10 January 2010

Last Projects of 2009, Part the First

With pictures!!!

I decided shortly before it was time to send packages out for Christmas, to knit gifts for my nieces for their respective birthdays and include them in the packages (these particular nieces have their birthdays at Christmastime ... well, one of them has a birthday in November, but lives in Scotland, so I was waiting for her to be home so I didn't have to send the package internationally.  Yeah, I'm cheap that way).  I decided that I wanted to make something lightweight and lacy, which is interesting since most of the lace-related things I've made, or tried to make, did not end well.  However, I set about the task with determination to make it work.

The first thing I knit was for my niece Amanda, and is the "Airy Scarf" from the book Last-Minute Knitted Gifts.  I didn't have the Kidsilk Haze called for, but instead used Schulana Kid Seta, which is comparable.  Yes, I started over a few times, and ripped back a few times, but it took me only two days of periodic knitting to finish.  I was quite pleased with the result (please ignore the red fleece top I'm wearing in the picture - The Tim was home, and I wanted the picture taken when I could get it!).



Pleased and newly emboldened by my success, I decided that I would continue by knitting a cowl for my niece Julie.  I tried a couple of different stitch patterns, but just didn't like the way they looked.  I decided to see if I could adapt the pattern for Amanda's scarf, and knit it in the round, thus resulting in a cowl.  (Why I was suddenly so brave, I cannot say ...)  So I cast on and started knitting - and really liked the result!  OK, so it's not like I created an original pattern all by myself, but this is the first time I've used a pattern for one thing to make something else, so it was a big step for me.  (I'm planning to write up what I did, in the event that anyone else wants to try it.)

Alas, The Tim was not available to take photos, so my loyal model Barnsie the Barnes & Noble bear stepped in for the photoshoot.



Barnsie, in spite of his willingness to help, does not have a swan-like neck, so this does not necessarily show the cowl in the best light, but you can get the idea. 

The details on these projects are here and here.  (Ravelry links; if you are not on Ravelry, you should really sign up.  If you are not a knitter and for some reason want this info, I can e-mail it to you.)

The pictures for the other two projects are still in my camera, but I'll share them with you as soon as I can get them into the computer and edit them in Photoshop.  Then of course, there will also be the "look what I knit last year" post, which I'm sure you are waiting to read ...

Thus endeth tonight's post, complete with lovely photos.  Now I'm off to take Doughboy for a walk, and then come in and warm up!

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very, very pretty. And I bet Barnsie was sad to see the cowl go...

Brigitte said...

Very nice! I've never been been much of a pattern adapter, so I always admire others when they can be so creative. Lucky nieces! I've decided that knitting for others? Not going to happen unless there is cash involved.

Carol said...

Lovely!

Kitty said...

I love the scarf and the cowl, and I love that you went for it and adapted the scarf into a cowl! That's so awesome! Don't you love when there's a knitting victory?!

SissySees said...

Both are quite lovely, and I'm eager to see that cowl pattern!

Mr Puffy's Knitting Blog: said...

Well whatever your prior lace problems, this was a beautiful success! Its lovely and will be a much cherished gift and whoo hoo for the morphing into cowl inspiration!

Amanda said...

Oh, I love these! I think the scarf looks great, but I have a special place in my heart for cowls right now. It was a cowl Christmas for my gift recipients too (maybe that's just because I like the sound of 'cowl christmas').

Quilting Mama said...

These are lovely. Cred for altering a pattern to make the desired item.

Kathleen Dames said...

Lovely job. Props on the pattern adaptation!

Lynn said...

I've done that same airy scarf!!! It's a great pattern and very versatile. It was originally a shawl for my 4 y/o and has turned into a scarf for same child who is now 8!