Now Norma Knits

Wow. It's October 23, 2015.

I hate to start this post with a bunch of clichés, so I'm just going to jump right into it.

Hi! I see you. Can you see me? Knock-knock. Anybody out there?

I look over at the sidebar of this poor underfed, anemic blog and I see something like 300 readers, down from 5,000 or more back in the day. That is just.....sad. Isn't it?

Annnnd, I did it. That was fairly blogger-cliché, eh? Sorry.

I was prompted to write because last weekend... well, last weekend was the New York Sheep and Wool Festival, aka RHINEBECK! And our fearless foursome -- Leigh, Sandy, Jenn, and I -- met up and roomed together for the 12th year in a row, and had the most wonderful, recreational and restorative time together.

And we selfied....

We walked....

 We talked....

Oh hey, I'm not kidding about OVER the Hudson. This is where those oh-so-tame-looking photos above were taken. I've got some vertigo just looking at this right now:

 We shopped....

(Blimey, the festival is RIDONKULOUSLY crowded now. I believe the figure is something like 54 MILLION PEOPLE PER SQUARE FOOT, or something close to that. We can only stand it for about 30 minutes before we have to leave and get some air. And booze. So we spend a lot of our time and money in the nice little village, just pretending that we are actually at the Sheep & Wool. But I did buy that amazing granny square scarf at the actual festival before we fled to safer ground.)

We ate......

And drank......

 

(That is an apple cider mimosa in the glass.)

(You're welcome.)

 But here's the interesting bit:

We (or at least I) knitted!

For the first time in maybe forever, I was the first one to arrive at our hotel, so I had some time on my hands while I waited for my compatriots to arrive. And just before I left home, I had done a frantic -- and I do mean frantic -- search for some knitting to bring with me. Much to my surprise, I found an already completed Red Scarf:

 

...and another one that was started who-knows-when. So there I was, doing this VERY WEIRD ACTIVITY when Sandy arrived. Upon seeing me, she loudly exclaimed, "WHO ARE you?!"

Fair comment.

(Coincidentally, David just walked in while I was writing this and I said, "I'm blogging," to which he replied, "WHO ARE you?!")

It's been quite a long time since I've engaged in this either of these activityies. But it truly is like riding a bicycle! I remember how! And I even remembered how to execute this pattern, the ever-loved, ever-popular unisex pattern, the Corrugator, by our friend Paula Smith.

I've been knitting a few rows a day since then, and look:

Before I know it, if I'm not careful, I'll be finished.

So now I've been thinking about The Red Scarf Project and learned that they now have a wonderful thing called The Book Club, which is sort of an outcropping of our own Red Scarf Fund with a little bit of a broader mission. I've just signed up. The way I thought of it is this:  I drive a Prius now, and I'm not spending as much on gas for my car as I used to. I figure I can send $20 a month without it hurting a bit, so that's what I just signed up for. Maybe you wouldn't mind spending a couple of cups of coffees' worth per month to help out some students in need, even if you are not a knitter, but just my friend.

One thing I'd like to mention is that Foster Care to Success ranks very high on Charity Navigator. They spend almost ALL of their money on their mission, very little on administrative costs, and have excellent transparency. Plus, I know the people who run it very well, and they are darn good people.

Either way, I'm just wondering how you're doing and how many of you Red Scarf soldiers are carrying on.

Do tell.

 

Improving on the Original -- and a PSA For Sliver Moon Farm Yarn Purchasers

I was packing up my three completed red scarves to bring over to the collection basket at Grand Isle Artworks the other night. I felt that the lengthwise garter stitch scarf I completed in August didn't feel quite "finished". I still had some of that yarn left in the dark burgundy/plum red, and I decided to add a crocheted edge to the scarf. Big improvement, I think.

Before:

After:

The yarn is a DK-weight superwash super-soft lambswool that I bought years ago on eBay. It was a pretty nasty-looking beige color when I bought it. I over-dyed it with various colors of Kool-Aid, and it sat unused for a few years. Now it has a new life and it will hopefully make a college kid happy -- verrrrrry happy! 

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And if you bought some superwash yarn from Sliver Moon Farm at either Rhinebeck or the Southern Adirondack festival, here is a message for you from Kay:

 

If you or anyone you know purchased worsted yarn at our booth, Sliver Moon Farm, at Rhinebeck or Southern Adirondack, marked ‘Worsted 100% superwash BFL wool, 250 gram’, it is NOT superwash. 
I spoke with the manufacturer on Tuesday to order more, and they told me they had learned it may not have had adequate superwash treatment. I knit a 5”x 4 3/8” swatch upon learning this(9 3/4 sts/2”, 12 1/2 rows/2” on size 7). After washing on regular cycle with jeans, it measured 4 1/2”x4’(10 1/4 sts/2”, 13 1/2 rows/2”). After going through a regular cycle in the dryer, it measures 4 1/2”x3 1/2”(10 1/2 sts/2”,15 1/2 rows/2”). If a you or anyone you know wishes to return or exchange this yarn, please contact me through Ravelry or at kayatslivermoonfarmdotcom. The skeins sold for $34. 
I am TERRIBLY sorry . I still love the yarn and am knitting something for myself out of it. It hand washes beautifully, and the stitch definition remained even after its washer/dryer escapade, but it DOES shrink!!!

 

 

Recipe for My Basketweave Scarf

Here are the specs for my basketweave scarves. They have become a favorite for me -- they seem to knit up so fast, they make a nice flat fabric with some interest, and they are unisex. 

 

AND they couldn't be simpler to make.

Cast on a multiple of four, plus 2 extra stitches to make a nice edging.

For my current version, I have cast on 26 stitches, and I'm using a US 9/5.5mm needle. This is giving me a scarf that is exactly 6 inches wide. 

The worsted-weight yarn I'm using is Alpaca With A Twist "Highlander" -- 45% baby alpaca, 45% merino wool, 8% microfiber, and 2% viscose, in the colorway 3015, Hebrides Rose, which is a brownish-rosy red with brown, black, and off-white flecks. 

I bought this incredibly super-soft and beautiful yarn several years ago from Mel and David's booth at Rhinebeck. (Isn't it freakish that, with such a well-stocked "library" of yarn from which to choose, I can remember exactly where I bought most of the skeins? Weird. Or are we all like that?) 

For the pattern:

ROWS 1 through 4:  With yarn in front, slip the first stitch. Put yarn in back. *K4 P4.  Repeat from * to the last stitch. Knit the last stitch. 

ROWS 5 through 8: With yarn in front, slip the first stitch. Leave yarn in front. *P4 K4. Repeat from * to the last stitch. Knit the last stitch. 

Repeat rows 1 through 8 until scarf is desired length.  Cast off in pattern.

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You can make the scarf wider or narrower by adding or removing groups of 4 stitches. If you use an odd number of "disks" or "patches" or "checkerboards" -- whatever you want to call them -- the pattern needs to be modified when you come back on the return row.  It's easy to change -- you just have to remember that in any row that begins with knit stitches, you slip the first stitch and put the yarn in back.  With rows that begin with purl, you slip the first stitch and keep the yarn in front.  Always slip the first stitch of every row and knit the last stitch of every row, to keep the nice smooth edging.  

 

 

Red Scarf, Hard to Photograph

Good grief. First there is the red, which is always a challenge with digital cameras. And then there is the lengthwise-striped garter stitch, ditto. These scarves are always so much more attractive in real life than in their photos. Trust me, this scarf is really handsome. And the stripe that looks like black is really a dark eggplant. I believe the Kool-Aid color was Black Cherry, or maybe it was a combination of Strawberry and Grape -- who can remember! The brighter red was a lot of Strawberry Kool-Aid -- that one I labeled so I know -- and the middle color I have no idea. The yarn started out a rather hideous shade of beige not unlike the hideous shade of beige they use in underwear that they call nude. The Kool-Aid dye was a big improvement.

Anyway, nice scarf, but not photogenic at all.

Lengthwise striped scarf, DK weight lambswool superwash that I dyed with Kool-Aid several years ago. I cast 260 stitches on a US7 needle, and the scarf came out exactly 60 inches long. It's just short of 6 inches wide. This is my second scarf for Red Scarf Project 2011. I forgot that I had one already done and in the bin waiting for mates. What an excellent discovery!

A Picture is Worth 43,000 Words

Chandell in Her Red Scarf

Isn't that a beautiful sight?

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I've been itching to work on the green cotton Pure Pima sweater that I have in mind, and I rolled up one of the hanks yesterday, but I'm staying the course on my in-the-works projects. A couple rows here and a couple rows there on my red scarf really adds up quickly. It seems that I have spent no real time on this, but it's already a foot long. 

And with the return of the cold weather and the return of my healthy extremities, I'm planning on getting back to my mom's Fair Isle sweater, too. 

Avoidance?

I ripped back the rows I had done on the blue Calmer sweater and put it back on the needles. I don't think it's going to be hard to figure out, but since I was a little bit lightheaded under the influence of Mucinex-D (damned sinuses), and I was awaiting the arrival of a refrigerator repair guy, I decided to cast on for my next red scarf. This always seems to be the right answer. I worked on this for maybe a half hour before Mr. Jefferies convinced me to take him outside to play. 

It's Briar Rose Fibers' Nate's Sock Yarn in colorway 108. Generally I'm not a huge fan of space-dyed yarns, but I love the subtle variety of short-run reds in this. It gives my eyes and brain pleasure as I'm knitting, and the yarn is nice and soft. It's sportweight, and I'm using US 7 needles and 37 stitches. If you don't recognize the pattern, it's the now-ubiquitous and ever-appropriate Corrugator by Paula Smith.

I can't tell you how good it feels to be pain-free again, and to feel like knitting. 

Basketweave Scarf -- The Secrets Revealed

Several people have asked me to write down the pattern for the basketweave scarves I made for the Red Scarf Project, and specifically to clarify how I did the edges.  

Because I did it the way I often do things -- that is, just DO it, without thinking about it -- I could not remember, when pressed, exactly how I had made that nice edge. So I had to sit down and start another one, writing down every step so that I could convey it clearly. 

Here it is.

BASKETWEAVE SCARF WITH SELVEDGE EDGE

Soft worsted-weight yarn, about 360 yards (I used Cascade 220, and I'm only estimating at the yardage, but this pattern is very economical with the yarn. It took less than two skeins of 220 to get a 6-inch by 64-inch scarf.)

Size US8 needles

Cast on 30 stitches to make a scarf approximately 6 inches wide. (Make the scarf wider or narrower by increasing or reducing in multiples of 4. Always add 2 stitches to your number for the selvedge edge. The blocks of stitches on either end are composed of 5 stitches; the others are composed of 4.)

Row 1:  With yarn in front, slip 1st stitch as if to purl; put yarn in BACK.

K4.  P4 K4 across until you reach last stitch. K1

Row 2: Hold yarn in FRONT. Slip 1st stitch as if to purl. Keep yarn in front. 

P4. K4 P4 across until you reach last stitch. Put yarn in BACK, K1.

Row 3: Repeat Row 1

Row 4: Repeat Row 2

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Row 5:  (You are switching here from a knit block to a purl block first, to begin the change which will result in the basketweave pattern.)  Repeat Row 2

Row 6: Repeat Row 1

Row 7: Repeat Row 2

Row 8: Repeat Row 1

And then start the sequence all over again.

Easy!

This pattern is a super-easy, super-fast knit, which results in a fabric that is the same on both sides. I maintain that it grows faster than many other scarf patterns, because the fabric it creates is so flat, but maybe that's just me. You've done a 60-inch scarf that is unisex and lovely and soft and highly suitable for the Red Scarf Project in no time at all! 

This pattern greatly benefits from a light steam blocking.

Well, It Had To Happen Sometime....and PRIZES!

My first-ever worn-out handknitted sock. These are Fleece Artist socks that I knitted for myself from yarn that was received from a secret swap a few years ago, and they popped a hole when I was walking Mr. Jefferies the other day.

R.I.P. Fleece Artist socks. And now, I suppose the inveterate non-sock-knitter will have to knit another pair of stockinette socks. I lerve my stockinette socks, and my 4X1 rib socks, both of Trekking yarn, the best of all my handknit socks, and I just happen to have a few balls of Trekking "in stock," so one of these days, after I finish my mom's sweater and after I perhaps knit something for our family Yankee swap (or perhaps not), I will get out the Trekking and force myself to knit a damn pair of socks. It'll be character-building, I reckon. 

Today I am off having fun, cavorting with red scarves, maybe learning something, and probably getting fat with Lynn Davis of the OFA, and Cheryl and Tracey and another Lynn. Of course I will tell you all about it later, but this seems like a great time to give out a few prizes in the Red Scarf Fund drive, no?

In the latest impromptu drawing that I made, this is the tally:

1. Melanie has won the elegant Cloisters wrap pattern from Miriam of Mimknits.

2. Susan G. has won two of This Susan's lovely patterns of her choice. 

3. Luise E. has won the wonderful luncheon napkins handmade by Carol.

4. Christine C. has won Thea's excellent Nantucket Red sweater pattern, with vintage buttons.

5. Helen has won the lovely SigNit beads donated by Marcia.  

Thank you to everyone for their generous money and prize donations! And there are plenty more prizes to win. 

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I completed the basketweave scarf just in time to be able to hand-deliver it to the OFA. 

For this pattern in particular, I am very partial to the steam block. What a beautiful and sophisticated fabric this makes! And it's very economical with the yarn. This 6-inch-wide, 60-inch-long scarf took 1.25 skeins of Cascade 220 Heathers. I paid $7.95 a skein. Pretty economical. Downright cheap, actually, and this is soft Merino wool, in just a gorgeous color.

This took three days of not-very-much knitting time. This was maybe 6 inches long when I arrived at AnnaMarie's house the other day. It was probably 12 inches long when I left. A little bit here and a little bit there, and it's DONE! I produced the final 12 inches during the 6:00 news the other night. Who says there isn't time to make a scarf?!

Random Wednesday

1. Oops. Both Mr. Jefferies and I forgot that yesterday was supposed to be terrier day. Here is a pic of the pupsicle taken yesterday, for the Yorkie-deprived -- well, those of you who didn't already see this on Facebook, anyway:

That's his polar fleece jacket over one of his Peace Fleece handknit sweaters, which was very warm and cozy indeed. However, those little pawses must have been awfully cold. Still, he did not want to go back inside, and I must have walked 10 miles with him yesterday, slipping and sliding on the black ice all the way. 

Yes, he does have boots, but they are more trouble than they're worth. He has a devil of a time trying to walk in the black set I got him, and they fall off too easily. The ones his parents got him in New York City, while he can walk in them fairly well, I could get arrested if I put them on him here.

You think I'm kidding.

Straight from the canine transvestite store.

2. I miss the LSAT studying. This could be a manifestation of something pathological, I'm starting to think.

3. In addition to the yogurt-making craze (I just made my fourth batch -- I ruined one batch, though, by, I think, overheating the milk), I've taken up with another back-to-the-'70s craze:

Sprouting. About a month ago, I bought a "Best of the Best of the Best" kit from Sprout People, and ohman, are we enjoying it! Mr. Jefferies gets a small serving of sprouts on his breakfast, too, which makes him very happy (he's a real greens-eatin' dawg). We're grabbing handfuls of sprouts (that one on the right is the French Mix and on the left is Beanie's Awesome Mix) to throw on our sandwiches, on our salads, and using the sprouts alone as their own salad with some vinaigrette. The other day I had a huge plate of broccoli sprouts with a can of salmon and maple balsamic vinaigrette for my lunch. Yum! And last night we had those bean sprouts on the left of the photo in our tomato/roasted-red-pepper soup. Slightly weird, but good. 

Now that the daily veg are not available from the backyard, this works as a handy and economical super-fresh and super-nutritious substitute. I know I qualify as slightly crazy in the food department, and this might not be for everyone, but I love the Madison Market Mix (nuts and seeds) sprouted and added to my morning yogurt, drizzled with maple syrup and sprinkled with cinnamon, for breakfast. Sprout People's dehulling video was (you know, without trying to be toooo dramatic) sort of life-changing. I'd tried sprouting many times before, but hated the hulls, didn't know how to deal with them, and just gave up. Now that I know how to manage them, and I found a mini-salad spinner for just $19 at my health food store, I'm all about the sprouts.

4. The basketweave scarf is now a smokin' 48 inches long. I steam-blocked it for this photo, and I am in love. With a scarf. I know. Shut up.

 

I Have a Wee Problem

Alrighty then, so I started that seed stitch scarf in that gorgeous red Cascade 220, which I LOVE, by the way. And I never ever ever (never ever say never ever) buy just one skein of Cascade 220. I never.ever.do. I almost always buy two skeins -- I don't know why. If I don't buy two skeins, I buy a sweater's worth, plus an extra. (That'd be seven, for me.)

And so I'm blithely knitting along, and I go to locate the 2nd skein. I can't find it anywhere. It now appears that I used it last year or the year before, for a Red Scarf that was color-block, sort of. I ended up not liking the way it came out -- the gauges of two of the yarns (both Cascade 220) were different enough from the third yarn that it really wasn't nice enough to send to the OFA. So it's been in my closet all this time, and I just pulled it out to send to the Salvation Army, but it hasn't gone yet. 

In the meantime, I searched Ravelry for this yarn, and I was lucky enough to find two people who have it in their stashes. I wrote to one person, who only has one skein. I figured she probably wouldn't mind selling me the one skein. She wrote me back to say that she was sympathetic to my plight but all her stuff is in storage and she'd have to try to see if she could find it. So there is still hope, but, well, I know how *I* would be if all my stuff was in storage -- no way would I be able to locate a single skein of Cascade 220. Another person has six skeins. She might not want to break up her lot, but I'm willing to buy the whole thing if she wants to help me out. I love this color enough that I'd happily knit scarves in it till the cows come home, and I'd even love to knit a sweater for myself in it. But there is no contact ability in her account. So no go there.

And here's the hilarious (well, I guess that would depend on your definition of "hilarious") part of this story: I started writing this post to ask you all if you'd check your stashes for Cascade 220, Color No. 9404, Dye Lot 5433, and before I was finished the 2nd paragraph, I thought, "Well, you dummy, why don't you rip out the red portion of that uglyish scarf and reuse the yarn."  Doh.

So. Problem sort of solved, and I was going to delete this stupid story. But then I decided that I guess this peek into the snow globe of my mind still makes for a blog entry. 

 Not blonde anymore; just slightly flaky.