for my next scarf

I'd like to work with soysilk or bamboo (does bamboo make for a nice dress scarf?), because I haven't worked with either of these materials.

I'm knitting the Karaoke Cable Scarf

and it's so much fun! Part of why it's cool is that I get to work with a new yarn (SWTC Karaoke which is half wool, half soysilk and 100% heavenly!). I think that I'm going to try knitting with pure soysilk at some point too, probably another scarf such as the Dayflower scarf. It's also really cool because I learned how to cable without a cable needle and it's not nearly as complicated as Grumperina's tutorial looks. The striping of the Karaoke is also really awesome, the scarf is going to be SO pretty, I will wear it with pride! Who would have thought knitting a scarf could be so fun? I think that knitting scarves can be useful to test out a new fabric or a new technique, because it's small, goes quickly and there's not a lot of committment involved.

I just got some Lady Godiva (in the Peridot colorway - so awesome!) and some Noro Silk Garden Lite (for the Argosy), so more scarves may be in my future!

I guess I'm totally into the brainless knitting these days because I've been working really hard and been kind of exhausted lately!

noro squares take 2

noro squares take 2
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

These things knit up so quickly -- I'm done with the second pair. I'm so amazed at how two squares that come from the same skein look NOTHING alike. Knitting the squares is more fun and less boring than I thought partly because the noro is so colorful, has an interesting texture that goes from thick to thin (much like Manos), I like the double decrease and the way you end up knitting two sides of a square in one row.

First two Noro Squares

Noro Squares
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

Can you believe that these two squares are from the same skein. In case you were wondering what colorway it is, it is 180.

Noro Kureyon

Noro Kureyon
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

This will soon become a blanket! Two skeins are missing...

I am knitting Noro Squared

I just started knitting Noro Squared. I recently bought 12 balls of Noro Kureyon for the project and so far, I've been through one ball. One ball = two squares. I think the project is going to be really not fun to sew up, but it will be cool nonetheless. I like Noro although people say that it is really rough. The colors are so bright that its interesting to see how the stripe-age will occur. Maybe after this if I'm not sick of blankets and squares, I will do lizard ridge!

Should I knit a scarf soon?

Browsing the popular patterns on Ravelry has made me a little more excited about knitting scarves. I don't typically like knitting these because they can be kind of boring and I already have a lot. You can never have too many socks, but you can have too many scarves!

But anyway, I think I may knit a scarf in the near future. I really want to knit the karaoke cable scarf that was posted on kpixie because then I get to try out SWTC Karaoke and I've never worked with soy silk before, which could be very interesting. Other possibilities for scarvjes include the Dayflower Scarf (what yarn? something silky?) and Argosy (is Silk Garden Lite nice?).

Other things that I have thought about but won't do immediately are: the Drop Stitch Scarf and the Montego Bay Scarf (IK Summer 2007). Probably those patterns are good from the perspective that they let you work with Lady Godiva and SeaSilk respectively.

Baudelaire Socks are finished!

I finished them the day we submitted our paper since my mind was so numb to do anything else. Then I cast-on with STR henpecked (lightweight) and am knitting the Yarn-Over Cable from Sensational Knitted Socks. I'm happy that I'm reducing my sock yarn stash!

IK Spring 08

I got my issue of IK in the mail and honestly I'm not sure I like a lot of the patterns. What's this issues obsession with reverse stockinette stitch? It looks kind of flea market to me. I did like the La Luz cardigan however it is going to be extremely expensive to make. I do like the Slyph Cardigan but I wonder if it will look funny on me since it is a bit of a strange design. I probably won't knit this actually since I have two sweaters to get to first. I did like the stoles in this months issue however, I wish they were knit as once piece rather than knit as two pieces and then grafted together. This can get kind of messy with lace...

Karaoke Blanket

I'm thinking of making this blanket with SWTC Karaoke:

http://www.canknit.com/free/ns.html

I would need 12 skeins of Karaoke to make a 4 by 6 blanket. I could order it from Webs so that I get a 20% discount, but it will still be kind of expensive and perhaps I've spent too much money on yarn these days. Also, it may be a pain in the butt to graft the 24 squares together. But it looks so cool! Like an optical illusion. And I have never worked with SoySilk before. And the pattern is easy to remember and the squares are portable.

Go With The Flow Socks

Go With The Flow Socks
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

I am also working on the second sock in this pair (on my dpns, the others are on my addi turbos). These are top down and I just finished the leg on the second pair so maybe I will also finish these by the end of the month! This is also Koigu and I really love the colorway... There is nothing that I love more in the world than Koigu!

Baudelaire

Baudelaire
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

I just finished the heel of these socks (these socks are toe-up), so I guess I'm pretty close to being done. This is a pretty easy pattern to remember and but the leg uses a cable needle and I don't know how to cable without a cable needle. I'll probably finish these by the end of the month!

Springgrass Socks

Springgrass Socks
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

I finished these sometime in January with the bulk of the knitting done during my family vacation in Vegas. I love Koigu and the colorway, but I only wore these once and they were pilling/felting :(

Wheat Ear Cable Yoke

Wheat Ear Cable Yoke
Originally uploaded by mangokiwi.

I started my Wheat Ear Cable Yoke and there was a knot in one of the balls of yarn. It's bugging me because its making the knitting look not smooth. I'm wondering if I should frog it and redo. What do you think?