Falling Leaves Wrap

This rectangular wrap is just the thing for a cool summer evening or to take the chill off in an over-air-conditioned restaurant or office. The original was knit in a merino yarn which is soft and lightweight. It’s sproingy, wonderful to knit with and blocks beautifully. Gauge isn’t critical because the wrap can be blocked to your desired dimensions. The pattern can easily be changed to accommodate different yarn weights by adjusting the size of the knitting needles used and by working fewer or more pattern repeats horizontally and vertically. The 16 row pattern isn’t daunting; after you’ve completed a 16 row pattern, you should be able to visualize what the stitches on each row are "doing" and you can easily find your place should you lose your row count.

Approximately 24"wide x 66" long (60 cm x 170 cm) after blocking.

Yarn: 2 skeins Colinette Jitterbug (640 yards) (585.2 meters) or any merino wool that you love the feel of.

Needles: U.S. size 6 (4 mm.)

Cast on 83 sts. loosely.

Row 1 (RS): K1, k2tog, k3, *yo, k1, yo, k3, sl 1, k2tog, psso, k3; repeat from * to last 7 sts, yo, k1, yo, k3, sl 1, k1, psso, k1.

Row 2 and every alternate even numbered Row: Purl.

Row 3: K1, k2tog, k2, *yo, k3, yo, k2, sl 1, k2tog, psso, k2; repeat from * to last 8 sts, yo, k3, yo, k2, sl 1, k1, psso, k1.

Row 5: K1, k2tog, k1, *yo, k5, yo, k1, sl 1, k2tog, psso, k1; repeat from * to last 9 sts, yo, k5, yo, k1, sl 1, k1, psso, k1.

Row 7: K1, k2tog, yo, k7, *yo, sl 1, k2tog, psso, yo, k7; repeat from * to last3 sts, yo, sl 1, k1, psso, k1.

Row 9: K2, yo, k3, *sl 1, k2tog, psso, k3, yo, k1, yo, k3; repeat from * to last 8 sts, sl 1, k2tog, psso, k3, yo, k2.

Row 11: K3, yo, k2, *sl 1, k2tog, psso, k2, yo, k3, yo, k2; repeat from * to last 8 sts, sl 1, k2tog, psso, k2, yo, k3.

Row 13: K4, yo, k1, *sl 1, k2tog, psso, k1, yo, k5, yo, k1; repeat from * to last 8 sts, sl 1, k2tog, psso, k1, yo, k4.

Row 15: K5, *yo, sl 1, k2tog, psso, yo, k7; repeat from * to last 8 sts, yo, sl 1, k2tog, psso, yo, k5.

Row 16: Purl.

Repeat these 16 Rows until there's not enough yarn left to allow you to complete another 16 Row pattern, making sure to leave enough yarn for 36 strands each 10" long for the fringe. Bind off loosely.

To make fringe: Cut 36 strands of yarn, 10" (25 cm.) long. Attach these at the 9 points at each end of the shawl, by taking 2 strands, folding them in half and pulling the folded end through each point, using a crochet hook if desired. Secure the fringe, by pulling the 4 cut ends through the loop tightly.

To block, place wrap in lukewarm water until thoroughly soaked, being careful not to agitate the fibres. Place between two layers of thick towel and gently press to remove excess moisture. Stretch the wrap into the desired shape, pinning onto a flat surface and allow to dry. Weave in loose ends. Here’s a link to the Yarn Harlot’s technique. It will make the straight edges of the wrap easier to block and then all you have to do is pin the 9 points at each end.

http://www.yarnharlot.ca/blog/archives/2005/08/23/walk_around_the_block.html

Abbreviations used:

sl1 - slip one stitch as if to knit

psso - pass slipped stitch over

Baby Booties

Chelsea and Julia are both due in December and

Kristen in January. It's the first baby for each of them

and the first grandchild for each of their parents.

We know Julia's having a girl!

All the booties were knit on size 3 mm. dpn's

using Bernat Baby Softee.

Each pair is slightly different from the others.

I forgot to photograph the last pair before I

wrapped them and gave them away, but

you get the drift.

Entrelac Scarf

This was my first attempt at entrelac knitting and it was surprisingly easy. It looks so wonky until you get into the second or third tier. Even then, I often had to reassess to make sure I was on track. I used size 5 mm. needles and Paton's SWS in "Natural Earth". This yarn was made for entrelac knitting. It gives you these beautiful colour gradations at just the right time so you don't have to mess around with changing yarn colours all the time. It's a luxurious 70% wool, 30% soy blend and I loved the feel of it while knitting. I've decided to leave it all puffy rather than blocking it for now. I've seen it done both ways. I've already bought more SWS in "Natural Pink". I may add pompoms to the ends of the next one.

I Think it's Going to Be a Scarf or Two

I got some of the most luscious mohair and

wool given to me by a dear friend, Nina. It would

probably be enough for a wrap or a shawl.

I knit a sample swatch and love how it

knits up. Not sure what I'm going to

make with it yet.

Valentine's Scarf

I really like how the hearts pop out on

this scarf. I got the pattern here.

It was a special edition that knitty came

out with in 2004 to promote Breast

Cancer Awareness.

I'm using a mohair blend and size

7 mm. needles. I think it'll look

better once it's blocked.

Branching Out Scarf

This has been on my knit list for a long time.

It's knitty's branching out scarf. I used a soft

mohair blend and knit it on 6 mm. needles doing

25 repeats of the lace pattern. It "grew"

to a length of about 5 feet after blocking.

Julie's Scarf

I found the pattern for this scarf in "Scarf Style"

by Pam Allen. It's called "Here and There Cables".

I loved that it looked exactly the same on the right

and wrong sides. I used a Red Heart acrylic that's

surprisingly soft and knit it on size 7 mm. needles.

It's nice and long - 6 feet. I gave it to J

for Christmas.

Cabled Bag

I joined a 'knitalong' on craftster for garnstudio's Bag with Cable Pattern.

I just love the garnstudio website. The knitting patterns are amazing. I used a fabric st. for the handles instead of the garter st. recommended in the pattern. I think it will keep the handles from stretching too much. I added 3 vintage buttons for the closure at the top of the bag. Some of the knitting for the bag was done on the way to and from R&C's cottage in Manitoulin. This year R&C, M&C, D&T, K&I went up from September 22nd to the 25th to celebrate a milestone birthday with M.Y. John Knepper was

up at his cottage as well and joined us every evening.

Red Scarf

I knit this scarf lengthwise using 4 different kinds

of yarn and size 10 mm. needles. The ends were

finished by adding pom poms.

Here's a close-up of the stitches:

Corn on the Cob Scarf

I made this scarf for H. She's not quite 2 yet. She likes 'lellow'. It reminded me of corn on the cob as I was knitting it. I think the stitch I used is probably called popcorn stitch or something similar.

and here's a close up of the popcorn stitch

Cabled Neckwarmer

I didn't use a pattern - just cast on 80 sts. on size 5 mm. (U.S. size 8 ) circular needles. They're short - 50 cm. (20 inches) or you could use dpn's. I did a 4 x 4 rib and added cables every 12 rows or so. It knits up very quickly, especially on the circular needles. I used Paton's Glittallic - yes, it's acrylic or something fake, but it feels really nice and soft.

Marley's Ghost

I started Marley's Ghost as part of a knitalong on craftster.

I've lost interest along the way and started working on

other projects. I find the knitting very tedious because

of having to use 5 dpn's at one time for such a small

project. They are such a pain to maneuvre through

the links of the scarf after every 7 sts knit. I'm using a

black chenille yarn which has no 'give' to it

whatsoever so that doesn't help either.

Autumn Scarf

I knit this scarf lengthwise using two

different kinds of yarn. It's got a really

nice drape to it. It's a little over

6 feet long.

Mason-Dixon Washcloth

I needed a quick knit to try out some new Paton's Elite

cotton yarn. The Mason-Dixon Washcloth seemed like

a more interesting project than the standard washcloth

pattern that I've been using for years. It's knit from the

outside in. I gave it to my parents when they stopped

by. My Mom would appreciate it for the knitting and

my Dad would appreciate it for doing the dishes -

which he happily does.

Bath or Shower Mitts

These knit up so quickly. I used Bernat Handicrafter

yarn. They're great exfoliating mitts for the bath or

shower. Once they're wet, they stretch out quite a bit

too, so you don't want to knit them too big or they

end up being massive when the water hits them.

I got the free pattern here.

Lime Shawl

I was at the Spinrite Factory Outlet in Listowel ON

Canada and couldn't resist some of their yarns. I

found these in the odd ball bin and knew I'd

eventually make something out of them.

Several months later I made this shawl. The edges

looked unfinished and had far too many loose strands

that needed to be dealt with. I decided to braid them

rather than try to weave them in because there were

just so many of them.

Here's a close-up of the leaf detail.

I love the length and it keeps me warm

on cool summer evenings.

Striped Sweater

I knit this sweater for H. It's about a size 9 months.

I used a cotton yarn in 4 different colours and

loosely followed a Debbie Bliss pattern. I was having

trouble finding buttons to match, so I decided to

make some instead. I made baubles out of three of

the colours used in the sweater and I think they look

cute against the yellow band.

Pumpkin Hat

I worked on this little pumpkin hat for H on

our way to and from R&C's up in Manitoulin.

H will be wearing it for her first Hallowe'en.

J picked up a pumpkin outfit for her last

October (before she was born) on a girls'

weekend in Buffalo. I got the pattern here.

Baby Blanket

I started this blanket for H back in the

summer of 2004 shortly after I found out J & M

were expecting. I even took it along on our trip

to Greece in September but didn't actually get

around to knitting much of it there. I really wish

they would allow knitting on airplanes again.

Especially with it being a 12 hour flight, I would

have gotten a lot of knitting done and passed

the time so much more enjoyably.

With H arriving 9 1/2 weeks early, I

had to really work on this to get it done in

time for her homecoming when she was

just under 5 weeks old.

The yarn is Bernat Baby Coordinates and

has a really nice sparkle to it so when the sun

shines on it, it glistens like a blanket of snow.

Booties for Baby B-G

Little Baby B-G is due in February 2005. These little booties are made of the softest white baby yarn I could find. The pattern can be found here. I used blue ribbon for one bootie and pink for the other. I've made many of these before, but none are as special to me as these.