More scarves for the Knit Wits

The Braham Knit Wits have been knitting for charity for a long time – since 1998.  We’ve knit and donated a lot of scarves, hats, mittens, baby blankets and more.  Last week at our meeting I brought a bunch of scarves that I knit.

Eight scarves

They are all knit on my knitting machine, so they took very little of my time. 

Different widths

Some are wider than others, but all are the same simple seed stitch.  All have fringe the same length and with some white yarn added to the color of the scarf. 

Purple scarf

Since they are so similar, I could move from one to the next with little thought.  My goal was just to crank out some scarves and use up some acrylic yarn.  I did end up with a couple empty cones – like when I ran out of the peach yarn!

Peach and white scarf

Since the peach was enough to make just half the scarf, I finished it with white and used both colors in the fringe. I’ve got a lot more acrylic yarn and I see a bunch more scarves heading to the Knit Wits in the near future.  They will probably be kept until this fall when there will be more need of scarves, but it is good to get a jump the stock pile of goodies to be donated.

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A few more orders complete

A while back I finished a hat with a deer hunting deadline.  Since then, I’ve been working on knocking out a few more orders.  This scarf is complete.

Extra wide and long

It is 6 1/4 inches wide and about 62 inches long.  Made from 100% alpaca sportweight yarn I dyed. 

Felted mittens

These are for 2 different orders.  Also made from yarn I dyed, the purple pair have an extra 6 rows knit in the hand.  They are currently drying and will be ready for delivery or pick up soon. 

Tomorrow I will be at the St Michael / Albertville Women of Today Craft Show.  If you are out and about, stop by and get a head start on your shopping list!  Only 2 shows left after this one. 

 

Rollin’ along

Remember those 3 red balls of yarn?

Mittens

Now, 3 pair of red mittens.  Still need sewing, but progress was made.  And that yellow dye bath?

Yellow yarn

It is in the queue to be knit into mittens.  Orange is in the dye pot now!

Felted Soap

This is my second batch of felted soap.   Two more felting sessions and the lavender scented soap will be done.

Scarf for charity

This is my latest scarf made with acrylic yarn.  I’m really loving this pattern.  I didn’t steam it and the edges lay really flat.

Scarf pattern

And the stitch pattern is pretty, too.  The reverse side is almost a mirror image.  Very nice together.  Tomorrow, I’m going to try this pattern 3 wide to see how it works for a wrap.  The scarf is a little over 6 inches wide.  Will 18 inches be wide enough for a wrap?  First acrylic, then if all goes well, I’ll have an alpaca wrap pretty soon! 

Must be the spring-like weather!  It is scaring me into super speed mode as I feel like festivals and markets are just around the corner.   Oh Yikes!  Seven weeks until Shepherd’s Harvest! 

 

Mitten Production Plan

I’ve finished a couple alpaca scarves and want you to see them.

Skinny Red

 

 This is 100% alpaca yarn, that I dyed into this variegated red.   The pattern is rather like a basket weave and very textured.  The scarf is just under 4 inches wide and about 56 inches long.  Nice and skinny to wear in some of those cute knots. 

Muted orange

 This is 100% alpaca yarn that dyed into this pale variegated pink, yellow, orange combination.  The pattern is the common seed stitch which really mixed up the colors nicely.  Just over 4 inches wide and about 52 inches long.

I’ve been trying to ramp up my felted mitten production.  It seemed I never had enough variety of color last show season and was always trying to play catch-up.  My plan:  dye three skeins of one color each day,  the following day knit those three skeins into three pair of mittens, when the seams were finished on a couple colors they could be felted in the same batch. 

First up was blue, but I had a wee problem.

Ready to felt

 I have these two pair ready to felt, but my third skein was a little short.

Blue headband

 So I made a blue headband.

Matching Scarf

 With the remaining yarn, I made a matching scarf.  It still needs to be steamed flat and finished a bit.  Now I think I have the skein weight figured out for mittens!  On to more dyeing.

Pot of red

 Yesterday was the day for red.  For a little variety, I put one skein in first, then half of the second skein and held it in the dye for a short time.  Then I plopped the other half of #2 in and added the third skein.  (It is REALLY difficult to take a photo of a steaming pot!) The skein on the left is darkest, the one on the right is lightest. 

Dye flecks

One of my dyeing instructors calls red dye ‘Difficult Red’ and it is.  As you can almost see above, red dye doesn’t dissolve easily.  I don’t mind as I think the variety adds interest.  But after much cooking, this batch dyed pretty evenly.

On the drying rack

You can see the color variation in the skeins as they are drying.  So while I will have 3 red pairs of mittens, each will be a little different. 

Today was to be the day to dye yellow, but the dreaded taxes have reared their head.  I need to get all the data gathered for the meeting with the tax man!   And a reminder:  I will be at Spring Day this Saturday.  Stop by and do some shopping. 

 

 

Manly wrist warmers

I’ve been knitting some manly-man wrist warmers. 

8 pairs to sew

These will be felted after I get them sewn together.  I’m planning a nice long session with my sewing needle to get these all sewn together.  I have more yarn drying that I just dyed today that is also destined to be knit and felted into wrist warmers.  This time I even have some colors that might appeal the outdoorsy gal, too.  Great for hunting or ice fishing or shoveling snow.

Here’s another scarf for charity.

Another scarf

This is a new pattern and I really like it.  It lays very flat without being blocked, which tends to flatten the texture.  Looks like my knitting group will have a nice stash of scarves to donate by next fall.

“Four Scarves and Seven Years Ago”

My apologizes to President Lincoln.  For some reason that just popped into my head while I was taking these photos.  And since tomorrow is President’s Day, it seems appropriate – well, sorta anyway! 

I’ve been making knitted scarves again.  I use a Garter-carriage on my knitting machine.  It is the only hands off method of knitting on a home knitting machine.  The G-carriage chugs along the machine bed on its own – with the help of electricity, of course!  The other wonder of the G-carriage is that it can do both the knit stitch and the purl stitch on the same row.  This means that knits and purls can be piled on top of each other in consecutive rows in any combination.  An example of this is the common seed stitch.  On needles, it is knit one stitch, purl the next stitch, repeat.  The next row is purl one, knit one, doing the purls on the stitches that were knit in the previous row and vice versa.  This results in a piece that lays flat and does not curl.  Thus it is great for scarves.

First Scarf

This was the first scarf.  It is the seed stitch and has not been steamed or pressed.  It is nice and flat.  Made from my acrylic stash, it will go to charity.

Second Scarf

For my second try, I used a pattern that has some geometrical diamonds in it.  Still lays flat with no curling at the edges.  Another for charity.

Third scarf

My third scarf is skinnier, just 30 rows across.  But the pattern did not have the knits and purls evenly distributed enough on the edges for it to stay flat.  You can see the end on the right has the back side up and is curled in on the edges, looking like waves.  I can steam it flat, but prefer a pattern that doesn’t need that, especially for scarves going to charity – as this one will. 

Fourth scarf

This is my fourth scarf and the first in 100% alpaca yarn.  This is yarn that I dyed myself.  I opted for the simplest stitch – the seed stitch – because it stays flat and because the variation of the colors might overpower an intricate stitch pattern.  This one will be for sale! 

 

 

All set

The scarf, hat and mitten sets are done.

All in purples

One set done in various shades of purple and violet.

All in pinks

The other set is made of shades of pink.  They are all boxed up and ready for the Mom to pick up, wrap up and tuck under the tree.  I think two little girls will have a happy and warm Christmas.

We made the last day count!

Adam and I were up early, got chores done, ate breakfast and then discussed what to do for the day.  Adam had been quite intrigued by my knitting machine so today he wanted to learn to knit.  The first thing he noticed was a cone of my acrylic yarn in maroon.  After looking further, he found another cone in a bright gold / yellow.  The colors of the Minnesota Gophers.   And soon the plan for a scarf was underway.  I started a simple 1×1 rib and let Adam knit away.  We had a minor catastrophe after about 160 rows and had to start over. 

Adam's scarf

But soon Adam had knit 250 rows and declared his scarf long enough.  I bound off the stitches and he had a scarf to wear when sledding this winter.  For his next project, he decided to try cotton dishcloths. 

Adam knitting

This is a rather complicated process.  I showed him how to cast on, knit the first row, put a special bar called a comb across the stitches, add weight to hold down the stitches on the needles, set a dial, knit the second row, push in 2 buttons and then begin knitting. 

Adam knitting

The machine has a little counter that gets tripped with each row.  Adam had to watch the counter and at rows 15, 21, 106, 112, and 126 he had to adjust a couple of the buttons.  Then I showed him how to bind off the stitches.  With each dishcloth, he learned more steps and needed me less to help him.  Before long, he could do all the steps without my instruction.  He only needed help if he messed something up.

Dish cloths

By the end of the day, he finished 8 dishcloths – mostly by himself!  He also learned to change yarn and re-thread the machine.  

In mid-afternoon, his Mom, Peggy and brother, Jonathan came.   Adam took them to the barn to see the alpacas and feed them the remainder of the green beans and cucumber peelings.  I looked towards the barn and see Peg and Jonathan in with the alpacas.   Adam had given them a lesson in scooping poop.

Cleaning the alpaca pen

Adam came back in the house and left them to finish the job!  He wanted to prepare for his next demonstration.  Adam then showed his mom and brother that he could knit a dishcloth.  The student had become the teacher!

Jonathan knits

Adam got a dish cloth started and showed Jonathan how to knit and follow the pattern. 

On his own

Jonathan was nearly done, when he had a wee problem and we had to start over. 

Completed dish cloth

Jonathan finished his dish cloth on the second try and I bound it off for him.  He declared it a success!  Adam also showed his Mom how he learned to card fiber.   And lastly, he packed up his overnight bag and took his Lucky Charms cereal and they were off on the long drive back to Wisconsin.  

We had a wonderful time with Adam on the farm.   He was a great helper and a quick learner.   And it was amazing to watch him absorbs new skills and then show them to others.  Thanks for all your hard work, Adam!

Rocking at Rocking Horse Farm

Last Thursday, Friday and Saturday was Knitting Machine Camp at Rocking Horse Farm.   Yes, I went again.  Yes, the food was great again.  Yes, I learned new things again. 

One lesson this year was on dyeing sock blanks and knitting socks.  Though this yarn wasn’t dyed during camp, here are socks just off the knitting machine:

Ready to be sewn

Socks made on a flat bed knitting machine (as opposed to a circular sock knitting machine) need to have a seam. 

All sewn up

They look great after the seam is sewn and the seam is said to not be a problem when wearing.  I think I may have to try this.  I love my manufactured alpacas socks.  About time I made my own?

Knitted pillow

Another industrious camper was making pillows.  She made bunch of them during camp.  The outside is knit, stuffed with a pillow form and finished on the machine.  Very elegant. 

My projects?

Two more scarves

I made these two scarves for charity to continue to perfect my cast on and bind off.  The purple was first and the coral is a little improved, but not perfect yet. 

Shawlette

One of the class projects was to make these scarves / shawlettes.   We learned to do ‘short-rowing’ – a technique to create shaping.  Short-rowing is also used in the socks to shape the heel and toe. 

Purple shawl

I made a second shawl – this one for my favorite Red Hat Lady!  (that’s you, Mom!)  The fringe can either be unraveled – as on this purple one, or left connected to the edge, as on the coral one.  Which do you like better?

I also learned a very nifty (though rather time-consuming) way to make a lacy panel.   I have plans for using that.  You’ll have to wait to see it.

Back to charity scarves

Yep.  It’s true.  I knit 3 charity scarves today.  My knitting group met earlier this week and the other ladies had lots of scarves to show for themselves.  I had none! 

But, to be honest, the more important reason I knit these is because I learned a new way to cast on and bind off and wanted to practise. 

3 blue scarves

I even finished off a small cone of yarn with these three.  The bind off (at the top of the picture) will be done by hand.  The first scarf on the left hit a weak spot in the yarn, so I will have to pick those stitches up on needles and bind off from the needles.   The two scarves that I finished with scrap green yarn will be the new technique.  I will bind off the last row of blue with a latch tool (which is sorta like a crochet hook), then I’ll unravel the green.  I tried it on a sample first and it looks nice and stable.  Good for scarves when there is no fringe.

Cast on edge

This is a close-up of the new cast on edge.   The first is finished except to weave in the end.  The second scarf shows how it looks straight off the knitting machine.  But by gently pulling the yarn end on the right, that raggedy edge pulls in beautifully.  Again, a nice edge when no fringe is desired.  Thanks to Carole of Rocking Horse Farm for showing these techniques to me!