One of my favorite swaps on Ravelry is the International Scarf Exchange.  I love creating for someone else and can't wait to see what I get in exchange.  My partner in this exchange is in Dover, Tasmania in Austraila.  The "Lace Ribbon Scarf" pattern is from the Spring 2008 issue of knitty.com.  It was made with Deborah Norville fingering weight sock yarn.  I love the blue and green colorway.  I wanted the colors to represent the color of the ocean.  The scarf was an easy pattern to follow and work up.  The length of the scarf ended up being 82".  The design of the scarf is for the wearer to be able to wrap it around their neck and have length left to drape down.  My swap partner loved her scarf.  Below is the beautiful scarf from her.  It was made with hand spun merino from Tasmania.

 I love the colors and it looks great against my forest green jacket.  Although it is merino wool, it is very soft and subtle.

Last Minute Christmas Scarves

These Keyhole scarves are were made this Christmas for my mom and sister.  It was a free pattern provided by Koigu and requires around 100 yards of fingering weight yarn.  The pattern doesn't specify a needle size, but I used a Size 7.  The scarf on the right was made from Online Supersock which was leftover from my first pair of knitted socks.  The scarf on the right was hand spun merino wool that I had forgotten I had.  The hand spun yarn was some beautiful merino wool that I had purchased in Lancaster County, PA a few years ago.

The pattern was very easy to follow.  The only difficulty was dividing the stitches to make the "keyhole" portion.  However, even a beginning knitter can accomplish this project.  The pattern was a simple rib, but I can see how you can modify the scarf with different rib patterns.

I love the way both scarfs knitted up.  It was interesting to see how different yarns created the same scarf, but with a little twist.

Corriedale Fingerless Mitts

I purchased this corriedale fiber from the CT Sheep and Wool Festival.  After spinning and plying, I ended up with almost 200 yards of fingering yarn.  This was the perfect amount to make my sister these fingerless mittens for her birthday.  I used size one needles for a really dense knitted fabric.  These mittens were knit from the top down with a thumb gussett decrease.  It was very interesting to work them up this way and it went very quickly.  My sister loved her birthday present.

Sock Innovation - Cauchy

This is the second time I am doing the "Cauchy" sock.  The first pair was for a man and I just added a pattern repeat to make sure they'd fit.  I also did a regular ribbed cuff.  In the spirit of following Cookie A's patterns to the letter, I attempted the picot cuff.  I started out with the provisional cast on method that was  illustrated in the book.  I kept having trouble with the uniformity of the stitches, so I switched to a different cast on.  I'm not sure of the proper name, but I used a crochet hook a couple sizes larger than my needles.  I did a chain stitch for about 20 more stitches than I needed, then proceeded to cast on a stitch in the "bump" of the chain.  Once I was ready to join the stitches, I just pulled out the chain and the live stitches were there.  I would advise using a heaver weight yarn in a contrasting color to make this process easier.

These socks for my Dad were made with Knit Picks Gloss Fingering in a silk/merino blend.  I have really been on a kick to use solid colors to make the patterns really pop.  

I'm very happy that I am knitting the patterns in order of the book.  I find that in every pattern Cookie A teaches a new skill.  I also took advantage of her sizing tutorial to make these bigger than what for the pattern called for.  On to the next challenge..............................

Mastering the Art of Picot

If I've heard it once, I've heard it a million times; "I don't have the patience."  Well, I have always had the patience, but this particular technique really tried my patience.  The Picot Cuff is done the following way:  First of all, you do a provisional cast on so that you keep the bottom edge as "live" stitches.  This alone is enough to drive you around the bend.  The second step to this cuff is to pick up these live stitches and knit them along with the other stitches in the other end.  The cast on that was suggested in the Cookie A Sock Innovation Book was easy to do, but I did a cast on from a crocheted chain stitch.  I prefer this method because it is easier (for me) to pick up the stitches on each end.  I had to redo this cuff several times for the first sock, but the second was easier.  When doing this for yourself, I will suggest using a crochet hook larger than the needle size you need and a heaver weight yarn.  This will make picking up the stitches on each end much easier.  

Knitting is a perpetual exercise in learning the art of patience and gradually having the feeling that you can accomplish almost anything.  It is one of the only activities where you can actually have a "do over."

The Wedding Gift

This Cable Knit Throw was a free pattern on ravelry.com.  It was made with Knit Picks Brava Bulky yarn and size 10 1/2 circular needles.  It had originally called for worsted weight yarn, but a wanted a more "solid" blanket that would hold it's shape better.  The picture doesn't do the pattern, nor the color of the yarn any justice.  It's the perfect color  of a brown with just a tiny hint of greenish gray.  It reminded me of the beach right after it had rained.  The pattern was at an intermediate level.  It was easy to follow, but you do have to pay attention and read.  The use of stitch markers went right out the window since the starting and stopping point of the pattern repeat changed in every row.  The recipients of the throw was my assistant minister and his new bride.  It was very well received upon the debut and also by my two friends who received a "sneak peek." 

Creatively Dyed Bamboo Bliss

I purchased this bamboo/merino blend from the Creatively Dyed booth at the 2011 New York Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, New York.  I really love the way the blues and unexpected greens popped up while I was spinning it up.  I navajo plied the yarn and came up with just under 200 yards.  I found this "Abstract Leaves Cowl" on ravelry.com for free.  The yarn is super soft and light.  It will look nice against my purple pea coat this winter.  The design of the pattern began with larger needles with the last two rounds of the pattern done in a smaller size needle for the graduated decrease effect.  This helps it hug the neck.  I will definitely be visiting the Creatively Dyed booth at Rhinebeck this October.  Here is the finished product.

Artistic Bex

The continuing project in Cookie A's Sock Innovation continues.  The "Bex" was knit up in Knit Picks Silk/Merino Blend.  These socks were finished while I was on vacation in Tennessee.  I love how the pattern popped out in the orange colorway.  Colored pencils and my new magnetic chart keeper was a big help.  This is not a difficult pattern if you pay attention.  Lifelines are definitely  required.  When you get to the top of the foot pattern, you then repeat the same six rows over and over.  This gives a nice uniform pattern until you get to the toe increases.  Six more patterns to go...............

Ronan's Blanket

When my nephew Kyle and his wife Amanda had their son, I wanted to make something unique and unusual.  I also wanted to so something with a "bright and dark" motif.  This pattern on Ravelry hit the right note.  The pattern is visually stimulating as well as soft and warm.  It is worded in the round from the center out.  It got a little tedious near the end with finding longer needle cords.  I loved it's "off-center" design and slightly not perfectly squared shape.  The  blanket was a big hit with the new parents and grandparents.

Sock Innovation Continues

The next pattern in Cookie A's Sock Innovation is "Sam."  These socks were made with Knit Picks "Gloss."  This is a merino/silk blend and I loved the colorway.  I have really been partial to the monochromatic colorways which make the patterns in this book really pop.  I did have to frog and start over several times.  The pattern is easy to follow, but you get a false sense of security with such a simple pattern.  Again, with all others you have to pay attention.  I'm closer to using up my stash and haven't had to buy any yarn for long project yet.  I am happy with the results.

Zahra's Blanket

This is the second time I'm knitting this pattern.  It's titled "Johnny's Blanket" but I'm calling it Zahra's Blanket.  I co-worker and his wife celebrated the birth of their first child and commissioned me to to a blanket for them.  What impressed me most was the involvement of the father on this project.  He went to my blog, and picked out this blanket for me to make,  he also picked out the colors and asked me to alter the blocks so that his daughter's name go on the blanket.  He even consulted on the font of the letters.  It was a total collaboration.  It was knit up in one piece and finding my yarn bobbins made the project easier the second time around.  I got it done in time for Mother's Day.

Sock Innovation - Wanida

The latest submission of Cookie A's Sock Innovation.  This project was simple to follow and worked up nicely.  I used the the Risata from Knit Picks that was in my stash.  I'm really into the simple chromatic colors that make the pattern pop.  Even though the pattern is easy, you need to pay attention.  It's hard to go back and pick up dropped stitches with all the K2T and SSK's.  You can very easily tell where you are in the pattern by paying attention to the design.  I like the red/burgundy color which is out of my comfort zone.  Can't wait to get to the next project.

My First "Two at a Time" Toe Up Socks

I have always wanted to try toe up socks and finally decided to give it a try. This is a simple pattern that I found on ravelry.com. The Sock Yarn is some nice 100% cotton yarn that I had received in a previous swap. The recipient was my sister who lives in Tennessee. The cotton made sense since the weather there is much warmer and wool socks probably wouldn't be worn as much. I used a "figure eight" cast on for the toe with 60" Addi Turbo Size 1 needles. It was a little tough beginning at the toe with so little stitches and such long needles. Once the increasing for the toe was done, it was smooth sailing. I did the heel flaps one at a time because it was just easier. One of these days, I'll master the short row heel and not have to separate. It was an easy project, but you have to do everything backwards from cuff down. Just pay attention to the directions and you'll be fine. I hope that my sister like them.

Angee

Sock Innovation #6 - Angee.

In the quest to knit all the socks in Cookie A's Sock Innovation, I'm almost halfway there. The Angee pattern is a very easy one to follow. The colorway is called "Dune Twist" from Knit Picks. Even though it's an easy pattern, you shouldn't forget to keep track of your rows and use your lifelines. The variegation in the yarn is just enough for you to get lost if you're not paying attention.

The yarn was a nylon/wool mix. It did split when I had to rip back some rows or picking up dropped stitches. I do, however, feel that the nylon in the yarn will make it a long wearing sock. I had this yarn in my stash for quite some time and it knitted up nicely, giving the sock a nice mix of color without hiding the pattern.

Veni, Vidi, Vici - Vilai

Sock Innovation project #5 in my quest to get though the entire book is done. What a challenging project; let me just warn you now. You'll need to use all your powers of memory, focus and attention to stay on pattern. I broke out my colored pencils to color in the breaks in the pattern, stitch markers, lifelines, the whole arsenal. I did have to rip out the first sock several times, then it all came together in the second sock. I used some lovely Madelintosh sock yarn that I had received in a previous swap. The yarn is a nice rich forest green with flecks of brownish gray and teal. I didn't want to do a variegated yarn because I wanted this pattern to really pop. I used a size one needle for these instead of a size two and I'm sure the fit will be much better.