green

Completed: September, 2003
Lion Brand Yarn / Fun Fur
100% Polyester
Violet [1 skein]; Black [2 skeins]
Needles: 15

After seeing a couple of scarves made of this kind of “eyelash” yarn in last years’ fundraising silent auction (we auction staff-made ceramics and hand-knit items form the Getty Knitting Circle, benefitting our Food & Toy Drive charities), I wanted to try making something out of this wonderfully fuzzy stuff. So, I start with a scarf (natch).

I found this particular brand of eyelash yarn at a local shop–it comes in a wide variety of colors, and knits up to make a stretchy, fuzzy fluff of a scarf. My niece likes purple, so I did hers in violet; the more elegant black fuzz is for my sister-in-law, Karen.

I knit a really loose gauge, using my gigantic size 15 needles, and
as a result the scarves stretch wildly in all directions. The purple scarf is just shy of 3 feet long and about 5 inches wide “at rest”, but can stretch as long as 4 feet and as wide as 1 1/2 feet! The black is 3 1/2 feet long and about 8 inches wide. They’re intended to drape loosely just around the neck.

Completed: December, 2001
Rowan Yarn / wool cotton
50% Merino wool, 50% Cotton
Needles: 6mm (double pts)

When some good friends produced their first offspring, I wanted to make something special for the new arrival. Another knitter from the group at work, Guy, made this adorable hat and thoughtfully provided me a copy of his pattern.

This project marked several “firsts” for me: first time using a written pattern, first time using double-pointed needles, first attempts at decreasing stiches, the first time using two different colored yarns… Which is a good excuse for the uneven ribbing, uneven knitting…!

Still, it’s an awfully cute pattern, and I’ll probably try making it again.

Completed: November, 2002
Lion Brand Yarn / Homespun
98% Acrylic, 2% Polyester [2 skeins]
Needles: 10.5
Garter stitch

This is a fun scarf made from Lion Brand’s Homespun yarn, an easy-care, crinkly yarn which adds this lovely lumpy texture when knitted.

Using a single strand didn’t seem thick enough for a scarf, but I recalled fellow knitter Ericka using two strands of yarn simultaneously in one of her projects. I gave that a try with this scarf and found the resulting work thick and spongy, perfect for a cold-weather muffler.

This scarf measures a tad over 8 ft. long, and about 5 1/2 inches wide.

Completed: December, 2001
Lion Brand Yarn / Chenille Thick & Quick
91% Acrylic, 9% Rayon
Seaspray [2 skeins]; Forest Green [2 skeins]
Needles: 10.5
Stockinette stitch

This year, I wanted to knit a few Christmas gifts, and thought this thick and soft chenille yarn might make a nice light muffler. I chose a deep forest green for friend Gail, and ice blue ones for my friend Sandy and sister-in-law, Karen.

Karen reported that the scarf I gave her stretched to about 1.5 times its original length, so I ended up having to shorten it for her by 2 feet!

Completed: November, 2001
Noro Oimochan Multi Yarn
100% wool [3 skeins]
Needles: 15

This scarf is all about the yarn. It’s a gorgeous Japanese multi-colored wool yarn from Noro, and it just knits up so beautifully.

I was just getting back into knitting, thanks to inspiration from a group at work, and I wanted to try my hand at a simple project to get my needles wet, so to speak. Many of the knitting circle frequented a local yarn shop, Wildfiber, and this is how I acquainted myself with the joys (and expense) of high quality yarn…

This scarf measures about 9 ft. long, and about 4 inches wide, and is great fun to wear with almost anything.

Completed: 1989
100% Acrylic
Color: Teal
Needles: 8
Garter stitch

This was my very first knitting project, completed in my last year at USC. My neighbor Tommy took me shopping at a discount store in University Village, where we purchased some aluminum needles and some really cheap yarn. He showed me how to cast on and do a knit stitch, and I decided to make a nice long Dr. Who scarf to wear with my long tweed overcoat (it measures just shy of 10 ft. long, and about 4 inches wide).

Unfortunately, it took me a while to finish the darn thing, and I lost track of my knitting friend after college. Sadly, I couldn’t remember how to cast-on to make something new, so it wasn’t until I met up with some knitters at the Getty over a decade later (and with the help of some online web tutorials) that I got back to knitting once again.

You can really tell this was knit by a novice: the rows are embarrassingly uneven, with loopy bits here and tight chunks there, and big floppy fringe, but I still really love this scarf.