Tuesday, February 6

Smoke Ring and a Surprise

To add insult to injury (as if 13" of snow wasn't enough), for the last few days both our temps and windchills have been below zero. Brr! A hat just doesn't cut it in this type of weather. It's been in the back of mind for some time to knit a tube type scarf---one that completely covers your head and neck. I went websearching for a free pattern yesterday. I started at Knitting Pattern Central, my favorite free pattern site that lists links for free patterns with pictures. (Forget patterns without pics. Don't you hate it when someone posts a free pattern without a picture? Who wants to knit something they can't see?) Trouble is, this is one of those items that masquerades under a number of names: cowl, hood, tube scarf, smoke ring... If I've missed any, let me know. LOL! Many times on the web, you have to know what something is called before you can search for it.

Here's what I found---a wonderful lace Smoke Ring pattern by Kathy Hinckley at Spindlicity. I cast it on the needles last night with some of Liz's hand dyed merino sock yarn. Isn't it pretty? The colors will go well with my down filled winter coat. I finished the bottom edge and one pattern repeat. It's knitting up quickly.
[11/3/09 This link no longer works. Spindlicity is no longer online. I don't know if it is temporary or permanent.]

Progress report: I finished spinning half of the green Shetland yesterday. It's a fast spin! I'm hoping to get the rest of it spun soon. Ideally, I'd like to get it plyed so I can show it off tomorrow night. If not, I'll take a bobbinful along to show. The Mystery Pi shawl is stalled. I finished clue #3 and started on clue #4 and 576 stitches per round. The first ball of yarn is almost gone. Two balls of yarn will clearly not be enough to complete this shawl. I'm waiting patiently (or trying to) for the yarn I ordered last week to arrive. If the dyelot is off, I'll be able to blend it in with the second ball of yarn I have. If it doesn't arrive by the end of the week, I'll probably join the second ball, cross my fingers, and hope for the best. Clue #5, the edging, comes out on Friday.

Surprise! Here's a teaser pic of the fish cat toy I've been working on. What do you think? Does it say "essence of fish"? Or does it need more work? I have a couple of ideas for making the fish longer or knitting a striped one too. I'd like to find a few knitters to test the pattern before I turn it loose on the blog. Stay warm!

8 comments:

Bridget said...

Oh I think the fish is great - he looks like a Pepperidge Farm goldfish!

I'll test knit some if you like, just get in touch with me.

Stay warm! We don't have the snow, but we have the same cold here in Philadelphia.

Anonymous said...

i e-mailed you privately, but that fish is so darn cute!

Anonymous said...

The fish is very cute and I love the tube scarf/cowl you are making. The yarn is gorgeous too!

Jessica said...

My cats fight over your knitted mice! I LOVE the fish pattern, too!

Deena said...

I've been trying to find the pattern for "Smoke Ring" - the link is broken. I now have the archived page but it doesn't show the pictures which would be okay except that one of them is the chart. Can you help me out with a copy of the chart?

Vicki said...

Deena,

I have a copy of the chart from when I downloaded the pattern. Since it is a copyrighted pattern, I don't think I can legally post or share it anywhere. Sorry.

Deena said...

Thanks for responding - I thought it might be okay since this is a free pattern - I would never ask for something that wasn't free. I guess I'll try and contact the designer.

Gordon said...

I think this is the pattern you used. Spindlicity's archives are back online, so here's the new link: http://rustlingleafpress.com/spindlicity/spring2006/smokering.shtml