As The Yarn Turns

Cashmere and Silk Scarf

Rick's birthday dinner last night was a success. I don't have any pictures because I tend to be a slug when it comes to remembering to take pictures at things like that. It was a fun evening with good food, good friends, and good wine. Plus all of us seemed to be having a busy week, so it was good ending to the week.

I finally got started on the cashmere scarf. Actually I read the label again and it's 45 percent cashmere and 55 percent silk. It's still luscious stuff. I had a couple of failed starts before I got something I liked. I ripped everything out after a row or two the first time. I've forgotten why. It just didn't look right, I guess. Then the second time, I ripped it all out when I realized I needed to go down a needle size. Plus I decided to cut out one of the pattern repeats to make it narrower and to add a single knit stitch to either side. I didn't really want a full fledged garter stitch border. I think it looks better without it and curling edges don't seem to be a problem. I thought it needed something more substantial along the edges. A single knit stitch seems to do the trick and isn't enough to make the edges curl noticeably. Nothing that a good blocking couldn't fix anyway. So here it is so far. There's not much, but I like it.

The picture just doesn't do justice to the color. The yarn is from Jade Sapphire and the color is Ruby Slippers, colorway #11. The color is a bright ruby red with a slightly darker color mixed with it. The color change is very subtle but gives it some added depth. The yarn itself is interesting to knit. It's wonderfully soft but a little slick to knit. At the same time, it tends to stick to itself. Both times when I ripped out my knitting, I lost a few inches because there was a knot I just couldn't get out. It's good to start a new project.

by Sydney  |

Random Day

It seems like I've been a day late and a dollar short all week long. So today will random day. Course that's probably not much different from my normal entries.

1. Tomorrow is Rick's birthday. Earlier in the week Rick sent me a wish list and I made an order, confident it would get here in time for his birthday. Then I got an email later saying that item was out of stock AND out of print. So a replacement present has been ordered but it probably won't be here in time for his birthday. The good news is that I've made reservations for dinner tomorrow. At least one thing will be on time.

2. I am making progress on Rick's man socks (aka the Gentleman's Socks). I'm close to being finished but they probably won't be ready in time for his birthday either. He should only have to wait a day or two, if the universe will cooperate.

I'm looking forward to getting these done and working on some "Sydney size" socks. These socks seem endless and Rick's feet aren't that large. I already have my Project Spectrum April yarn picked out for my next pair of socks. I might even sneak in a pair of baby socks for a quick feeling of accomplishment.

3. At the office, we've been working on getting a couple of new software releases out. While Rick and Eric have been working on the code, I've been working on the help files and documentation. It's not easy keeping up with their changes. Today we sent out what we hope is a final version to the beta sites. Among the first comments that come back is a request for a particular screen shot to be added to the help files. Rick says, "Oh you couldn't have added that anyway. Eric didn't finish it until today." You've just got to love the software development process, at least in our office. The good thing about working on the help files is that I can usually get a round or two of sock knitting done while the files compile. Now I know I could put the help files on a faster computer since we have lots of hardware around, but then it might cut into my knitting time.

4. I haven't had a chance to cast on for the cashmere scarf yet, so that will probably happen this weekend. Oh wait, it's going to be the weekend in a few hours. Okay, sometime real soon now.

by Sydney  |

Still Swatching

Five swatches later, I've finally decided which pattern to use for my scarf. These haven't been blocked but it should give you some idea of the patterns I've been trying.

In the end, I decided on the pattern in the upper left corner. I like the one in the upper right corner too, but it looks like I made a mistake in it somewhere. I figured if I made a mistake in that itty bitty swatch, maybe I shouldn't try it on something larger. I'm glad I tried out these patterns. I'm sure I'll use some of them in a future project. I just decided that a simple design would be best for this yarn. After all, the yarn itself is quite beautiful. The chances of me finishing it by the end of the month are probably pretty slim though.

I'll leave you with a "larger than life" picture of a tiny rubber frog in Project Spectrum colors. I ended up with a handful of one inch long rubber frogs recently and this one looked like Project Spectrum for March.

by Sydney  |