FO: Cool Cowl

This yarn was an impulse buy at my LYS. I just had to have these colors on my needles and the yarn was oh so soft. The price made it a safe gamble. Every if I didn’t like working with the yarn, my financial loss would have been minimal. 

Lucky for me this yarn was a-okay. I really enjoyed how the yarn worked into pretty even stripes. No cool pooling here! Overall, this cowl makes for a great accessory to jazz up any outfit. Plus the chunky yarn make for a quick knit. 

Find more pics of this lovely cowl in my Etsy shop 😊. 

Until Next Time,

-Whit-

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The Sock Scarf

In 2015/2016 I went on a sock craze. I was making about a pair every month. As a result, I ended up with quite a bit of leftover sock yarn. What to do what to do with this lovely yarn? Well, I started to paw through my stitch dictionary (A Treasury of Knitting Patterns by Barabara Walker) and go an idea. What if I used some of my sock yarn and created a cowl of swatches? 

The yellow came from my Business Casual Socks. The yarn is Cascade Heritage Solid in Mustard. The stitch is Roman Rib Stitch.

The blue is from my Warm Up Socks using Anzula Squishy in Chiva. The stitch is Slip-Stitch Honeycomb.

The green was used in my Green Jaywalker Socks. The yarn is Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine in Seedling Mix. The stitch is Vertical Lace Trellis.

The red was not used for a pair of socks, but a cowl. It is Knitting Fever’s Painted Desert in Autumn.  The stitch is English Mesh Lace.

I tried to balance the textured stitch patterns with lacy stitch patterns to give the scarf a little variety. I love how it came out! I love the bold colors combined with the variety of stitches.

Check out more photos of the scarf in my Etsy Shop. I am also having a Spring Clearance Sale (30% off) using the code: SpringSF17. The sale includes patterns 😊

Until Next Time,

-Whit-

New Pattern: Crossing Diamonds Headband

The Crossing Diamonds Headband is a great piece to add to your everyday knitwear collection. This headband features a basic cable pattern that forms interlocking diamonds. This design is a great seasonal transition piece. It can be worn as an ear warmer or further back on the head as a headband.

This Crossing Diamonds Headband is perfect for those who are just learning to cable knit or who want to brush up their skills. The headband is made as a flat piece and then the edges are seamed together. This project is gauged for US Size 8 (5.0mm) needles which make it a quick knit without being too bulky. Small/Medium/Large sizing is included. Plus it is a stash buster!

Yarn: 30-40 grams of DK weight yarn needed
Gauge: 5 sts and 6 rows in stockinette stitch = 1 inch
Finished Measurements: Height 3.25 inches/ Fits head circumference of 20-21 inches (small), 22.25-23 inches(medium), 25 inches (large)

From now until 4/30/17 this pattern is only $1.00 on Ravelry.

Until Next Time,

-Whit-

Ecuador Jungle Experience

As our boat careened through the dark waters of the river I knew I had made a great choice in electing to go to the Amazon Jungle. I spent 4 days in the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve at Jamu Lodge. The scenery was amazing and it was nice to take a technology break. 

Cuyabeno is not easy to get to from Quito. I took and overnight bus (7 hours) to a shuttle (2 hours) to a boat (1 hour). However, once you enter the reserve is is all worth it.

So what is there to do in the jungle? First off, look for amazing animals.  We saw monkeys, snakes, birds, a sloth, Caimen, huge insects and spiders. We also go a chance to visit a local indigenous community and meet the shaman. My favorite part of the trip was the night hike though the jungle. It was a little scary, but unlike anything I have every done. 

The jungle was an amazing sensory experience. At night it was almost too loud to sleep. I am accustomed to city noise yet, in the jungle between the monkeys, cicadas, and grasshoppers there were so many unknown sounds. I also had to adjust to the heat. Ugh it was so humid. My hair was rebelling by day 3. Thank goodness for scarves! Visually, there was almost too much to look at. The water glistened as the sun reflected off of it, the leaves were all shades of green, the orchids were vibrant, and there was almost always an animal to check out. 

I also got time to finish my Slumber Party socks. They were such a quick project. We got free time each day and I hung out in the hammock area knitting away.

So if you are in Ecuador, I highly suggest a jungle trip. It is something you will remember forever. 

Hasta Luego,

-Whit- 

Slumber Party Socks

Socks are one of my favorite travel knitting projects. They are compact, you generally don’t need too many notions, and if needed you can wear your FO on your trip. Recently I bought a skein of Knit Picks Felici in Slumber Party. I have never knit with this yarn and have been seeing it around the internet (see here). Knit Picks was having a sale so I decided to give it a try. The Felici color options are so fun.  The yarn composition is a Merino wool/ nylon blend and is quite soft.

As for sock design, I began using Judy’s magic cast on using a US size 2 circular needle ( I cast on 20 stitches total). This method is great for toe up socks. I then used a short row heel construction.  I must say I really don’t like short row heels when making socks for myself. They come out too shallow for my liking. I made sure to add a few rows to the heel section to give myself some extra length. If I don’t do this then my socks pull in the back and it creates an uneven cuff (higher in the front and lower in the back).

For the bind off, I modified Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy bind off. I only used the yarn over with the knit stitches (not the purl) aka I made a yarn over for every other stitch.  I found that using the method on all of the stitches made the cuff way to loose.

My socks came out not too bad for just making it up as I went. The socks have a close fit, but not as form fitting as I typically like them. As for the yarn, it doesn’t have as much stretch as other brands such as Cascade. However, the color scheme and price might make me try it again with future socks.

Anyone have a favorite sock yarn brand?

Until Next Time,

-Whit-

 

Adventures in Otovalo, Ecuador

So far my time here in Ecuador has been fabulous. I am so lucky to have a friend guiding me around to all of the sites. It also helps that she is fluent in Spanish as my Spanish is super rusty. We ventured up to Otovalo, which is a 2 hour bus ride from Quito. The bus ride was quite nice. We had comfy seats and lovely view of the Ecuadorian countryside. 

We arrived in Otovalo around 11:30 am. Our goal was to head to the famous marketplace as well as Lake Cuicocha. First stop was the market. It was overwhelming! There were so many items to see such as local clothing, food, and beautiful handicrafts. And then I found yarn 😍

The colors were GORGEOUS! So many choice to choose from. There was only one problem…all of it was acrylic *sigh*. Don’t get me wrong I am no yarn snob. However, I kind of have a personal policy when traveling that if it isn’t unique then I don’t buy it. I travel with a backpack and it is only 50L. If I load up on every hank of yarn I will have way to much to carry. So I showed some restraint and just said no. 

After a great almuerzo (lunch) of soup, baked chicken and rice, and blackberry juice, my friend and I headed for the lake. We took a 20 minute taxi ride to the park and were immediately glad we made the journey. The lake was a sight to see. It is a 2 mile crater lake smack in the middle of some mountains. You can hike along a trail that follows the perimeter of the lake. We walked about a 1/4  around before it started raining. The hike was lovely as you got to see the serene water as well as the vivid green countryside. Plus there were some ancient ruins along the way. 
All and all this was a great day trip in the Andes. Next stop is the Amazon Jungle!

¡Hasta Luego!

-Whit- 

As always you can find me on IG @knitsbywhitsf and Ravelry as lilwhit