A Tale of Two Scarves, or being organized for once in my life!

The boys go to a progressive private school in New York City, the kind that firmly discourages extravagant teacher's gifts at holiday time, as can sometimes happen here. Instead, parents are encouraged to donate to a holiday fund, which is then divided up among teachers, specialists, staff, etc. It's entirely voluntary, no one knows how much you give, and I'm sure the teachers appreciate a nice chunk of cash instead of tchotchkes. That being said, in addition to the holiday fund, I like to give the teachers a little something handmade to show our appreciation for all they do during the year. Last year, it was loaves of pumpkin bread. This year, I got my act together early, and planned scarves for the 4 teachers (2 for Itchy and 2 for Scratchy). I tried to really think about each teacher, what colors they'd like, what style, as well as stay pretty economical with my yarn purchases (Stash or @ $15 ea.)

First up, Forbes Forest in Knitpicks Moss. Six skeins on US5 needles. As soon as I saw it here, I knew I'd make it. Brooklyn Tweed's photography is so gorgeous, everything he makes just seems to glow. Took me about a week of pretty monogamous knitting during the end of August vacation (the week it rained every day).


I also fell in love with the Misty Garden scarf in scarfstyle, but I knew I'd never make it for myself. Mohair? C'mon, I can't even wear turtlenecks. But I thought the color would be beautiful for Itchy's teacher Barbara, and she wears scarves almost every day. 3 skeins of Jo Sharp Rare Comfort Infusion Kid Mohair in Rosehip and done.

May I Present the Glamorous Lady E?

This might just be the most beautiful thing I've ever knit. Here's my glamorous mom modelling her Lady Eleanor shawl
from Scarf Style. I used a yarn from Tahki called Bunny Paint, merino/alpaca/acrylic and because of the shorter color sctions, looks a lot different from some of the beautiful Noro silk gardens that I've seen. But I love the colors -- wine, gray, charcoal, olive, black -- and I wanted something more along the weight of the one used in the book.

It is knit pretty tightly on US 8's, partly because I wanted it dense and warm, partly because I wanted to minimize any stretching and sagging, and mostly because the needle gauge in the back of this book is wrong, and my size 8 Addi's did not fit into the size 8 hole, so I thought they were 9s. Ah well, live and learn. I am delighted with the final project, as is my Mom. This was supposed to be a 40th birthday present for my sister Dub, but my mom saw it shortly after I started and claimed it as her own. How could I say no?

Loved the pattern, easy to put down and pick up, and once I reminded myself how to knit backwards, was pretty quick. No turning was nice! All in all, maybe a month from start to finish, with lots of breaks for other stuff.

Specs:
Pattern: Lady Eleanor from Scarf Style
Yarn: Tahki Bunny Paint, about 15 skeins? I can't remember...mom kept trying it on and asking for it to be longer, so I kept buying more.
Needles: Addi US8
Measurements: I didn't measure before she ran home with it, but 20 x 70?

The Baby Shower

I've been really lax in posting this last month, and it's not due to lack of progress, but simply lack of photographs. I have several items I have yet to take pictures of, hence, no blogging. But here's one, gifted today to the wonderful Adele (of the linen hand towels). It's a striped brown and lime hat, with a tied i-cord topper, and lime baby socks with a brown i-cord knot embellishment. Very cute! Inspiration came from this book itty bitty baby hats.


Project: Baby Hat & Socks
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran, 1 skein ea. brown and lime
Needles: US6 (hat) US3 (socks)