Getting a Little Lacy

I know I’ve talked a bit about my undying love for Noro yarn but there is another yarn who also holds a key to my heart. (My heart has many locks and many keys, incidentally.) And that yarn is Malabrigo. Several holidays ago I made a bunch of my favorite people cowls which all used Malabrigo Rasta. It’s safe to say that I’ve been an addict ever since. The colors, the texture, the quality…it’s all good. I have since branched out from just Rasta but my favorite colorway remains the same: Arco Iris. Arco Iris means rainbow and that just so happens to be my favorite color!

A few months ago I was looking around on Ravelry and came across a scarf pattern called Cordate by Tori Gurbisz that uses Malabrigo Rasta. It’s freaking gorgeous and I wanted to immediately figure out how to make it on a loom. Turns out it was pretty darn easy to convert and a whole lot of fun to make.

I grabbed my largest gauge circle loom and did a quick swatch and discovered that my gauge wasn’t quite the same as the pattern, but hey, it’s a scarf! Gauge doesn’t really matter that much! Yay! As you can see you start with a provisional cast on and begin the lace pattern. Lace patterns can look complicated but they are actually very simple to follow. Trust me. If I can do it, you can do it.

My pattern looks a little different than the original partly due to the different gauge but also due to the fact that I was doing one entire row incorrectly. I figured that out about half way into the project and rather than frog it and start over I decided to carry on the mistake. I’m lazy like that.

Here it is after I completed knitting and before blocking. Sorry for the washed out colors but the darn sun was shinning. (the nerve!) This scarf was a pretty fast knit which makes me think it’s a good candidate for Christmas gifts this year.

This is a looooooooong scarf. Blocking it was a pleasure, however, because the lace pattern really opened up.

Once the blocking was complete I added the fringe. I added twice as much as the pattern called for because in the case of fringe I truly believe that more is better.

This is a pattern that I can definitely recommend to loom knitters. The pattern is very easy to follow (You have a choice between a written pattern and a chart. I preferred the chart and only had to remember to cross out the instructions for the wrong side and do the opposite. Everything else stays the same. Very simple.) Due to the difference in my gauge I repeated the pattern a few more times than the pattern called for in order to get the right length but that was really not a big deal.

So bottom line: this pattern is awesome!!!! Make it! You will be so happy you did.

See my Ravelry page about this scarf here.

See the original pattern here.

On My Loom

Like many people, I tend to have more than one knitting project going at one time. I have tried to overcome this habit because it makes me CRAZY! I can’t stand having unfinished things laying about, taunting me, calling me names. A little while ago I thought I had won. I finished up about five different things all at once and vowed to never, ever do it again. The problem is focusing. I get bored easily. I get distracted by new yarn and new patterns. The weather changes and suddenly the warm and wooly sweater I just started begins to seem somehow….hot.

Which brings me to today’s topic: What’s on my loom? Well, I’ll tell you. Last month I started a new sweater. I love sweaters. They are the reason I knit, actually. Everything I have made and will make is in some way contributing to any and all future sweaters I may make. Every technique I learn, every new stitch, all of it is done with the thought, “I could do this on a sweater!” or “Dang, this would be amazing in sweater form!”

I have only completed two sweaters thus far in my knitting career and I can tell you with a straight face: sometimes I take them out and just look at them and marvel at the fact that I made them. I imagine this is what people with children do when their child is sleeping. This is what I do when my sweaters are sleeping, er, laying around being sweaters. Anyhoo, I started a new sweater last month when here in upstate NY it was still freezing and snowing. It felt right to get out the wool and start something new.

I was lucky to find some Noro Cyochin at a tremendous discount so I bought enough to cover the Statue of Liberty. And since I like stripes I decided to switch skeins every other row.

See how mesmerizing that is?

I’m using a very basic needle pattern as a guide. This is the first time I am venturing out on my own and doing my own thing. I don’t think I can screw up too badly with nothing but stockinette stitch, but you never know. I’m done with the back piece and that seemed like a good place to stop. For now.

You see….it got warm. Spring finally decided to happen and having five pounds of wool on my lap was starting to lose its charm. And then I got the summer issues of Interweave Knits and Creative Knits and they were full of summery things made of cotton and linen. Not a sheep in sight. And so I started thinking…perhaps I need to be making something I can actually wear this summer. Perhaps I need to order more yarn in pretty colors and lighter fibers. Perhaps I need to put my wool aside for a little while and focus on something a little less sweaty.

Enter Knit Picks Dishie. 100% cotton. It feels quite lovely. It’s been a while since I knit with cotton but it’s coming back to me and now I’m remembering that I actually like cotton. As long as the pattern I’m working on also likes cotton.

So far, Manitou seems to like cotton. This is a fun shawl comprised of wedges and I’m cruising right along. Of course, I had to start this scarf three times before I finally started paying attention and got the pattern right. But now it’s going swimmingly.

So that’s what’s on my loom(s) these days. I’ve already got my next pattern picked out and have already purchased the (cotton) yarn. It’s going to be a sweater. A summer sweater.