WIP: Beacon Hill Scarf--Shortie Version

A long, long while back, I casted on for a aqua/teal version of my Beacon Hill Scarf with some leftover yarn from my stash. The yarn I used for the original scarf was so silky and squishy, that the texture didn't "pop" as well as I would have liked it to.

This version will actually be a "shortie" version that doesn't wrap around the neck twice.

I love the "little tents" that pop out among the garter stitch. It's a very unique stitch texture that looks great vertically or horizontally.

Pattern: Beacon Hill Infinity Scarf

Needles: US 9 (5.5mm)

Yarn: I'm not even sure. I have lost the band years ago.

Guys, can I just point out that my nails were painted for this picture? I NEVER paint my nails. Between the stubby nails as a stay-at-home mom AND being a pianist, there are always in the nude. Aw, this makes me want to paint them again. Too bad they chip almost immediately, no matter how great the brand or no-chip gaurentee is.

I'm further allong with this scarf, but I haven't taken any new photos. I figure that I'll just post the FO later. I can devote more time to this once I get some Christmas knits out of the way.

NEW! Beacon Hill Infinity Scarf

I'm pleased to introduce the first of three KUAS patterns released in October!

Beacon Hill Infinity Scarf (Pattern PDF Download)

This Beacon Hill Infinity Scarf is a quick and easy pattern with a seamless construction. You will find that you can memorize the stitch texture within a couple of repeats!

Inspiration for this scarf came from P.B Ryan’s Gilded Age Boston mystery book series that I adore, that centers around the infamous Beacon Hill area. The garter st reminds me of the uneven cobblestone ground, and the hill-like texture is for all of the hills and row houses that make up Beacon Hill.

BEACON HILL MITTS will become available for purchase by the 2nd week of October. There will be also a scarf & mitt bundle available for $5.99. See the last photo for mitten preview.

Skill Level: late beginner

Materials:
Yarn: less than 320yds or 200g of a lighter weight bulky yarn (pattern seen in Mirasol Yarn Miski, 100% Baby Llama fiber in shade 107). An alpaca wool blend is a nice substitute.
Needles: size US 9 straight or circular needles, or size to meet the gauge
Notions: blocking pins, blocking mat, no- rinse wool wash, darning needle, waste yarn

Gauge:
18sts and 28 rows= 4’’ in the main body texture

Measurements: 50’’- 55’’ circumference and 9’’ wide after blocking

Abbreviations and Special Stitches:
CO= cast on K= knit P=purl St(s)= stitch(es) RS= right side WS=wrong side BO=bind off RH= right hand Sl= slip st (purl-wise) WYF: with yarn in front. This strand will loosely wrap around 5 sts. KWNUS (k with needle under strand): insert RH needle under the loose strand, wrap and k the next st, so that the loose strand is now behind that k st. See picture tutorial on last page.

Pattern Notes:
The infinity scarf is k flat, using an invisible CO method so that both ends of the scarf are grafted together after the blocking process. There will always be a Garter St (knit only) border of 5 sts on the right and left side of the scarf, which is already included in the written pattern and on the chart. For a cleaner edge, sl the first st of every row purl-wise.

If you are using synthetic fiber, skip the blocking phase. Instead, k the scarf to approx. 50-55,’’ cut the yarn, leaving a 20’’ tail, and continue to the Kitchener St sewing instructions.

The infinity scarf is long enough that you loop it twice around your neck. If you wish for a quicker project, feel free to knit half the length (25’’ or so inches long).

 

 These last couple of photos were actually taken at the infamous Acorn Street on Beacon Hill this past weekend! Our Boston trip was AMAZING! We were there Friday through Sunday to celebrate our 8 year wedding anniversary!

Can you see the inspiration in color, name and tent-like picture on the cover? Yes, I AM a big geek! It's a wonderful series, try it out if you are at all interested in the 1800's Boston (Gilded Age romance mystery).

 The matching mitten set is coming out in a few days! Stay tuned. You can purchase it seperately, or as a bundle with the scarf.

Collossal Woven Pink Scarf

I planned ahead for this scarf. The last scarf was great, but a little shorter than I wanted. So, I placed my loom on the far end of the island and put the the warping peg across from the island and onto the adjacent counter. That gave me an extra 30 or so inches for the additional scarf length and all the extra yarn in the world for fringe.

Somehow I managed to forget along the way that I left myself 30 extra inches for scarf length & fringe. I think I have a "slight" crafter OCD illness that brought this "slight" oversight into play and "forced" me to end on purple, because I started on purple, and that gave me probably 10'' more than I really needed for a long scarf.

Remember me mentioning that these scarves are generally warped and finished within a day? Well, on day 2.5 I was starting to think something sneaky was going on that made this scarf take so long. Maybe yarn elves sprinkling on more length during the dead of night? Me just taking my time for once?

However, I'd rather have a scarf that is mammoth-sized than too short. Look at today's weather, for instance: -40 degrees (real-feel). There's no shame in having a scarf that you can wrap twice around your neck.

 

Scarf Length: a whopping 92'' long
Woven on my 15'' Schacht Cricket Loom 

  Woven Scarf #4 
Have you seen the other three? Scarf #1 (Blue) Scarf #2 (Greens w/ Stripes) Scarf #3 (Hawkeye)

Yarn: Caron Simply Soft Solids in "Pink" and a slightly darker shade of  "pink"(I know, real helpful. I dumped those labels year ago", and a beautiful almost heathered "Plum." For the middle accent warp and wefts, I used "Candy Stripes" from Bernat Baby Coordinates.

Warps: 35

5-dark pink-5 lighter pink-5 dark purple-5 Candy Stripes-5 darker pink-5 purple- 5 lighter pink

Wefts: 5'' of each color (Plum, Lighter Pink, Darker Pink), segregated by 8 wefting rows of the Bernat "Candy Stripes"

I'm not a huge pink fanatic, but I do like to wear it from time to time to get in touch with my girlie side. I realize how crazy that just sounded. As a mother and, well, the person that I am, I don't devote a lot of time looking or feeling incredibly girlie. Too much sneaker-wearing (orthodics), not a lot of time for hair-doing, or hair-cuts or manicures, massages, etc.

I decided to do something different for the fringe, since it was going to be short anyways (*shakes fists*). I tied the yarn together in pairs and then grouped 5 threads at a time together into a knot in the middle of the fringe.

This pattern will look great in any color, whether you want to go stir-crazy making it feminine or masculine.

I think it's beautiful. Maybe one of my best yet? You really can use the cheapest of yarns (as long as it's soft) and produce something magnificent. This whole weaving thing is a great stash-buster! Hmm, towels and placemats next?

Stay warm, stay safe & stay crafting with yarnie goodness!

FO: Woven Hawkeye Scarf

I just had to. I was going to work on a certain hibernated project that I was referring to a couple of posts ago, but I had The Itch. The itch to stitch something woven in Hawkeye colors.
So I conceived and bore this yesterday evening:

I couldn't believe how amazing the effect is with just two colors. I did 6 warpings of gold & black and did 14.5mm of each color while weaving. 

SCARF LENGTH: 56.5 inches     SCARF WIDTH: 21mm (8.25'')

YARN: 1 skein of Caron Simply Soft in Black & Gold

SET-UP: approx 70 inches worth of warping length (I used my entire kitchen island-length)

WARPS: 36

6 yellow-6 black-6 yellow-6 black-6 yellow-6 black

STRIPING: color changes every 14.5mm

Although my husband, myself and my parents-in-law are all U of I graduates, I am gifting this scarf to my MIL who is a much bigger Hawkeye fan than I. I'm still trying to work on figuring out the warping length to make the scarf the perfect length. It's not overly short though. Just a little shorter than I'd like to have as a scarf. It wraps around and leaves some dangling length.

I'll get it right next time.

I just love it. Colorway ideas are already buzzing in my head for new 2-color striping, just like this one. Maybe some color changes will be longer than others. 

It's been snowing for days, and since we are in the Chicagoland area we are experiencing extra from the "Lake Effect." I convinced my husband to work at home this morning because it will take 2 hours to get to work during Rush Hour. Now that it's about lunchtime, it's finally starting to stop. I think. The roads are treacherous because they either can't keep up with the snow, or are understaffed during the holiday. My poor brother lost his car on New Years Day due to dangerous conditions. He works as a delivery person, so he'll have to start the year with no car and no job now.  :( 

Stay warm and safe.

FO: Woven Scarf 2

I finished my other 3 year old's woven scarf on Christmas Eve, in time for bracing the cold weather while we visited both of their grandparents.

These scarves are addicting. A toddler scarf will only take a day. For an adult size, it would only take a weekend. I see many, many scarf gifts in my family's future.

Read here to learn more about the blue woven scarf.

YARN:

1/2 or less skeins of Mackintosh Yarns' Skye Sock Yarn in "Spring Greens"

Trivial amounts of Mackintosh Yarns' Skye Sock Yarn in "Gun Powder" (blue)

Trivial amounts of Bernat Satin Solids in "white."

WARPS: 28 warps

5 white-1 blue-5 white-1 blue- 4 white-1 blue- 5 white- 1 blue- 5 white

LENGTH: 44'' long

I think that the striping effect with the warps of blue and white yarn made it look stunning. The blue got toned down and looked almost green in the process. I really like the stripes with the white and variegated greens when you look closely.

Jake was wearing the green one, so I was getting mighty nervous when he was wearing it for 3 days...tugging and pulling on it before the official photo-shoot! The weaving is on the loose side, so it did get a little pulled out of order during the time which the child in question was wearing it.

While weaving this scarf, I paid close attention to how I wrapped the ends so that they did not get all puckered weirdly while weaving. It is a great improvement from my first woven scarf.

I hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful Christmas. And to the ones who don't celebrated it, I hope you had a relaxing holiday.