"Ordinary Day" scarf

Ordinary Day Scarf

Worsted Weight Wool, 315 yards/288 meters (Used: Caron Simply Soft, in color: Plum Wine)
Size 8US needles

**C4= S2 stitches onto cable needle, hold needle in front of knitting, K2, then K2 from cable needle

CO 36 stitches

Row 1: K4, *P4, K2 repeat from* until last 8 stitches, P4, K4

Row 2: K2, *P2, K4 repeat from * until last 4 stitches, P2, K2

Row 3: Repeat Row 1

Row 4: Repeat Row 2

Row 5: Repeat Row 1

Row 6: K2, P2, *C4, P2, K4, P2, repeat until last 8 stitches, C4, P2, K2

Repeat rows 1-6 until scarf has reached desired length.

My first design!! (and Irish Things, Part II)

I made my first design!!!! It's a scarf that I designed to go along with the "Hat with Cables" that I made for my friend Alex. I had just finished my Irish Hiking Scarf/Irish Hiking Wrist Warmers, and she had purchased yarn for me to make her a scarf, but I didn't want to make another Irish Hiking Scarf, because I was getting tired of the same pattern, so I looked at a bunch of patterns on Ravelry, and decided that none of them would match her hat, or were made on any size needles that I already owned. So, I got out a sheet of paper, drew up a bunch of stuff, did some math calculations, and...Presto! A scarf that matches her hat! It's cabled and ribbed, like the hat, wide enough to be cozy and warm, but not too complicated, so I can do it while watching TV or episodes of anime & still be able to read subs. I was trying to think of a name that would be good, but all I was coming up with was boring stuff like "cabled ribbed scarf", so I decided to ask my friend what she thought would be a good name. She immediately said, "Ordinary Day!" (based on a song that she really likes, which is also part of her screen name for aol). It fit perfectly, both as an interesting name, and it was fitting that she should name it, because I designed it for her, so...Viola! The Ordinary Day scarf was born. :-)


I'll post that up here in my next post so that it won't be in with the other stuff I want to write about in this post.

OK, so my Irish things are finished!! They are AWESOME. At first, I didn't think the wrist warmers were going to fit, but once I mattress-stitched them up, they worked perfectly!! I debuted them up at Mt. Irenaeus (an AMAZING retreat location run by my university), along with bringing the Ordinary Day scarf that I'm working on for Alex, and they were perfect--really really warm, and such a beautiful bright blue color--they're so cool.

Anyway, while I was waiting with a group of other students who had gone up for the evening, I got up the nerve to break out my knitting. Two of the other girls asked me what I was making, and my friend proudly told them that I was knitting her a scarf, and that I had designed the pattern especially for her. Then I brought out my Irish things, and they "oohed" and "ahhed" over them for a little, then promptly told me that they would pay me to knit them scarves/hats/anything. Now, I'm not quite at the point where I'd charge for knitting, so I told them that as long as they bought the materials, then I'd knit them stuff. The only guy in the group that went up was a little interested too, asking if I could make him a black & gold hat for him (black & gold being the colors of our Rugby team, of which he is a member). I told everyone that as long as they bought the yarn, I would knit stuff. I like knitting, whether it's for myself or for other people, and in my mind, the more people who are interested in sporting hand-knit items on a college campus, the better it is for the craft. :-)

Irish things!

So I was browsing Ravelry a few days ago, and I can't remember where I discovered them, but I found my next projects! Since I haven't gotten around to ordering anything off the internet, I decided that I needed some other projects. I made a pair of Fetching and a mug cozy since I've been back at school, but that's it, and pretty much the only things on my queue that can be made with yarn from Wal-Mart or Joann's. So when I found these patterns, I decided to push them to the top of my queue!
They are the Irish Hiking Scarf and the matching Irish Hiking Wrist Warmers. I saw a bunch of people using Caron Simply Soft, and one in particular used a Brites colorway called Blue Mint. So I decided to be a copy cat and went out and purchased three skeins of Caron Simply Soft Brites in Blue Mint, as well as a pair of *bamboo* single points, size 7US. My first bamboos!! I am so excited to use them for the wrist warmers; I absolutely ADORE bamboo needles. They are by far my favorite. thing. ever.
So last night, I cast on for the scarf, while watching No Country for Old Men with a few friends. I'm reading the book for a class, so I had wanted to see the movie, too. The pattern for this scarf is really easy--it took me a few rows to get back into the swing of knitting straight again (I've been knitting in the round forever, I can't remember the last project I did with single pointed needles), but now that I have, it's turning out to be a really easy knit.
I've been doing the cables without a cable needle (this is because the last project I did with cables when I used a Brittany cable needle borrowed from my mom and then lost it on the car ride back to school somehow, which made me feel really bad), so no extra needle to have to look after. The only thing I needed to worry about was when to put in the cable row--which is easily solved with the use of a kacha-kacha.
I'm trying to be better about keeping my hands off my knitting when I have due dates looming, so I stopped knitting when the movie was over--it's really a challenge. My fingers are itching to knit! haha.

So anyway, I'm excited about finishing my Irish things. They are going to be so pretty! It makes me wish that I had a black coat so that I wouldn't clash all my knit winter-outdoors accessories with my sky blue jacket, haha.

Oh, and if anyone reads this who procrastinates by knitting, I created a group called Procrastiknitters, so you should totally join! ;)

Delays and Things that came up...

As usual, over midterm break, nothing in my Ravelry queue was started, worked on, or finished. Instead, I worked on a bunch of things that I randomly found in my house, because somehow things always seem to come up...

So, instead of getting any yarn for the stuff on my queue, I discovered an unwanted stash of acrylic and a pattern for mug cozies. I spent the first few days of break knitting three--one fuzzy green chunky, one red variegated bouclé, and one Red Heart Super Saver Pink. They came out very well, and I am planning on knitting more for my mugs here at school.

Then my mom decided that she wanted us to learn how to knit toe-up socks together. She found what looked like an easy pattern, and gave me some pretty dark teal wool, and told me to "figure it out," then show her how to do it. Well by the time she actually started her first sock, I was halfway finished with the foot of my second. ^_^
So they're finished and pretty--I added a pattern sequence from the Vogue sock book that my mom just got, and now I know how to knit toe-ups!

I finished the socks up on the way back to school yesterday, and as soon as I got here I got online and looked for something in my queue that I could make from a ball of really pretty purple acrylic that I purloined from home. It's worsted, so I decided to make a pair of Fetching, because I want something to wear on my hands inside when they get cold, and Knucks don't really work for me when I'm knitting. So I cast on last night, and all I have left to do on the first glove is the thumb. However, I'm planning on doing both thumbs one after the other, so I am a few rows into the 2nd glove. I'm excited.

Also, I am really really thinking about ordering a bunch of sock yarn from KnitPicks, including some for a pair of socks that my friend wants me to make her. So when I do that, I should have a bunch of my queue to work on! ^_^