Advent Calendar Scarf 2014, Day 7

Hello:

The subtitle for today's post should be Nupps! Rhymes with Soups.  These balls are made by knitting into a stitch, yo, knitting into the same stitch, yo, repeatedly until you have a certain number of loops on your needle.  For today's pattern, it was 7 loops.  You leave those 7 loops on your right needle, and when you are purling back, you slip your needle through all 7 of the loops, and purl them together.  The front side part of a nupp is not hard, but it is very tough to catch all of the loops when you are purling them together.

Kristin has a link on the pattern to a video of how to make a Nupp with a crochet hook.  This is a much easier method.  Basically, you use a crochet hook instead of your needle for the front part where you are making all the loops, then instead of transferring all of the loops to the right knitting needle, you YO one last time, and with the crochet hook, pull the yarn through, then transfer just one loop to the right needle.  It is way easier to pull the yarn through with a crochet hook than it is with a regular knitting needle.

I finished one full repeat (there are 14 rows with 6 nupps in each section), but I was really unhappy with how my nupps looked.  Well, they looked ok, but they were all at the back of the knitting, and I couldn't find a way to pop them to the front so you could see them.

Again, I ripped the whole day section back to the garter stitch spacer, and started over.  I was at Panera's in Redmond for the Eastside Stitchers Sunday Morning group.  I think by this time, GwenS and I were the only people left at the table.  I really wanted to solve this problem before I left for home.  I decided to try making the nupps on the backside, instead of the front.  When I got to the stitch for the nupp on the front, I simply made a knit stitch.  On the back I made the nupp using a size 1 crochet hook, then after a bit of experimenting, I KNIT the next stitch instead of purling it.  This almost guaranteed that my nupps would pop to the front of the scarf, and stand out.

As you can see in the above photo, the Day 7 pattern involved Nupps. They are certainly not perfect, but I am very happy with how they came out.

Peace,
f1bercat
shaping the planet with little yarn balls called Nupps.

Advent Calendar Scarf 2014, Day 6

Hello:

This is the pattern for Day 6 of the 2014 Advent Calendar Scarf by Kristin Benecken.  I remember knitting this pattern for last year's scarf.  It was the Day 14 pattern last year.  There are 2 complicated parts to this pattern, and I have a bit of a tutorial on last year's blog if you want to check it out.

To create the bottom of each bump, you YO, then make 3 from 1 stitch with a knit YO knit all in one stitch, then YO one more time.  To close the bump at the top you make a left leaning decrease (like ssk), then knit 3 together.  Then you pass the loop from the first decrease over the k3tog. The knitting 3 together was the toughest part for me, and slowed me down quite a bit.  Although I am a fairly loose knitter, I sometimes found it tough to get the needle through all 3 stitches.

 Although this pattern is fiddly and a bit slow to knit, it is really striking.  I wrote last year that I wanted to use it in some other project, and I still feel the same.

Peace,
f1bercat
shaping the planet with Day 6.

Advent Calendar Scarf 2014, Day 5

Hello:

Well, this pattern gave me tons of trouble.  In fact, I fell behind for the first time in 4 years of making the scarf.  I just couldn't finish the pattern before I went to bed.  Again, it wasn't that the pattern was difficult.  There are only the usual left and right leaning decreases and two of the rows have double decreases.  My problem was that I skipped a row.

Can you see it?  The pattern has you knit 8 rows of pattern, then 4 rows of garter stitch, then repeat the 12 rows once more.  I was half way through the second repeat, but I kept thinking that something was looking wrong.  The top repeat was bigger, and more filled in than the first repeat.  Then I figured it out, I had skipped rows 3 and 4.  (The even rows are just purling back.)

RIPPIT!  I ripped back to the garter stitch spacer row, and started the whole section over again.  I made myself stay up until I had finished one full repeat, but I was just too tired by this time to continue, and I didn't want to make another big mistake, so I gave up and just went to bed.

I finished the section when I got home from work the next day.  I am really glad that I didn't leave the mistake in.  I am also glad that I don't work on the weekends, so I can catch up if I fall behind!

Peace,
f1bercat
shaping the planet with Day 5

Advent Calendar Scarf 2014, Day 4

Hello:
I am catching up on posting the photos for my Advent Calendar Scarf 2014, by Kristin Benecken.  I really like how this lace pattern looks.  It is a bit closed up on my scarf because I am using size 0 needles, but I hope it will open up when I block the scarf.

The pattern really reminds me of the lace in the Coupling Socks by Deb Barnhill.  I knit those socks 2 years ago, and I still love wearing them.

I think the motif is slightly larger in the Coupling Socks, but it is the same general design.  It was very simple to knit.  There are left and right leaning single decreases, and a double decrease that is slip one (I slipped as if to knit) k2tog, and pass the slipped stitch over.  That was about it in complexity.  I am not sure if you can see it in the photos but you are basically knitting diamonds that are separated from each other by YOs.  I could definitely see using this pattern again.  Perhaps in socks?  ha ha ha ha.

Peace,
f1bercat
shaping the planet with Day 4

Advent Calendar Scarf 2014, Day 3

Hello:

I want to say that today's pattern is not difficult.  It is a pretty mesh with a simple 2x2 cable.  As you can see by looking at the cables, there are 3 repeats.  I brought mine to Crossroads to the regular Wednesday meet up of the Eastside Stitchers (I'll try to do that post in the morning, or tomorrow... we had a great group).  I don't know how many times I said, "Oops!"  or "Darn it!" as I miss-counted or purled when I was supposed to knit.  So not a difficult pattern, but perhaps not really social knitting, either.  ReadnitDream was working on her scarf, too.  She is using lace-weight yarn, and size 4 needles, and her scarf is much more open and airy looking than mine.  It is amazing how different the same pattern can look in different weight yarns and different needle sizes.  She had me wondering a bit if I should have gone up a needle size or two.  I am using size 0.  Mostly because I couldn't find any size 1 Chaio Goos in my needle case.  I think I have some... they must be in a pair of unfinished socks.  I really love the points on their red lace needles.  I tend to knit loosely, so I usually need to drop down a needle size.  I do like the fabric on my scarf, and if I block it aggressively, I'm sure the lace patterns will open up.

Anyway, although the pattern calls for a cable needle, I did my cables without one.  The directions ask you to put 2 stitches on a cable needle and hold them in front of the knitting, knit the next two stitches, then knit the stitches on the cable needle.  Instead, I slipped the right needle behind the first two stitches and into the next two stitches.  Then, I dropped the first two stitches from the left needle, slipped the next two stitches (that were on the right needle), and picked up the dropped stitches with the left needle.  I put the stitches that were in holding on the right needle back on the left needle, and knit all 4 stitches.  For me, this method is much faster than using a cable needle.

Here is a close up of the pattern:

I was pretty tired when I got home from Crossroads, and I still had 1 1/2 repeats to go, plus the beaded spacer section.  I was really falling asleep during the last few rows, when I was on the penultimate row, I realized that I had twisted one cable the wrong way, and forgot to twist a second cable.  I was able to fix those errors by dropping down, and saved myself having to tink 3 rows.  Thank goodness.  But, it was slow going, and it put me back a bit for finishing.

Here is what the scarf looks like now:

Ok, off to bed.
Peace,
f1bercat
shaping the planet on Day 3

Advent Calendar Scarf 2014 Day 2

Hello:

I have finished the Day 2 pattern of the Advent Calendar Scarf  2014 by Kristin Benecken.  I didn't recognize the pattern from the chart, but after I had knit about 8 rows, it started to look familiar.  It is the Day 13 pattern from last year's scarf. 

The pattern has one "different" set of  stitches.  The chart shows it as II<  Where you slip one stitch purlwise, knit the next 2 stitches, then pass the slipped stitch over the 2 knit stitches.  In the Key for the chart, the symbol < has those instructions.  Then it is followed by the  2  I symbols  which Kristin uses for Knit.  So I slipped, k2, psso (slipped 1 knit 2 passed over) then knit the next 2 stitches.  When I got to the end of the row, I was off.  So I guessed that those two I symbols were a part of the weird stitch, tinked and reknit and everything worked great.  On the back side, you purl both of the wrapped stitches.

I tried to stay up last night to make it to the middle of the 23 row pattern, but got tired at row 7.  And when I realized that I was off again, I decided to go to bed and figure it all out in the morning.  Of course I didn't have time before work, so I brought the scarf to school, and spent my lunch 1/2 hour tinking 2 rows.  As it is way too hard for me to knit anything serious during Work Completion Zone, I put it away, and worked on a purple newborn hat.  After dinner, I pulled up the chart on my computer, and was able to see that I had skipped row 5.  Wha????  Tired knitting is never a good idea. 

Anyway, I was able to finish the day's pattern and the spacer section while watching The Flash (woot!  It was a Flash vs Arrow episode, so super fun), followed by Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.  NCIS had a rerun, so Doc was willing to watch my shows.  Thank goodness the yarn is nice and light,  It made it possible to knit downstairs.

Here is a blurry close-up of the pattern.

By the way.  I finished the 4 Minion hats I was knitting for my sister's grandchildren,

I also finished the last 10 afghan squares for my Vortex Afghan. 

I hope to have time to hook them into the afghan this weekend.  Then I can get it sent off.

Peace,
f1bercat
shaping the planet on Day 2.

Advent Calendar Scarf 2014, Day 1

Hello:

It's back!  The Advent Calendar Scarf 2014 by Kristin Benecken. 

This is the madness that comes with 24 different lace patterns each released one day at a time from December 1 through December 24th leading up to Christmas.  I am using Sockulent by Little Knits in Lightest Peapod Green.  This is a light fingering weight yarn, so I am knitting with size 0 needles (as I tend to knit loosely.  I got some clear beads at Jo-Ann's Fabric for the spacer rows.

The Patterns this year are going to be "Best Of" patterns from the previous 4 years of patterns, so I don't think I am not sure I will do tutorials.  Interesting things in this Day 1 pattern are:

1. The double decrease is not a centered one.  To have a centered double decrease you slip 2 stitches at the same time as if to knit, knit the next stitch, then pass the two slipped stitches back over  (sl2, k1, psso).  This makes a very definite ridge line right up the center.  Today's pattern does not have this ridge line, but a more broken, less definite line.

2.  Kristin does not use ssk for her left leaning decreases.  Instead, she just has you k2tog through the back loop.  This is faster than doing the ssk, and, while I can see a slight difference, I'm not sure it is that noticeable.  I might use this decrease more often.

Here is a close-up of the pattern:

I'm also going to post a photo of the yarn because these photos have horrible lighting, and my yarn looks really ugly.

Can I keep up this year?  I really don't know.  I am going to try, but it will be a challenge since I will have to knit only at home after work.  I am telling myself to not freak out if I fall behind (but of course I will.)

Peace,
f1bercat
shaping the planet in a countdown to Advent.