Free Pattern: Argosy Wrap   Yarn: Noro Kureyon (8 skeins)    Needles: US #8 (5 mm) 24" or longer circular

This is another deviation from the original Argosy scarf that was in the Knitty Winter 2006 issue.  The interior part of the wrap is basic stockinette which helps this project go faster.  The edges are 3 "squares" deep.  I used Kureyon that I had on hand and since I had 3 different colorways, I used them in a somewhat random way so that the darker ones were between the lighter ones.

Click on the photos below for close-ups.

I haven't had anyone work up a test run on my instructions yet so if anyone comes across any discrepancies in the pattern, please let me know so I can fix them up. 

My cat is giving the wrap a raving review - if kneading it, sleeping on it and purring on it counts at all.  She has an unnatural knack for finding woolly things.

Next up: A triangular shawl version.  I'm using the new KnitPicks yarn CotLin in Key Lime.  It's looking nice so far.

Note:  Pattern was edited 26 Feb 2007 (thanks Ronni!)

Yet another one.

Free Pattern: Argosy Dishcloth 

Yarn: Peaches & Creme 100% cotton  2 oz. 1 skein  color: 175 Fiesta Ombre  

US #7 needles

Just in case you've been wanting to try the Argosy scarf but on a smaller scale, this is just the thing.  The good thing about a trial run like this is that you're not out a bunch of money & if you don't like it you can always stick it in the rag box.  You can't do that with, say, Noro yarn. 

I like this result.  Its not the same old square we're so used to seeing.  Its got a bit of mystery to it.  Your friends might look at it and think, "Hey, they sure did mess that one up!" but you'll know the truth.  That being said, I don't want to give the squares a bad rap.  I mean, as I type this I'm thinking, I could do this thing in a square, maybe later tonight.  I've given myself a personal challenge to push this baby till it begs me to stop.

Speaking of challenging myself, I have started a page just for "All Things Argosy".  On it will be links to more free patterns that incorporate the same grid-type pattern.  In addition to the scarf & dishcloth, there will be a wrap (rectangular) in Noro Kureyon, a shawl (triangular) and a baby blanket.  Look for the link in the left "It's good to be free" column that says "Argosy Recharged" and keep checking back for more free stuff.

~Inner Monologue: I wonder how many times I've used the name Noro in my postings.  Am I name dropping?  Not really.  Am I secretly sending out my mojo in hopes that the stuff  will magically appear on my doorstep?  Maybe.~ 

*Note: Chart for the Argosy dishcloth edited on 20 Feb 2007

Yarn: SWTC Karaoke color: Forest (282)   Plymouth Tweed color:  5328 (pinkish)    Habu Textiles cotton Gima color: 34 Lt. blue

My order from kpixie came in today.  Such fast shipping/service!  I mean 3 days from when I placed my order online.  Great customer service!

I don't know what I'm making with this stuff yet but it'll be some sort of accessory.  I am in love with Karaoke.  Its loverly to knit and makes a soft finished product.  I haven't had to the chance to see how well it stands up to wear and tear of everyday life though.  The first scarf I made from it was lost the first day it was worn (sniff).  I was very eager to get my hands on more of it.

I like all of the colors that kpixie has of the Plymouth Tweed so it was hard to narrow down which solid to buy first.  I was surprised at how soft it is.  I've felt so many rougher textured tweeds out there that I expected this one to be the same.  If I like working with this trial run batch, I think I'll do something modular with a range of different colors. 

The cotton gima from Habu is interesting.  I wasn't quite sure from the website what I'd be getting but I knew that Habu is known for uncommon textures so I was ready to experiment.  The colors kpixie offer look like Easter egg colors so it got me wishing for Springtime.  It's a tiny cotton ribbon, very firm for its size and feels soft but like it has a finish of some sort to it.  I thought I'd use it for a carry-along yarn but the picture online showing it worked in a loose knit has me thinking something else.

Warning: No Knitting Content

Lookie what DH gave me for Valentine's Day!  I now have a shirt to go with my blog.  Then there are these:

"Planet" Earrings.  I'm wearing them now.  They'll even go with my new shirt.

We woke up with a bit of snow this morning.  Not enough to close school (Yay!).  It looks pretty dusting the trailer just so.  It'll be gone soon so I have the pic to prove it happened.  Our camping trip for this weekend has been bumped to the next weekend due to even better weather predictions.  We have a crystal ball.

Pattern: Wedgie Scarf (free pattern)  Yarn: Reynolds Odyssey color # 414 (Dk. Gray Mix) 2 skeins    Needles: #7

I really like the results using this yarn.  Its 100% Merino wool and is very soft.  I'm giving it to my husband tonight.  You might think that February is a little late to be gifting a woolly scarf but it so turns out that today is very cold (20 deg. +/-) with snow flurries so he may actually wear the thing before the season is over.  He'll probably humor me and wear it when we go out tonight.  We're just such a romantic couple (I'm telling you there's sarcasm in my fingers as I type this).  I love the guy in bucket-full servings but we are just two happy clams who aren't extravagant.  Romance to us is going on a trip in the Happy Camper (happy clams in a Happy Camper...I'm thinking chowder now).  So this weekend we've decide to hit the road for our annual winter excursion.  We'll go to a state park that has public restrooms with showers and electricity so we can stoke up the heat.  And to add to the romance, we're bringing DS (more loving sarcasm).  And knitting.

(This is the our cat testing the softness of the pillow for DS.)

Happy Valentine's Day! 

~Inner monologue: Now go show some lovin'!~

Pattern: "Knitting" Magazine Nov. 2005 Issue 18 (Brandon Mably design)  Yarn:  Mission Falls 1824 Cotton in colors: Ebony (100), Frost (101) & Fog (400)   *Note: See Vogue Knitting Winter 06/07 issue for a Man's pullover featuring this same print*

Sometimes you just want to celebrate when a project is completed.  The kind of project that when you begin it you just know it'll just be so coooool when its done.  The kind where you'll learn something new and create an heirloom quality piece that'll be in the family for years.  Yet going into it you don't quite grasp that the fact that, well, its an intarsia project.  Intarsia.  Yeah, it may be a fun word to say but its not as fun on the needles. 

I might enjoy intarsia more if the design is more geometric and symmetrical and mathematical and predictable.  And I would definitely have more fun if I only had, say, 4 different skeins/bobbins/danglies going at the same time--instead of maybe 9.  I think this type of project would never suit anyone with OCD and at times I feel intarsia would send me to that diagnosis.

Relief came when I worked the back side pieces.  I did random stripey patterns.  Turns out that once the oversized square pillow form was inserted into the rectangular cover, there is a gaping that occurs where it is buttoned.  I'm okay with that since I expected it.  The pillow inside is a feather pillow that is already covered in a black silk so any peeking through looks almost planned.  Yeah, that's what I'll tell people--it was planned. 

This will be gifted to my DS for his Valentine's day present so I hope he likes it.  I'm sure it'll end up on his bedroom floor along with his dirty laundry but I knew that from the beginning.

I celebrated by buying more yarn.  Coming soon I hope.  No plans of intarsia with any of it.

On another note, I received word this past weekend that one of my designs will be in the May edition on MagKnits.  Its another something that'll go around the neck.  That's all I'm gonna say--for now.

I've been following the work of Kay at MDK (here & here) as she works up her versions of the Argosy scarf and became inspired by her to do my own expanded edition.  What you see here is my wrap version.  I'm using several coloways of Noro Kureyon and so far I've worked through 1 1/2 skeins.

You may not be able to tell from this (bad) photo but the interior part of the wrap is just plain stockinette stitch.  I've determined that it is easier to just keep repeating the original charted pattern but I'm going to continue on since I just can't bear the thought of redoing this thing (yet).  It'll still be a nice finished project.  And colorful.  I'm thinking I may be overdoing with the color but I'll add one more different colorway before I decide that.  If they don't jibe I will be forced to rip this thing out (and I'll "cry, cry, cry", like the Johnny Cash song goes).  It should be nice in a solid color though.

Here's a closeup.  Like the dark '70's wood paneling?  Some days I do, some days I don't. 

Another pic with a different background.  For anyone who's doing the detective work, the chart that's pictured with the wrap isn't accurate.  I decided to add points as I went along.  And if there's a math nut (or not-so-nut) out there looking at the chart, you'll notice that the wrap shape is not a rectangle but a parallelogram. 

~Inner Monologue: I like to say the word Parallelogram.  I think it makes me sound smart.  But I can't say it fast. ~

Tonight I had to spend some time at the mall waiting while my DS did his thing.  So I brought my knitting.  I knit in public (KIP) whenever I can, where ever I can.  Everyone should.  Tonight was special though.  I did something that I was a bit squeamish to do at first.  I thought I might not have to do it if DS walked up and said he was ready to go home.  But I came to the end of my skein and, well, I had to do it--SSIP--spit splice in public.  I did.  I was thankful that this was a weeknight and there wasn't a big crowd for me too offend.  One man walked by as I was dunking the yarn ever so delicately.  He averted his eyes and I knew exactly what he was thinking.  "Lady, the food court is right behind you--go get some noodles."  Did that already only mere minutes previous to the dunking.  Then the thought occurred to me: How long should I have waited after eating those slippery noodles at the stir-fry place?  Would drinking water clear my palate enough?  I don't have an answer.  It's done and here's what happens when you splice 2 balls of K1C2 Paint Box yarn together. Witness Wedgie #3 closeup:

See the not-so-subtle color changes?  I know this kind of phenomena occurs when joining balls of Noro Kureyon together.  For this particular colorway, the colors change so gradually that you almost have to force yourself to notice the the transitions.  Well, until you get to the splice.  My consolation is that this is the part of the scarf that will be at the back of the neck when worn in the traditional way.  Only the people behind me will notice it as I'm walking away--fast.

This yarn has been a stinker to photograph accurately.  I tinkered with the photo but still can't get it right.  Look it up online for accuracy (color 11 Nordic Sky)

~Inner Monologue:  DS says he wants to put glue in his hair for school tomorrow.  All I can say is this--his hair is long now but it may not be for long.~

Over the weekend, I finished my secret project (more on this later) and I came to the point where I didn't have my next project planned and ready to go.  So I decided to look around the stash for inspiration.  Nothing concrete settled in my mind or hands but I did come across this lonely long deserted intarsia project.  It's a Brandon Mably pillow design from the British  magazine "Knitting" (Nov. 2005 Issue 18).  I substituted the suggested yarn (Rowan high dollar and hand wash stuff) and I chose Mission Falls 1824 Cotton.  It's for my son and I'm pushing to get this done for his Valentine's Day gift.  That's the reason I'm using cotton.  Just in case he's gets Cheetos dust or sticky soda on it.  You never know with kids.  They just don't quite understand the effort that goes into a hand knit project (emphasis on intarsia) or the care it needs to keep it clean. 

I cheated with this design.  I shouldn't call it cheating--I simplified it.  The background of the hand print was supposed to be striped but I said, "Yeah, right, more bobbins..." and just made it solid.  You can see only some of the many yarn tails I have yet to weave in.  I generally weave tails in as I go but with so many bobbins on the wrong side I was doing good to remember to twist my yarn as I changed each color.  I give points to those who do this and I give more points to those who do more than one intarsia project a year.  Now its a downhill battle to finish the pillow.  The back will be striped stockinette with some garter stitch edging.  I'll probably have to make the pillow insert since this will be rectangular. 

If you've read the Winter 06/07 issue of Vogue Knitting you've seen the man's sweater version of this intarsia hand by Mably (hey, he recycles, can't be bad).