Paws 2 Spindle
@Paws2Spindle@sunny.garden  ·  activity timestamp 2 weeks ago

Time to officially wrap up the Wheat Scarf project!

The last I posted about it, I had "completed" it, but wasn't happy with the result. It was way too short and I wasn't happy with the join of the two halves:
https://sunny.garden/@Paws2Spindle/114056692164183339

This is the Tin Can Knits "Wheat" pattern, popular for teaching basic knitting skills, and calls for 35 sts, with garter stitches bordering an offset band of 7 pairs of 1x1 ribs. After comparing dimensions with my favorite scarf, I decided to increase it to 50 sts and 9 ribs on each side. I also used twisted stitches for the ribs because I liked how that made them stand out more individually.

Instead of knitting it all in 1 piece, I did it in 2 sections because I had only 2 skeins and (foolishly) assumed that I could use one for each end, ensuring a proper bottom border width, then join them together when both ran out. No yarn chicken!

(I naively thought that if my blue Learning to Knit scarf, also 50 sts wide, was done with 2 skeins, the Wheat would be just fine with 2 as well. Clearly that was not the case!)

There was also the problem that since I'd started both halves with the same ribbing pattern, when joined together (only 1 way possible with the offset ribbing) the up-down pattern of the ribbing failed to line up! I should have reversed the K/P sequence on the second half.

As a result, there was an obvious shift where the ribs came together. AND the "V" twisted stitches were inverted across the join!

[ 🧵 ... ]

#Knitting

The two halves of the scarf from the previous photos have been separated to show the failure of alignment at the ribbing section, although even at this scale it's difficult to see the problem because the ribs on the back side are difficult to tell from the neighboring garter stitches.
The two halves of the scarf from the previous photos have been separated to show the failure of alignment at the ribbing section, although even at this scale it's difficult to see the problem because the ribs on the back side are difficult to tell from the neighboring garter stitches.
The two halves of the scarf from the previous photos have been separated to show the failure of alignment at the ribbing section, although even at this scale it's difficult to see the problem because the ribs on the back side are difficult to tell from the neighboring garter stitches.
Closeup of the join in the middle of the scarf from the previous photo. The garter stitch section's kitchener stitch is nearly invisible on the wide side, but then devlolves into muted chaos where the offset ribs fail to align. The smaller far garter section join remains a bit loose.
Closeup of the join in the middle of the scarf from the previous photo. The garter stitch section's kitchener stitch is nearly invisible on the wide side, but then devlolves into muted chaos where the offset ribs fail to align. The smaller far garter section join remains a bit loose.
Closeup of the join in the middle of the scarf from the previous photo. The garter stitch section's kitchener stitch is nearly invisible on the wide side, but then devlolves into muted chaos where the offset ribs fail to align. The smaller far garter section join remains a bit loose.
A short, chunky scarf in the "Wheat" pattern sits on a black coffee table with wood trim. The yarn is a slightly variable shade of autumn orange. The base stitch is garter, with 9 rows of twisted-stitch ribbing offset on the far side. Halves have been joined with the kitchener stitch, and several tails remain to be sewn in.
A short, chunky scarf in the "Wheat" pattern sits on a black coffee table with wood trim. The yarn is a slightly variable shade of autumn orange. The base stitch is garter, with 9 rows of twisted-stitch ribbing offset on the far side. Halves have been joined with the kitchener stitch, and several tails remain to be sewn in.
A short, chunky scarf in the "Wheat" pattern sits on a black coffee table with wood trim. The yarn is a slightly variable shade of autumn orange. The base stitch is garter, with 9 rows of twisted-stitch ribbing offset on the far side. Halves have been joined with the kitchener stitch, and several tails remain to be sewn in.
Paws 2 Spindle
@Paws2Spindle@sunny.garden  ·  activity timestamp 2 weeks ago

Here's a knitting story that I was recently reminded of, told by Frances Hamerstrom, a scientist and environmentalist from the middle of the last century who I got to know while she was still doing wildlife research in her late 80s, and still living in a large house in central Wisconsin built in the 1850s that never had indoor plumbing installed.

The story here comes from her memoirs, but was published originally in "Strictly for the Chickens", her book about helping save the Greater Prairie Chicken from extinction (extirpation) in Wisconsin.

For context: Frances and her husband were early pioneers in wildlife conservation, working on a shoestring budget in rural Wisconsin, and yet they constantly had to battle suspicious locals and bureaucrats concerned about what exactly their taxes were going towards. This is one of those stories.

She was quite a character and storyteller: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Hamerstrom

CW 🧵 to minimize flooding your timelines...

#Knitting @knitting
LJ
@LJ@zirk.us  ·  activity timestamp 2 weeks ago

One last post about my #CowParade project. At the urging of some fiber artist friends, I created a written pattern for it. Here is a link to the free pattern, should you have a compelling need to knit a stranded colorwork sweater for a life-sized cow. : https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/a-sweater-fit-for-a-cow

And if you'd rather get it from my blog instead: https://starfieldfarm.com/a-sweater-fit-for-a-cow-the-pattern/

Enjoy! :)

@knitting
#knitting