Projects

So far, it's been a pretty quiet month and now that the weather is getting increasingly rainy, I've been really enjoying my quiet days off at home.  I love hanging out with friends, but sometimes, I'd rather be knitting and watching old episodes of Buffy.  Can you believe I've never watched the season where Spike falls in love with her?  Yeah, neither can I.  (Thanks, Gail!)

This is the longest scarf I've made to date.  My brother, Shen, decided to dress up like a hipster to model it.  He took it to Sapporo during the winter season so that he could use it when he was out and about for work.  He's a lot taller than me and I made it long enough to go round his neck twice and still hang at a decent length.

I made it using a truly beautiful 8mm yarn that I got from Spotlight.  The yarn has a tiny bit of wool in it for warmth, but otherwise is made of a material that's almost silky to touch.  It's already woven in a braid so that even with a simple 3-by-3 rib pattern, it had a great deal of texture.  I loved that the yarn felt complex and high quality when I was working with it and it knit up pretty quickly.

A couple of inches from the ends, I knit the rib pattern in reverse to create a bit of a border and interest.  Because the rib stitch folds like an accordion, I'm quickly learning that it is always a lot more narrow off the needles than on, and that I have to cast on a lot more widely than I think.

In between, I had time to celebrate Melodie's and Sid's birthdays!  (There may or may not have been drinks.) 

After an evening of hysterical laughter, I stayed over at S's house and woke up to the beautiful light in her room.  Every time I spend the night, I have to take a photo in the morning because it looks so interior design catalogue worthy.

Now, I'm working on a straightforward garter stitch scarf with colour blocks so that I can practice joining new colours.

I'm using three different 4mm yarns and even though two are made of wool and one is acrylic, I'm happy to report that I can't feel the difference so far.  The blocks aren't any particular number of rows; I'm just knitting by feel and it's lots of fun to just let the colours run until I feel like it's time for a new one. 

Oh, and I'm on the last package of my favourite cookie - the one that you can't get anywhere else except once or twice a year when a certain fair rolls round into Isetan and they make it on the spot.  It's sad, but they've been such a treat to look forward to.  

Goodbye, delumpshious Hokkaido biscuit!  See you next year!

That is all.