Share the Wonder!

Holiday Spirit (masquerading as the Little Bad Muse) has moved me and her little slap upside the head has sent me on my annual holiday gift making binge...

Call me crazy but no one has ever said No Way to a Scarf! Even your fussiest relatives and friends go a little wiggly when they open the package and pull out a long and glamourous or warm and snuggly cravat...

Over at the

the Knitters Niche
(owned by the effervescant Mary-Ann Parisi)
3206 N Southport Ave
Chicago, IL 60657
773 472-YARN

Yum yum Eros yarn...

Lauren Sanchez, an associate at the store, has generously given ChicKnits permission to share a great scarf pattern that she's designed. It has a cool soft ruffle (WHAT me RUFFLE?) on the ends that sets it apart from the plain old everday rectangle. PLUS: it's cured my fear of novelty yarns. Who would think that just trying ladder yarn would work such magic?!

Make one for everyone you know and go visit the Knitter's Niche for some inspiration and floss. And, they have a big table that's always open for some sit down and share.

Eros/Charm Scarf

Needles: size 11 or size 13 (for a lacier look)

Yarn: 1 Ball Eros or 2 Balls Charm

Scarf: Cast on 36 stitches.

Knit 4 rows.

DEC row: Knit 2 stiches together, across row (18 stitches).

Knit even on 18 sts unitl scarf is desired length (~60").

INC row: Increase in each stich, across row (36 stitches).

Knit 4 rows.

Bind off loosely.

©2002 Lauren Sanchez
Not to be reproduced or distributed without permission.
For personal, non-commercial use only.

Comments (1)

Monday Morning Mirth

BOO LA la!!!

A couple of comments from Da Bear's Fans, etc:

"It's The Frankenstein Paradigm. You've got to get the Villagers angry enough to light the torches and storm the castle to burn out Dr Frankenstein, his monster, and his laboratory. We need a coaching staff and major player acquisitions. We won't get the coaching staff as quickly as we need to without an imminent insurrection."

"And you have to deal with it. Because that's the way it is in Chicago. When you're winning, you can hold the wolves off. When you're losing, they're in your face. You get not only their breath,
but their saliva."

"The games are so bad they're good." The Bears are the first team in NFL history to blow two 20-point leads in one season."

"Sounds good to me. At least this way I'll get some knitting done while I'm eating mass quantities of Cheetos. When everybody groans, I'll know it's time to look up and pay attention..."

not since 1997!
Monday Night Football
Da Bears vs. Miami!

Comments (6)

Bad Boys Bad Boyz
Whatcha Gonna DO?
Whatcha gonna do when they come for you...

Why get a little loopy over at ChicKnits, of course!

I'm so shook up over losing my pictures are total crap!

Even though I loathe knitting sleeves, I loathe watching the Bears get their yonder handed to them by a bunch of gnarly little Flippers even more! I know, I know, I knew it was going to happen but I just couldn't stop watching...

I couldn't even pull my usual Sunday afternoon trick of watching the 1st quarter, *accidentally* falling asleep until the 4th quarter, where by then the score would be someting like 21-3. It was Monday Night Football FGS!

So, I'd say it was only logical that I pick the worse of the two evils and get something done while I dodged the fiasco on the field. I finally started a sweater I've been thinking about since August that has Loopy Edgings (August 20th). I made one sleeve on the USM then hand-knitted the loopy cuff.

This loop stitch is easy! Of course, my brain was already massaged into total banality by the never-ending sound of John Madden Ooowwing and AAHHHhhhing over the total inept football happening right in front of him. A Massacre, laddies and ladies...

If he said one more time that it was balmy down in MeeAmmmEEE - who started THAT :(

It's like when tourists make fun of Chicagoans by calling the City Shicahgaa... HA HA HA HA HA... Right, I'm bitter. I'm a very bad loser. Not as bad as my brother, Mike, who we had to stop playing poker with because he would ignite in flames when he lost a hand of poker, but close.

Almost as hot as the Magenta Christmas Bulb Sweater, which is moving right along. I love this pattern! It's a 32 row repeat and you have to use a chart, but it's so simple, it's no problem!

Anybody want to bet me a quarter I get it done by Christmas?

Comments (4)

It had to happen!

I made a Bucket-O-Chic for myself that was too big so I felted it! I love it and after a couple of trial and errors have incorporated new instructions into the Pattern Offering. So, the new Pattern includes instructions for the plain knitted version, the felted version and how to felt it.

Over the next two days, I'll be emailing everyone who has v.1 a new copy of the v.2 Pattern. My apologies in advance - the file is about 275k...

Everyone ordering after 2:30pm Central Standard will get the new version automatically...

If you see a lilo version of this in XrUS or anywhere else,
remember you saw it here first!

Thanks for your support!

Comments (6)

This Might be the BEST Vacation I've EVER Had...

My friend let me know by her *Haute Loser* Tone over the phone that she thought I was just being a moron for hanging around the house knitting!

Au Contraire, Pierre!!!

I might never get this chance again! It's the Brass Ring at the Carnival. The Blue Ribbon at the COunty FaiR. The Oscar of Hollywood, the Emmy of Television, the Golden Globe, THE PEOPLE'S CHOICE!

The evidence speaks for itself (just pretend you don't see the Collector's Edition of Lord of the Rings):

HHMmmm, in between boyfriends, no kids, no vacation housework because it causes STRESS, almost single digit temps outside, IS IT WRONG?!!

This is better than the week I spent hiding out in the San Francisco Hilton in Chinatown with the pool on the roof! The view was the Trans American Bldg and I spent my week reading magazines, floating in the pool and eating take-out.

Yeah, life is when you make it!

Comments (9)

from January 20, 2002
ChicKnits 2K2 ForReal Resolution #1
NEVER be afraid to rip out a mistake
or even a whole project!
If it feels hinky & it looks hinky,
it is hinky and a few minutes of your time
will send it back onto the runway.

Who dat! Who said that? Why ... I did ... almost a year ago...

from January 23, 2002

Now it's finally cold enough (although yesterday was almost johnmadden balmy) and I've got enough time to re-vamp and re-model this baby.

ready to GOgoGO

I've re-written the pattern to finally be the correct circumference with good shaping to take advantage of the firmness of the fabric that's made with this yarn and pattern. Just a little of the old math and new math and voila! My monstrosity that was mainly the result of NOT SWATCHING, will fit me and not make me look like a baby elephant...

I hope I'm finally understanding the "nature" of the yarns I choose; the way they bring an almost punctuation to the work, sharp or soft, stiff or drapey, texture or smooth relief.

Knitting is making a fabric. Wool flannel is not velvet. I can't expect a Flannel Suit to act like a Velvet Ball Gown. I can't even remember at any time thinking this sweater was off-the-charts LARGE. I was so excited by how fast it was going, how cool the pattern was and *it had LAPELS*.

Now it's back to the drawing board - but lucky me, even after ripping out the yarn and washing it to remove the kinks, it only got softer and loftier and is now even better to work with. (I had to go up a whole needle size.) I have some of this yarn (Bartlett's) in a wonderful dark brown and I'm going to wash it first before I even use it.

Has anyone ever done this with mule spun, less processed wool? It comes in hanks so should be a breeze.

Comments (6)

I got Felt UP!

1. Make it. You will not believe how big and goofy it is...

2. Felt it (mine felted in about 10 minutes which is supersonic! I was almost too late!!!). Then put a K-mart plastic bag on your head and make sure it is gonna fit. No Pain. No Gain...

3. Put your creation over a 39oz empty coffee can covered by some wonky dishtowels Mom gave you last year. Get in touch with your inner child. The one who used to love to mangle PlayDough. Use a little steam and pretend you're making a pie and shape and flatten and pinch smooth and even. Now THAT's Glamorous...

Comments (7)

Reincarnation

Comments (3)