River Rock Scarf Knitalong
Sunday October 5, 2008
Alison: Done - at last
I have finally finished River Rock...having thought this would be a quick knit, it took me ages.
I did not much like knitting with beads - something about having the weight of the beads on the yarn, and having to keep pushing them along out of my way. I also am not so keen on the way the beads hang - but don't know if this is due to using lighter yarn. I also had (and still have) problems with the beads migrating out of the 'rocks'...I twisted both the knits and the purls on each side of the rocks - which helps, but does not prevent the problem.
Having said all that - finished item looks pretty nice. I did not exactly follow the pattern; I faded the beads out of the center section and then faded them in again pretty randomly.
Posted by Alison at 11:16 PM. | Comments (2)
Monday August 4, 2008
Christina: Done and dusted
Here is my pleasing skinny scarf. The true colour is seen here, as the photo was taken in natural light.
Unlike Alison, I enjoyed knitting this so much I am planning another - I plan to use thicker yarn and fewer bead rocks in my next attempt.
Posted by Christina at 9:12 PM. | Comments (0)
Sunday June 22, 2008
Christina: First panel
This is the first half of the scarf. It seems for both Alison and I, it's hard to get a good colour photo of this yarn with the beads. Both are rich deep colours - mine blue (almost navy) and hers a dark rich mahogany brown.
After the first ball of wool, I am knitting a plain section, in order to make the scarf longer.
I really love knitting this - I like the beading and the way it's turning out.
Mmmm shiny things....
However, the fuzzy picture below shows that the beads do sag a little - which is not ideal. It seems to be caused by the kntting itself rather than simply gravity, as the direction of sag is the same regardless of orientation.
Posted by Christina at 10:49 AM. | Comments (0)
Tuesday June 17, 2008
Alison: River Rock not flowing
I started the River Rock, and while I have knitted about 10" so far, the knitting is rather stalled at the moment. I think this is partly because the knitting is boring, and partly because the beads make it less portable than, say socks. I might try to take it away on my next business trip which would force me to knit on it some more.
However, the effect is really nice. I think the slight wobbliness at the edge will block out.
Posted by Alison at 11:05 PM. | Comments (0)
Monday April 28, 2008
Alison: Casting on
I am getting ready to cast on my River Rock scarf. This is from No Sheep for You.
My yarn is Naturally Dawn - same brand as Christina's, purchased at the same time from Full Thread Ahead - in a deep rich shade of brown. It's a 50% silk/wool blend from New Zealand.
Posted by Alison at 7:18 PM. | Comments (0)
Saturday March 22, 2008
Christina: Frogging
I messed up the fancy edging at the sides somehow; it wasn't very noticeable but I decided that (a) it's a quality item so worth getting as perfect as I can, and (b) knitting it is such fun that I don't mind having to do it all again... So I backed out about a dozen rows.
Posted by Christina at 10:58 PM. | Comments (0)
Wednesday March 19, 2008
Christina: The pattern emerges
Knitting with this silk and wool yarn is such a delight that I have knitted the lower edge and started the main pattern chart in record time.
The yarn is thinner than the recommended one, knitting 36sts and 46 rows to 4 inches on 13 (2¼mm) needles, and I have gone down two needle sizes to number 9 (3¾mm). I have not increased the number of stitches, so my scarf will not be as wide as the stated measurements - fashionably thin I hope...
Posted by Christina at 11:53 AM. | Comments (0)
Tuesday March 18, 2008
Christina: River Rock (Dawn) - thread the beads
Alison suggested we do this scarf as a Knitalong when I visited her last October. A bit less of a challenge than a guernsey! We chose our yarn and beads together at Hollis' shop Full Thread Ahead. We spent ages mooching about in the shop trying to decide from the fantastic range available - it's such a a great environment there that mooching itself is half the pleasure. I finally picked Dawn from Naturally Hand Knit Yarns of New Zealand - for its lovely feel - wool and silk - and its lovely petrol blue colour (there was also fabulous rich chestnut colour). Hollis' advised me to get smaller beads than those recommended in the pattern, to better suit the yarn.
To thread them I used a (fairly common I think) technique that I was shown in the beaded bag workshop in November 2006. I have illustrated it here with a large eyed needle and wool. First thread the needle, say left to right, as normal - note that you have already checked that the needle is small enough to go through your chosen beads! Then wind that end round and thread the needle again in the same direction, left to right. You have created a loop.
The loop is to thread your working yarn through (just seen above). You push your beads on to the needle, past the eye, onto the looped yarn...
and finally on to the working yarn.
I actually used a much finer needle, and dental floss to create my loop. The initial double threading of the needle can be the most difficult part - especially for very fine beads. So once you have threaded a needle in this way for beading, you may wish to leave it permanently threaded up for future use (!).
This technique made "thread 767 seed beads on your first ball of yarn " a complete breeze.
Posted by Christina at 2:26 PM. | Comments (1)
