Scarf Times Three

More knits from “60 Quick Knits: 20 Hats, 20 Scarves, 20 Mittens in Cascade 220.”  I know, that title is quite a mouthful.

This is Ruffled Scarf, designed by Cathy Carron. It’s knit in hurdle stitch, something I haven’t seen used in many patterns.This oldie but goodie is a 4 row repeat, on an even number of stitches. The first two rows are knitted and the next two rows are knit 1, purl 1 across the entire row. Obviously, the ruffles are knit in garter stitch. Best of all? You end up with a totally reversible scarf that looks different (but nice) on both sides. Worst of all? It gets boring after awhile. I knit mine in Paton’s Classic Wool. The pattern calls for a 48 inch scarf. With about 470 yards of wool, mine ended up at 56 inches, which I think is a better length for a scarf. The ruffle  is a sweet, retro touch.  I think Mary Tyler Moore would like it.  Or at least Laura Petrie.

This one is the sensibly-named Eyelet Scarf, designed by Lisa Bucellato. It’s knit in Cascade 220 wool. I usually knit little pigs out of this yarn, but a little scarf is OK for a change. The scarf is about 5 inches wide and 40 inches long. A one skein project. Looks nice on both sides.  Meant for an adult, but my sense is it’s not quite long enough and it would be great for a kid. As the book title says, definitely a quick knit.

This is the Wave Scarf. It took about 430 yards of Kramer Naturally Nazareth. (That’s Nazareth, Pennsylvania). It was not a particularly quick knit.  Knit 1, purl 1 rib never is.  The design is Debbie O’Neill’s. It was a bit troublesome to knit. At the beginning, the increases and decreases held my interest. Then I got cocky and made mistakes. Then I got bored and made even more mistakes. Then I got miffed with the ripping back. But, persistence paid off and the finished scarf is worth the effort. This is a very long wave. The designer suggests 68 inches. For me, that was mid-wave, so mine ended up about 72 inches long. There is one error in the chart: the stitch count is not going to come out correct unless you skip rows 83 and 84. With that correction, it worked well.

And, in case you are wondering why I decided to knit three wool scarves during a summer of mostly hot sticky weather, it is a mystery to me too.


Yarns To Go: Alpena, Michigan

Durenda Pake’s “Yarns To Go” shop  is located at 127 Second Street, in the heart of downtown Alpena. She has a wonderful selection of natural fiber yarns, as well as acrylics. I’ve never knit with Plymouth Yarn‘s Galway and so I selected these two shades for a pair of fair isle mittens. It’s a yarn that looks quite comparable to Cascade 220–maybe a  bit more “refined” and a bit tighter twist. On US size 8’s it should knit up at 5 stitches to the inch. So says the ball band. The yarn is spun for Plymouth Yarns in Peru.

Naturally Nazareth is a “100 percent domestic wool” that I am not familiar with. Yarns To Go has a small selection of what the ball band describes as Aran weight (4.5 stitches to the inch on US size 8 needles). The yarn is produced by Kraemer Yarns. I puzzled over the “Naturally Nazareth” yarn name–until I saw that the yarn is spun in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. I plan a scarf for the variegated yarn and a pair of mittens for the black and natural.

Locally, Cascade 220 is getting to be hard to find. Maybe the shops have mostly abandoned the yarn to the internet sellers.  The shops nearer to home have started stocking Ella Rae, instead. Good yarn, but not Cascade 220. I like the somewhat more rough look of Cascade 220 better. Plus Ella Rae is more expensive.

So, if you are in Northeast Michigan looking for yarn shops, be sure to check out Yarns To Go. Nice people. Helpful. Lots of yarn. And a surprisingly complete and up-to-date selection of books.