Finally, Some Real Knitting Content

Last week was good for finishing the 2 alpaca scarves I have been working on for the Alpaca Along. This first one was knit with the gorgeous chocolate Blue Sky alpacas yarn from Sonya (thanks again, Sonya!):

The color in this picture is accurate

The color is off in this picture

I absolutely loved working with this brown yarn and will be ordering up a bunch more in some different colors. The periwinkle yarn is Reynolds Blizzard, a 65/35 blend of alpaca/acrylic in the color 617 - it is really soft but didn't have much body. In addition, it split easily with my relatively blunt-tipped bamboos so I didn't enjoy working with this one as much, but I like the way the periwinkle complements the chocolate.

Lengthwise garter stitch wasn't what I originally wanted to do - I wanted the brown to be the predominant color, with varying width stripes of different colored alpaca yarns, but I didn't like the color "bumps" (I don't know what else to call that line of the first color that shows up on the second color) that were too obtrusive on the "wrong side" of the scarf because of the high contrast in colors. I tried stockingnette, but was still getting the lines/bumps. So I settled for good old garter stitch with just one color change and am very pleased with the way the focus ends up on the chocolate yarn, which is where it belongs. This scarf is for me!

This second scarf has been knit with Alpaca Baby Grande. The pattern is the One-Row Scarf from Stephanie, aka Yarn Harlot. This is a perfect stitch pattern - it's not only easy to memorize and quite lovely, but has a flow to it that is very soothing and relaxing. Plus I could watch TV and knit without even having to pay much attention to the knitting. And the yarn is incredibly soft and sensual. In fact I am going to buy more of it this weekend and make a couple more one-row scarves for our wonderful and indispensible office staff. Surely handknitted gifts of alpaca yumminess will entice them to continue to tolerate working with a bunch of neurotic therapists???

Finally, here is the new craft I have learned - needle felting! I took a little class at the lys and we made an easter egg and bunny. I don't know where the egg went (I suspect Criquette and Bitsy were involved in its disappearance but they're not letting the cat out of the bag). Here is the bunny:

A little out of focus, but you get the idea. Hard to believe I made it by poking a gob of wool with a needle about 8723 times. It's a great way to work out stored-up aggression, as long as you don't poke yourself by mistake (ask me how I know). I'm hoping to find some time this weekend to make something else. Which means a road trip to a not so lys, about 40 miles up the road. To buy some roving and whatever other little needle felting goodies I can't live without. And if I happen to find the right yarn for my next non-scarf project, all the better!

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Finally, I will leave you with a shot of my next scarf project. Once again, a simple lengthwise garter stitch in some of my favorite colors for spring and summer. This is meant to be a gift, but I'm really loving these colors....