Casting About and Casting On...
Lately I've been at sixes and nines, still feeling a big hole in my life. Computer stuff with my business has gone a bit crazy and I'm really feeling it, having to re-tool how everything gets done. Too many new security regulations and no end in sight! *sigh!* New software, new payment processor, new bookkeeping stuff - I'm starting to do it in my sleep! No wonder I've have no time for blogging - and I miss you all SO much!
I really needed some stress relief! Leave it to me to cast on not one but TWO new projects - both of them trademark "lazy" knits! Both involve yarn I've had for several years that I've purposely left sitting about because I like them so much!
The first is a super chunky yarn I bought as a one pound "mystery" yarn. You know the type - you find lots of them in bags a bin at the department store and you fondle, sniff and squeeze for all you're worth trying to guess what they're made of! LOL! I liked this one because it's very soft. I'm sure it's totally synthetic but I bought it anyways. It's black with a shiny multi-colored strand. You can't see how glossy it is from these pictures but it's a really pretty yarn! I decided to knit a big scarf as a gift for someone this Christmas. It will be the kind where you fold up the end corners and sew them together into a V-shaped pouch for their mitten-less hands. That's why the end has such a long patch of moss stitch before going into the lace part.
I started out with the Star Rib Mesh Cashmere Scarf pattern from Knitting on the Net but after about a foot I still hadn't mastered memorizing the stitch. After too many flubs I just ripped it back to the moss stitch border and used my old zen standby, the Turkish stitch from About.com. It's from the Turkish Stitch Shawl and it's a long time favorite of mine! The silliest part, is that knit up in this bulky yarn, it really doesn't look much different! It didn't take long for it to grow to this length....
Next I pulled out one of those "super special" yarns. You know the kind - ridiculously over-priced but has such magpie appeal you can't pass it up....
This (really bad color-wise picture) is 4 skeins of Noro Hinageshi SS. It is 50% Rayon, 36% Cotton, 11% Linen and 3% Nylon. It glitters and twinkles like smooth rafia! It's sort of a boucle/ribbon yarn. Each 50 gm ball is only 47 meters and retails for $16.99 (!!!). That works out to 36 cents per meter, or almost a penny an inch! Eeep! I bought it on eBay for $25 for 4 skeins and I've kept it in a basket in my office, just so I can ogle it everyday! I figured I might as well get my money's worth! Ha ha! Four skeins wound into a ball this size...
I decided to actually knit a Turkish stitch shawl with it. The only different thing I'm doing is purling the wrong side rows instead of knitting them. This yarn has so much body on it's own it doesn't need garter stitches. What's more, the color changes are really short and I wanted the jewel colors to really shine. Having a smooth-ish side helps do that. Instead of casting on the token two stitches, I cast on 10 so the shawl is flat on the bottom instead of having one of those itty bitty pointy ends.
I have no idea how far I'll get - this is about 1 1/2 skeins worth already. I'm thinking it will make a generous-sized neckerchief. No matter! I'm knitting a "zen" stitch with gorgeous yarn to get my mind off things and I'm really enjoying every stitch! No apologies that it's not a complicated cosmopolitan knit - after all, isn't enjoyment what it's all about?
Cheers all!
I really needed some stress relief! Leave it to me to cast on not one but TWO new projects - both of them trademark "lazy" knits! Both involve yarn I've had for several years that I've purposely left sitting about because I like them so much!
The first is a super chunky yarn I bought as a one pound "mystery" yarn. You know the type - you find lots of them in bags a bin at the department store and you fondle, sniff and squeeze for all you're worth trying to guess what they're made of! LOL! I liked this one because it's very soft. I'm sure it's totally synthetic but I bought it anyways. It's black with a shiny multi-colored strand. You can't see how glossy it is from these pictures but it's a really pretty yarn! I decided to knit a big scarf as a gift for someone this Christmas. It will be the kind where you fold up the end corners and sew them together into a V-shaped pouch for their mitten-less hands. That's why the end has such a long patch of moss stitch before going into the lace part.
I started out with the Star Rib Mesh Cashmere Scarf pattern from Knitting on the Net but after about a foot I still hadn't mastered memorizing the stitch. After too many flubs I just ripped it back to the moss stitch border and used my old zen standby, the Turkish stitch from About.com. It's from the Turkish Stitch Shawl and it's a long time favorite of mine! The silliest part, is that knit up in this bulky yarn, it really doesn't look much different! It didn't take long for it to grow to this length....
Next I pulled out one of those "super special" yarns. You know the kind - ridiculously over-priced but has such magpie appeal you can't pass it up....
This (really bad color-wise picture) is 4 skeins of Noro Hinageshi SS. It is 50% Rayon, 36% Cotton, 11% Linen and 3% Nylon. It glitters and twinkles like smooth rafia! It's sort of a boucle/ribbon yarn. Each 50 gm ball is only 47 meters and retails for $16.99 (!!!). That works out to 36 cents per meter, or almost a penny an inch! Eeep! I bought it on eBay for $25 for 4 skeins and I've kept it in a basket in my office, just so I can ogle it everyday! I figured I might as well get my money's worth! Ha ha! Four skeins wound into a ball this size...
I decided to actually knit a Turkish stitch shawl with it. The only different thing I'm doing is purling the wrong side rows instead of knitting them. This yarn has so much body on it's own it doesn't need garter stitches. What's more, the color changes are really short and I wanted the jewel colors to really shine. Having a smooth-ish side helps do that. Instead of casting on the token two stitches, I cast on 10 so the shawl is flat on the bottom instead of having one of those itty bitty pointy ends.
I have no idea how far I'll get - this is about 1 1/2 skeins worth already. I'm thinking it will make a generous-sized neckerchief. No matter! I'm knitting a "zen" stitch with gorgeous yarn to get my mind off things and I'm really enjoying every stitch! No apologies that it's not a complicated cosmopolitan knit - after all, isn't enjoyment what it's all about?
Cheers all!
Posted by Gloria Patre at 10/7/2009 6:05 PM 
Categories: Other Projects, Shawls, Musings
Tags: noro hinageshi scarf. zen knitting
Categories: Other Projects, Shawls, Musings
Tags: noro hinageshi scarf. zen knitting
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