A lovely guitar playing friend of mine ordered a pair of my mitts. . . I’ve made quite a few pair of these and always in wool. However, my friend is allergic to wool. So I just jumped in and decided to knit them in cotton. I knit these fingerless mitts in Comfy Sport from Knit Picks – colors are Cypress and October.
I wasn’t sure how they would work up in cotton and I must say they are really soft and worked up quickly. Cotton sure doesn’t have the memory of cotton though. . . I’m afraid the ribbed cuffs might splay out on her. I did wash and dry these once and the blocked out nicely.
Last year while at Shepherd’s Harvest I bought some hand spun angora from Cozy Rabbit Farm. I love this stuff! It is super soft, a dream to knit, and super warm.
Hand knit Angora Scarf
This scarf took 1.5 oz of this yummy angora. The scarf measure 38″ x 3 1/2″ and is so light and airy! I wrap it around my neck and it keeps me comfy all evening while knitting! The pattern is a very simple rib on size 7 needes: Row 1-knit, Row 2-k1,p1. Repeat.
Hand knit angora scarf
I can’t wait to order more of this yarn!
I also knit this scarf with “novelty sheep yarn” from the same Cozy Rabbit Farms. It is also hand knit and hand dyed. This scarf used 200 yards of 2 ply.
Hand Knit Lace Scarf
I modified the lace pattern for this scarf from one I found in Mary Thomas’s Book of Knitting Patterns. She calls this pattern “horseshoe imprint” and it is found on page 175 in her book. She has the repeat occuring over 10 (+1) stitches. I made it 12 stitches wide instead, adding a stitch to each side. On the sides of the scarf is running a “faggot” lace stitch over 4 stitches.
I was given about 6 oz/ 311 yards of the new wool available at Gale Woodes Farm to see how it works up and create a project.
The yarn is a 2 ply, sock weight, about 10 wpi and available in this natural white color. It has great stitch definition and I can’t help thinking what a wonderful cabled cardigan I could knit in this yarn! I love knitting with natural whites and though I am not a dyer of yarn, I bet it’d be fun to see how this yarn dyes.
Here is what I came up with this weekend. The travelling stitch goes around the leg and when they meet there is a small medallion. It will be very easy to knit these in any size. After knitting your swatch to get gauge, cast on as many stitches as you need ot fit your leg and then knit around and around till it is as long as you want. I’m still contemplating the top of the leg warmer. I have a few options in mind and I’ll have to wait til I get there in my knitting to see which end I’ll feel like using.
I think I’ll work up the other one to this length and them work them both at the same time. I did a rough measurement of my swatch and figured out the area to see if I’d have enough yarn for 11″ leg warmers. If my math is correct I’ll be okay.
I have been having some great fun with this one! I’m happy I finished it before it got so hot!! I actually had a camping opportunity to wear it and it kept me cozy all night. . . . and I looked good:)
Tree hugger neck cuff on me
This pattern is now available on my Etsy site And I will put it for sale on Ravelry too!
Soft as fairy hare knit scarf
This pattern is not for the weak of heart. Use a provisional cast on and work back and forth. The stitch count changes on every row. Whew, it took me a while to memorize this pattern. The pattern is both charted and written out. The scarf consists of three parts, each of which are written in a different color in the pattern for easy reference.
Grey Tree Hugger Neck Scarf
The blue scarf is knit using Kimmet Croft Fiber’s Fairy hare–a wool angora blend that I just love. Though for this pattern the silk/wool blend from Rovings, Inc. has better stitch definition.
Neck Cuff Cose UP
I love how the leaves on the bottom have a scallop edge that sits so pretty.
Lovely neck scarf on Hannah
The first scarf took a while but the second one (blue one) I was able to knit fairly fast. The stitch count changes every row, and it is included in the pattern so it is easy to double check your work.
About a year ago I got a very long text message from my 14 year old niece, Ellie, asking me how to cast off her scarf. I laughed out loud at the prospect of “texting” back the instructions. Like most of my generation, I’m more comfortable and efficient with a phone conversation than hunting and pecking a text message on a phone. The letters on the phone are so small I can barely make them out!
Ellie taught herself to knit. . . back and forth for a very long time. . . but didn’t know how to stop. I helped.
Also, I just happened to draw her name for our Christmas exchange. Voila! I had the perfect gift! Knitting lessons!
Being a young city hipster, what do you suppose she wanted to knit for her first project? Wrist warmers, very long wrist warmers. Great! We knit a swatch, on which she purled for the first time. (a good knitter knows ribbing is required on wrist warmers) We measured her stitches and rows and decided how many stitches to cast on. Then I taught her to knit on two circulars. “Okay,” I said, “Call me when you want to start the thumb.”
She was on holiday vacation from school and had nothing but time. . . one week later she was ready to start the thumb gusset.
Now she knows how to increase (at least one way to increase). She knit the gusset during that night’s lesson and we put the thumb stitches on a piece of scrap yarn. “Okay,” I said, “Call me when you are done ribbing above the thumb”.
Well, back in school, she doesn’t have as much free time. It took three weeks to knit the 1 1/2 inches of 2/2 rib for the palm. Last night we knit the thumb. Unfortunately that was all we had time for, since her homework was calling. “What kind of homework” I asked. “Math, Biology, English, and History”, was the response. Oh how happy I am NOT to be in school and have nothing but time (ha ha) for knitting!
The results of Ellie’s knitting:
Ellie's first knit wrist warmers
And a fuzzy picture of her gusset! (I can knit. . . but digital cameras tend to get the better of me. Sorry about the image quality)
