Eye Candy Friday

Since my final Red Scarf scarf is quite a bit longer now, I'm using that as an excuse to post a picture of it in sunlight, so that you can actually see it. Twin Rib, dark blue, in elann Peruvian wool.

It's a nice scarf, I think, but did you think that was what I meant by eye candy? No, no.


This is eye candy.

Happy weekend, everyone!

Thankful Thursday

Yes, I know it's no longer November, but since I'm still a long way from running out of things to be thankful for, I'm going to try to keep it going until the end of the year.

Today I am thankful for:

• Central heating. Remember the thermostat I took out? I had turned it down when we left for Maine, and unfortunately I went into my ninja klutz routine before I had gotten around to turning it back up. We now have a new, programmable one, and the downstairs is nice and warm again, and Taz is happy with just his favorite blanket.
  
• Speaking of blankets, I'm thankful for them, and for quilts and flannel sheets, and that I never wake in the night because I'm cold.
  
• Storm windows are nice too. I just finished making sure all of ours are down.

Today was unseasonably and unexpectedly balmy, a wonderful gift for which I'm also thankful, but it can't last forever. Stay warm.

Not Exactly Red

I started a new Red Scarf scarf in Twin Rib (see previous post). On the one hand, it's not exactly red. On the other, if this isn't unisex, I don't know what is.

Ten on Tuesday

Today's Ten on Tuesday is ten things I want but wouldn't buy for myself. This would be pretty easy for me, since I like sparkly shiny things as much as the next magpie. Thing is, I wouldn't really want anyone else to buy them for me either. There are too many better places to put your money.

But when I was reading my good friend Carole's blog this morning I got an idea. Carole gave you ten reasons to knit a Red Scarf; I'm going to give you ten easy patterns to use. Most of these are from Barbara Walker's treasuries 1 and 2, which are readily available at your local library if not on your bookshelf. All but one of these are simple combinations of knit and purl stitches, and they're either fully reversible or attractive on both sides.

Ten Easy Patterns for Red Scarves

1. Twin Rib. I like this one a lot; I've used it for several Pine Street Inn squares.
   
2. Not Twin Rib. I misread the directions for Twin Rib on my first attempt, and I ended up with this pattern instead.
   
   
   
   Multiple of 6 sts plus 3.
   
   Row 1: *k3, p3, end k3.
   Row 2: *k1, p1, end k1.
   
   Repeat rows 1 and 2. (Strangely enough the pattern Walker gives for Twin Rib is asymmetrical; she usually centers patterns on the fabric. My recipe for Twin Rib is the same as above, except for starting and ending with a purl stitch instead of a knit stitch in row 2.)
   
3. Seeded Rib Check.
   
4. Brioche stitch, in either one color or two. Since brioche stitch involves yarn overs, strictly speaking it's not just knit and purl, but it's fast and easy, and the two-color version looks like magic.
   
5. Moss-Bordered Diamonds.
   
6. Knit-purl checks. There are many stitch patterns on the same general principle: alternate a certain number of knit stitches with the same number of purls, then reverse knits and purls and repeat. The smallest possible version is seed stitch, then come moss stitch and double seed stitch aka double moss stitch. I've done this pattern with anywhere from one (seed stitch) to seven stitches. Here it is in 5x5 blocks; the pattern is a bit hard to see, but you get the idea.
   
   
   
7. Giant diamond pattern.
   
8. My own stitch pattern Sunday Brunch. This one involves twist stitches, but they're easier than cables.
   
9. My own Basketweave Scarf.
   
10. Roll your own. Check out this list of reversible stitches from the Walker treasuries, and also this one. Also this one (there are overlaps).

So many patterns, so little time... there really isn't a whole lot of time, but I'll bet I can do one more scarf before December 15.