Here’s the pattern for the reversible cabled scarf we knitted at KnitXperience this November. We knitted it with Elsebeth Lavold’s Silky Flamme.

Cabled Scarf Pattern

 by Melissa Abbott 

Using heavy worsted weight or bulky wt yarn and size 10.5 needles
 CO 32 sts

Set Up Rows
2 rows K1, P1 rib

Pattern:

Row 1: 4/4 cable RC, (K1, P1) 4 times, 4/4 cable RC, (K1, P1) 4 times

Rows 2-4 Knit the knit stitches and purl the purl stitches

Row 5: (K1, P1) 4 times, 4/4 cable LC, (K1, P1) 4 times, 4/4 cable LC

Rows 6-8 Knit the knit stitches and purl the purl stitches

 Continue pattern repeat until several yards left,

End with 2 rows K1, P1 rib

After watching the youtube video again, I thought I should say how I do the color change. Contrary to the video, I hold the new color in my left hand, current color in right and make about four sitches as they illustrate, then switch colors with old in left hand and new becomes current color in right hand and knit about four stitches carrying the yarn this way. The yarns seem more secure. At least in the video you can see the action of the hands as you make the change which would be very difficult to describe with words. Hope this helps and doesn’t confuse.

Socks that last and last and last

How come the cat thinks it’s all about her? I’m talking about the Regia sock yarns. These in the photo are some of the Kaffe Fassett Regia yarns which I have had 2-3 years. Over winter they are one of my favorite socks and get worn once a week for sure and washed and dried in the machine. They just keep going and going. 

 Here they are without the cat running interference.

 In one of the recent posts I talked about changing colors and weaving in the yarn ends as you go. Here’s a youtube video of changing colors.

The way I accomplish it is almost the same.

After knitting 26 or more autumn leaves for the KnitXperience Retreat, I had a ton of odds and ends left over of the Silk Garden DK yarn because I wanted each one to be a different color so I pulled the balls all apart to get to the colors I wanted. Needless to say I had a mess (which our cat Click loves) and I really did want to do something with the remains. I needed a pair of fingerless mittens for myself and voila, got one done and on to the next one. (The drawback being the nasty number of ends I had to secure at the end.)

I used this pattern I found on the internet (scroll down on the right side of her blog), changed it a little because I didn’t want the flip top and wanted my thumb to have some air. Other than that, I knitted it the same. I tell you, this is the easiest pattern for mittens. Try it out. And if you’re striping in the ribbing, don’t forget the neat trick when you change colors, to knit that first row with the new color to avoid the color change bumps. Oh yes, the magic loops is grand for this!

The day was a great success with our learning the ins and outs of felting flowers and shepherds. Some of it was definitely harder than others, some parts needed more practice, some just needed less ouchies from the needles. And, as an added treat, the zumba class in the next room kept us entertained. Enjoy the photos!

Fran and Ruth try their hand at making felted flowers.

 
Connie helping Barbara and Carolyn with their flowers.

We were delighted to have Connie Delamater as the instructor, sharing her knowledge of felting techniques. 

 Jill was really concentrating on getting the felting to go faster.

Finished flowers made with the two different methods.

The shepherds and santas were such fun to make and each had their very own personality. Someone commented that the faces usually resembled someone you know. Hmmmm. We won’t go there.

No Dan, it’s cowls!

We have a comunication problem sometimes. He looks at me strangely when I say cowls are hot this fall hearing only cows and wondering what made all the cows hot. Good grief. I’ll work on him.

Here’s the cowL that my friend Cathy made for the shop in the Leche yarn. Actually that does have milk protein in the yarn. A double good grief. Cowls are neat because they can be a fashion accessory or worn under your coat for warmth and then removed. Just think of rushing out the door in the morning to the car with the wind howling and being able to snug that up over the bottom of your face until you get the heater going. YUM!

 This pattern is a free download on Ravelry called the birthday cowl. The pattern lends itself to lots of different yarns. We used the Leche yarn because of its softness and total appeal. It took 2 balls with some left over.