Cast On:
April 24, 2008
Off the Needles:
May 21, 2008
Finished:
June 4, 2008
There are more pics in my flickr set:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/akkasha/sets/72157604706892854/
Pattern:
Puff the Merino Dragon Scarf by Morehouse Merino
http://www.morehousefarm.com/KnittingKits/Scarves/Dragon/
Yarn:
Morehouse Farm Merino Merino 3-Strand
2.5 skeins = 350.0 yards (320.0m)
Needles:
US 8 / 5.0 mm Bamboo dpns
Cast on for
I ordered another kit as it was on sale. I had figured I would cast it on at some point. Then my hubby read me something my mother-in-law wrote him. She was wondering what dragons do on
So it seemed only right to cast on the scarf.
I recall why I like the pattern. It is actually pretty simple once you understand the basic repeats.
I really think the pattern was designed for a small child because it turns out way too short if you follow the pattern as is.
I still miss my first one, Dracul. *sniffle* I lost him on the PATH train last fall. The problem was he was too short. So he kept falling off me.
This time I picked up an extra skein of the yarn. I have done more repeats & making it wider at the top. It really wasn't to challenging to tweak the pattern to get it wider. I went out to 15 stitches for the garter edge. I also did the 12-14 stitch spikes 3 times each. And then I did the 15 stitch spike 5 times to get it long enough that I can wrap it around my neck.
With the modifications, it is 77" total. A good length for me. I don't think this one will get lost.
I had to tweak the decreases to the head a bit, but it wasn't too bad. Since I increase to 15 stitches for the garter area, it gave me 2 extra to decrease. So I did the spike decrease at 10 stitches instead of 8 as the pattern suggests. Then I did a 5 stitch bind off spike instead of the 4 in the pattern. This means I removed another row. I did the final spike as a 4 stitch decrease spike as the pattern said.
I also am doing it on size 8 needles this time. I did my first one on size 10s because I was knitting so tight that that is what I required to get gauge. However, I want this one to be tighter, thus more dense.
Though I have to be careful… This yarn breaks...a lot. In the first 2 repeats, the yarn has broken three times. I loosen up on my stitches but there was still some breaking. The good news is that wool sticks to itself. So I just rejoin the yarn. But it does mean working back to get enough to join the yarn together.
I confess I don't see how this yarn is three ply. I find it is very loose and there isn't much twist to it at all. Guess it is just my tight knitting coming back to bite me. *laugh*
I really love the pattern. I found it was pretty easy as you get used to the repeat. I really enjoy knitting it. And I am glad to have a longer scarf so hopefully this one won't get lost like my first one!
I got the eyes from Suncatcher Eyes - http://www.suncatchereyes.net/ . I bought several different pairs to see which I liked best. I decided the copper looked the best.
I am happy with the way he turned out for certain. And hopefully with the additional length, this one won't disappear!
Scarf for Paul
Cast On:
May 24, 2008
Yarn:
Handspun Kid Shetland from Unique Designs by Kathy
http://www.uniquedesignsbykathy.com/
1 skeins = 160.0 yards (146.3m)
&
Bernat Cashmere Natural Blends in Colorway 16040
4 skeins = 412.0 yards (376.7m)
Needles:
US 4 / 3.5 mm for the handspun
US 8 / 5.0 mm for Bernat
I wanted a super simple project to knit at a Memorial Day weekend BBQ.
I really wanted something that would feature the yarn I bought at Unique Designs by Kathy. But I knew it wasn't enough to make a scarf for my husband. And he liked the yarn.
So I decided to make a scarf for him by adding another yarn.
I figured the handspun would really be best featured by something simple. I decided to just go with garter stitch. Super simple for knitting at the bbq.
I cast on 80 stitches on the size 4 needles. However, after a couple rows it was turning out 12” wide. My husband's ideal scarf width it 8-9”. So I ripped it out and cast on 60. That gave me around 9” which was ideal.
When I added the Bernat Cashmere Blend, I knit one, then knit 2 together. This way I decreased to 40 stitch to get it around the same width. It isn't perfect but I think I can block it and they should look pretty even.
I am doing a basketweave stitch pattern for the body of the scarf. I handed Paul my first scarf which is a sampler scarf and told him to pick the pattern he liked. I find the basketweave is very simple. I am doing k4, p4 for 5 rows & then p4, k4 for 5. That way it seems to come out roughly square.
This is half done currently and about 37". So it should be a good length.
