March 2015 – Knitting Up North

I’ve got pretty yarn.

There, I’ve said it. I’ve got pretty yarn in my house right now. (In fact I have more than I should admit to having in public)

I’m willing to bet that you have pretty yarn too. Maybe you’ve got a small stash of just a couple of skeins of sock yarn. Or maybe you’re someone who has an entire room dedicated to your stash.

Maybe, just maybe, you’re like me and you pick up single skeins here and there because they’re “pretty.”

So, hypothetically speaking, if you were like me and had some skeins of self striping sock yarn ~~languishing in your stash~~ waiting for the right project, and maybe there just wasn’t quite enough yardage for a pair of socks…. well, this project might just be for you. It’s the ZickZack scarf.

So here’s what you do: Love the yarn you’re with.

Dig into your stash. Go into the deep dark recesses of your stash and find the yarn that you forgot you had. Pick out two pretty/fun/interesting skeins of self striping sock yarn. This is the important part folks – they DO NOT have to match. Seriously, don’t match them up. Trust me on this one even though it probably makes your skin crawl (It certainly makes mine!).

If you use a yarn that has long repeats of color, like Zauberball, it will have a very different effect than the short repeats that I have. Either effect is just fine.

The advice I got from Barb at Fabric Works, was to pick one skein with warm colors and one skein with cool colors. The colors will then contrast really nicely and you get great striping.

Then pick up your needles and cast on. If you’re anything like me, you’ll have to knit for a few inches before you can really decide if you like the colors. It takes a while to see the colors as a whole rather than just one or two colors popping out at you. I even showed it to the pint sized fashion consultants (my girls) to see what they thought. Both of them had a resounding, “Wow, that’s pretty!”

The cool part about this scarf is that every single one I have seen is different. And they’re all pretty.

Count with me. (It would really help if you could count in the voice of the Count from Sesame Street). “Von……. Twoooo…….. Tree……. Tree pairs of easy garter stitch slippers, Ha. ha. ha.”

(You might notice that there is not much of a size difference between my 2 daughters feet and my own.)

Life’s Stash:

I made three pairs of the Simple Garter Stitch Slippers before calling it quits. For those of you with a keen eye, you might notice that one of the pairs in the photo above do not quite match. I ran out of the coveted teal yarn before the mid-way point on the 2nd slipper. I grabbed a lighter blue instead. Addie was very excited that she would have mis-matched slippers! Mis-matched socks are the coolest thing right now.

I sort of have an inkling that I might make a few more pairs to have on hand as they are:

1. Easy.

2. Warm

3. Addictive as all get out.

4. Satisfying because they use up all sorts of odds and ends.

5. Did I mention warm?

When the weather vacillates between -15 F and 46 F, warm is an important factor. While having wood floors is nice – certainly pretty and practical when you have a giant fluffy dog – they are not warm.

I keep finding fun combinations of leftover sock yarn that would make for fun slippers. This really is addictive!

What I’m Knitting:

I started a Stockinette Haruni out of a Wonderland Yarns gradient kit. It starts off as a springy green and moves toward teal. I love gradients! They make me almost as happy as warm slippers. This yarn is incredibly soft and has great stitch definition. Every time I walk into the yarn store I am tempted to buy another set of these gradient colors.

I’ve done another few rows on Addie’s hat. I suspect I might finish this hat about the time that she will no longer need to wear a hat in the morning (which means I will finish it some time in May.)

What I’m Not Knitting:

I’ve made no progress on the sweater this week. It’s sitting right where I left it, on the back of the couch, taunting me.

Knots & Tangles:

For some goofy reason I had the hardest time starting the Haruni. It starts off with a small provisional cast on, then you pick up stitches and start knitting one row, purling another. I think it was because of the garter stitch edging, but my brain just did not want to switch over to purling every other row. I had to concentrate a bit to get past the first few rows, then I got it. I’m embarrassed to say that I might have had to be in a quiet room to get past this part. Now that I managed to get the flow of the shawl it’s going quite well.

Loose Ends:

Although this is completely random and off-topic, if you ever find yourself in Menomonie, Wisconsin, you need to find Legacy Chocolates. This little chocolate shop has been a favorite of our family’s since they opened sometime after I moved away from home (probably a really good thing for my waistline!) I noticed that they serve things other than chocolate and coffee, although I’m really not sure why anyone would go there for anything else.

As you can see, the truffles come highly recommended!

Month: March 2015

Love The One You’re With

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