Stripes

I wouldn't say I have a thing for stripes, but it can't be a coincidence that three of my (fairly) mindless knitting projects have been striped, done in fine-gauge lace weight yarn.

The first one I did was a Baktus scarf done in purple and yellow Misti Alpaca lace weight yarn. I bought a bunch of skeins of closeout colors from Webs several years ago when I was in a lace knitting phase. The Baktus took me a long time to knit, but it was a great mindless knitting project, and lightweight and portable, so I took it many places with me. The finished project is a shallow, symmetrical garter stitch triangle with long tails, great to wrap and tie around my neck. The finished knit fabric is soft and squishy, and drapes well.

The second one I did was the French Nautical Scarf. I bought Manos del Uruguay lace from Webs specifically for this project, as I fell in love with the red and white French nautical color scheme. This had to take me at least two years to knit, off and on. I started in a burst of enthusiasm, and I loved watching the subtle color changes of the red yarn. But gradually I knit on it less and less, until I pulled it out during Lent this year, hoping to get it done for Easter. Each pair of red and white stripes took me about 90 minutes to knit, and I tried to knit at least a pair of stripes per day. But I didn't get it done, so I set it aside and finally picked it up again and pushed myself to finish it this summer. Cooler weather is coming, and I think I will finally wear it this winter. It is a very wide "scarf" (about 20 inches) -- really more of a stole or wrap. The color changes in the red stripe make it more interesting, and the alpaca and silk yarn with a touch of cashmere makes a drape-able stockinette fabric with a fairly heavy hand for a lace weight yarn.

Which brings me to my current "fairly mindless" knitting project: a Hitchhiker (by Martina Behm) done in more of that Misti Alpaca lace from Webs. This time, the colors are a deep pink and an orange that are so close in value, you can barely see the one-garter-ridge per color stripe. Hitchhiker is written for fingering weight yarn, and I've knit one at that weight and love it. The pattern creates a long, shallow triangle with a one serrated edge, which is easy to wrap around the neck. I started this one night this week, and have a long, long way to go, but this has an eight-row pattern repeat that is easy to memorize, so it makes good TV and waiting room knitting. I'll measure it against my fingering weight Hitchhiker to know when I am "done" knitting.

The pattern links will take you to Ravelry, which is a great social media site for knitters and crocheters. It was started by a knitter and her techie husband, so they really know what features knitters want and need, and the community on Ravelry is generally well-behaved and generous (like most knitters I know). I also created a link to Webs, which is a dangerous site to visit late at night. They have lots and lots of yarns at very good, discountable prices.