Her ears were cold

Made for my neighbor - her choice of yarn and pattern.   Matches the scarf I made first for her. 

Pattern:  Parisian Twist ear warmer

Yarn:  Berroco Borealis

Now that I look back, I don't think I posted about it.  A relatively quick knit - love knitting with bulky yarn.  Messed up the pattern at the beginning and had to rip it out a couple of times.  She picked out the pattern.

Pattern:  Loopluftikus.

Ruffles have ridges

Impulse purchase at 3 Bags Full:  Broadway Yarn.
About 5-6 hours of knit time, and I had a scarf!  Very fun.  Hard to get the colors right - they are a navy blue and purple with silver sparkle edge.

Wind beneath my wings

pattern:  Wingspan (over 4000 projects in Ravelry!)

yarn:  Noro Taiyo sock, found at the Midwest Fiber Fair

recipient:  a friend, for her 40th birthday

Love this pattern!!   Super easy - it's basically a whole lot of garter stitch and short rows.  Perfect traveling project.  Most of this was knitted at the pool this summer.  The original pattern is a "shawlette" and only called for 8 triangles, but I basically kept going till the end of the skein because I was envisioning more of a scarf.  3g of yarn left!

I think I see one of these in my future for myself ...

silk comfort

I made this for my friend in Houston, so I chose a fiber that was 100% silk by Araucania (Chaiten) - it's sort of a matte nubby finish, which is really nice and drapes really well.  I used the Lace Ribbon pattern that I love - so easy to memorize, easy to execute (once you get the hang of it), and looks complicated.  I made it a bit wider than the pattern so that she could use it as a shawl in the air-conditioned buildings that she works in.

It was originally intended as a prayer shawl of sorts - something to give her a modicum of comfort in the aftermath of her mother's recent death - but turned out to be a congratulations-on-your-engagement gift :)

Ruffle madness

The new fun yarn at Stitches last year.  One skein!  It's a ribbony yarn - you stretch it out, wrap it around a cardboard tube, and then knit into the edge.  So easy, fast, and gratifying.  This was a birthday present for a friend living in a sunny clime. 

Yarn:  Acacia Yarns, Flamenco

Pattern:  8 garter stitches

Needle size - doesn't really matter.  I think I used something around a 10.

Recycled yarn

Made for E's school auction, which features recycled items.  I had this yarn from the Prairie Crossing yarn store's closing sale and thought it would be perfect.

From the label:  Rowan Purelife Revive is made from used garments which have been selected according to the silk, cotton and viscose content. These are then carded to make regenerated fiber, which is then spun into this beautiful, high quality yarn, which gives life to new hand knitting designs.

Fiber content: 36% recycled silk; 36% recycled cotton; 28% recycled viscose (rayon)

It's not the softest scarf, but it's definitely not scratchy or stiff either.  I really liked the drape after washing it and the heathery shades are awesome.  It's not quite as in-your-face as this photo might suggest - it's more blue-gray-heather.  Hope it sells!

I'm not weaving, I'm managing my stash

Today I was listening to the KnitPicks podcast from late October on rigid heddle weaving.  Now I realize that this is a somewhat self-serving podcast, since it is created by a website that sells yarn, but there were two items worth commenting on:
 - Think of weaving not as a new craft, but as a means of stash management!
 -  You can pick up the edges after it's off the loom and knit an icord edge.

I haven't woven much lately, because there's a project on the loom that I don't know if I'm loving yet - though it is starting to grow on me.  That will be the subject of another post, since I don't have photos right now.

Here is a scarf I did this summer, to surprise a friend for her birthday.  I love the subtle sparkle.  The weft is a Claudia Handpainted silk/wool fingering that I found in the clearance section at Fiddlehead (!!  big score!).  It's tough to appreciate the colors from this photo, but it's a blend of pinks, oranges, and browns.  The warp is a cotton/viscose blend that I scored at an odd yarn sale out of someone's home.  This one practically wove itself.