In the Studio - teal silk and mohair scarf

Scarf, mixed fibers, k2 p2 ribstitch, size 9 US needles

This is a delightfully soft project that I began years ago and am determined to complete very soon.  At this point there are about 60 inches, so I might go on for another 12 inches to make it long enough to wrap twice.

Beginnings in 2019

One yarn is silk and the other yarn is kid mohair with a silk core.

October 2020

2026

If you want to see more everyday photos of what I am doing I post frequently on Instagram @journalofathousandlives

Silk/mohair multi stripes on 2 needle sizes

Scarf, worked in stockinette stitch, approximately 12 in. x 72 in. Mohair and silk blend yarn, size 9 and size 11 cable needles

...

Lacy mohair and silk in a really big scarf for warmth and coziness.

Uneven stripes add to a dynamic color scheme

If you want to see more everyday photos of what I am doing I post frequently on Instagram @journalofathousandlives

Another Capelet

Capelet

Worked in stockinette stitch with mixed fibers, 15 inches long, size 9 cable needle.

It's formula knitting: cast on and knit 7 inches, decrease and knit 4 inches, decrease again and knit 4 inches then bind off.  Once you get the formula you can use any gauge. 

I really enjoy this simple shape for creating individual textiles.

If you want to see more everyday photos of what I am doing, I post frequently on Instagram @journalofathousandlives

 

Red capelet in linen silk and mohair

Capelet, size US 3 cable needle - 24 in., linen, mohair and silk cast on 310 stitches

The linen is a rather stiff yarn so it does interesting things to the silk and mohair, which is rather soft and fluffy.  I alternated rows with each yarn knitted for one row.

Weeks later... the fine gauge makes for slow going.

Months later...

Off the needles and ready for finishing!

If you want to see more everyday photos of what I am doing I post frequently on Instagram @journalofathousandlives

 

Mohair scarf of black and multi color stripes

Scarf, stockinette stitch and rib stitch, mohair,  size 8 cable needle, 24 in.; about 15 in wide and 72 in long.

Started during a month-long working guest stint at a meditation retreat center, I began the big scarf with the black worked in stockinette stitch and the bright multicolor stripes worked in rib stitch to make the texture more interesting than straight stockinette and less curled up than straight rib stitch.

I enjoy working with bright multi-color yarns, but I think they look even more striking when alternated with black.

This design has stripes of uneven width to give the fabric a dynamic feel rather than ordinary regular stripes.

After working until the shawl was a few feet long I knew I was going to run out of the multi yarn and had to search for quite a while through bins and bins before finding the second ball. At times I doubted that I still had the second ball or if I ever had a second ball, but at last it appeared. I have become a bit better at keeping all the yarns for a project together in a project bag.

It was selected as a Christmas gift from among several scarves by a dear friend.

Knitted masterwork: the amazing technicolor dream shawl.

 The amazing technicolor dream shawl is complete!!!!  I began this huge shawl in 2008 and stuck with it through thick and thin. I consider it my first knitted masterwork.

Shawl, mixed fibers - wool, mohair, nylon, silk; woven stitch, size 4 wood cable needle, 24 inches.

 

12 years! The challenge, beyond persistence, has been to keep the characteristics of the fabric the same over all those years.  With the basic formula of color sequence being to use a black yarn every third or fourth row, the challenge was to keep the color sequences as random as possible and to keep from beginning to favor warm or cool colors. The process had to involve looking back at the fabric each time I began kntting in  order to check the colors and keep them at a sufficient level of consistency so that the fabric stayed the same and didn't change into something else.  I loved the whole thing!

All told, it has dozens of yarns, beads and sequins. I also had to be vigilant regarding the beads and sequins. I watched carefully as I used the beaded and sequined yarn to make sure that they were distributed evenly through the fabric and not clustered.

Previous entries:

Included in summary entry for 2012

http://thatknittingblog.blogspot.com/2012/12/catching-up-fall-of-knitting.html

December 2011

http://thatknittingblog.blogspot.com/2011/12/shawl-mixed-fibers-wool-mohair-nylon.html

March 2009

http://thatknittingblog.blogspot.com/2009/03/in-studio-lightweight-linen-stitch.html

September 2008

http://thatknittingblog.blogspot.com/2008/09/in-studio-woven.html

 

Stripes! scarf

Scarf, mixed fibers; mohair, silk, wool, nylon, rayon; seed stitch and stockinette stitch; size 4 needles, 14 in.; approximately 10 in. x 74 in.

Yet another scarf recently pulled from the work in progress bin, this one is a lovely weight with good drape.  There are probably around 20 yarns, cut into uneven lengths to give the strips a dynamic feel. The mohair will give it great insulating properties so it will be a great bright scarf to wear all winter.

The size 4 needles make this a fairly dense fabric but the fluffy mohair keeps it light weight. It is a LOT of knitting and I blazed through many a podcast while finishing it up this fall.

 

Filet Crochet scarf

Filet crochet scarf

Filet crochet scarf with a double crochet border; one circle embellishment,;72 in long x 8 in wide; size 2mm hook; the yarn is one strand/ply of linen with one strand/ply of kid mohair.

The crochet involed here forms a grid by spacing double crochet stictches along the row and in each row stictch the double crochet only into the double crochet from the previous row.  It builds a very open lacy fabic quickly. The linen in this fabric gives it body and weight.

Whites in long rows

This is a variety of fuzzy and silky yarns, mostly light weight yarns, worked on a size 10 cable  needle.

wild nylon fuzzy thang

Shawl, mixed fibers: nylon, mohair, silk, wool, size 4 aluminum needles, 14 in.

The small gauge of this one makes for a lot of knitting, but the wild colors make it entertaining.  I've had to put it aside several times to take a break.  It will eventually end up being about 7 - 8 feet long, so it will perhaps be quite a while until it's complete.  I've made stripes by changing yarns every row and also textural stripes by changing the stitch pattern from garter to stockinette.  Wild things are happening in all aspects!

Fuzzy and shiny - pastels for autumn

Shawl, 14 yarns, mohair, linen, silk, nylon, rayon, beads, seed stitch, size 9 nickle cable needle, 32 in.

Cast on 3 stitches, add four stitches to each row, change yarns each row.

A chart to help organize use of the colors and yarns in the fabric.

The rayon in the "ladder" yarn has a gorgeously shiny surface that reflects light in beautiful contrast to the mohair yarns, which remain a matte surface.

The long edge is about 72 inches, and at it's deepest point it is about 15 inches long.  The shawl can be worn over the shoulders like a traditional shawl with the point in the back, or it can be turned with the point in front.  It can also be worn as a babushka to keep the head and neck warm.

I Can't Resist Shaggy Black Shawls

Scarf, seed stitch, mixed fibers, size 10 wood cable needle.

The surface really looks this complicated, which is most of the reason I like to make black shaggy shawls. This one has fifteen yarns and that also made it a wondrful textile to put together.

I carried around a grocery sack of yarns for awhile, but it was definitely worth it to produce this wild and drapey fabric.

The textile was created in a pet-free and smoke-free environment.  It has some wool and mohair content and will be for cooler weather.

I'm beginning to love the "card" method of keeping the rows of yarns in order.  For this fabric I wanted to balance the delicate and bulky yarns and spread them through out evenly, so the card helped me determine what would be in the next row as I went along.

It's about 75 inches long, so plenty of length to produce wrapped up shapes or sprawled out shapes.  It will go around the neck twice and has plenty of length to do interesting knots.

The triangle is deep enough so that it can be worn "babushka" style like a headscarf and it will cover the back of the head and ears on those extra-cold days or nights.

It's just shy of "wild thang" category.

The light is reflected and absorbed differently by each yarn, and the beads provide a bit of sparkle.  So this can be funky or sophisticated and be a great wrap for many different occasions.

This scarf is for sale along with  others in my etsy shop, Little Hands Studio: 

https://www.etsy.com/shop/littlehandsstudio

Hot pink silk with mohair

Chained pink silk, mohair lavender boucle,  seed stitch, size 11 wood cable needle.

It took awhile to figure out what to do to take an ordinary hot pink and elevate it to something else.

After awhile I began to really love the way the lavender boucle loups made a little halo around the bulky pink strands.

I love all the contrasts within the scarf - the bulky silk and the delicate mohair, the delicate lavender against the brash pink. The texture is soft because of the matte silk, but not terribly fuzzy.

It's not quite a triangle, but not a regular rectangle shape.

It will easily wrap twice around the neck and have plenty of room for a knot to secure it.  If worn like a headscarf it will cover the ears nicely, but not quite cover the entire back of the head.

This scarf is for sale along with about a dozen others in my etsy shop, Little Hands Studio: 

https://www.etsy.com/shop/littlehandsstudio