Stasia's Place Of Grace

Wednesday, December 07, 2005

 

To Quote...

"Some kids do what you say. Some kids do what you say do not do. But all kids do what you do."

~ Unknown, from the calender of St. Benedict's Community Meal Program.

Ohmigosh, St. Ben's needs socks, hats, and other knit items for the homeless! Look here and here. I know what I'll be knittin' in the new year...

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What I Am Thinking Today...

We all wish for Peace in the world, especially at this time of year. But doing your best for Peace doesn't necessarily mean going on a protest march...

It means not rolling your eyes when an old lady asks to go in front of you in the grocery checkout line because she has only two items... and when she then spends ten minutes arguing with the cashier about a discount and digging for exact change in her coin purse.

It means not losing your temper with the confused part-time holiday help at a busy restaurant.

It means letting someone exiting the mall merge into your lane of traffic, and not getting upset when they don't respond with "the courtesy wave".

It means not being so busy cooking things for your family holiday meal that you start ignoring day-to-day conversations with your family members.

Let there be Peace on earth... and let it begin with me. Silently. Without attention drawn to myself. In small ways. That is my prayer today.

The only thing Peace protests achieve is making the protesters feel like they're in the spotlight... and making things more confrontational. Confrontation is not peace. Peace sometimes means keeping your mouth shut. God, grant me the grace to do that more often!

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Tori keeping Fiona warm.

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Free And Easy Pattern

Now, I know I cannot be the originator of this pattern, as I have seen examples of it elsewhere. But I did make this particular model up for myself, with complicated math help (involving sine and cosine!) from Nan and Jack. THANKS! I so cannot do anything math-related, though DH is patiently trying to teach me cribbage this week...

Anyway, I'd like to share the pattern with you in case you need a last-minute holiday gift.

This thing is EZ-PZ but looks cool. This yarn is a little lighter than worsted weight, I'd guess a DK. It is a limited edition Brooks Farm colorway, which Kary sent to me. I don't know the type, but I think it is one blended with silk - it is not Four Play, for sure, as it's thinner and glossier than that (though that stuff is wonderful, too!) It must be either Duet or Harmony.

By the way, Miss Kary has some of her lovely handmade batts and handpainted sock yarns available now - take a peek! Her charity of choice for a portion of her profits this year is Noah's Wish!

I cast on 34 stitches onto size 9s (US). Gauge is approximately 4.5 sts. per inch (in pattern), but it doesn't really matter - just use appropriate needles for the weight of the yarn you choose. Cast on a few more sts. if you use a finer yarn, a few less if you use a bulkier yarn.

The first stitch of every row is knit.

Row 1: K1, then (K2, P2) across. In last stitch, Kfb to make one extra stitch (35 sts.)

Row 2: K1, then work sts. as presented (K the k sts. and P the p sts. as they appear to you). At last 2 sts., change mount of first if necessary, then K2tog to decrease one stitch (34 sts. again).

Row 3: K1, then (P2, K2) across. In last st., Kfb again to make one (35 sts.)

Row 4: K1, then work sts. as presented. At last 2 sts., change mount of first if necessary, then K 2 tog. (34 sts.)

This ends up making a slanting diagonal scarf... but the "point" is automatic (one corner of the cast-on edge); the scarf hangs rotated at 90 degrees (or is it 45? I told you I was bad at math geometry.)

You don't have to worry about running out of yarn whilst having to decrease down to a triangle at the opposite end of the scarf - you just bind off the last row of 34, and you'll end up with your other pointed end automatically (rule of thumb: save enough yarn to measure three times the width you will be binding off, in order to do so. This is a good pattern for leftovers, the yardage of which is uncertain!)

What you are doing is increasing one at the left edge every front side row, and decreasing one at the opposite edge every back side row, and this makes your scarf slant sideways to the left (when the front side is facing you). But when it's rotated and around your neck it looks straight.

I love that the color changes are making zig-zags all the way up.

I guess the pattern is some kind of double seed stitch, or moss stitch? It lays flat and looks woven and the edges are nice because they're knit every row. FUN! And more importantly - fast!

Closeup Of Stitch Pattern

Closeup Of Beautiful Yarn

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Remember to be at peace with yourself and others today! Have a wonderful rest of the week.

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