Nearly Finished

Christmas day I tested positive for Covid. Sigh. My posts for this week were pre-scheduled, so they'll go out as planned. I'll probably be around as normal. Tale care, everyone. 

The last time I blogged about the Calash was on November 7th. 

I've been plugging away on this off and on, but I haven't been writing about it because there isn't much to say.

It's a scarf/hood. I started off casting on a few stitches. Then it grew until I got to the head part. At the top of the head I did some short rows. Then I knit back down the other side. 

Because this is a pattern with a hood, there is an ending point, unlike when one knits a scarf until one feels it's long enough. 

And, as of this writing, I'm about a dozen rows away from that ending point.

Finally.

Of course, I don't really have any other projects going at the moment, but I'm on winter break, so allegedly I'll have some time to put something together and start it.

But as with how I've been knitting lately, I don't have a lot of confidence that that'll actually happen.

Hopefully I'll have a finished project to show off next week. 

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas.

Entrelac Scarf Progress, Final

Yup, final. (I have a theme going this week. Funny. It wasn't planned. It just happened that way.)

I finished it Tuesday night.

It's supposed to be 8 feet (2.4 m) long. 

How long is it? I don't know. When the scarf folded in half measured 48 inches (122 cm), roughly, I did the row of ending triangles. And I've refused to measure it again since.

(My sewing measuring tape is only about 54 inches long. I do have a hardware tape measure, but I'm not getting it out.)

At this point it's close enough, and that's good enough for me. I'm done.

It's needs a wash, and then it goes in the mail. And I get to move on to another project. 

In case you haven't been following along, I've been updating my progress weekly since I started this on October 10th:

1. In the Cards
2. Entrelac Scarf Progress
3. Part 2
4. Part 3
5. Part 4
6. Part 5
7. Part 6
8. Part 7
9. Laws of Gravity 3000
10. Part 8
11. Part 9
12. Part 10

Finish any large projects recently? 

Entrelac Scarf Progress, Part 9

In the back of my mind, I had kind of hoped that today I'd be able to show you a finished scarf. Alas, I got slammed last week and barely finished two more rows of blocks. 

If I stretch it a bit, it measures 80 inches (203 cm). But if I let it go to its natural inclination, it's 72 inches (183 cm). 

Which means I'm getting close to finishing, but not quite close enough. 

It'll get there. And now that school's off for winter break, I'll have a bit more time. It's funny how much time work takes out of your day, even when you're working from home.

Entrelac Scarf Progress, Part 8

Currently, it measures 74 inches (188 cm) long. Approximately. 

(It's difficult to get an exact measurement because of the way the top blocks are staggered, plus my tape measure only goes up to 54 inches. And do I stretch it or let it rest? But as this isn't a fitted garment, approximate measures are acceptable.) 

Sister-in-law requested that the scarf be 8 feet (2.4 m) long. So, I've got about 2 feet (60 cm) to go. 

I haven't shown you the back yet. There is a "right" and "wrong" side to this stitch pattern (or "public" and "not public" sides). 

So, it's getting there. Slowly. 

(I think I found my next project. I need The Exasperation Hat in my life. But fair warning: don't click that link if you are offended by a certain swear word that starts with F. (Yes, that one.) But I will finish this scarf first.)

Entrelac Scarf Progress, Part 7

I made a bit more progress on the scarf this week: 

At this point it's big enough to wear. But my sister-in-law wants it 8ft long, so I've still got a ways to go. Right now it's somewhere between 5ft and 6ft long. 

But I took a pause to knit something for my landlady. 

At one time I had these in my shop, but they were kind of a dud. The pattern does fairly okay. Lately, I've noticed that soft phone/tablet holders are popping up at various shopping sites. So, I figure it's time to promote mine again. 

(The original "rough draft" version appeared on this blog in 2013. The improved version is available on Etsy and Ravelry.) 

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Next week I have a milestone post. I have no idea how I want to commemorate it.  

Entrelac Scarf Progress, Part 6

I did not make a whole lot of progress with the entrelac scarf last week. I finished about another row of rectangles: 

It was just that kind of week.

As for the videos I tried to upload last week, no go. But, I did manage to post it to Instagram: 

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This may or may not work for you. As for viewing the videos at my Etsy shop, the video thing is being rolled out slowly, so it's not available for everyone to see. 

I do intend to spend some more time on this, making videos and figuring out how to upload them so I can use them on the blog. I would have done some of it last week, but I was a bit busy at the day job, so that took priority. 

This week we have off, however, as it is Thanksgiving week here in the U.S. Once I figure out how to make green bean casserole (my contribution to our non-traditional Thanksgiving meal at home with the roommates), my week is wide open.

Entrelac Scarf Progress, Part 5

How it started: 

How it's going: 

If someone could explain where the how it started/how it's going meme thing started, I'd appreciate it. But I figured it was appropriate for the entrelac scarf. It's now at about 4 ft long (122 cm). Half way there. 

While chugging away on the scarf, I've also been working on doing some listing videos for my Etsy shop. They just added the capability of including short videos (5-15 seconds). 

Edit: So, I had uploaded the videos so you could see them, but for some reason, they didn't work. Sigh. If you're interested, you can see them in their listings: lavender lip balm holder and the beige EOS lip balm holder. 

Maybe next week I'll try to upload the videos again. I'm not sure what went wrong.

Now if I could just figure out a good configuration to show myself knitting stuff, I could make some how-to videos. I actually just bought a cell phone clamp thingy that might do the job. I should get it in a couple weeks. 

Entrelac Scarf Progress, Part 3

Not much of a change from last week. . .

In my defense, I got sucked into The Umbrella Academy on Netflix. I can knit while watching, but for some reason I didn't do as much knitting as I might have. Oh well. (I'm glad I don't have a deadline for this.) 

So, now it's November, and I really should take a look at my Etsy shop. Is there anything any of you are looking for for Christmas presents? I take custom requests.

Entrelac Scarf Progress, Part 2

Since last week. . .

I've added. . . 

And. . .

So, it's coming along. 

Entrelac Scarf Progress

Last week I just knit along on the scarf for my sister-in-law's birthday. Her birthday was at the end of September. She got to choose what she wanted. 

Last Monday I showed you this. . .

Since then, I've progressed to. . .

Then. . .

And as of Sunday. . .

The color changes are all from the yarn. It's a simple enough pattern, so for now it's just a matter of knitting along until I finish it. 

I think right about now I need a project that I don't have to think too much about. This is that. 

I hope you have a good simple project to keep your mind off things. Do you?

Lemonade, Part 2

I finished the scarf/shawl that I've been working on since January.

My math turned out to be correct. I did finish off the third skein with a scarf about 66 inches (168 cm) long. So, as I explained last week, I used that fourth skein (with its color a little bit off) to do a little border thing on the top and bottom.

It's kind of hard to see that the edges are just a little bit different. So, success. I managed to make it all look deliberate.

Once I finished off the top and bottom, I single crocheted around the whole thing. In the above photo, you might be able to see how the edges are just a little bit different. But it looks good, and I'm happy with it.

And because it was requested, here I am wearing it, so you can get an idea of what it looks like on a person...

There you have it. My Christmas presents for 2019 are now all finished. All that's left is to get this into the mail and to my sister-in-law. Just in time for spring...

Two More Down

Finished.

Yup, I finally finished eldest and middle nephews' 2019 Christmas gifts. They are in the mail as we speak. (Christmas on February 25th?)

I'll start with the Yoda beanie. (The pattern I used is here.) Eldest nephew requested a "Baby Yoda Beanie".

The beanie part itself didn't take long. But I took forever getting the ears done...

...because I knew they would flop, and I wasn't sure what to do about them. In the end, I knit a sleeve to put in a metal band to keep them sticking out.

It's not a great solution, but it'll work. If I were to knit another, I would look for a different way to do the ears. Hopefully the other nephews won't request one of these, at least for a little while.

The request that flummoxed me the most was middle nephew's request for a shark scarf. (The pattern I used is here.)

It took me a while to figure out what I was going to do. Once I had the plan, the scarf knit up quick. According to its Ravelry page, I started it on February 6th and finished it on the 17th.

I modified the shark cloth block to make it more rectangular (read: I omitted several straight stockinette rows), and I reversed the shark on two blocks. Then I sewed the blocks together. It ended up being a good length...

(It's amazing how the light effects the color.)

Two more complete. Now I only have two more Christmas presents to go...

Some Assembly Required

I'm still working on Christmas 2019 knitting. I'm getting closer to done.

Eldest nephew requested a Baby Yoda hat (pattern I'm using is here). I started on it almost immediately, but I had gotten hung up on getting the ears done.

Do you ever procrastinate something you know is not going quite right? That's what happened with the Yoda ears. I worried...

Well, I finally buckled down and attached the ears...

...but the thing I feared came to pass...

Yoda's ears stick straight out. These flop. Sigh.

I have an idea, though. I'm thinking of attaching something to the back to make them stick out. If that works, then this hat is done. Keep your fingers crossed.

Middle nephew requested a shark scarf to go along with his shark hat. And this is the request that flummoxed me the most. How...?

Last week I had solved the problem. This week I knit the blocks. I figured five blocks would give me a good scarf length, and it appears my math was on target...

When I measured four of the blocks next to each other, I was at 50ish inches (125ish cm).

I haven't measured all five yet. I still have to wind in ends. I decided to crochet a border around each block, and then sew (crochet?) them all together. So, it's not quite done.

I alternated blocks. We've got the "right side" ones...

...and on the "wrong side" ones I reversed the shark, so all the sharks face the same way...

(If you click on any of the images, they should enlarge.)

So, nothing is quite done yet, but both of these projects are getting there. Barring any other issues, these should go out into the mail sometime this coming week. Fingers crossed...

Shark Scarf Solution

Ever since receiving the request, I've been stumped. Until this past Thursday...

I first mentioned the problem here on December 30th. Middle nephew requested a shark scarf to go along with his shark hat. (I finished up shark hats for his younger brothers in January.)

How does one make a shark scarf? There were some patterns, but I didn't think they worked well with the hat. Not as an ensemble. And the request was for an ensemble, kind of.

By last week I had kind of given up. I went out and bought some heavier weight yarn than the hat, but in the same color, so they would work together. My thought was I would knit a triangle-type stitch pattern to mimic teeth and call it a day.

On Thursday at work, I had some time and internet access. On a whim, I searched "shark tooth knitting pattern". The "tooth" part is different than the previous searches. Well, that, and I had specifically searched "scarf".

I found a very interesting scarf in that search, but it was on Pinterest, and Pinterest was blocked at school. But that led me to looking at the page from that search, which got me to this post with a bunch of shark knitting patterns, and that led me to the shark blanket. (Sorry, this link is only visible if you have a Ravelry account, but the shark blanket is on the previous link if you scroll down the page a bit.)

The shark blanket was made using a washcloth pattern. They made twelve blocks, tiling them 3 x 4. One column could work as a scarf...

And an idea was born.

Alas, the yarn I bought would have made those blocks 16 inches (40 centimeters) wide, which is way too wide for a scarf.

But... If I do the blocks sideways, the width works for me, and I'd have to make fewer of them to complete something scarf length.

(It's either that or buy finer yarn. I'm not buying finer yarn.)

I finished my first block on Friday...

I think I'm going to add a couple rows on the bottom and top just to give the shark a bit more "breathing room". But otherwise I think I've got it. The back even works...

The plan is to knit five of these, sew them together, alternating "right" and "wrong" sides (because scarf), and hope that middle nephew likes it.

I'll show it off when finished.

(There were a few turtles sunning themselves while I took photos...

I couldn't resist including the picture.)

It's nice to have a plan. Now that I have a plan, it shouldn't take too long to complete the scarf. It's the planning that takes forever.

With a Twist in It

Last week, I showed how badly the colors were lining up in the moebius scarf I was crocheting.

Since then, I've frogged this and completed the second try...

How did I get this done so fast? Bulky weight yarn on a 10 mm (N) hook. It's amazing how quickly that works up (especially compared to the infinity scarves that I was working on for a year).

Once I realized that the star stitch wasn't lining up as I'd like and that it was pulling the fabric in so much, I switched over to the shell stitch. The shell stitch did none of those things, although I'm not 100% pleased with how the colors lined up.

It's hard to tell from these pictures, but it is a moebius, meaning it has one side and one edge. That's accomplished by putting a twist in it...

I'm thinking I like this so much, I might have to make a couple for my Etsy shop. In January, most likely.

As for the pooling...

I'm not sure if I like that big swath of blue at the bottom. One side of me likes that sections have one color or another in majority. The other side wishes each round was a different color. Sigh.

But it is warm. And I do mostly like it. Besides, it's finished in time for Christmas. Hooray!