My Miracle Scarf

Mrs Miracle and call me Mrs Miracle films are favourites of mine for the Christmas season. On my hunt for an easy lace scarf that was a little different I found this pattern
Miracle scarf

I added a picot crochet edge to the two ends to finish it off.

The pattern is so easy to do as there are no purl stitches all you do is Garter stitch ( knit every row) Knit, YO (yarn over) K2tog ( knit 2 together) that is it so even a beginner can master it.

Close up of pattern

Picot croched edge to finish the ends off

 I have washed the scarf and this has relaxed the stitches and made the yarn even softer. I am not good at blocking and have often found washing the item helps in most, not all cases.

If you a quick you will see a glimpse of the scarf in this trailer
Trailer to Call me Mrs Miracle 

From the yarn that I had I was able to make a pair of fingerless gloves as well.

These hand warmers knit up quick and I made this pair in one evening including the sewing up and the picot edge. This is the pattern:  Eyelet Hand warmers

It may not be the same pattern as the scarf but it does have elements of it I added the picot edge to the top of the hand warmers to match the scarf.

The scarf and hand warmers are nice and soft and will be lovely to wear on a cold winters day.

My Gifts and New Scarf started

Well my husband Colin came up trumps with my birthday gifts. I had hinted at a new bag and storage for my crochet hooks and cable needles with the possibility of some bamboo knitting needles.
The cases for crochet hooks are expensive so I was looking at spectacle cases as I was sure they would be large enough for the job.
So when I got all this for my birthday I was really pleased.

A new bag, Colin had found a bag that allowed you to choose the name you wanted to it. He chose The Nutty Knitter as it is the name of my blog.

This roll was something I had not expected and was thrilled to see it contained

Bamboo needles and they are lovely, nice and smooth and so feel nice to handle.

Spectacle cases that now contain

Cable needles and double pointed needles

Crochet hooks and stitch holders housed neatly.

I transferred the scarf I am knitting to my new bamboo needles and love them they are light and smooth and no more metallic clicking.
Now for the scarf.
 I love the films Mrs Miracle and Call me Mrs Miracle so when I was hunting for a simple pattern I was really happy to find this one.
  
Miracle Scarf

If you want a scarf that has no purl stitches and looks pretty then try this, it is easy to do and looks lovely as well. So I will have a Miracle scarf when it is done and will see if I have enough yarn for some fingerless gloves to go with it as well.

All in all a great birthday and I have just what I wanted and Colin did really well getting me a bag that is so personal. It now contains my folder with patterns in it that I want to knit, the cases I got along with the bamboo needle roll and my knitting project, perfect everything is now to hand and neat and tidy.

Lace Scarf and Hand warmers

Christmas is getting closer so time to knit a few items as gifts something easy but pretty for the ladies and something masculine for the gents.
So my first project is Lace scarf and hand warmers. I wanted to find a fairly easy pattern that still looked special, tall order as most lace patterns that have more of a design tend to have a lot of rows to count. I wanted an easy pattern that would be a no more than a four row repeat.
The hunt was on and I found lots that were nice but did not quite fit the bill, then I recalled a pattern that I had been given by an old lady who sadly is no longer alive her name was Sue.
She had sent me loads of stitch patterns and I have used a lot of them but not the lace knitting pattern she had sent me.
I met her during a swap on a knitting forum we often wrote to each other (snail mail) as she loved getting real letters. It was always a surprise when I got her letters as she would add stitch patterns that she liked and added a small gift as well little things like a new row counter, place markers or some point stoppers all of which I still use.
So I went to my trusty journal and found the pattern that Sue had sent me for a lace scarf and tried it out perfect just what I wanted, Thank you Sue your pattern is just right and the yarn I am using looks nice in this pattern.

So the pattern is this:

Needles 5mm
Yarn DK

SK2P = Slip 1 K2tog Pass slip stitch over

CO 46 stitches

Row 1: K3 Purl to last 3 sts Knit

Row 2: K3 * YO, K 1, SK2P, YO K1 repeat from* end K3

Row 3: K3 Purl to last 3 sts Knit

Repeat rows 2 and 3 until scarf is a long as you want it to be.
End with a Purl row and Bind off
I am slipping the first stitch on every row and kniting last stitch throgh back loop to give a neater edge.

Okay this is not a great picture and just the first few rows, I will add another picture as the scarf grows but I think you will get an idea of what the pattern is like.

The Hand warmers may be from a pattern I have used before it is nice and easy to do and the warmers look pretty as well
Like Lace Hand warmers

Not the same pattern but will still look nice with the scarf as they will be made in the same yarn.
I could try making the hand warmers using the same pattern but will have to lessen the amount of stitches to 36. I could add lace cuff then  stocking stitch then a few lace rows stocking stitch again and rib at the top. I will play around and see what it looks like. It would be nice to have matching patterns so I will see what I can do.
I think the lace pattern calls for an even amount of stitches so reducing to 36 should work, well I hope so.

 I give up my cat Dylan decided the scarf was perfect for him to not only unravel but to chew through the yarn as he played with  it. I found it when I got uo he had dragged it out of the bag, he has never done that before.

He has the look of 'I told you I did not like it so there'  So half way through the scarf it is all ruined and I do not have the heart to start it again. So I am going to make a different scarf. Not sure what yet as I don't feel like doing a lace one again. I am off to hunt the patterns.

My Shawl is complete

Here is the completed Garter Stripe Shawl that I started on September 1st and completed today the 7th September. I made it as part of the September Stash buster Challenge on a Sparkpeople team that I belong to.
A total of 765 yards was used I cannot say that  you would use that amount of yarn as you may need more depending on the yarn you use and hoe tight you knit. I am told it makes a difference so use the yardage a a rough guide. Personally I always get more than I need that way I do not run out and the extra yarn is always useful for other projects.
Here is the result.

This picture shows the garter rib effect and the colours show up nicely as well.

This shows the fringe and the pattern

Here is the pattern again

This is my pattern:

Garter Stripe Shawl

Materials needed: DK yarn, 6mm Circular needles (the plastic bit between the needles is roughly 18 inches long (46cm) to accommodate the large number of stitches

CO 3 sts

Knit one row

K1, YO, knit to end of row (turn)

Repeat this row 5 more times (6 rows in total)

Start pattern

Row 1: K1, YO, Knit to end of row (turn)

Row 2 : K1, YO, K1, Purl to last 2 stitches K2 (turn)

Row 3: K1, YO, Knit to end of row (turn)

Row 4: K1, YO,Knit to end of row (turn)

Repeat these 4 rows until the shawl is as big as you want it leaving plenty of yarn to do the last 3 rows of  K1 YO Knit to the end of each row. Bind Off.
I added a fringe and knotted each single piece of yarn of the fringe to help it from fraying too much when it is washed.

The shawl measures 26 inches from point to top of the shawl and 45 inches across so a small shawl that would be suitable for someone sat in a chair or in bed. I am hoping that SIBOL will be able to use it, they did not mention if the shawls were to have a fringe or not.

If they cannot use it I will pass it onto someone else I am sure someone will want it if SIBOL cannot use it.

Now I need a new project for the September Stash buster Challenge and will sort one out so I can get it started tomorrow night.