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

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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

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

 

Back to knitting: purple capelet

Capelet, mostly stockinette stitch, about 10 purple yarns, knitted in the round on 24 and 42 in. cable needles, size US 8

I made a series of these  capelets over the fall and this is one of my favorites!

There were some light purples, but the dark ones took over in the end.

The length goes to the elbow.

 

In the Studio news August 1, 2022: Pastel silk and intense Freia wool ombre

Shawl, knitting, wool and silk, stockingette stitch size 6 cable needle

The humble beginning, way back a couple years ago

It's always a pleasure to see the emergence of color changes in yarns that are beautifully dyed. I'm using one ball of hand-dyed silk to knit a two-row stripe and then I will use two balls of this very colorful wool to knit a two row stripes.

 

Off the needles in July 2022 - a crochet  border will finish off the edges.

Bulky hats

Heavy wool yarns with size 13 needles

In the big bulky gauge the hats take almost no time.

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.

Green cotton tabard

Tabard, cotton, rib stitch border, stockinette body, size 7 cable needle, 24 in

 

I joined a knitting group in 2018 and chose this project for my "social knitting". I often get very involved in the conversations of a knitting group and my knitting suffers unless I choose something very simple.  I wanted to get back to a nice smooth sockinette stitch for this tabard.

I didn't need a pattern because this is a rectangle with a hole in the middle.  Tabards do not have side seams or sleeves.  Usually they extend to the shoulder or a little beyond.  The sides can be buttoned or held together by any number of fasteners.  Often tabard style aprons are tied at the sides

The casting off and rebinding in the middle leaves a neck hole.  By picking up the neck hole stitches and knitting a ribbed edging a nice finish is given to the neck.

 

I knitted the rib stitch edging into the fabric at the bottom of the front and back by changing the stitch pattern, then I picked up stitches along the sides and knitted the 3 inch edge in rib stitch.

  This the the finished tabard.

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.

 

Bulky Gray Capelet

Bulky thick and thin wool yarn; size 10.5 metal cable needle; stockinette stitch

I love making capelets and have made many, this being the most recent example. I still use the formula set out in a book called The Knitting Experience by Sally Melville.  I think she called it a circle scarf.  I is a versatile formula and I intentionally call it a formula rather than a pattern.  

When I use it I work out a gauge with the yarn then cast on the bottom, knit for seven inches and then decrease.  I knit four more inches then decrease again, which will be right about at the shoulders.  I knit four more inches and then create whatever kind of neckline I'd like the capelet to have.  I like this length, which generally falls right around the elbows, because it provides warmth and yet it doesn't get in the way like a full length cape or poncho might.

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!

Shiny and fuzzy blue green

My new fuzzy yarn needed trying, so I worked up this much of a triangle shawl.

In the Studio - fluffy and shiny

Capelet, mixed fibers, stockinette stitch, size 9 bamboo cable needle, 32 in and 16 in.

I felt a sudden urge last week to get back to one of my favorite combinations and so I scrounged around for mohair yarns and railroad or ladder yarns. I found some extra fuzzy yellow mohair from when Webs used to have an entire room of mohair cones back in the warehouse.

In the Studio - Back to Black

Capelet, mixed fibers, stockinette stitch, size 10 wood cable needle, 32"

I went into my black yarns stash and pulled out a couple fuzzy yarns, a boucle, a springy merino and a few others to make this wonderful summer capelet.  The size 10 needle makes it work up quickly, so I hope in the near future to be able to really show how the fabric is sort of lacy.

From one work in progress to another

Triangle shawl; mixed fibers: bamboo, mohair, linen, silk, cotton; stockinette stitch, size 3 carbon fiber cable needle, 24 in.

This big cake of yarns at the top of the photo was in a bag with the balls separate yarns, orphaned after I finally tossed the work in progress they were put together to make. The yarns were carefully cut and tied together in a somewhat random order into the big cake. Yesterday I bumped into the bag as I was scrounging through my stash and decided to alternate the lavender boucle mohair with it.  It's essentially the same shawl pattern as the one in the abandoned and tossed wip, but I think the lavender mitigates the strength of the contrasts in the other yarns.

Greens

Scarf; cotton, linen, angora; stockinette stitch with seed stitch border; size US 5 vintage plastic double pointed needles, 10 in.

This is what I am carrying in my tote bag every day, knitting on the bus. The lighter yarn is cotton and linen and the darker yarn is cotton and angora.  It's my stockinette version of the alternating rows pattern as explained using garter stitch by Britt-Marie Christoffersson in Pop Knitting

Breaking out the bright colors

Scarf; mixed fibers (12 yarns); stockinette stitch; size 5 wood needles, 14 in.

I went deep into my collection of mohairs and pulled out all these lively colors.  I'm combining them with spring greens/yellows to amp up everything. Whee!!!