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Knitting Friday

 

As you may remember from last Friday, I promised more pictures today. There are picture, but something happened at the beginning of last week. I became obsessed with the curlicue scarf:

http://laughingpurplegoldfish.blogspot.com/2008/10/3-2-1-and-youre-done-its-curlicue-scarf.html

 

The above link is the one I decided to use but there are a lot of them out there. I like this curlicue because it really is 3-2-1 and you're done.

 

But to backtrack a bit. In my early knitting days, I made a multicolored block cardigan which I hadn't worn in years. So I sent it to the frog pond and I've spent some years thinking: What am I ever going to do with so many balls of wool yarn? Until I saw that curlicue scarf. I really liked the idea of the ruffled multicolored look. This really worked up into a funky looking scarf (#1). But - a funny thing happened. First, the designer just says to CO the number of chains you'll need for length. One of the commenters said

# /Curlicue on the right

 she chained 140, so, of course, I decided to chain 200! What a dofus! At the end of the first row of double crochets (first row, you work 3 in every chain), I had 600 stitches and, following the directions, I would have ended up with 1,200. Only Bozo the Clown would be wearing more ruffles around the neck.

So I decided to modify the curlicue and I'll give you my modifications. But as you can see from picture #1, that's not the end of the story.

Modified Curlicue based on 3-2-1 Curlicue above.

Materials: K hook, DK yarn

1. Make a loose chain as long as your length. (You could use a larger hook for this.)

2. Work 3 double crochets in each chain. (Modifications start now.)

3. Then work 3 double crochets in the bottom thread of each chain. (So you have added 3 DC in each chain on both sides of the chain - 1200 DC all around.)

4. Do not increase any more but work straight in DC across one of the 600 DC sides. (You work on only 600 DCs)

5. You will continue to work straight in DC down the same side; no more increases. The other side (600 DCs) will become a ruffle at your neck.

6. If you end at about 4" - 5", you will get a very ruffled scarf. Not as ruffled as the original pattern, of course. If you work to a shawl width (14"+), the ruffles will smooth out as you work and you will get a ruffled shawl at the neck.

In picture #1, you see the scarf with all the yarn I had, so I could only make a very ruffled scarf of about 4". It did not look bad but I realized it would limited use. I'm now working that scarf into a shawl (#1). 

 

Surprisingly, my first venture into the world of the curlicue as taught me so much. First, that 3-2-1 Curlicue is a really neat pattern (it was my fault re: the CO) and I'd like to make it again. Second, working a multicolored scarf into a multicolored garter shawl, I think I've found a way to eliminate the dreaded two-color join you get in garter when you switch colors. Well, let's say I found a fix. You may not like it. 

 

In the crocheted curlicue scarf above, the place where the new colors joined, looked find. Ever if this weren't a ruffled scarf, color joins in flat DC don't look bad.

 

However, if you are knitting in garter (K on both sides), you'll get a reversible item. But if you're knitting in two or more colors in garter, when you go to change colors you will always get a wonky joining row, of which you'll say: This must be the wrong side. Which is not what you want to hear. (Obviously, on garments like pullovers, this won't matter.)

In the tip of the shawl picture in #1 & #2, I've already changed from light green to darker green

#2 Changing colors

. You can sort of get away with this join in garter since the hues are so close that the color changing row is not that obvious. However, the scarf in #1 & #2 show lighter colors which are going into this shawl. (I have to post the pictures to show this next week, because I just worked out this method a few hours ago - in the middle of the night.)

My next color change for this shawl will be from the darker green to beige. What I did: 

1. At the beginning of the first row where I knew I would have to use both the green (old color) and beige (new color), always keeping in my increase pattern, I worked that row in seed. And, I worked the next row in seed. 

2. On the third row, if I saw I had enough of the new color of finish the row, I would go back to my original pattern. If not, I would work another row in seed.

3.If I were working with small balls of various colors, I would just keep in seed until I got to the row where I could work its entirety in one color.

4. Then, throughout the shawl, I would work random rows in seed so it all looked like it was part of the pattern.

 

Next week, I'll show you both sides of the shawl in #2 (and give you the "recipe") and you'll see just what I mean. Of course, this is not a perfect fix and I'm sure there's a more snappy pattern than seed to use. But I know this is a real complaint of knitters so I was pretty psyched that, at least, I had found a fix I could live with.

 

#3 Variegated Scarf

DH's variegated scarf (#3) is moving along slowly but well. The reverse side has almost the same pattern as what you see. I can't tell you how pleased I am with the Paton wool. I usually get crappy pooling.

 

#4 Lace Sampler Scarf

And finally, I'm still working on my lace sampler scarf made from ends of beige and white wool. I'm into the beige section (#4) and I see at least three patterns there which I would use for a sweater or a scarf. I really should stop this sampler, decide on the pattern I like most, and start the gift scarf I have to make. But this sampler is so much fun.

 

That's it for this week. I'm going to have a cup of coffee and wait for the snow. No, I'm going to try and get out before the snow. Wish me luck. Hoping you get no more snow than you can handle, see you next week. Happy knitting.