Henry by Mareike Sattler
1.5 skeins of Malabrigo Worsted, Paris Night
5.50 mm circulars
Start: February 2010
Finish: June 2010
Modifications: many, listed in detail below
Ravelryed: here

While doing research into Matt’s Henry, I came across this version and knew that I would have to make a similar one for me. Because I used Malabrigo Worsted, my Henry is a lot thicker, softer and I’d argue warmer than Matt’s. That’s not to say mine is necessarily better than his, it’s just different. A good kind of different.

The pattern calls for three repeats (12 rows in total) for each diagonal section, and seven pattern repeats (the herringbone ‘v’) in total. I opted for two repeats for each diagonal section and four repeats in total. This resulted in a scarf a smidge over 12cm wide, a little bit over half the width prescribed by the pattern. I don’t think a wider scarf would work as well in worsted weight yarn as it would feel a bit too bulky around my neck.

As with Matt’s Henry, I used a cable cast on, but the cast off used for Matt’s — k2tog and slip resulting stitch back to the left needle — didn’t translate well to the heavier yarn. The closest I could get to a matching cast off was to use a modified sewn bind off. The cast on and off don’t match exactly, but I think it’s close enough. If I were to make another Henry, I would definitely swatch the cast on and off, something I neglected to do this time round.

Besides the cast on/off issue, the only minor niggle I have is the slight flare at the ends due to a slightly looser tension at the ends of the rows. It’s not too noticeable, and because I wear the scarf under my jacket, the ends aren’t generally visible anyway.

Although a few little issues created frustration at the time, I’m pretty pleased with how this one turned out. The herringbone pattern scales up well, with some minor modifications, and it is so lovely and warm — perfect for the cold weather we’ve been having.

I made a mistake early on, and even the smallest mistake with Henry, unless caught very early, means a whole lot of ripping back. My enthusiasm drained pretty quickly at that point. On top of that, it appears I misunderstood the rules for taking knitting needles on international flights. Soon after takeoff, I was told knitting on the plane was not allowed as the change to the prohibited item list only applied to domestic flights. This didn’t seem right to me, as I’d heard of others knitting on international flights departing from Australia without issue, but thought it best not to argue.

So yes, my Ravelympics effort was a bit of a washout. That’s perfectly all right though, Henry will now be my project for the Bendigo Sheep and Wool Show. Given that’s still months away, it’s a much more relaxed goal and should (!!) be easily achievable.

Despite my previous claim about not having much time for knitting over the past couple of weeks, a little bit of knitting did occur; enough to finish off this fellow:

Elijah by Ysolda Teague
Approximately 100 grams of Lincraft Balmoral Tweed
Black embroidery thread
3.25mm double pointed needles
Started: February 2010
Finished: February 2010
Ravelryed: here

He was made as a thank you gift to our wonderful hosts in Tokyo. He was mostly done before we left, but his eyes and ears were finished while away. The only differences between this Elijah and previous Elijahs were slightly larger needles, accommodating for the slightly heavier yarn used (a 10 ply was used this time rather than the 8 ply used previously). I also used a little bit less stuffing, which makes him a bit easier to pose.

As this is the third time I’ve made Elijah, it’s hard to say whether this is now the end of my Elijah career. It would be good to try different patterns for toys as gifts, but at the same time it’s hard to go past him as he’s a fun and interesting pattern to knit, with such cute results.

My knitting challenge is relatively meagre — another Henry, but in Malabrigo Worsted rather than Grignasco Tango, the yarn I used last time. I’m not 100% confident that I can finish it in time, but using a heavier weight yarn (therefore knitting up quicker) and a long day of travel in a couple of days will definitely help my cause.

I tested out the travelbility of the project yesterday when knitting the swatch on a flight home from a conference. You will all be pleased to know that it passed the travel test with flying colours (excuse the pun). The swatch was knitted up on 5mm needles, which I am concerned creates a fabric that is too rigid, but a former swatch knitted up on 6mm needles didn’t have great stitch definition, so the actual scarf will be knitted up on 5.5mm needles. The subtle colour variations in Paris Night come out quite nicely in the pattern too. The variation is not particularly noticeable except in the sunlight, but it’s a nice feature.

Going back quickly to the travelability — this week was my first time knitting on a plane since restrictions were relaxed. It was hard to shake the feeling of being a naughty kid trying to smuggle contraband into the plane cabin, but it was great being able to keep my fidgetty hands busy from gate to gate. I’m keen to see how much Henry can be completed on a longer haul flight.

Gathered Scarf by Maryse Roudier
1 skein Collinette Jitterbug, Velvet Plum
3.5mm and 4.5mm needles
Started: September 2009
Finished: September 2009
Modifications: started with garter stitch rather than stockingette, and worked over 46 stitches rather than 48
Ravelryed here

All up this took 3 weeks at most, which is quite surprising given the yarn and needle size. I highly recommend it as a commute knit, even with the needle changes, as the easily-remembered pattern makes it a good ‘pick up, put down’ project.

While purple isn’t my colour (the scarf is intended for someone else), Velvet Plum has made me fall for semi solids. I doubt I’d ever use semi solids for a larger item of clothing, like a jumper, but in small doses I think it’s terrific. Particularly with this pattern, the variation in colour works in well with the gathered stripes.

Unfortunately I’m now at a loose end, commute knit-wise. None of my current projects are really suitable for commute knitting, yet I’m reluctant to start another. Quite the conundrum.

Baktus Scarf (lace version) by Tehri Montonen (original pattern by Strikkelise)
75g Knittery 4ply merino (have lost the label, and can’t remember the colourway sorry!)
3mm needles
Started: July 2009
Finished: August 2009

This project was borne out of a need (or want, more like) to work on something simple while we moved and for my commute to work (my poor bikes are sadly neglected in our new location). It worked well in those circumstances as the pattern was easy to remember after a couple of repeats and the project itself was quite compact.

Prior to making Baktus, I was absolutely convinced that variegated yarns and shawls were not for me. In fact, this yarn was not far away from being offered up for destash. Now I think there are exceptions to the rule. I don’t Baktus is something that will become a wardrobe staple for me, but I do think it will work well as a ‘transitional weather’ piece.

Looking at it now it’s off the needles, it does seem a little short. I don’t intend to wear it over my shoulders, just as a neckerchief, but a good blocking should be able to sort the shortness out somewhat.

The house is still a sea of boxes, but I have located all my knitting gear (A couple of projects came with me of course). However, as my current projects required a bit of concentration, I started a new, relatively mindless knit just for the moments here and there between packing, cleaning, and then cleaning and unpacking.

The original pattern is Baktus by Strikkelise, but Tehri from Mustaa Villaa posted a variation with a yarn over row. I’m not sure who it’s for, but I’m enjoying the process of knitting it, so I’ll deal with the recipient issue later.

Henry by Mareike Sattler
1.75 balls of Grignasco Tango, shade 211
4.00 and 3.50 mm Addi circulars
Start: November 2008
Finish: January 2009

I made a few modifications to the pattern, starting with the yarn. I thought tweed and herringbone would go together nicely, but struggled to find a 4 ply tweed in a suitable colour. Opting for a slightly heavier weight yarn meant that I could reduce the number of cast on stitches… to 416.

Before starting, I had read some criticisms of the pattern in regard to the cast on and cast off not matching. To try and get around this, I knit the ending rows a little differently to the pattern, knitting one row less, and finishing with a purl row rather than a knit row. This made it look a little more even, however I suspect that the stitch used in the scarf is just not conducive to looking identical at the cast on and cast off edges. I think this is largely due to the slipped ‘bars’ of yarn that form the herringbone pattern settling at the bottom of the stitch, making the space above the ‘bar’ larger than the space below the ‘bar’. This all makes perfect sense to me, but I’m not sure if it will to anyone else!

I also opted for a cable cast on, rather than the tubular cast on. This was largely due to my eagerness to get started on the project, as I feel that the tubular cast on is a bit fiddly, and wouldn’t add that much to the look of the scarf. Because I opted for a cable cast on, I cast off by knitting two together, then slipping the resulting stitch back onto the left needle. This made the cast on and cast off edges close to looking the same.

All in all, I am (and most importantly, he is) happy with how the scarf turned out. All indications suggest that when cooler days are upon us, the scarf will become useful. I also see another version of this scarf in my future, using some Malabrigo Worsted I have squirrelled away. I cannot say that it’s the easiest knit in the world, but the effort that goes into it pays off handsomely.

I’ve had a red garter stitch scarf on my mind for a while, and although I cannot seem to photograph red well to properly show it off, I thought it was the perfect red.

Vital Stats:
Vanilla Scarf
around about 3/4 of a ball of Bendigo Woollen Mills Classic 8 ply, cherry
5.00mm circulars
Start: August 2008
Finish: August 2008

I like to call it a vanilla scarf, because garter stitch is quite plain, like vanilla, but it doesn’t stop it from looking nice. I’m still not 100 percent on using crepe for garter stitch, but I love the colour so much that I can look past that little annoyance.

It was quite exciting to discover that I can now start taking photos after work, because it’s becoming a lot lighter now that Winter’s on the way out. Usually I take all my photos on the weekend, but these photos were taken after work a couple of days ago. Granted, I was still in my work clothes, but I’m putting that down to the excitement of it being light outside at 5pm, rather than laziness.

It’s also the kind of weather that makes it hard to take photos outside. The sun is weak, and in the blink of an eye, it goes from decent light to pitch black.

I have been fairly productive on the knitting front though. The diagonal lace scarf is all finished up.

Vital stats:
Diagonal Lace Scarf
About 150g of Bendigo Woollen Mills Rustic in 12 ply, Sunflower (not listed on their website – bought from their bargain room)
6mm 100cm circular Addis.
Start: June 2008
Finish: June 2008

This was a very very quick knit for my standards, pretty much all done on the bus. the pattern was modified slightly by casting on 19 instead of 24 stitches, for a slightly narrower scarf.

As soon as the scarf was pinned out blocking, I cast on another bus knit – Liesl by Ysolda.

I got a good start on it last weekend, while watching my dad race his car at a track not far from me, and am now past the armholes (despite what the photo indicates). I really can’t wait to finish this project – just so I can wear it!

This is my current bus knit – diagonal lace scarf from Midnight Purls. I’ve been waiting for just the right yellow yarn for this pattern and luckily it didn’t take long for me to find. A good yellow is pretty hard to find, its either too pale or has too much red in it for my tastes.

It’s only have a short commute to and from work, but there’s still enough time to get a couple of repeats done. If I was also knitting it at home, I think I would have torn through it by now, but I want to concentrate on getting through the pile of unfinished projects that aren’t conducive to public transport knitting. Although, I’m sure pinning out some knitting on the bus would be highly entertaining for the other commuters.