finished Parallelograms

2007-12-06T09:47:00.001-08:00

The Parallelograms scarf is done. I'm pretty pleased with the results. I only used one skein of each color. I wish Tahki's Chelsea Silk was still available.

I have another skein of each of the colors and a friend of mine who loves the Parallelograms is getting those for Christmas. She has the book on order. We're planning a mini-knit-a-long for after the first of the year. Just the two of us making some of the more challenging patterns.

I also knit another Tilted Squares scarf yesterday. Haven't taken the time to photo it yet. Maybe tonight at our knitting group holiday party. It would be nice to see it on an actual person.

Finished Aria

2007-12-04T15:17:00.000-08:00

I've finished the Aria scarf. I used Rowan's Natural Silk Aran, a blend of silk, linen and viscose, because the scarf is a present for my god-daughter, who is allergic to animal fibres, but it suits the pattern very well and would be a good choice for anyone who wants a drapey, ripply, swirly scarf.
I wanted it extra long, so I used six balls of the yarn (71 yards per ball, nine inches of Aria). I've had it hanging up since I finished it, and it's stretched a bit, which was what I wanted, so that she can wrap it round and round. It was a very satisfying knit and I'm delighted with the result.

It keeps looking like a deliciously frilled sea creature, whenever it's draped over the sofa or curled on the floor.

You can see even more photos at my blog.

Or do the new jigsaw in the sidebar here.

shag, in blue max

2007-12-02T10:18:00.000-08:00

Here is my attempt at the Shag scarf, done in a chunky Lang M.A.X. (50% wool, 50% acrylic) I had lying around in the stash.
I went up to a 6.5mm needle in order to have a less-stiff fabric.
It took me a few squares to understand the concept, but then it went quite quickly after that.

If I had more of the yarn, then I would have kept knitting for a longer scarf.
I think I likely flipped a square the wrong way a few times, but I am happy with the final result.
It's very warm on one's neck!

Yes, I am likely to try this again in other yarns in future.

Lisa in Toronto

Stacked Wedges on Parade

2007-12-02T05:23:00.000-08:00

Hey all, here's my first new scarf, all done and finished!

Really happy with this one: it was quick and easy and the result was fabulous! The yarn that I chose did indeed hide some of the cool short-row effects, but the main effect of the 'wobbling' is a lot of fun.

Yarn details:

'Salima' from On Line yarns
Colour #3
60% cotton/20% acrylic/15% linen/5% polyamid
50gr=80 metres
180gr used

Finished measurements: 13.5cm wide and 185cm long
Needles: 5mm

Linked Rib, finished

2007-12-02T02:00:00.000-08:00

My Linked rib scarf is done! 2 skeins of Summer Tweed wasn't enough, so I had to order more. But now it's finished and I really like the way it turned out! It gets lots of attention, too. Everyone comments on its unusual design. There are more pictures of it on my Flickr stream, and on Ravelry.

Now I might have to knit some other stuff for a while, but I'll be coming back to Knitting New Scarves at some point. There are a couple of other scarves I have my eye on. :)

News

2007-12-01T13:20:00.001-08:00

We've had another wave of sign-ups, so welcome to all the new scarfalongers and I hope we're going to see more exciting interpretations soon. It makes me wonder, how does Lynne feel about knitters merrily choosing to make her scarves in different yarns, changing the length or the scale, or otherwise altering her precious creations? Is it worrying, or is it exciting to see the designs going out and having a life of their own?

Susan B. Anderson, author of Itty Bitty Hats, is knitting the Hourglass in some lovely Koigu Kersti: go and have a look.

I just noticed yesterday that the scarves are shown in the book in alphabetical order, which is why it doesn't need an index - isn't that fab?

I'm up to date with sending invitations to join, so if you haven't heard from me, please check your spam trap or feel free to get in touch again.

Drifting Pleats - first, but not the last!

2007-11-29T05:46:00.000-08:00

I just finished knitting my very first scarf from Lynne Barr's book - Drifting Pleats - and it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience! The end product is not too shabby, either!

I used a wonderful handspun single-ply wool/silk - Single-Dyed Phat Silk Phat from La Lana Wools. I knit the scarf using Bryspun plastic needles.

There are more details on my blog, including more photos!

Needles to say, I'm already scheming my next project from this book :). Did you know that Melanie Falick has a gallery of "New Scarves" on her blog? All 27 scarves in a convenient layout, so we can see them side by side instead of flipping back and forth in the book!

Getting Started

2007-11-23T12:36:00.000-08:00

Hello all. I've been happily browsing the book since it arrive a few days ago, trying to decide where to start. I decided to ease myself in gently with 'Shag', using a very nearly complete ball of left over Debbie Bliss 'Maya' (since it worked so well for Helen). Apologies for the poor photo - dark green is never easy to photograph well, and artificial light really doesn't help. This is my second attempt, the first having been ripped out late at night because it didn't look right, and I was too tired to work out why. So far this time it's going smoothly, although it's mystifying my husband.

I have also set myself the challenge of seeing how many scarves I can knit from the book without buying new yarn. I'm afraid the answer may well be "most of them".

Aria

2007-11-23T06:27:00.001-08:00

I've been looking for a yarn to use for a scarf for my god-daughter for a while, with Christmas in mind. She's allergic to all the animal fibres and I knitted her a cotton one with some lovely Interlacements yarn a while ago, but I wanted something softer and more eveningy.

An lys was having a splendid clearout of Rowan yarn and I came across vast supplies of Natural Silk Aran, which is silk, linen and viscose. I'd used it once before and loved it, but hadn't been able to justify buying it again. When I found it at half-price, I scooped up a supply of black to make something for myself and then went back a couple of days later and got a supply of shade 461, which is called Flax and is a silvery pale blue. My god-daughter, being a sensible girl, is very fond of blue.

I swatched a couple of other scarves in the book first: Shag, which I'd already made and wanted to do again, but the yarn was too fine and floppy; and Twisted, for which I found this crisp yarn a bit too unforgiving and thought would be better done in something with a bit of stretch.

On looking through the book again, I came across Aria, which I had mentally allocated to some variegated blue-faced leicester but which I now re-examined. I cast on and whizzed off, and haven't looked back.

This yarn is put up in 50g balls, which only contain 71 yards and I get about nine inches of scarf to one ball of yarn. I'm sure it will stretch in wear. I want to make it long enough to wrap round and round.

As you can see in the second picture, the texture is very floppy and the scarf can be folded in half lengthwise, doubling the frill. I hadn't expected the yarn to be this drapey, and it's perfect.
That's the fifth ball you can see sitting on the top. I usually start to get bored with a scarf some time after I pass the half-way point: I keep holding it up and looking at it, and sighing. I start wondering if it would be all right a little bit shorter. Or quite a lot shorter. But I'm not doing that this time. I think one of the reasons is that I finish a ball of yarn often enough to feel a real sense of progress, and another is the little sense of achievement after each triangle that forms the frill.

I often watch films while I'm knitting and my projects fall into those I can do while reading subtitles, and those which require greater concentration. This one can be done while reading subtitles, laughing and talking, but doesn't get boring.

Wobbly scarf

2007-11-21T07:28:00.000-08:00

Hey all, I started the 'stacked wedges' the other day and it seems to be looking good so far!

Yarn details:

'Salima' from On Line yarns
Colour #3 (colour chart here)
60% cotton/20% acrylic/15% linen/5% polyamid
80metres=50 grams.

I'm using 5mm needles and it measures 13.5cm across. I have five balls of this yarn, so I think I might just keep going until it's all gone, because I can say very honestly that I'm bad at using scraps!

From the pictures in the book, the short rows and garter ridges show up very clearly, but due to the nature of the yarn I'm using, those details are a bit lost in the texture that the yarn creates, but hey, this book teaches us that not everything is 'right' or 'wrong', doesn't it? I've found that not hiding the wraps creates a smoother line that I prefer.

This one is set to become a chrissie pressie for a mate of mine here who definitely doesn't read this blog and so the secret is safe!

Finished Stacked Wedges

2007-11-20T07:31:00.000-08:00

I finished the Stacked Wedges scarf a couple of days ago. I'm pleased with it and plan on using it as one of my holiday gifts.

And I've started the Parallelograms scarf. I love the yarn I'm using, Tahki's Chelsea Silk. I think the tweedy look works really well with the two color pattern. I'd like to get this one done this week so I can move on to Aria or maybe Striped Wedges. I did start Striped Wedges but my gauge was way off so I'm looking through stash to find a more appropriate yarn.

Linked Rib and a bit of a Round Up.

2007-11-18T15:43:00.000-08:00

I thought I would do a post about the Linked Rib I started the other night. I didn't intend to knit the whole scarf but a friend who had started it said she was having a problem, so I decided to cast on and see how I got on.
I had a bit of a struggle with the needles for the first round, because what I was doing was so unfamiliar. But I just followed the instructions and it all went well, in spite of the large glass of wine you can just see in the photograph. You can read more here.

I went round to see my friend Jean the next day, and found that, far from needing any advice from me, she was sailing on regardless. She's using Noro Silk Garden Lite, and the colours are fitting in with the pattern very neatly. Do go and have a look.

Here is another blogger who is working on knitting new scarves, and another. Jen is making another Linked Rib in variegated yarn, and advocates keeping your eye on the instructions.

I'm not going to pursue my Linked Rib; as soon as I finish the other little bits and pieces I've been distracted by, I will return to Aria, which I haven't shown here yet. I am itching to get back to it.

Easy Wave

2007-11-17T05:40:00.001-08:00

Here is my in-progress Easy Wave Scarf. True to its name, this scarf is an easy knit. It's also pretty quick, though I haven't had much time to work on it. For anyone starting it, here are two ideas I found helpful:

-When I am working the four rows of Stockinette stitch on the stitches on the front double-pointed needle, I put point protectors on the stitches on the back double-pointed needle so that those stitches don't fall off.

-When I'm ready to stop knitting, I am sure to finish a full repeat (ending with 2 rows of knit 1, purl 1 ribbing), so that when I start next time, I know exactly where I am (at the start of a repeat).

A Glass of wine and Tricorner...

2007-11-15T04:55:00.000-08:00

Helen, I just read the post on your blog about starting Tricorner... you crack me up!

I'm not sure how 3-dimensional my brain is - I was the only person in an organic chemistry class who sat there playing with little wooden models trying to understand what the teacher was talking about. Maybe a glass of wine would have helped.

Knitalong Button

2007-11-14T16:34:00.000-08:00

We now have a button for the Knitalong, which you can copy and paste to the sidebar of your blog.

Tweedy Tilted Blocks

2007-11-14T15:45:00.000-08:00

The second scarf I knitted from KNS was Tilting Blocks. I used a dark bluish green shade of Rowan Yorkshire Tweed, in either Aran or DK weight, which is lighter than the intended yarn but still worked very well.
It's such an easy design; I mean, I could work out from the picture how it was done, but I would never have had the idea in a million years - does that make it a simple idea or not? I don't think so.

I wish I could photograph tweed yarn like Jared does. The dark green has flecks of blue and light olive.

I think I may have miscounted and have an extra ridge on one or two of the blocks, but I decided it wasn't critical.I wanted to make it longer than prescribed so that it can be wrapped around like a skinny scarf so when I ran out of yarn I dug around in my stash to see if I had more. I found part of a ball of the same yarn in a dark greenish blue.
They look very good together (better than in the photos), close enough that one wonders if they're really two shades or if it's just the light.
If you wrap it around twice it forms elegant vandyking around your throat.

I'm very pleased with the end result. At the moment it's intended as a Christmas present for someone who loves dark green, but who knows?

I may just hang on to it (I have scarves the way some women have shoes). Or I could knit another one.

Stacked Wedges

2007-11-13T08:30:00.001-08:00

Here's the current scarf project, Stacked Wedges. I'm using only one color since that's more appealing to me than multiple colors. I may try using more colors another time. I don't know where that blue light is coming from. The scarf is really just plain gray tweed.

It's really an enjoyable knit. Easy but not boring. I'm rediscovering how much fun garter stitch can be.

My "Leafy Shag" scarf and a Linked Rib

2007-11-12T18:07:00.000-08:00

Hi, all. I recently finished a Shag scarf, using the new Debbie Mumm Traditions yarn. It's annoying yarn, but the results are pretty. I really like how the pattern looks with variegated yarn. It was a very easy knit. Mine is pretty short, but I think it would also look great if it was extra long.

I'm currently working on the Linked Rib scarf and I am liking that pattern a lot! I'm 18" into it so far, doing one pattern repeat each day, so I should be done in a couple of weeks at that rate.

The only problem with it is that I seem to be going through yarn faster than expected, so it might be shorter than I'd hoped. But we will see.

Shag Scarf

2007-11-12T15:10:00.000-08:00

The first scarf I made from the book was the Shag Scarf. I started it rather carelessly and didn't count my rows properly, so it formed a curve and I had to go back to the beginning and concentrate properly. Once I'd made a row counter and paid attention to what I was doing, it was a fast and satisfying knit.

I often get a bit bored with garter stitch, and resentful of how much yarn it eats up, but I was so absorbed in picking up the stitches and forming the flaps that it flew by.

The yarn is Debbie Bliss's Maya (Soho in the U.S.). The colours are very subtle and are really shown off well because the scarf has so many edges. It's heavier than the prescribed yarn, so the scarf is wider and altogether more solid than anticipated but it still looks good, not out of scale. I made it a bit longer too.

I would like to make it in a very bright yarn next time and am mentally thumbing through my stash for the right yarn. I'm really looking forward to finding out what it looks like in other yarns from the other members of this knitalong.

This is a view of the back. More, and more pictures, on my blog.

Just joined

2007-11-12T08:03:00.000-08:00

I'm new to this blog, the kns.kal. I've already completed the Tilting Squares scarf and am moving along on the Stacked Wedges. I'm doing that one in a single color. I'll try a multi-color sometime soon. I just have to find the right yarns, either in my stash or at my LYS. Photos to come.

Knitalong

2007-11-11T13:10:00.001-08:00

This is a knitalong for Lynne Barr's exciting book, Knitting New Scarves. It complements the Flickr group, and provides a place for bloggers to provide additional information in a relatively structured way, and to drop in and post from their own blogs.

To join, email kns DOT kal AT gmail DOT com, and you will be sent an invitation. Or if that doesn't work, please leave a comment and I'll try to rescue you.