Posy Pink Poncho

Hi, ya'll! Here's the finished Posy Pink Poncho that I started last week. The hardest thing about doing this one was finding some thread to stitch the seams that matched this "Pepto-Bismol" pink color.

This poncho is made into the same pattern as my original purple poncho. Using Joann Fabric Stores Angel Hair yarn, you cast on 70 stitches to a size 10US needle. You probably need 14" long needles or circular to hold this amount comfortably. For a plus size gal I knit 3 complete skeins, bind off and repeat for the second side. 2 1/2 skeins would probably suffice for someone size 8-14.

Once bound off, I rotate the sides so that one width side matches a length side. This gives the poncho an interesting pattern change, with no effort. Be sure to match finished side to finished side, otherwise you'll have tie on, frayed edges showing on your finished project.

Once the sides are matched, I pin the edges of two sides in an "V" formation, leaving about 5-6 inches open at the meeting point for your neck opening. Stitch the edges with a similarly colored thread, double stitching the corners at the base and neck opening for added strength at these stress points. When you finish stitching remove all of the pins and flip it inside out.

The finished product has an "A-line" cowl neck effect and will come about 3/4 of the way down each arm and to the base of the crotch front and back. Another option is to wear it sideways which will completely cover the arms and have a midriff length front and back.

One of the best thing about this yarn is that it's so incredibly soft. It's a wool, acrylic blend but it's heavenly. I made this design up, so if you like it let me know!

Do-it-yourself knitting needles

While browsing the yarn section at the store the other day I started a discussion with another knitter. She was searching for some double pointed needles and this particular store didn't have a large selection. I made a recommendation of a store down the street and she proceeded to tell me that she'd make her on - no problem...

"What? You make your own knitting needles??? Really?"

"Yes, it's simple," she replies.

My mind is reeling. Simple to make your own needles, she says. I can't wrap my mind around it. I have to know more.

"Well, how do you do it?"

"I buy some wood dowels and cut them to the size I need. You know you can buy dowels in all different widths. Then you cut them to the length you want and sharpen the ends with a pencil sharpener...easy," she ends with a nonchalant shrug.

I must have been standing there gaping like an idiot. Why on earth had I never thought of that?

"Doesn't the wood pick your yarn?"

I'm baffled. There's no way it could be that easy.

She smiles, "No. You sand them lightly and polish them up with some wax paper."

Wax paper and wood dowels. That's it. I have run myself ragged trying to find new needles in just the right size and this lovely lady has remedied all of my troubles with cheap, common household items. Wouldn't you know it?

Putting some more thought behind this I realized that some dowels would be rather large to fit into a pencil sharpener, although the cosmetic section in stores occasionally offers some sharpeners with large openings. Perhaps you could shave the tips off of sizable dowels with a sharp pocket knife?

Also, I like to use needles with some device that traps my stitches on the opposite end. Maybe a large push pin or thumb tack could suffice.

I think I'll give this a try and let you know how it works.

The 1st Prayer Shawl Ministry meeting...

Today was the day! We had about 14 people there today and 4 that couldn't come but wanted to sign up. 3 of those have never knitted or crocheted before and are willing to learn! I thought that was wonderful. I was like a kid at Christmas this week - so excited and couldn't wait for today!

I had our first prayer shawl blessed by the pastor Wednesday because I wanted to give one away today at the meeting. One of the first people to sign up as a participant is actually the person that inspired me to knit and, unfortunately, she was diagnosed with cancer almost 3 years ago. She has been very sick lately and had her last chemo cancelled due to an extremely low white blood cell count. Since she's the reason that I knit and truly in need of some extra love right now I thought it befitting that we open the ministry by a gift back to her.

We set a rough plan in place to service our church this first quarter and potentially expand the ministry to other agencies outside of the church in the next quarter. We've decided to do shawls, lap robes (thought this was good for men), and scarves for our group of high school graduates this year.

We're going to "package" the projects with a notecard about the ministry, a prayer and care instructions. The packaging will be a simple ribbon and bow. Our church has a visitation pastor and he normally visits people in the hospital and soon after their return home. They decided to allow him to take some items with him and the rest will be delivered by ministry volunteers. They thought privately dispensing them would be the best, due to some people not wanting everyone to know when they're not well.

We want to hold a blessing ceremony during the regular Sunday service once every quarter so the whole congregation can participate. We also considered presenting the graduates with their scarves during our normal graduation service in the summer.

I did forget one thing a the meeting. I forgot to ask what we wanted to name the ministry. I thought that Prayer SHAWL Ministry was kind of limiting since we want to provide the scarves and lap robes, too. Anyway, I guess I can bring that up at our next meeting.

We decided to meet once a month, the last Sunday of the month right after church, as many of the participants are heavily involved in other ministries and work full-time. We also have a few people gathering Wednesday nights during the school year already.

I know we've probably left alot out, but it's a start. What do you think? Oh, I found out this week that one of our sister churches has a Prayer Shawl Ministry that meets Wednesday's at 3pm. I think I'll try to visit them this week and observe.

What a truly wonderful way to start the New Year...

Newest Prayer Shawl

Here's Johnny...

Well, not Johnny, but another prayer shawl. This is number five. It's very similar to the "Bat Wing Shawl" but I think it's significantly better, in my opinion. I used the same Sensations Boucle yarn by JoAnn's. It's a combination of pink, gray and black and this yarn is self-patterning.

The main difference between this shawl and the other is that I tried a different stitch combination. The Bat Wing Shawl was very haphazard and not well thought out on my part. Although, it is an interesting design.

For this shawl I started with 3 stitches cast on and increased each row by three - a yarn over at the beginning and end and one near the center of the shawl. I cast off at 175 stitches. It's knitted on size US 17 needles and utilizes the standard knit stitch. (The stockinette stitch wouldn't show up well with this yarn stitched on so large a needle.) This particular yarn comes on a massive roll and I used about 1/3 of a skein for this project.

The interesting thing about this design is the fact that the shawl was knitted as a triangle and once off the needles rounded itself out. If you look at this picture closely you'll notice the circular pattern radiates from the top center of the back. This was a completely unexpected effect that I do enjoy. (The yellow dots are on the models shirt and not part of the design.)

Fleece Prayer Shawl

Here it is! Boy, for a piece of scrap fabric from the craft store it turned out well...even if I say so myself. It's toasty warm and soft. The fleece is a navy blue color and approximately 3/4 of a yard. I fringed both ends (with no knot - most people knot each strand, but I didn't like that look so I left them loose.)

The embroidered cross turned out okay. It was my first attempt at free hand embroidery and is only slightly askew. I wish the photo had turned out a little better so you could see the detail, but basically it's a small pointed cross.

This is a fantastic no-sew project for those of you that don't have a ton of spare time or don't feel inclined to produce fabric arts. You just clean up the edges with some basic scissors. Heck, if you want to get fancy I suppose you could use pinking shears. You can leave the piece solid or fringe the edge.

Wouldn't this be cute with some felted or crocheted flowers? Perhaps you could add some ribbons to the fringe by knotting them together. The possibilities are endless and fleece can be found in large remnant quantities right now.

On the sticks...

I thought to share some of the things that I'm working on right now.

I've had a request for a poncho similar to the one I made for myself, but in a different color. This one is a bubble gum pink and will have the same lines as my purple poncho. It's an inverse "A" line with a drop neckline that is slightly offset. This is done entirely in the standard knit stitch. Hopefully the pictures for this one will turn out a little better than the purple. It's so hard to see the definition lines.

This week will also include unraveling my hubby's Christmas scarf and reworking the stockinette stitching. I think I'll add a border to it this time to keep it from rolling. Can't wait to see how it turns out! If I don't get cracking on it winter will be over before he gets to use it...

I'll leave you with one of the first bible scriptures that I ever learned. I hope you find a small bit of inspiration here:

Psalm 139; 11-14

If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me," even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

Hope you all are well and having a fantastic New Year!

How did my project get this big????

A similar question was recently asked by my newest knitting buddy, Mrs. U. (She asks a lot of great questions!)

Have you ever started a project with the correct number of stitches cast on and several rows later had a widening garment, unintentionally? Have you ever tried to figure out how it happened and felt lost? Boy, I have.

Let's talk holes. If you look back and find holes where there aren't supposed to be any you have yarned over. A yarn over (yo) is a stitch used to increase. If you yarn over the first or last stitch on a row you will increase without a hole. However, a yarn over in the middle of a row will leave you with a neat little hole. This "mid row yarn over" is often used to create lace-style holes for decoration or as a small part of a series of stitches for a specific design.

The yarn over stitch is very simple. You simply loop your working yarn around your working needle and continue knitting stitches as before. This is what caused your unintentional hole. You probably thought you had your needle properly inserted into the stitch you were trying to work and, for whatever reason, it wasn't inserted correctly. Then you looped the working yarn around the working needle and pulled it through as usual you created a yarn over instead of a completed knit stitch. You may have even pushed the unworked stitch off as worked creating a dropped stitch, which made an even larger hole.

To correct this error go back and pick up the correct stitches. Yes, this means you have to unravel to the error and work this section all over again. This is a great reason to always check your progress every row or every few rows. (Sometimes you can't see the error until a few rows later.)

If you find no holes you have neglected to drop your worked stitches. Once you work a stitch you normally drop it off the end of the needle and continue on to your next stitch. You may have thought that you dropped you stitch and somehow didn't. Occasionally, especially with fluffier yarn, the yarn will catch between the worked and new stitch and the worked stitch will carryover to the working needle. Sometimes you're working so fast you just don't notice this!

If this is your problem you can easily spot these undropped stitches before reworking them on the next go round. Watch for crossed stitches that making an "x" on your needle. When you come to an "x" work the first stitch as normal and drop the second stitch off the end of the needle without working into it. This drops the original offender stitch back into its proper place and allows you to continue on as if you never had a problem.

Are you a knitter that multi-tasks while knitting? Generally, you can find these errors by feel. When attempting to knit into a crossed stitch you'll notice that the first stitch will feel tighter than the others around it. When you feel this tension make it a habit to look for a crossed stitch.

The only way to correct the increase errors several rows down is to back down to the problem spot and rework all of your stitches. Should you only be a row or two ahead you can try a knit two together (k2tog) decrease to get you back to the correct number of stitches. To knit two together simply push the working needle through two stitches rather than one and push both worked stitches off the end. (If you find yourself more than 4 stitches ahead, you may want to back down to rework all of the stitches anyway, as decreasing too much will leave you with a wavy end product.)

Hope these tips help you!

First Prayer Shawl meeting scheduled!

Yay! I finally scheduled our first Prayer Shawl meeting at church. I compiled a lot of information over Christmas vacation with free pattern links for knitting and crochet. Some of these have already been shared with you, but I did find 2 more that I really like - Crochet Pattern Central which also includes a tips and tricks section and Knitty Chick offering everything from patterns to recipes and a blog!

Our first meeting will be on Sunday, January 25th, immediately after church. It's an organizational meeting, so we won't actually work on our projects that day. We'll be deciding on a name for the group and picking our future meeting dates. We will also decide how we will choose recipients and how we will package the shawls.

I can't wait to get started! Keep us in your prayers, please, as we need all the help we can get to be sure and head in the right direction with this ministry.

Stay tuned for more photos of completed projects. I have a fleece prayer shawl that I've put together for those not inclined to knit or crochet. With fleece you can do everything you need with a pair of scissors. You can even do this if you have arthritis courtesy of a pair of electric scissors! I'm adding an embroidered cross to one end, just to jazz it up a little bit. As soon as the embroidery is finished I'll post a picture for you.

Well, mom says it's okay...

Here's one of the latest in prayer shawls. It is the first I've tried from the triangular angle (haha!) I have this bad habit that I developed with recipes several years ago. Sometimes I read cookbooks for inspiration, never truly trying a specific recipe, just making things up from combinations of other recipes. Or I read over the recipe and then rethink it as I throw it together.

Now I find that I've been doing that with my knitting. At least I don't have to worry about whether or not it'll rise!

So, this little number came from a legitimate pattern and I butchered it. This is the result - I call it my Bat Wing Shawl.

Here's the story. I cast on three knit stitches and yarned over one stitch at the beginning of each row thereafter. Several rows in I realized that if I continued at that rate I would have a shawl taller than most people and it would be more of a bathrobe than a shawl.

Thus began my bright idea of going up 3 stitches every row. 10 rows later I went to increasing 5 stitches every row. I'm still not sure if I was just impatient or hadn't thought it through completely.

I happened to be at my mother's when I determined it was completed and cast off. I was dismayed but good ole mom, she said "I think it's cute. It kind of reminders me of something my grandmother used to wear. You know, just a different color..."

Since mom gave her blessing I refuse to unravel it. I just pray that the person that gets it enjoys it!

Another completed shawl!

Here's another completed shawl. This one is knitted in Mega-Brushed by Premier in Blue Berry. It is stockinette stitch and has a beautiful chevron style design from the yarn variations. I knitted this on size 12mm/US 17 needles, which gave the shawl a lacy, open style.

Prayer Shawl Ministry

Exploring the craft stores can lead you to many things. Sometimes it leads you to spending more money, sometimes to new crafts, and occasionally to your next great idea. Recently, I found my next great idea.

Browsing the knitting and crochet "how to" books lead me to a wonderful discovery. Two Prayer Shawl Ministry books caught my eye. Published by Leisure Books and sponsored by Lion Brand yarn, these books are marvelous. They each contain prayers, thoughts and ideas along with knitting and crochet patterns for several shawls.

Prayer Shawls are often offered up as a confirmation of God's love for each of us. Each shawl is handmade, with love, by a member of the ministry group. As the shawl is made it is regularly prayed over and upon completion receives one final blessing before being gifted to a chosen recipient. Most recipients are home bound or have an illness, but these can be given for any number of things. As I flipped through the books I longed to purchase them, but I often put things up to go home and pray about how best to spend my funds.

Several days later these books were still on my mind and my heart. I went back to see them again. Again, I left without them. The next day I overhead a conversation at another store that mentioned these shawls as a good idea. I knew that was my final nudge. When I returned the following week, both books were on sale...God's final confirmation that this was for me...He knows I can't pass up a sale!

Once I had the books and did a little more research on the computer I knew this would be a fabulous ministry for my church. Approval by the pastor and board immediately followed in December. We will start 2009 with this new ministry!

This is the first shawl offered into service...

The shawl is stockinette stitch. It's composed of Lion's Brand Homespun in Windsor Blue. The combination of color and stitching lends itself to the appearance of flowing water. Gorgeous!

There's nothing better than sharing your God given talents!

Free Knitting Patterns!

I may have mentioned before that I LOVE free things! I don't care if you call me cheap. It's true and I don't try to fluff it up with big words like frugal or conservative. Cheap is fine. It works for me!

I wanted to share some free knitting patterns that I've run across recently as I know patterns can get expensive. Then again, sometimes we get into ruts and just need some inspiration. I hope you find something in here that tickles your "I've got to try this" bone!

How Stuff Works has some cute and simple designs picked for beginners.

About.com gives tons of basic examples from beginner to expert.

Yarn Market offers several unusual designs including a bolero jacket and those flip flops with fur.

Knitting Warehouse.com has links to some major manufacturer's of yarn and crochet materials.

Knitting Daily provides multiple pages of patterns, blogs, forums and how-to information.

If you're interested in finding knitters in your area or connecting on-line try Ravelry. I recently joined and love it. They have personalized pages for you to maintain your needle and yarn inventory, photos and notes on your projects, books in your library, and much more. It's also a fantastic resource for hints and ideas. Currently, Ravelry has a small waiting list but they can usually get you up and running within a few days!

If you join Ravelry be sure and look for me there under Thumperdd.

Some other finished projects...

This is a scarf I knitted for my husband for Christmas. It's Dallas Cowboy colored. Uhhhh...he doesn't really like the Cowboys, it was extra yarn from the Panthers scarves and my sons scarf. (Parents normally get the leftovers....he'll be okay.)

It's the second scarf I've knitted with the Stockinette pattern. It's a sport weight yarn (or 3) and as I was knitting the darn thing curled as I knitted. I'm not sure what happened here but it has issues.

This photo is of the same scarf after ironing on low heat, as the fabric calls for. Shortly after this photo it re-curled. HELP! If anyone out there knows how to remedy this...I'm begging, PLEASE HELP!

The next project is something I made for myself. It was my 6th project. My hubby bought me this yarn for my birthday. I couldn't decide what to do with it. It's purple and lusciously soft. It's the best yarn I've ever run my hands over.

The yarn is called Angel Hair and is part of the Sensations line at Joann Fabric Stores (and it's exclusive!) It's an acrylic, wool blend but you wouldn't know it to touch it. It has the nicest, silky texture. It's heavenly!

I'm notoriously cold (low iron) and I thought at first to turn it into a throw for home use, but after several other projects I finally decided that I would make a poncho. That way I could wear it and enjoy it even more, plus I could still use it at home if I'm chilled!

Anyway, I worked it in garter stitch. It's two rectangular pieces. Each piece is 3 skeins of yarn and I knitted it on my US 10 needles. After completing both sections, I stitched them together on the bias leaving the top corner unsewn. This gives it a chic, modern look as the unsewn portion flaps down over the body at an angle. (I couldn't get the flap to show up well in the photo.)

For a closer look at this yarn you can take a gander at the purple ball in my blog heading - that'd be it! (Along with the remnants of the Panther Blue, Moss Green for my babies scarf, etc...)

Keeping me in stitches or Knitting Terminology 102

Let's talk stitches - YAY! HOORAY! I know. They're exciting. They're also intimidating, hard to interpret if you over think or over simplify them, and sometimes cause headaches. BUT, that's okay because once you conquer a stitch no one can take it away from you...hmmm...that sounds like we're going to war...maybe I should rephrase that.

Back to they're exciting - your basic stitches are knit and purl. If you knit every stitch or purl every stitch the pattern will look the same - all bumps. Did you know that? I always though purl would be something hard, but it's just the same stitch worked from the front of the set rather than the back. Also, if you knit OR purl an entire project it is garter stitch.

This link has good photos and instructions for these two stitches. The instructions could be a tad bit better...

One thing that everyone seems to leave out of the instructions is that once you loop your new stitch it transfers to the opposite or empty needle. The stitch you just worked into needs to be pushed off the end of the original needle or dropped. (She tells you about the drop but not about what to do with the new stitch. I guess you'd figure that out eventually, but if someone tells where to put the new stitch it gives you confidence. We don't need panic attacks while learning to knit!)



This is a picture of the garter stitch pattern that you get from all knit or all purl stitches.



This is a photo of the right side or front of a stockinette stitch. Stockinette is 1 row of knit followed by 1 row of purl for the entire pattern. The combination of the knit and purl rotation gives the "chevron" style appearance. Many retail sweaters will use this stitch. (Go check your closet. It's alright!) The opposite or wrong side of the project will look the same as the photo above. Therefore, it will appear stockinette on one side and garter on the other.


Now, for the moment we've all been waiting for - the revealing of a secret...hold on to your seats!

Once you learn these two stitches you have the base for all other knitting designs! Yep! Now you can take over the knitting world with your own creations!

To help you own your way, this link gives you a small library of stitches and patterns derived from them. It has photos and a short pattern note at the bottom of the page. (K = knit and P = purl.) What are you waiting for? Get started!

Just one request - please share your project photos with us. We can't wait to see what you've created!

Knitting Terminology 101 - The Slip Knot and Casting On

The slip knot is the first step to knitting. (That is, once you've acquired your tools of the trade.) Without this knot you can have no project, so you MUST master this! Everyone has a different way of making this knot. If you were taught knot-making at some point in your life you may still remember how, if not it's easy - don't worry!

I begin by measuring out a length of yarn. The length will vary depending on the project. Basically, I estimate I'll need about an inch per set that I will cast-on to the needle plus some extra for the tail, usually about 3-5 inches. For instance, for 20 sets I'll need about 25 inches of yarn. I recommend measuring this off until you're more comfortable with your lengths and knitting.

After measuring your tail length, go up about an inch and pinch the yarn at that point. Take the yarn coming off the skein and wrap it around the back of your first two fingers, still pinching the yarn tail, palm facing you. Unpinch your fingers and let the tail end fall between your thumb and palm and repinch it there. Continue wrapping the yarn from the skein around your pointer finger, gently separate your pointer and middle finger and stick the yarn from the skein through the loop you have created. Pinch the piece of yarn you put through the loop and and pull your loop tight. Then place the loop you made on to your needle. Make sure that your knot will slide on the needle otherwise it's too tight. You have created your slip knot! HOORAY!

** Note ** If you don't like the long tail cast-on method simply leave a 3-5 inch tail and follow the same steps as noted above. I like the long-tail because I think it's sturdier as you cast-on the entire tail and tie back on to your skein end when ready to start knitting. This way you'll never lose the cast-on unless you choose to and if the tail gets caught and starts to pull out stitches it won't ruin the entire project! I also make my cable & knit cast-ons long-tail.

Now that you have your knot you need to determine how you'd like to cast-on the remaining sets. You'll need to consider whether or not this will be a permanent edge, if it needs to be an elastic edge or tight, etc...

The most common types are:

• Backward loop or E Cast-On - for shaping, unstable edge


• Long-Tail Cast-On - (noted above - also called the Continental Cast-On) firm, but elastic edge that appears to be knit on one side and purl on the other


• Cable Cast-On - very firm, twisted appear, good for scarves, afghans and sweaters for a nice edge detail


• Knitted Cast-On - soft, elastic edge, good for stitches that will be sown later


• Crochet Chain Provisional Cast-On - temporary cast-on, usually in a contrasting color


• Invisible or Open Cast-On - temporary cast-on, not very sturdy

The instructions for each are way too long for me to list here, but have no fear...there are hundreds of books, booklets and websites to help you with that!

Here are some links you might like to try for the cast-on or slip knot:

For the long-tail (I think her other ones miss a few important steps.)

This one shows how to cast-on slipping stitches from needle to needle (looks complicated, but you may like it.)

This one reads like it is another long-tail cast-on .

Here is a slip knot and cast-on instruction from YouTube that I really like. She shows you the Long-Tail Cast-On noted above. -

Good luck and happy stitching!

You HAVE to see this...

Surfing the web I ran across this video. I know. This is a blog about knitting, but you'll NEVER believe this...this group has a video where each scene is made from individual intarsia knits! 717 to be exact...watch the bottom of the last few frames. Unbelievable!

Les peaux des lievres - Tricot Machine

(click the arrow in the middle to play)

Can you imagine how much work went into making this video? We're talking months of non-stop knitting. Look at the expressions on the faces. Oh my gosh! If I could one day be so talented!

I gather that tricot means knitting in French. If that's so then to call themselves "Knitting Machine" couldn't possibly be more accurate! Can you imagine how many people have been inspired by their music and stitching talent...WOW!

You'll find the groups My Space link - although it won't be of much use unless you speak French or simply look at the pictures...my 2 years of middle school French doesn't get me far...I don't see anything about how Jacqueline is doing on here...

Enjoy and be inspired!

My Remade Scarf...

So, in my first post, I told you about the shawl that was too holey, too tight, too not quite right. (Hey, now I sound like Dr.Suess!) Well, I unwound it and let the yarn rest. (Another technical term for you - after using a yarn, rewind it and let it rest before reusing it. If you don't, it could be difficult to reuse due to the lumps and bumps from the previous project being set in the yarn.)

While that yarn was resting, I worked up 2 scarves for a couple at church. They LOVE Carolina Panthers and attend some of the games. Since football season is usually quite chilly, the husband requested a scarf. I thought that while I was making his I'd make his wife one, too. That way they'd match! (No, I'm not a person that normally tries to match my husband, but I do think it's precious to see other couples do it.)

I'll try to get some photos for you. That was before I decided to blog about my knitting experiences so I didn't think about taking a picture before letting go of them.

They're basic scarf design - straight & rectangular, but I didn't use a pattern. I just thought of other scarves I've seen in stores. The body was made up of a Carolina Panther blue color from the baby yarn section - Bernat Softee Baby in Bongo Blue, weight 3. Then added a block of silver surrounded by black blocks. The 1st black block was wider - 8 sets, followed by a slimmer silver block - 6 sets, and finally a smaller section of black - 4 sets. Each end finished with another block of the Panther blue - 10 sets.

The finished edge was, for him, fringe, upon his request. When I started hers I decided to try something new and made a ruffled edge on each end. It's cute and she's a girly girl, so really seemed to like it. (Plus, they'll never be confused about which one is theirs!)

I made the ruffle by casting on twice as many sets as I wanted for the finished scarf width, knitting 6 complete rows and then decreasing the stitches by half. This made a nice pinch to make the yarn pucker!

Then on to my 4th project -

This is the remade scarf! I decided to knit it for my sister for Christmas. She loves blue and the yarn was soft. I thought it would be perfect to snuggle around your neck on those cold winter days. She loves fringe so that was a given for her, but I did make it a little longer than normal since she really likes it!

The yarn used was Mega Brushed by Premier Yarns ( I can't remember the color name, but it's a denim blue mixture and their website shows it as color # 51-213). It's a brushed acrylic that's machine washable. The brushed texture is what makes it soft and gives it a fluffed appearance and feel, but it's not so fluffy that your nose itches every time you wrap it around.

As you can see, it's self-patterning. That means that as you knit the yarn makes it's own pattern due to the color variations in the yarn dye process. To me that also translates into - same work, less hassle. I have to add here that some self-patterning yarn can be way over the top. Remember the 70's when every afghan was 50 neon-bright colors??? Well, you can still find some of those yarns on shelves. So, when you pick out a self-patterning yarn be sure to consider the pattern you may end up with. It may end up looking like someone had a confetti party...

I garter stitched all of these projects as I was too chicken to try another stitch! (For review, garter usually means the basic knit stitch.)

Stay tuned for more project updates!