New Free Pattern: Seaweed Stole/Scarf !!!

I'll have more pictures of this coming in a later post. Since I do not have the software to do a pdf file I'm going to keep pictures to a minimum for ease of printing.

The idea for this stole originated with a kayak trip. This past August my brother and I went for a 4 1/2 hr kayak trip. I didn't have a waterproof container for my camera so wasn't able to take it along, although later wished I had been able to. The scenery was stunning along the way! It was a beautiful day for kayaking; sunny, not too hot, and with a gentle breeze. While we were gliding down the river I noticed the seaweed (not sure what the technical term is, we'll just call it seaweed) that was streaming along with the river's current. It had tall, long-ish leaves, and all sorts of beautiful colors. Right away I thought it would be wonderful to dye some yarn in those colors. The main colors were shades of green, yellow, chartreuse, and a mauve-ish pink.

Next day I had the opportunity to over-dye a skein of my handspun yarn in the exact colors. I was so pleased with the results that I decided to design a pattern that went with my seaweed theme. This pattern is perfect because the waves in the design reflect not only the movement of water, but also the graceful motion of the seaweed as it ripples in the water.

I hope you enjoy knitting this as much as I did!

Yarn: Approx 300 yards of light-worsted or DK weight yarn

Needles: Size US#7 straights

Measurements:

Before blocking, 39"x9 1/2'

After blocking, (pinned measurements) 59" x 11"

Abbreviations:

k=knit

p=purl

k2tog= knit two stitches together as one.

yo= yarn over needle

Notes: Pattern repeat is worked over a multiple of 18 stitches, plus 1 selvage stitch on each edge.

Stole can be made wider by adding more stitch repeats.

Seaweed Stole/Scarf:

Cast on 56 stitches.

Row 1: Knit

Row 2: Purl

Row 3: Knit 1*, k2tog, three times, (yo, knit 1) six times, k2tog, three times. Repeat from * to one stitch before end, knit 1.

Row 4: Knit

Repeat these 4 rows until stole measure approximately 39" long, or until you have just enough yarn to bind off.

Bind off.

Wet block stole according to finished measurements.

Enjoy!

I would love to hear your comments, and also see any photos of your finished Seaweed Stole!

If you have questions please leave a comment below.

Knitting Updates!

All the projects I am working on currently are Christmas gifts, so I shall have to fall back on some old projects to show you. Actually the above roving is still in the same state as you see, although this picture was taken around the end of October. Because of my health issues throughout the month of November I am further behind in things than I had hoped to be by this time of the year.

I still have much to before Christmas. My, it is only a week away from this coming Saturday! However the last five days or so I have been able to complete many of the gifts I am working on. That has set my mind somewhat at ease. I love to give handcrafted gifts, but it always seems like when Christmas rolls around I am madly scrambling to finish things.

This scarf is the Art Schooled pattern, it can be found on Ravelry. I'm making it for my sister-in-law. She purchased some yarn a year ago and I offered to knit it up into something for her. We browsed through ravelry and she found this neat ruffly scarf pattern. Well, I copied it off and got started on it. But meanwhile, during the process of knitting it my sister-in-law learned how to knit! So now she is making the exact same scarf, only in teal and gray stripes. Such fun! I was so excited when she learned how to knit! She is definitely going to town on it, and doing a fine job.

I finished my Sweet Fern Mitts a while back. The pattern is from "The Knitter's Book of Wool". They are made with Knit Picks "City Tweed". It is a heavy-worsted weight, which made my mitts a little bigger than I would have liked. (The pattern calls for worsted weight yarn.)

I still love the way they turned out, despite the fact that they are a little big. These mitts are SO comfortable and warm!

Well, I should sign off for now. Hope you are having a blessed Christmas season!

Cheerio my friends!

Holiday Baking

Yesterday a friend and I decorated all these sugar cookies. We had fun mixing colors and planning it all out. We had a mix of chocolate and plain sugar cookies, colored and chocolate frosting. There were some interesting cookie combinations going on!

I'm not sure how many cookies we decorated, but it was a lot! We enjoyed ourselves though. It's a nice time to chat and just enjoying being together as friends.

How about you? Have you been baking any special treats for the holidays? If so, I'd love to hear about it!