Harry Potter Sox

Done.
Fini.
The End.

Lookin' good, huh!  And lots of fun -- even if I did have to weave in all the ends from the color changes.

They belong now to Grandson Sid.

Gryffindor

Found a great book at the library:  Charmed Knits -- Projects for Fans of Harry Potter.


Wizard caps, magic invisible shawl, sox, sweaters, mittens.  Very cool.  Colors for all houses.  Naturally I chose Harry's house colors.

Immediate new project -- you know the feeling.  Gotta make that!  Gotta have the yarn now!  Gotta get gauge!

Gryffindor house colors.

The yarn is Heritage 150 Superwash by Cascade.  I'm using Tangerine and a wine/burgundy color whose name I don't know but the number is 5663.  The wonderful team at Yellow House Yarns helped me get just the colors I needed.  And even though we had to special order the burgundy, it was worth the day of waiting to get it right.

I've worked two sox together on one long circular, using the Magic Loop method.  I've worked them one at a time on dpn's.  Megan at Yellow House shared that she prefers 'sticks' and has two sets of each sock size so she can knit the pair of sox side-by-side.  This method is working for me.

With two colors I can switch between sox as each stripe
is finished.  With a single color I'd use two balls of yarn, separating
a single skein into two smaller ones if that's what was needed

Progress, major progress.  And so very portable.  The US#1 needles have already developed a slight bowing.  The bamboo Chia Goo needles are warm and gentle on my hands.  I've finished the entire heel process of sock 1 and am proceeding with the instep portion.  Making my way down the leg of sock 2.

A favorite book of mine is by Ann Budd -- the Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns.  This one has the basics for mittens, gloves, sweaters, and sox, plus scarves and two kinds of caps.  She's done all the math -- so you just need to choose yarn and establish the gauge.  Then you match it up to her matrix/table.  Recently I saw that this is available as an app for iPad.

One of Ann Budd's tips suggests adding sewing thread to accompany the yarn when knitting the heel and setting up the gusset.  I expected this to be fiddly and fussy but the sewing thread and yarn made themselves into a single strand, double ply yarn and thread, and it was no problem.  Ms. Budd reports that this addition strengthens the heel area, keeping it from wearing thin.

I think our friends are that special strand that keeps us strong.  They weave in and out of our lives just when we most need their support and shared joy.  There are lots of books with this tip written down -- either by example or in words that cannot be misconstrued.  

It's just that we don't always remember this tip.  Thanks again to all my friends who faithfully read and comment on my knitting journey.  I'm so glad to have you along for the ride.  

Spring Virus

I've got a bad case of sock-itis this Spring. I am almost certain there is no cure.  Pesky viruses seem to be immune to anything we try, including chicken soup.  I'm well enough to knit, thank goodness, so the virus will undoubtedly continue unabated.  You don't hear me complaining, do you?

Every virus attacks at some time with a wizard spell from Harry Potter, eh?

These for grandson.  Yellow House Yarns in Puyullup, WA , USA
helped me find the right burgundy.  Both are from
Heritage by Cascade, Merino Superwash.
Yummy.  Needles are US1

Then there's the mondo yarn and mondo needle socks for wearing around the house.  Would keep my feet warm but gave them to daughter, though grandson is the one who wore them home.

Lion Brand Wool Ease Chunky with their slipper sox pattern.
Pattern called for US13 but I stepped down to US11
to 'get gauge.'

These using Paton's Kroy, probably a discontinued shade, since this is from stash.  Frogged these when I thought I might be able to avoid the virus.

Started here, with plain pattern, and US2 but decided
to frog it.

Here's where I am today with the Kroy socks, using a pattern from Favorite Socks -- 25 Timeless Designs from Interweave.  This one is Retro Rib Socks by Evelyn A. Clark.

I've switched from Magic Loop for sox, to don's and on the advice
of Yellow House Yarn owner Megan, have purchased two
sets of the sizes I use.

Here's the two of them as I work my way down the leg of each to arrive at the heel flap.  Sometimes the virus attacks with a double dose.

Lots of sticks!

And finally, a close-up of the wonderful rib pattern, which shows even in the variegated self-striping -- and it's funner (yikes, bad grammar!) to work, imo.

Nice ribbing.  The single knit column is Ktbl every other row.

As you can see I have a serious case of this particular virus, so I reckon the only cure is a) starting yet another pair of sox (using stash which keeps the guilts away and the dollars in the pocket) and b) staying inside with plenty of liquids while I knit.

Let me know if you have other suggested 'cures.'

Meanwhile, I'll be sure to get plenty of rest while I'm knitting.

Paths and Choices

It's really hard to think about life in a completed way.  Life is always journeying, moving us along its path, presenting choices for us to make at every step.  If you've been reading this blog for any length of time at all you know that I take the perspective that knitting and life intersect in so many ways, not just at the times when the needles are clacking.

I picked up the blocked pieces of the vest, intending to join the shoulders using a 3-needle bind off.  (There are lots of ads around this one, but the voice is nice and pictures are at a good distance for really learning.)

Charged down the 3-needle path, short DPN's in hand.  Nope -- not a good choice.  I decided not to take this path.  Thus, I needed to backtrack and make a real and regular sewed seam.  So that meant I needed to bind off each of the four shoulders -- 2 front and 2 back.

Love those DPN's for binding off short distances.  The
shorter needle is not in the way and doesn't poke at the
already-knit portions of the piece.

The cable pattern runs right up thru the middle of the shoulder, both front and back.  3-needle bind-off doesn't easily accommodate to patterned stitches -- though if a reader has hints I'd sure love to hear them.  This method seems to work best on just knit or just purl stitches.

Now that the edges are ready to seam, I've joined the front to the back using a mattress seaming technique. These gals from Knit Picks are fun to watch if you wanna learn the Mattress Seam.

Left shoulder seam.  The left front is on the right of the
picture.  Confused yet?  

The hood is about half way to the finish line.  It has lots of shaping, including some shaping in the middle so it will pull in at center back and not be bulky.   

The ribbing edge will be around the face when the hood
is worn.

Paths and choices -- Life and Knitting.  Happens every day, all the time.  Relish the mystery.

It's a done deal

Lookin' good, huh!  It's bright without being gaudy or loud.  The Cascade 200 Paints pulls it all together.
It's no longer a UFO, but a wearable art textile, a lovely hand-knit sweater which I will wear with joy.

Adding the variegated yarn helped with the 'interest' factor,
I think.  Touches of it on the sleeve to pull it
all together.

I made some changes in the pattern.  

Moved the buttons from shoulder to center right.

Added the attached (knitted on) I-cord around the neck so the neckline would appear more 'finished' and be connected to the rest of the sweater.  Check Nancy Wiseman's The Knitter's Book of Finishing Techniques.  If you are limited in what you can spend to add to a knitting library, make sure you include this one.  Essential techniques for beginning and ending knitted garments.  Good pictures, too.

I-cord requires DPN's and a fair bit of patience, but
it's worth it for finishing either a neckline or a front
edge, especially if there are no buttons.

I added the Cascade 220 Paints to coordinate with the Cascade 200 Superwash blue.  Paints in the lower ribbing, the yoke, and an accent on the lower sleeve.

In this case I prefer more ribbing to less -- makes for a
fit that is more precise.  This sweater didn't even
approach the 'classical sloppy' look but rather
seemed to be designed for a fitted look.  (IMHO, of course.)

So I will spend this afternoon and evening weaving in ends.  Since the yarn is washable, I will likely throw it all in the laundry (in a large mesh lingerie bag) and then in a low-temp dryer.  How convenient is that.

There are no, underline no, seams.  How wonderful is that.  Knit from the yoke down, this sweater is all done when it's done.  Sleeves are done on DPN's from the yoke with picked up stitches under the arm so there isn't even a tiny seam there!  

But still, all those pesky tails.  

On the special gift front:  I have several folks who are lovers of the garage sale experience.  These friends have been on the lookout for knitting books.  The books arrive by mail or hand delivery (from friends close, geographically.)  

I have books from the 60's and 70's (yes, we did wear some of those awful clothes and colors!)  And today I received two books from 1942.  Every design is classic -- cardigans, car coats, skirts, jackets, even an argyle cardigan.

Reckon I'll make a trip to my LYS -- there are at least three designs that deserve to be knitted in the 21st century.

All this time

Knitter's Regrets

• All this time, since last January, the blue yarn and partially completed sweater have lain idle in a knitting bag.  
• All this time I have kept the bag near a chair in the living room where I can see it when I knit (and where I have to pick it up if/when I decide to vacuum.)  
• All this time, it's only needed a bit of finishing on the yoke and one sleeve to be completed.  
• All this time I could have been wearing this lovely blue item.

• Couldn't stand it any longer.  
• Couldn't really justify -- even to my knitting self -- that I could plan a new project and purchase new yarn.
• Couldn't any longer imagine a partially completed sweater when I wanted to wear this sweater.

Finishing it this weekend.  It's lovely.

Body of the sweater is the blue of the I-cord trim
around the neck.  The plan is to replace the shawl pin
with three special buttons.
Yarn:  Cascade 220 paints.

The yarn was purchased at Yorkshire Yarns in Lakewood (solid blue) and at Yellow House Yarns in Puyallup (Paints).  The pattern is from New England Knits and it's the one shown on the cover, though with modifications -- of course.

Two things moved me to make changes --

1. I wasn't sure I'd have enough of the solid blue and decided an entire sweater of that color just might be a bit too startling to the eyes.
2. I was absolutely sure I did not like the hem at the hip-line of the original sweater pattern.  Don't mind where it was intended to land, just prefer the flexible fitting of ribbing.
3. Also did not like the position of the buttons, right over the shoulder, so I moved the placket to left front over the ribbing.  Seems more cohesive to me, design-wise.   I'm knitting it for me, not for them.  (That's my sassy voice!)

So the yoke became the variegated yarn.  The ribbing at the base became variegated.  And just to accent the sleeves I added a few rows of purl in the variegated, so the stitch and the color would connect to the yoke.

Used a different setting on the camera.  This is closer to the
actual color.  You can see the yoke with the shawl pin in
the upper left.  Then the ribbing of the sleeve with the
accent of variegated purl stitches.
The markets indicate every 10 rows (dark purple)
and decreases (orange.)

The pattern is knit from the top down, which means the only finishing is the weaving in of yarn ends.  There's no underarm seam, no side seam.  Yoke begins at the knit row right below the ribbing; yoke ribbing is picked up and knit after the body is knit.  Short rows raise the back neck a bit.  

The attached I-cord is my idea.  I wanted something to seal off all the colors and look good around the neck.  Not sure a simple bind-off would do; can be sloppy sometimes, IMO.

The sleeves are knit from the yoke down, either on DPN's or on a long circular using Magic Loop.  This time the Magic Loop method is working for me.  After the length is established and a few decrease cycles, I'll add 4 rows of purl in the variegated.  Then a switch to a smaller needle, US7, and finish off the ribbing.

Yarn, needles, sleeve stitches -- add Knitter, stir gently while
listening to a good book and . . .

Meanwhile, I'll be spending a bit of time to finalize the notebook to send to TKGA.  Really ready for that project to be in the mail.  It counts as a massive UFO, with not enough knitting to compensate for the other work that has to be done.  Groan.

The sun has gone the way the sun does in the Pacific Northwest (west side.)  Gray clouds have returned.  Good day for knitting (and working on the notebook.)

PS  I added a new tag/label -- SWEATER! Hurrah!

Okay, so I couldn't resist . . .

I know what you're thinking.  I do.  You're thinking I broke down and bot yarn.  Nope.

A big YES to your other question.  Did she start YAP (Yet Another Project?)  Yup.   I did find another shawl pattern to begin.  This one is a square, intended to be folded in half when worn over the shoulders.

It starts with a circle loop cast on of only 8 stitches.  After a first purl row, you can pull on the loose end of the loop and tighten everything so it's neat and tidy.

Early days in this picture.

The 5th needle points to the center of the work,which
is the place the adventure began.  The purple marker is to
identify the beginning of the round.

This is a pattern from Knitted Lace, from Interweave Press.  I borrowed the book from the library to see if it's worth the purchase of a used copy.  Lots of great patterns for sweaters, scarves, and shawls, plus several sock patterns.  Still studying the idea of purchase.

The pattern is in a chart form and so far, has been easy to decipher.  The overall look will be eyelets, each with four little holes stacked in a diamond shape.  Then a row of just eyelets and then a border.  The 'rest rows' are purl instead of knit, making the body of the knitted fabric a garter stitch, as in knit every row (if you were going back and forth.)  At least there is a rest row every other round.  Then there is an all-knit rest row as the divider between each set of diamond eyelets.  Not tooooo bad.  Stay tuned.

Body pattern in upper left corner.
 The bigger chart is for the border.

I've transferred the stitches onto a long circular needle US5, and hope to be able to manage Magic Loop method until the shawl is larger in its perimeter.  At that point I will be able to knit in the round with ease.  This may make the border easier to manage.

Here I've pulled the tips of the circular needle out of the
fabric area so I can spread out the shawl pattern to
show off the eyelets.  Look in the segment on the southeast
of the circle and you'll see two diamond eyelets; the third in that
section is bunched up, but it's there.

Going back to the glubs, to cast on the ring finger.  My plan is to do the ring finger on each glove, then the middle finger, etc.  In this way, neither glove will feel neglected and when I finish the second thumb I'll be done, as in done-done.

Making great progress on the cream shawl.  It's my new knit to relax project -- easy to follow, easy to see, only a 3 row pattern.

Bags and baskets of knitting projects, some too neglected to be mentioned and others so new they beckon me whenever a few minutes present themselves demanding busy-ness.  Just one of the many great things about knitting -- pay attention or not, the big Whatever!

As a matter of life philosophy I don't subscribe to the big Whatever!  Instead I think life is more satisfying when

• You do what you're supposed to do,
• In the manner it's supposed to be done, 
• At the time it's intended to be accomplished.

Think about it -- works for filling the tank as the gauge approaches the "E" and works for the big things in life like caring for others.

I'm off to do other things now -- using my 3 point philosophy listed above.  Hoping your day is the best.

This little finger went to market --

Two cuffs, two hand portions, two little fingers, and two thumb gussets.  That's the status of the Glubs.

White and beautiful

We've had awful weather.  After a thrilling 12-14" of pure white snow, we finished the week with crippling freezing rain and power outages.













Frozen and treacherous, with trees and wires damaged.

Meanwhile the Glubs are progressing nicely.  Quite fun.  They look downright silly, though, at this point.  Just a little finger on each and waiting for the other 8 to emerge (6 fingers and 2 thumbs, depending on how you label the flexible digits.)

Oh dear, but this picture doesn't show the other little finger.
All the other things are there -- needles, fix-it tool, and
handy row counter.
Yes, two glubs.

Here's the silliest pic of all -- two little fingers waving at one another across the empty landscape of a waiting hand.

Isn't there some sporting team who uses this sign language?

Also working on some Mosaic knitting and finishing up the frilly ruffle thing they call knitting.  That scarf may just be long enough already -- I wouldn't want the wearer to trip over it or have to wrap it 47 times to get it off the floor.   I've experienced just about enuf of that loopy process -- pun intended.  Picture in next post.

Can you tell I am not enamored of this latest fad?

MAMA -- Mine And Mine Alone

Glubs for me!  Wonderful yarn -- such fun to knit, to see how the colors will settle.  I've finished the cuff, the thumb gusset and am working my way up the little finger.

Thumb gusset on the right, under the curve of the pin.
Little finger on the needles.

These are really fun and I recommend glubs to all knitters, even beginners.  They have some challenging aspects but all-in-all are fun to knit.  You can get intro or practice on these techniques, if you knit glubs

• Using double pointed needles and knitting in the round.
• Adding stitches for thumb gusset using the M1 technique.
• Holding stitches until later.
• Adding stitches by backward loop method.
• Weaving in lots of ends, since you will be joining yarn when it's time to knit the thumb.

Here's a close-up of the cuff.  It's a smocking stitch, where the wrap is formed by knitting between, in this case, the 6th and 7th stitches from the end of the left needle.   This makes a very long stitch which you put back onto the left needle and knit along with what was the first stitch on that needle.  Quite fun and isn't it a great look?

At first I was worried that the colorful and varied yarn would keep the smocking from standing out, but I think it works so I decided to stick with it to the end.  I have a dark fuchsia wool coat for winter and the gloves will be a great accessory.  

Freezing rain here, after a horrible and unusually fierce snow storm.  Here in the Pacific NW on the west side of the state we tend not to get so much snow, especially at lower elevations.  But this one has us all at sixes and sevens.  The snow has ended and now the freezing rain begins to cement the slush and trenches formed by brave cars yesterday.  

I'll be knitting.

Promises -- the white shawl is done.

Yup, it's on the blocking board.  The white shawl has had every last stitch knitted and every last edge stitch crocheted into a ruffle.

<<<<<   Before blocking














And on the blocking board --

I blocked in sections.  First I dampened and pinned
the center piece.  Using that as a guide, I folded over
the left section, dampened and pinned.  Finally,
the last section.  The ruffle is in the lower left corner.

I broke another 'rule' but that won't surprise any of you.  I blocked before I wove in the pesky ends.  I just couldn't think of doing anything else with that shawl on my lap. 

Now here's my big 'what if' -- the fiber is mostly cotton, so I'm not sure how much of the shape will be 'set' after it dries.  But it is what it is.  Or rather, it will be what it will be.  It's a que sera sera thing, I reckon.

Meanwhile, I've started a pair of gloves for myself, if you can believe it.  The pattern is from Textured Stitches by Connie Chang Chinchio, published by Interweave Press.  I bot the e-book and have it on my iPad.  The gloves are called Giorielli Gloves; I'm using Regia 4 fadig color (Flusi), with an umlaut on the 'a' in 'fading.'  (I will have to discover the keystrokes for special characters, huh?)

More later but here's a quick peek.

Size US 3 sticks, Lantern Moon from Vietnam -- elegant and
smooth needles.  Yarn is intended to strip or pool but it hasn't
yet made up its mind.  Cuffs use a smocking stitch.
Note the long yellow orange threads across the pink
stitches in the bottom center of the picture.

We have a bit of snow here and more is coming down pretty hard in those flakes as big as small saucers.  Here in the Pacific NW we get all crazy about our snow.  We cheer and make snow angels using the 1/2" that covers our grass.  We worry about school closing and baby-sitting arrangements.  We hope for it and then we hate it.  Supposed to get 5-6" which is like 14 feet for us!

I'll be knitting and working on the notebook.

Neener neener -- two hand warmers

Yup, finished the other one.  No "one hand warmer syndrome" for this knitter.  Something wrong with the pattern, though.  Went to the publisher's site and found the link to corrections.  Sorted it out and now have two hand warmers, a matched set.  If you use patterns from One Skein Wonders make sure you check for corrections online.  It's a big help and good insurance.

This is a good example of the wave stitch, a modified
ribbing.  

Will wrap these with the scarf, no matter its condition:  complete or work-in-progress.  At some point you just gotta call it 'good to go' and put it in the gift box.  Scarf is a portable project because the item itself doesn't need more room than my lap provides and the pattern is 4 rows of knit and purl combinations, easy to memorize.  The pattern is also easy to 'read' from the knitted item.  Even if I am not sure where I left off, the knitting itself will tell me.  I can see the stitches made when I completed the last row of knitting and that's the best clue to the stitches required for the next row.

Here's a picture of the scarf.  It looks good on either side, so there's really no front or back side.  It's about 15" long at this point.  I want it to be much longer.  At least long enough to be able to wrap once or twice around the neck.  The yarn is so soft and combines wool and silk, so will be a great insulator against wind or cold.

Those needles are the best.  Aero from England.  I bot
them in New Zealand many years ago.  The yarn slides nicely
without being out of control.  These are 6mm or 10US.

The scarf pattern is at this link:  Universal Scarf.  Designer calls for 18 stitches using needles suggested for the yarn you select.  I wanted something a bit wider so added stitches in sets of 3.  Working the pattern does require some attention.  It's a rib, sort of.  But it's a combination of K2 p1 and then P2, K1.  So it's not symmetrical for your brain.  It's much easier to get your brain around two of each type of stitch OR one of each, but mixing them is a cognitive challenge now and then.  Try it and you'll see what I mean.

Meanwhile I've also begun a wonderful cowl.   It's Mosaic by Bernat. And I picked up another ball from the stash, leftover from a sweater and tried it on the cowl pattern.  Can't decide which side is which, if you can believe that.  It looks very close to Shaker Knitting and maybe Brioche stitch -- but not quite.  Still it's interesting.  Here's the leftover yarn sample.

Just a bit of the beginning -- I'll keep going just to get enough
'fabric' so I can decide if I like the yarn in this stitch.

Back to the hand-warmers -- I'm getting ahead of myself.  I have another ball of Andean silk in the stash, in cream.  May try the Magic Loop method and finish both of them at one time.  Lots of loose ends and two balls of yarn to manage.  And I have only one ball, which means right away I have to re-wind and separate.    I might try pulling one thread from the outside of the ball and the other from the inside, but that can create such a tangle.

All of these wonderful projects and more are wandering around in my brain.  I have toooo much yarn and toooo many ideas.   But I'm having sooooo much fun.  The couch is covered in books and knitting tools.  The coffee table is strewn with scissors and bits of yarn and another book.  I've made this wonderful knitting nest for myself right in the middle of the room.  How great is that!?!?

Embellishing the Hat

Remember when I said the hat was a done deal?  Well . . . it wasn't, not exactly.

Lots of finishing 'chores' to do --

• Weave in all the loose ends on the back side
• Finish a top-knot thingy for the crown of the cap
• Add reverse crochet to the edge of the hat

The top-knot thingy is made of I-cord.  Check YouTube for instructions here.  I decided to make several bits of cord and then loop them in and out of one another as I attached each cord to the top of the hat.  And of course I had to use all three colors that appear in the stripes.

Three different cords, using either one or two colors per cord.

The I-cords look like this.  The solid pink one is already attached to the hat.  The other two have loose threads at each end which I will weave from front right side of the hat to the back to attach the cords to the cap.  (Of course, this process also adds to the number of loose ends that must be woven into the backside to anchor and hide all the threads.)  At the same time I will interlace the cords so the top-knot thingy is interesting and unique.

I-Cord, using DPN and 3 stitches.  Check Nancie Wiseman's
book of Finishing Techniques.  Great book.

I didn't like the bottom edge of the cap.  Just the edge of pink ribbing and it seemed boring.  So I got out Nancie's book and looked up "reverse crochet."  It's a weird stitch because you work it around the edge sort of behind yourself.  Check it out on YouTube where someone will have all the details.  Here's a link to Reverse Single Crochet.

Needs to be steamed a bit but I like the look.

I can now say, truthfully, that the hat really is a done deal.  I have the pile of orts to show for it.  Nancie's book is indispensable, with clear pictures.  Each technique has a list of pros and cons which can help you decide if that technique will work for your item.  Exceptional book, perhaps one of the very best I've ever added to my resource shelf.

My scissors, darning needle, and pile of thread ends
after completing all the weaving in.

The scissors in the pocket are in the cover photo.
My scissors, from Germany, are almost buried in the
pile of thread ends.

Sure am glad this one's finally really over.  It's cure and colorful, but that last bit of work -- weaving in and embellishing -- is just plain tedious.  Nancie even suggests a glass of wine to help the chore seem less a chore.  You gotta do this part or you'll never have a finished item.  But it's my least favorite part of the process.  I think most knitters will agree.

This bit of tedium is right up there with scrubbing grout in the shower -- nothing much fun about it except for the anticipation of a finished, hand-knit item and/or a very clean shower.  Good things come to those who can outlast the tedium.

Matched Set

As it says in the pattern intro for these fingerless gloves, they will keep your hands warm while you are "typing or knitting."  These are Andean Silk from Knit Picks, alpaca, silk and merino.  This yarn is just splendiferous -- there's no other word for it.

Finished one.  This is a test -- now that the discovery is complete (new pattern, new stitch combo, etc.) will I be an adult knitter and cast on for the second one.  Will I knit to the completion of a second hand-warmer?

The thumb hole was simple.  Bind off 4 stitches and then
cast them on again in the next row around.
Challenge is to keep with the wavy pattern, an offset rib.
Background is the mohair scarf in Darliss' yarn, pattern
from Whit's Knits at Purl Bee.

Pattern from One Skein Wonders, by WEBS, in NH.  This is a another favorite site for me.  I like the extensive offerings of yarn from practically all makers and all weights and styles.  The sales are really good if you follow them on Facebook.  WEBS

Yes, the second hand warmer IS on the needles, along with a matching scarf.  Here's all three together with the elves (who, sadly, do not knit . . .)

Completed handwarmer at the top (with the nutcracker in
the thumb spot.)  On the gray needles a scarf.  Santa is
resting in the beginning of hand warmer 2.

Love this scarf pattern and have made it once before.  It works well on variegated or solids.  It looks good from either side and the selvedge (edge) stitches keep it flat so it doesn't curl up into a tube.  It's the Universal Scarf from Interweave.  Free pattern.

Use any needle size suggested by the weight of the yarn.
I'm using US10 (6mm) with a worsted weight that's
just a bit fluffy.

The magic of the pattern is that 18 stitches will get you a scarf that's wonderful.  I wanted something just a bit wider so added stitches in groups of 3 (the repeat part of the pattern.)

The collection will keep the recipient warm, even in a cold office while typing or phoning.  And texting will be easy since fingers are available.  The hand warmers work up very quickly since they are on a larger needle (US8/5mm) and the thumb hole is just a big buttonhole.  Bind off 4 stitches and on the next round put them back on.  Nothing elaborate; the wavy stitch pattern speaks volumes.

Details show the wave.  Clever stitch pattern:  P2, K4 for 4 rounds.
Then offset the same stitch repeat by shifting things just one stitch.
Works very nicely in the round.

In between wool knitting I returned to the pima cotton white shawl and added another repeat of the initial pattern over the shoulders.  It's even more satisfying than I remembered.  It's moving along nicely; another couple of pattern repeats and I can begin knitting from the second chart of delicate lace.

Celebrations!  I found my favorite little ruler.  Yes, it was stuck in a book as a place-holder.  I think it was in the Sowerby Victorian Lace.  See, there's a great reason to keep multiple projects on the needles:  when you return to one that's been idle for a bit, you discover you're close to a next fun pattern and you find an accessory that you suspected of having run off with the missing needles.  Some people's knitting stuff . . .

Another Experiment -- hand warmers

That title makes me sound like a mad scientist, doesn't it?!  No test tubes or bunsen burners or toxic chemicals, but lots and lots of testing and trying and searching for answers.  Mad?  You decide.

Those fingerless gloves (aka hand warmers) were shouting my name and begging me to cast them onto needles so they could come alive.  Picked Andean Silk from Knitpicks, soft and warm, worsted weight, alpaca, silk and merino wool.  Just plain yummy!

I finally got to this point -- but only after several different approaches.  Like wandering around a new city as a tourist: you get to see a lot, but your feet can get tired and you may get lost.  Still . . .

Didn't get 'here' without some detours.  Finally decided to use
the double pointed needles (DPN).
Can you see "the wave" in the ribbing pattern?
This is another from One Skein Wonders.

First I decided to teach myself another new technique.  Great idea -- put two socks or two hand-warmers (anything that requires a pair to be knitted) onto two needles and knit both of them at once.  This is supposed to guarantee against the insidious and cruel "one sock syndrome."  Yes, I have one sock sitting in some UFO box somewhere.  Sounds like a good idea -- knit both of the pair at one time.

Two at a time technique from this book by Antje Gillingham.
The explanations are fabulous; the diagrams are clear and real pictures.
I was able to use each step to get both hand warmers onto
two needles.

But I lost patience quickly.  Each hand warmer has only 30 stitches and using this new technique I felt like I spent more time moving yarn around and untangling.  Just not worth it for this item.  I can, however, definitely see the advantage for socks with finer yarn and more stitches.  I will try it again.

Converted both hand warmers to one long circular needle and tried that.  If you wanna learn more, go to YouTube and search for Magic Loop Method.  Lots of folks can show you.  Here's what they look like on the one long needle.

Even that drove me crazy.  Dividing the 30 stitchesmeans 15 on each side.  And still, I'm managing two balls of yarn and turning the needles back and forth and sliding stitches.  Groan.  Reminded me of the afghan squares I finished several years ago.  32 squares sat dormant for at least 10 years (now THAT is a UFO, readers!).  When I realized I needed only four, yes 4, squares I took four balls of yarn and cast on stitches for each of the remaining squares.  Had to sit quietly on the couch with two balls of yarn on each side of my feet and be very, very careful every time I finished one row to turn around and go back.  The afghan is wonderful but that 4-at-a-time was just painful.

Converted again, this time to DPN -- and will do one hand warmer at a time.  It's much more satisfying.  The project is now portable -- just one ball of yarn and 4 DPN's.  The pattern can be memorized after just a row or two.  Knitting around means I only turn the entire thing about 1/3 the way counterclockwise as I finish the 10 stitches on one needle and begin the next set.

This is 30 stitches in total, with 10 on each DPN.
The needle on the right is beginning to knit off the stitches from
the needle just below.  Needles are about the size of a pencil.
US8, worsted weight yarn

I'm finally enjoying this and expect to finish both hand warmers within a few days.  The wool will make them warm and the silk and alpaca will make them soft.

The wavy pattern is visible.  You can compare the pencil
to the needles and the yarn to get an idea of the size of each.

Mad or not, this knitting geek found a way to make the project work.  This time the yarn is right for the project.  This time I learned a new technique to try again later.  

Sometimes it's valuable to be a bit mad -- pick up your sticks and try something new.  You'll surely find some sanity in the process.  Life lesson again?  Gotta take a few detours to discover your true path.