The sweater is not the old friend. I’ve not worn the sweater much. It’s pretty but the boatneck neckline hasn’t been a favorite look. The “friend” isn’t the pattern either. A bit after completing it, in somewhat an overdose of de-cluttering, I recall throwing the pattern away. So I haven’t even been able to link to it on my Ravelry page and I can’t give attribution here. I just figured I wasn’t going to knit it again and I wouldn’t be recommending it to anyone, so why keep it. I recall it was from a magazine and possibly this was the cover sweater.

The friend is actually the yarn. Tahki’s Soho Bulky. The company seems to be called Tahki Stacy Charles now. I’m sure they are the purveyors of many fine yarns, but the company discontinued Soho Bulky quite a few years ago and knitters everywhere should mourn the loss. OK. That’s an exaggeration. But it was a great yarn. I knit this sweater and basically just keep it around to enjoy the look and feel of this wonderful rugged yarn.

I’ve knit gobs of bears out of Soho Bulky, including this long legged guy who was donated to a charity auction. His body is knit in Soho Bulky. His sweater is knit of a more “refined,” tame yarn.

This sweater, also knit from a pattern I can’t locate anymore, is pure Soho Bulky. It’s seen lots of wear and still looks and feels great.

I have a very high tolerance for wool-against-the-skin. When others are busy complaining about how “itchy” something woolen is, all I feel is nice and cozy. To me, that sense of scratchy yarn against the skin is a comfort. So I have no problem with hats of Soho Bulky.  This one is Jared Flood’s Quincy, with a wonderfully clever mobius strip construction.

And this was probably my Soho Bulky magnum opus. It’s Carol Andeson and Pat Penney’s Rambling Rows afghan knit using their pattern for its grid guide, but without regard for their instructions on color placement. This afghan is laid out on a queen sized bed. If gifted, which it won’t be until they crack open my will, it would come with a small child and cat warning. It could probably crush one under its weight. I lost count of how many skeins I knit to complete the project. When I used up my stash I had to scour the internet looking for extra skeins of the precious Soho Bulky.

I have no skeins left. I used the last of them, mixed in with Philospher’s Wool, to complete this log cabin throw.

So, old friend, it looks like we part company.

Maybe I’m in a rut, knitting multiples of patterns. But this is such a good one. Take two colorways of Noro Silk Garden. The more different from one another the better. Cast on an odd number of stitches for the width you want, worked up in knit 1, purl 1 rib. I usually cast on 45 stitches in Silk Garden, on size 7 needles. Alternate the colorways, every two rows. That is, knit 2 rows from one skein and then knit two rows from the other.  Keep up the knit 1, purl 1 ribbing until you use up the yarn. It’s that easy.

Jared Flood has published a free pattern here, while disclaiming that he really invented it. If you’re interested in giving it a try, check his pattern for a handy tip so that the edges come out nice and neat. It works well.

This is Jared Flood’s Umaro, knitted here in Cascade Yarns Lana Grande. Lana Grande is a super bulky wool. The pattern forms over 28 rows and is repeated six times. So, for a throw, it’s quite a quick knit. Flood’s pattern is completely error-free–so cool in an age when, either for insufficiency of test-knitting or publisher issues, too many patterns have mistakes in them.

The pattern had me flummoxed at first. I separated the 12-stitch repeats by stitch markers, thinking that would help me keep my place. But it turns out this pattern “jumps” the markers as you move along, so I had to remove them. That meant keeping a bit more alert to the charts than I am comfortable with, but after the second repeat I was already able to see when I screwed up and fix it quickly.

Flood recommends Lana Grande for Umaro and I came across it at 30% off, so that was a nice find. The yarn usually had at least 2 knots in each 80 meter skein, which was fairly easily dealt with because it spit-splices well.

I knit the pattern on size 15 needles. My gauge was off a bit, but the fabric felt right so I just plowed ahead. Instead of blocked dimensions of 47 inches by 58 inches, I ended up at 45 by 52. Not sure how I lost that much length, but I suspect I didn’t steam the blanket aggressively enough as I blocked it. Mine does not have quite the verticality to the pattern as Flood’s sample.

The other possibility?  I am not an experienced lace knitter. Until fairly recently I gave up on patterns that needed a yarn over between a knit stitch and a purl! I just couldn’t figure out how to do it. Kind of like “True Confessions”  time here. More than 50 years knitting and still much more to learn. Then I found these directions on Carole Wulster’s blog. I’m been using them on a (small) series of lace knits and they’ve been working like a charm. No more odd yarn overs that don’t match their partner yarn overs. I’ve just learned some call this approach a “cheater yarn over.”  Yipes. That sounds rather  judgmental. But do you think there’s a chance this particular yarn over technique might tighten the yarn overs a bit so that the shape of  the pattern changes some?

This is a lesson in what a difference a half-stitch in gauge makes. It is supposed to be three stitches to the inch, not 2.5. But I’ve had two skeins of Classic Elite’s Weekend Waterspun in my stash for years and this hat looked to be the pattern that yarn was waiting for. Plus I basically have a pumpkin for a head and I come from a family with other pumpkin heads. I do like loose hats, but this one is probably pushing it. I may felt it and, if I do, I’ll circle back around and post the results.

This is Pillbox Hat from Knit One, Knit All, Schoolhouse Press’s new book of Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Garter Stitch Designs. The book is a real charmer. Filled with original comments by EZ, copies of her notes on the patterns, including more of her water color paintings. Garter stitch star booties, clever shaped hats, mittens that fit on either hand, gloves worked flat, and beautiful sweaters and vests. As always with EZ, and garter stitch, the look has a homely quality to it–meant in a good way as conjuring up all things cozy.

The projects are starting to sprout on Ravelry and the Zimmermaniacs are knitting up a storm. Jared Flood has a wonderful blog entry on the book, complete with photos of two never-photographed-before hats that EZ knitted for a neighbor, Joan Morhard Smith (who knew the guru of modern knitting as “Betty”). I bet Betty would be pleased that her daughter (Meg Swanson) was able to publish the garter stitch book EZ’s publishers thought would not sell. They are going to be proven wrong. 

Jared Flooding, that is. Though Michigan’s “up north” has also been deluged with rain this spring. This scarf is knit of Noro Silk Garden 309 and 244. There don’t seem to be any two colorways that you can’t combine and still come up with a cool look. These two skeins had places where the colors were a bit too close to one another, but it still looks good.

Periodically, knitters need the mindless knit. For me, it’s when I’m a passenger on a long drive. Anything the least bit complex doesn’t work for me then. This is my 4th version of the scarf. And there may yet be a 5th.

As always, looking at the skeins gives me almost no clues about how the finished scarf will look. Here’s the pattern, free on Flood’s website.

Take one skein Noro Silk Garden Color #84. Mix with equal parts of Noro Silk Garden Color #228. Alternate colors every 2 rows. Work in knit one, purl one rib until you run out of yarn. Cook up on # 7 needles, here with 35 stitches. That’s the Jared Flood recipe for this scarf. You can knit this one with your eyes closed or your brain otherwise occupied. This is my third. Here are the other two:

This pattern and this yarn…surprises. If you can look at these two skeins and predict a scarf like the one above, you’re a “better man than I am, Gunga Din.”

Bazillions of knitters have learned that Noro yarns, with their long sections of colors, have some surprises other than the knots that are frequently encountered. Two different Noro colorways, in alternating sets of rows, interact with each other to produce cool striping. This is Noro Kureyon. Noro Silk Garden likely has a nicer drape and will be less scratchy. Any yarn with fairly long swaths of color will work similarly. The word is that almost any two Noro colorways will look just fine together. Part of my scarf turned out to be a rather bright blue with a major pink that I find quite unpleasant. But that section didn’t last long enough to ruin the look.

This particular version is Jared Flood’s way of doing it. Knit one purl one rib that almost comes out looking like stockinette. Skip the blocking. No need. The knitting is mindless and would be quite boring except that seeing how the next set of colors and the next and the next works out keeps a knitter moving forward with interest.

My plans are to make a few more. Including another one rather soon. Steve’s new winter coat has no hood and the walk in to work from Lot 20 is cold cold cold.