Medicare For All

Knitting Friday

I still can’t beat my obsession with shawls. I think it’s because they are so fast to make, unless you go in for elaborate lace. Also, they take so little yarn. At right is a shawl I made in one night with a K hook and 2 strands of crochet cotton thread of indeterminate yardage in a simple ch3-3dc cluster stitch. The ball of yarn was less than softball size. I know, I should have weighed it but I was really crocheting and thinking: This is going to the frog pond. There is definitely not enough yardage here. I was wrong. It made a 53" x 22" center tip shawl. I wore it yesterday over a sleeveless dress and it was perfect.

Then there is my foulard.
http://www.canadianliving.com/crafts/knitting/knit_a_handy_scarf_with_case.php

Doesn’t it look like crinkly thin noodles? This is the simplest of patterns (Kfb, *K* for every row) and my most difficult. Sometimes, with plain garter stitch in a thicker yarn, I get lucky and I’m able to fix a messed -up stitch a few rows down. But most of the time with that weight and all of the time with the weight here (thin cotton), I cannot fix a garter stitch mistake. Stockinette stitch? No problem. I’ve gone down 30 rows to successfully fix a missed stitch. Perhaps it’s the tension with garter; the fix always sags. So I’m almost as diligent as when I knit lace with this project.

But do like the look at the foulard pattern. It reminds me of an EZ Shetland shawl. Truth be told, I’m really not making the pattern as written since I don’t have enough yarn. Pulling out a ball of this pink cotton (DMC Cebelia 50g - no yardage listed) from among 8 balls, I was sure I saw two more pink balls. I didn’t. I saw one ball of pink and 7 balls of beige. Thus, I’m making the foulard but my way. It won’t be a square (with just one more ball it would be) but a typical triangle. Plus, I dropped down to wood US 10.5 needles since my US 11 needles were metal and much too slippery for the job. In spite of my having to be diligent with this knitting, this cotton is heavenly to work with.

There is one non-shawl project in progress. A friend asked if I knew of a pattern for a curved “potholder” for the knob on a cooking pot cover which she had seen. My google searches came up empty but the great people on Ravelry came up with the answer within minutes:

http://www.crochetnmore.com/lidgrabberhat.htm

It’s called a Lid Grabber Hat which was nothing near the search terms I was using. I think I have my “stocking stuffer” gifts for this year.

And finally, pictures of my brown-hued Knit Picks lace “walking on a cloud” shawl and my “I’m so happy I finally made this shawl but why am I not finding any places to wear it?” black shawl.

Both are in the ch3, 3dc crocheted cluster stitch. Yes, I know. I am stuck in a rut with this stitch but you know I knit most of the time in public and this is a great traveling stitch. I love both shawls and I know I’ll be using the brown one a lot this fall and winter. You may remember this brown yarn. The dog was wearing it a few months ago when I made a one skein triangular shawl with it. This time I made an oversized rectangle. Great for winter wear.

The black one? I don’t know. Every time I put it on I look like I’m ready for a fancy outing. It’s a good length and width - 62" x 19". The shawl was a mill end labeled as 100% cotton. It looks very similar to a Bernat cotton (remember the one I didn’t buy at A.C. Moore because I forgot the coupon and it was $6.99 a skein and the next week they had no black left. In fact, the line has disappeared altogether.) The Bernat was distinguished by a shiny look; what I got is also. I like the shawl but the jury is still out as to whether this one will get much use.

Next week: I’m going to start a funky short sleeved cardigan. I picked up 3 skeins of Red Heart Plush (yes, it was a siren-call sale) in beige. First, I was imagining a pullover but then I took a good look at my horde of black cotton long-sleeve shirts for the winter and realized I didn’t need another top at present. I have two possible patterns, Kaya from Crystal Yarns or a classic top-down raglan from a Spinnovations 4 book I picked up at a garage sale. Decisions, decisions. More next Friday.

Happy knitting.