Ruffles and Flourishes - Finished!

Just Enough Ruffles, pattern by Laura Chau, modified with 230 stitches cast on
Malabrigo Worsted Merino, in color Burgundy
Button Basket from Longeberger (thanks, mom!)
Fabric is Moda, I think, from my stash :)

Ruffles and Flourishes... I've always loved that phrase. It's actually a military bugle call, played immediately prior to Hail to the Chief. Chances are good you've heard it without knowing that's what it was called!

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I decided to give the pink ruffly scarf a soak and block, too, since it's scratchy and the tub is clean. Fingers crossed... it's lounging on the ironing board now.

Trying something new

I'm going to stop apologizing for the lack of posts... 'cause you don't really care if I cleaned my bathtub or got stuck in traffic or whatever. I'd rather talk when there's something to talk about, even if it's sometimes only interesting to me ;)

I've been working on another ruffly scarf, this time in pretty Burgundy Malabrigo Merino Worsted wool... MMMmmmmmmmmmmmm.... yummy! I finally finished binding it off last night; I made it a little longer than the first, so there were almost 700 stitches on the needles. I tried a stretchier bind off, too, which works beautifully but I did not like doing it at all. K2, slip both back on left needle, then K2togTBL. K1, slip both back on left needle, then K2togTBL. Repeat until you're ready for the padded room, then do some more. I learned I don't generally like knitting through the back loop. Good to know, I guess.

So, the problem most people, including me, have with this beautiful scarf is that the garter edge (which you couldn't see when George modeled it the other day) really folds over to the right side. The only sure-fire way to stop it seems to be a full wet block. EEP! Since the folding drives me nuts on the first ruffled scarf, though, it seemed necessary.

I started by cleaning the tub. In theory, I might have been able to do this in the sink, but the tub needed cleaning anyway ;) I ran a tepid little bath, and doused the scarf, making sure to soak it thoroughly. Malabrigo felts if you look at it crosseyed, so I had to remember NOT to swish it around or anything in my desire to have it be fully soaked. "They" say it takes 20 minutes, but George was rather intrigued by this, so I'm pretty sure I didn't get past 15 at the most.

Carefully squeeze out the water, roll in a bath towel a couple of times to soak out as much excess as possible, and now it's on a sheet on the ironing board to dry. The idea is to make sure the garter edge (the non-ruffled one) is nice and flat. I also wanted to stretch it a little width wise -- it seems slightly too skinny this time around. My guage was definitely tighter, so that's part of the problem, I think. We'll see... this could take a while to dry. On the plus side, the tub is nice and clean ;)

Ruffles and Flourishes

I have absolutely no idea why George-the-cat allowed me to do this :) Since I was sure he'd bite me instead of just sit nicely with the scarf around his neck, I didn't bother to turn it around so the right side was out...

Pattern is "Just Enough Ruffles" by Laura Chau, knit in Burgundy Malabrigo Worsted Merino. Yummy! (This is the same pattern as the pink scarf from a few days ago, by the way, but in much nicer-to-knit yarn.)

I gotta post more often!

My sister has started sending me "bump" messages to blog :) [As an aside, dear one, you *could* start your own blog...]

Nevertheless, I'm here, and watching Iron Chef. Cat Cora is making something with deep fried frozen ketchup canelles. I'm intrigued...

Here's what I've been working on:

It's Faberge Neck Warmer (pattern by Nina Machlin Dayon, published on Ravelry), which uses a beaded trellis stitch. Yarn is Malabrigo worsted merino, in color Cinnabar (yum!).

I also started another ruffle-y scarf in a non-pink color, but it's only eight rows in, so it's not really anything to show off yet.

Enjoy...

A scarf and a quilt block

This is my Just Enough Ruffles scarf, which I made in the last week or so. It's Sheep Shop 1 yarn, in a watermelon shade. It's knit sideways, with 200 stitches cast on, then a triple increase (!) giving one 600 stitches to bind off at the end. That said, it *is* just enough ruffles... it needs blocking, then who knows what will happen after that :)


And here's my late block for Helen, Miss January. She asked for real African fabrics and applique. Luckily, we met a lovely vendor of African fabrics (and baskets) at the Harrisburg show, so I had these two to play with, as well as another that I ended up not using. This is an African drum; it's not as fancy as the work some of the other girls have done, but I think it looks OK. The beading took forever -- I had to use a small needle, as it was the only one without a bulgy eye, and my hands do not like those little needles at all!

Anyway: I'm caught up on my deadlines again. Whew. (Yes, I know I'm late with January, but I promised Helen I'd mail this block today -- not realizing it was a holiday at the time -- so I *do* feel good about finishing it yesterday.

Maybe, just maybe...

I think I might have fixed my internet connection. Of course, I hope I did, but boy, those were fairly obvious mistakes if that's the case :) Ah well... I got a LOT of knitting done and a little sewing while without, so that's not all bad. Now, I need to do a few things, including photographing said knitting and sewing; I'll be back later to share.

Technology

... Has got me down! In trying to fix my wireless, I broke it completely. I'm sure it'll be better after I uninstall and reinstall the router -- as a password-protected connection now that I have lots of neighbors -- but that's a drag. And a long process! Have just spent some time reading blogs on my 'berry... Functional, but tedious, I'm afraid. Guess I'll just knit more tonight; the router will have to wait for the weekend :)
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry