redeemed..... somewhat (?)

i figured i'd give this SWS yarn another chance, so to show off its self-stripeyness i've been working it up into a multidirectional scarf. scarves are things i like knitting because they're easy, quick, and relatively mindless... kind of a zen thing for me, i guess. maybe i'm thinking too much into it. or maybe i just need a rational explanation for the twelve scarves i already have (i live in new orleans! why do i need so many!). i'm enjoying the yarn a lot more this go around.... it hasn't split on me once with this scarf which already makes this project better than the shrug.

this is what i've got so far, nevermind the clashing bedsheets/fussed up blankets:

you can't really see it but ichi the killer has the other knitting needle captive. you can sort of notice the needle to the left of the picture, trying to escape her deadly grasp. the scarf is almost the width of my bed, which is a queen. i'm thinking of adding maybe two more triangles and then ending it. the scarf is maybe six inches wide, but i haven't blocked anything yet so it may end up being a little wider. i've noticed that knitting with this yarn makes it fuzzier. haven't quite figured out if that is a good or a bad thing just yet.

here's a closeup of the pattern:

don't quote me on it but i think i'm using size 6 needles. the fabric is pretty dense, but slightly stretchy at the same time. my issues with this scarf are that it seems like every ten or so short rows (so basically twenty 'real' rows as you're basically knitting up to a point and then turning around and knitting back to the end, only to repeat it) i'll get this weird bump where the wrap is. this is probably something i'm doing but i can't really figure out how i'm accomplishing it or how to stop doing it. it's not super noticeable and i'm hoping it will go away once i block it but i still get annoyed by it.




next post: a bit of a cheat.

current WIP - potato chip scarf

this is my current work in progress, a variation of the potato chip scarf from knitpicks. this is also my first comissioned piece in the 11+ years i've been knitting. my mom is having me make this for one of her coworkers. the yarn is louisa hardings' "flotsam" and is kind of neat. it's like three strands of varying materials all intertwined. the fiber content is 40% cotton, 45% polyester, 10% viscose and 5% acrylic. this yarn is in colorway 9 which is a pink/teal/red combination. personally if i had to choose this yarn i would have chosen one of the other, less-pink colorways but this isn't my scarf so i really can't have an opinion of it.

i initially cast on way more stitches than the recommended 90, i thought the scarf would be too short and i really like long, drapey scarves. i got about four rows in when i realized that there was no way i was going to make a substantial scarf out of the yarn that i had. so i frogged a good two hours' worth of knitting (knitting horizontally instead of vertically, all while doubling the number of stitches every other row takes f-ing forever) and started over. i also upped the needle size to 11's (i had initially worked it on 9's, bad idea because the stitches were too small to be of any use as ruffles) and have been coming along swimmingly.

scarf as of last night:


closeup of the yarn/scarf:




if i did something with this yarn again i think i would like to make a shawl or a poncho. perhaps some sort of a loose pullover. something breezy and simple for spring/summer as this isn't a yarn whose fabric would hold any substantial heat.