Fire & Water

I started just playing around with different colour combinations, since I have a lot of colours to work with, this year, so I made a scarf with a combination of red/orange/yellow in the warp.  I was going to do the whole weft in a lighter yellow (as you see in the bottom right of the photo) but decided that the light colour was washing out all of the vibrancy of the warp.  I plopped some orange stripes in there, and that helped, so then I switched to some darker paprika stripes and liked that too.  For the darkest colour, I also shrunk the width of the stripe, just to keep things interesting.  I think the way it changes looks pretty cool.

Then I decided to try something with a greenier tone, so I put a couple of pale greens and a yellow in the next warp and wove it with a light blue and a darker blue/green, in an unequal ratio.  The combination of colours makes me think of Aquaman, though I'm sure no kids today would even know who that is.

It's Time to Light the Lights

Two more scarves for the kids:

I was looking at an example of the clasped weft technique in one of my old weaving magazines, a while ago, and had an epiphany, that I could use it to make a cool zig-zag scarf.  It didn't take long to get from there to the idea of a Kermit the Frog scarf, emulating the little green pointy collar he has around his neck.  The technique worked perfectly and was so easy!  Maybe I'll use it again sometime to do something more harlequin-y.

Having done a Kermie scarf, I thought the pink and purple one I followed up with might suit Miss Piggy, since it made me think of her purple opera gloves.  I chose a bunch of colours for evenly spaced stripes in the warp and then did a two-colour stripe for the weft.  It's nicer than this, in person, I just couldn't get the colours right in the photo.

More to come!

The Season for Scarves

So it's that time of year again, where I occupy my weaving loom (Miss Bennet) with a whole series of quick and fun and colourful scarves for donation.  This year I inadvertently started out with a bit of a Disney theme, since my first inspiration was to weave a scarf for all the little girls who want to be Elsa, from Frozen.  I just picked a handful of representative colours and did the warp randomly, and the weft in little stripes of two colours.

Then my next thought was of a recent favourite Disney lady of mine, Merida, from Brave.  I did a tartan-ish design (she's Scottish, so duh) and used the colours of her dress and hair to weave it.  I really love how it turned out, particularly since I was lazy about it and just used two of the colours for weft, when there were so many more in the warp.

My third inspiration was Maleficent, from the recent movie version with Angelina Jolie.  I used a bunch of darker colours in the warp (and again two in stripes in the weft) but this time did an inlay technique with a couple of shades of green (like green misty magic.)  Well, the two shades of green turned out to be a bit too close, since they look pretty much like the same yarn, and the mist might look more like PacMan, but I still think it's really cool how it turned out.

I have another scarf on the loom right now, but am always looking for inspiration, if you have any ideas...

Jollyoly Hat

A couple of weeks ago, my HLM realized it's autumn.  Soon after, he realized that his Opie Hat has gone missing, and requested another one.  I told him that I'd get around to knitting him one, soon, and then, as I was motoring through the mall on the way to an appointment, I came upon a little craft store that had some yarn in the window.  I popped in and grabbed a ball of some nice-ish acrylic to make his Opie Hat.  Then I spotted a ball of lovely soft silvery nylon/acrylic sportweight and fell in love with it.

I decided it needed to be a hat, and once I got home I started scrolling through the patterns on Ravelry to find something great.  I found the Jollyoly hat and thought that it would marry up well with this particular yarn, so I started it as soon as I was done the Opie Hat.

I got gauge right away and began to knit, only to discover after a few inches that it seemed a bit tight.  Now, if you look at the original pattern photos, they show a loose, slouchy, chic hat.  I scrolled through some of the finished projects and found a lot of snug toques.  Not exactly what I wanted.  So I improvised.  I ripped it all back to naught and cast on again, this time for one size bigger, using a size bigger needles, as well.  This time, the hat seemed loose enough for the fit I wanted.  I added an extra repeat of the design, as well, to add some length, and was mostly happy with how it fit.  Then I added the pom pom (made from a bunch of leftover madtosh tosh merino light, a pretty posh pom pom for an acrylic hat) and the weight of it helps the hat to hang just right.

Ready for autumn.

Why Are There So Many Scarves About Rainbows

This is the final scarf of this year's Kindergarten Scarf series, and none to soon, since it's the Zz scarf.  I might have to use the Greek alphabet to name them, next year!

This one is another scarf of leftovers, this time using leftover yarn from my Hue Shift Afghan (in every colour of the rainbow) and a bit of teal from my Opie hat.  You might notice that this scarf is therefore 100% acrylic.  Not my favourite, but certainly practical for a kid.

I used all of the colours (except the violet from the weft) to wind the warp, mostly in random single stripes, with a few doubled.  I had tons of the violet, which is why I chose to use it for the weft, but not quite enough to do the whole weft with it, so I considered a few options for stripes.  In the end, I did a 4:2 ratio, with 4 picks of violet to 2 picks of an alternate colour.  I did wide bands of the colours rather than changing up the alternate colour a lot, mostly because it would leave me with fewer ends to weave in.  With wool it's not so bad, because the ends will felt into the fabric somewhat, but with acrylic, I'm a bit more worried about things working themselves loose, so I figured the fewer ends the better.

I'm really happy with this one - I think it's pretty wild and some kid will love it!

Hue Shift Afghan

The story of the Hue Shift Afghan has gone on for a while.  I bought the kit from Knit Picks in the last vestiges of winter, and started knitting it up not long after, slowly working my way through the first three of four quadrants.  Then I made a herculean effort to knit the last quadrant in five days in May, on our Jasper trip, and then set the whole thing down to languish before finishing the seaming and border.  I am not usually one of those knitters who puts off finishing an almost-finished project (the two long-ignored knitted bags notwithstanding) but this one just sat and sat while I worked on other things.  In the last week I finished up a handful of projects (some hats, some socks, some lacy cowls and a shawl) and I had an urge for something simple.  Garter stitch borders couldn't be simpler.

When I ordered the kit, Knit Picks was out of the black yarn for the border, so I chose a dark violet instead.  I think it's a perfect colour, since it is still dark but also really suits the rainbow colour scheme of the blanket, and is the next logical colour in the progression from either end.

I also really love how the lines made by the decreases on each of the mitred squares creates a sort of star design when the blanket is pieced together.

Even more awesome than finishing this is that I have a bunch of brightly coloured yarn scraps left over, so you know some lucky kid will be getting the most glorious rainbow scarf when I start my woven scarves for charity in the fall.

Crazy Hat Lady

A while back, I knit a hat for my HLM (which never got a photo on the blog since he is shy of cameras) based on the hat that Opie wears on tv's Sons of Anarchy.  He loves it and wears it a lot.

Recently, one of my friends, who is quickly progressing through the basics of knitting, decided she wanted to knit herself a hat in that style.  We decided to do a hat knitalong, and both bought yarn and measured our heads and got to work.

The end result is a really simple slouchy hat that I love.  Sorry about the crazy eyes.

After finishing that one, I had the hat bug, and pulled out some yarn and a pattern that I picked up at the knitting store in Jasper on our girls' vacation.  A simple pattern by Wooly Wormhead, it knit up in a couple of days.  I added a half-inch to the length, and am I glad I did - it's still not really as long as I'd wish.  It's also a bit snug and wants to pull up, so it might be a donation hat, rather than one I keep.  The design uses a reverse-stockingette background with a travelling twisted knit stitch across it.  If I knit it again, I'd probably do a YO & SSK combo, instead, which would be easier on the hands and would give more-or-less the same effect.  It would also have more stretch, so it might even stay on my head a bit better.

I Got the Blues

We had our girls' trip to Jasper last week, with lots of food and relaxation and swimming to be had.  We saw some wildlife and gazed at the mountains and generally recharged our batteries.  I took the remainder of my Hue Shift Afghan with me, intending to finish the final quadrant of it, the blues and greens and yellow - very tranquil.  Alas, on the drive home, with only a few squares to go, I ran out of the dark blue yarn and ended up setting the rest aside until I got home.  I dug out the violet which I'm using for the border and did the last few stripes of that square with it, since it's a fairly close match to the blue.  If I hadn't told you, you might not have even noticed.

So, having finished the four quadrants, I'm sitting down now to seam them together, and then I can pick up the border for some easy garter stitch finishing.  Of course I've also started a new project (and soon enough I'll make that two) with deadlines, so I'm feeling no rush on finishing this one.  I'll just keep plugging away at it when I need something mindless, and eventually it'll be done.

Even More Rainbowy

I finished another quarter panel of my Hue Shift Afghan, last night.  Where the first panel only used half of the colours of the design, this one incorporates all 10 colours in it, which makes it a lot more fun and interesting.  The third panel will be the same idea, but in a different order, and then the final panel is just the blues/greens.  I am still loving every minute of this one.

A Knitting Rainbow

Quite a while ago, I saw a pattern on Knit Picks for a mitred-square afghan.  To be honest, mitred square projects haven't really appealed to me very much, in the past, but the colours and design of this afghan really drew me in, and I was immediately determined to make it.

Also good news - the website allows you to put together a kit for this project that uses their acrylic blend yarn, which means the yarn only costs around $35, which is pretty awesome for an afghan.  This is the first time I've used this yarn, and while it was a bit squeaky on my acrylic needles, once I switched to wooden needles, it's not squeaky at all and more like just any soft synthetic yarn.  Of course if I had my druthers (why oh why do I so rarely have my druthers) I'd be making it in wool, but obviously that would be both more expensive and not machine washable (or even more expensive, to get machine washable wool.)

I ordered this kit thinking that I would knit it up in the end of May, when my mom & my sisters & I are taking a little girls' vacation to the mountains, but when I realized that each square will take about an hour to knit, I had to face the sad fact that I won't be able to fit 100+ hours of knitting into a 5-day trip.  So I decided to start it early, and leave myself the last panel of 25 squares, plus the sewing and the border, for the trip.  That's pretty reasonable, I'm sure.  I might even have to bring a pair of socks, just to make sure I don't run out of knitting.  Or two.

Another Adorable Baby Blanket

As I mentioned a week and a half ago, I recently committed myself to making a couple of baby blankets. Initially I was going to make two of the same blanket (the shale lace blanket I showed off last week) but my mom and sister were so enamored of Jared Flood's Tweed Baby Blanket (ravelry) that I decided to make one of each, instead. In retrospect, I'm glad I did. While I love the first one, I was a bit tired of doing the same thing over and over by the end of it, and making a second blanket the same might have put me over the edge.

The classic Shetland construction of this one is perfect for cleansing the palate: first you knit a big garter stitch square (from one corner to the opposite corner) which is so easy and meditative that it's heavenly. Then you pick up stitches along the four sides and do some lace. It just so happens that this lace changes colours every four rows, which definitely inspired me to keep going and do a full repeat (or two or three) every day.


Once again, the acrylic means that I can't block it quite the way I'd like to (sorry Jared) but it still looks great. The only thing I might change is the attached i-cord edging. I upsized one needle size to do it, but it still seems a little bit tight. Perhaps going up another size would have helped, or doing some more unattached rows of i-cord at the right places to follow the curves of the lace.

Once it was off the needles, I wasted no time in getting back to the springy fingerless mittens I've been hankering for. They are nearly done, so I'll show you those, soon.

Shale Baby Blanket

My name is Rhonda and I am a yarn snob.

I might as well come clean about it, now, because I've recently taken on knitting two baby blankets, and bumped up against the place where luxurious knits meet family-friendly knits. If it were my choice, I would knit Jared Flood's baby blanket patterns in a yarn that's cloudy and wooly and tweedy, and then handwash and block the heck out of them to create a work of art.


Instead, I have to actually consider the moms who will be using and washing these blankets. They will want to just throw them in the washing machine every time the baby gets it messy (whether with food or barf or something worse) so a luxurious heirloom in hand-wash-only wool isn't really reasonable. One option would be to find a superwash wool to make it with, but aside from being a bit more expensive, the options I found for superwash worsted-weight didn't appeal.

The obvious choice is simple and inexpensive and easy to find: 100% acrylic.


When I started knitting, I used acrylic almost exclusively. It was a while before I discovered the wonder and perfection of wool and other natural fibers. Over the years, I've obviously become a yarn snob, since I don't even want to admit I made this blanket from acrylic. Sadly, I can't really block it, so the lace, while lovely, will never quite be as beautiful as it could be, were it washed and stretched out flat and opened up. Nevertheless, I am very satisfied with this blanket, and I think the recipient will like it, too. I am hoping that it will be barfed on and snuggled up to and carried around until even workhorse acrylic can't hold up to the abuse.