Other knitting fun

The reason I didn't blog anything all month until yesterday was that I spent most of the month on a work trip to Toronto, Canada. September is a great time of year to go there! Of course my luggage contained a lot of yarn!

I got to the halfway point on my Unleaving scarf, but then I set it aside, because carrying the pattern around and marking every row made it not as portable as I'd like. I'll finish it off soon, though--it's pretty.

Unleaving, halfway finished

Naturally, on a trip to a new place one visits yarn shops. Not having a car meant I couldn't go as many places as I normally would, but it turned out my hotel (the venerable Delta Chelsea) was not too far from Kensington Market, where Lettuce Knit, made "famous" by the Yarn Harlot, is located. So, I took a taxi there and spent my first Saturday afternoon in Toronto happily ensconced at their table, knitting away. Here's a shot of one of the new owners and the shop interior, which is brimming with Canadian yarn.

Lettuce Knit--very scenic! (and that is my cool Canadian cardigan on the chair)

One of the things I'd vowed to do during my time in Canada was try to buy things made there. That was no problem in this yarn shop, since the new owners are trying really hard to have mostly Canadian products there. Other than a few "standards," the store was brimming with Canadian fiber products, including some really cool stuff.

My Canadian yarn stash

Here's what I ended up with. The sock yarn, which is mostly brown, is Indigo Dragonfly (where artistry and attitude collide, according to the label), and a cashmere wool blend. The colorway is "Captain Tightpants" because all the colors in the collection have a Serenity/Firefly theme. Mmmm. Captain Mal. Oops, that gets me all daydreamy about romance on his current show...oh never mind.

As for that orange yarn, it is less intense than the photo indicates. And it is totally SPECIAL. It is InfiKnit One of a Kind 100% silk laceweight. It's all thick and thin and really amazing in texture. The label says "yarn softens dramatically with handling." I can't figure out what to make from it. The young woman (my kids' age!) working at the shop was making a very lightweight cardigan out of it, but that takes two skeins. Maybe a shrug? I still like those even if they are not in fashion. I will think on it.

When I decided to change projects, I tried to start my Latvian mittens. However, the 00 needles I brought still didn't give me the gauge I wanted. So, I put that away and will try again on 000s now that I am home. I next broke out the cashmere. The Jade Sapphire 7 Gorgeous Scarf Patterns kit I recently bought. I am making the Anya option in the most beautiful shade of red, which is not as bright as the photo below.

The scarf went everywhere with me. Here it's on the GO train to Pickering.

I got well into the second skein of the scarf on the trip, and today I just finished the third skein. It's 60" now, but the instructions said to make it 74" so I will. This photo shows the color more accurately:

Current state of Anya scarf.

I am enjoying that it's an easy to remember pattern but looks interesting. The yarn is fascinating in its construction. It is made from three strands of two-ply that are twisted around each other. It unravels into the three strands very easily, which makes me think a fringe would be really pretty. It looks like I will have a skein left over. I doubt it, but it would be cool if that was enough for a small, warm hat. I saw this pattern on Ravelry, the Almond Hat, that I would love to try. It has a short version.

I had a great time in Canada. My only regret is not getting to see all my friends there--I only ended up seeing one of my friends (we went to Niagara Falls and saw a LOT of vineyards and grapes). I did have a beautiful view out my hotel window.

Non-knitting content. I could also see the CN tower, to the right of the giant Charlie Sheen and buildings.

I guess that sums up my September knitting. I am sitting here wearing the snood I made yesterday. I think I will have trouble giving it away. I definitely want one of my own, and judging from my friends' reactions, a lot of them want one, too!

Snood-Tastic

Don't I look snood-tastic?

I whipped up a snood today--my coworker has very curly hair and wanted me to make her a "hair net" to scrunch it all up so it will dry even curlier. We went out and got some bamboo crochet thread on Thursday, and since I did not see a snood pattern I really liked anywhere else, I made this one up. This is a draft, so let me know if you see any problems with it.

Snood-Tastic

by Sue Ann (Suna) Kendall, ©2012

This snood was made to act as a hair net to hold curly hair in a scrunched-up position while drying, but also works as a traditional snood to contain long hair when it’s driving you nuts.

Materials: 2 skeins Aunt Lydia’s Iced Bamboo crochet thread in Chocolate Ice.
Hook: Size E 3.5mm
Elastic: 19-22” of black elastic cord (or a thin elastic hairband)

Instructions

Increase section

Back View

Chain 6 and form into a loop.
Round 1: ch7, (tr1, ch3) 7 times, join with a slip stitch into the 4^th chain of ch7.
Round 2: ch7, (tr1 into next space, ch3, tr1 into tr from previous round, ch3) to end of round. Join last ch3 to 4^th chain of ch7.
Round 3: Repeat round 2.
Round 4: ch7, (tr1 into tr from previous round, ch3) to end of round, Join last ch3 to 4th chain of ch7.
Round 5: ch7, (tr1 into tr from previous round, ch3, tr1 into next space, ch3, tr1 into tr from previous round) to end of round. Join last ch3 to 4^th chain of ch7. (The idea of this round is to tr into each tr from the previous round and every other space.)
This completes the increases.

Body

Round 6: From now on, repeat round 4 until the snood is the diameter you want. Mine was 10 inches, to hold a lot of hair. (Note: in the original I did a couple of rows with dc instead of tr, for variety—that’s optional.)

Edge: dc in each tr and chain across, except in every other chain space, just do 2 dc. That snugs it up a bit.

Make elastic band: Cut a piece of elastic cord that’s about the same size as your head. Overlap for an inch or so and use sturdy thread to sew the elastic into a circle. You want it to fit like a headband—not too lose and not too snug—enough to stay on.

Add elastic to snood: sc into each sc of the previous row, over the elastic band, which will encase it and make it fairly invisible. You will have to squish the snood up a bit, by sliding the stitches along the elastic, to get all the way around. When you are finished, distribute the stitches evenly across the elastic. It will stick where the doubled part is, but the rest should move freely. End off and enjoy your snood!

If you don’t like how tight the elastic is, it’s easy to get to the seam and make it a bit more loose or tight.

Looks sorta sad with no hair in it

Abbreviations

Ch=chain
Tr=treble crochet
Dc=double crochet
Sc=single crochet

If you want a PDF of the instructions, post your email address in a comment, and I will send it to you and NOT publish your email address.

Updated October 14, 2012