Southern Snowfall: Pattern Notes

Sometimes I get sick of seeing myself on this blog all the time. I love taking pictures and it is really refreshing to have a chance to share photos of someone else. This particular photo session was a real treat, because my dear friend and knitting compatriot, Hope, is an elusive subject. She said, and I quote, "I trust you to choose the right photos to post."

This choosing of the photographs is a tough job. I did my best and picked shots that I like, but I know that Hope will probably be critical of how she looks regardless. When I choose photos I do my best to capture the nature of the subject. I liked these because they were either happy and engaging or a little contemplative. If you know Hope you will see that hint of nervousness at having her picture taken flitting across her eyes. These aren't perfect, but I think they capture a little of her very special spirit. Just in case she doesn't like them, though, I've tossed in a little bonus to even out the playing field. This is one of my favorite pics of myself, but it is goofy as all hell, and not one that you could call attractive. I'm guessing Hope will appreciate the effort. And now, without further ado, pattern notes for Southern Snowfall:

Southern Snowfall Scarf
MindofWinter QuickKnits
Knit with two skeins (150 yards/137m/skein) of Blue Sky Alpaca's Dyed Cotton (100% Organic Cotton) in color 614 "Drift", on size US8 Addi Turbo Circulars. I didn't take a gauge because this is a scarf, but 22 sts gave me a width of about 5 inches.
Size: 5 inches by about 6.5 feet - this is approximate, b/c I didn't measure the scarf before I gave it to Hope, but it was long.

Detail of the "right" side - I like the wrong side as well.The Pattern
This was the winter, spring, and early summer of the rectangle for me. Prior to this year I had knit two scarves in about 12 years. Between January of 2005 and February of 2006, I knit three. And the only thing I've finished since then is the River Stole - yet another rectangle. All of these scarves are in complicated-looking patterns and luscious yarns, so it makes for a very nice collection. Though rectangles aren't normally that exciting for me, these really allowed me to knit through a time when I simply couldn't concentrate.

Southern Snowfall came about when Hope generously gave me a skein of dyed cotton to swatch with to see if it would work for a design I had in mind. It didn't work for what I was planning, so I decided to play around a bit. When I hit upon this stitch pattern, I knew I had something that I liked. I just kept going, and made Hope a scarf for Valentine's Day.

It's named Southern Snowfall because it looks like a dusting of snow in the south, with the ground peeking through. It's also southern because the scarf is made of cotton, rather than wool. I think it would be gorgeous in a bulky alpaca single like Plymouth Baby Alpaca Grande or Misti Alpaca Chunky.

To make it, you simply cast on 22 sts and repeat these two rows:

Row 1: (RS) K3, *YO, sl1, K1, psso, K2; rep from * to last 3 sts, YO, sl1, K1, psso, K1.

Row 2: (WS) P3, *YO, P2tog, P2; rep from * to last 3 sts, YO, P2tog, P1.

I am a little obsessed with using every last bit of the yarn. With scarves, I knit an entire skein to see how much length I can get out of it. Once I've started knitting with the final skein, I cut the fringe from the outside end of the skein, and just knit to the bitter end. I never have more than 4-6 inches of yarn left.

Here's a tip for fringe: my standard fringe is three 12-inch strands of yarn per tassel, which means each tassel takes one yard of fiber. This makes a lush fringe and is an easy way to calculate the yardage needed for the fringe as well. In this case, I had 10 tassels at each end of the scarf, so I used a total of 20 yards of yarn, or a sixth of a skein. Neat trick, eh?

If you try it with alpaca, or a loosely spun wool, you might want to use bigger needles - I think the drape would be just lovely. The pattern has a repeat of 4+2, so you can cast on any multiple of 4 and then add 2 sts to get exactly the width that you want for the fiber you choose to work with. It would be pretty in fine yarn as well. Kidsilk could be yummy.

Still on the needles - you can see the reverse side well here.
Impressions of Blue Sky Dyed Cotton:
Organic cotton always has a slightly odd, papery feel for me on the needles. It is very lovely, and very organic-feeling, but there is an adjustment period. It's a grabby fiber, so I like using Addis to handle it. For a cotton, it behaves like a wool, in the sense that it seems lighter and less drapey than most cottons. It doesn't have memory or resilience like a wool, though. It gives a lovely result, and produces a unique fabric. I use it when I want a very natural, casual look. This particular line comes in really great colors. At the Knit Cafe we use it for baby items a lot - it makes beautiful blankets - but be forewarned that it is not machine washable. It has fabulous yardage, which makes it more of a bargain than the price tag indicates.

Possible substitute yarns:
I know that there are other organic cottons out there, but I can't think of a good substitute with the same fiber content and properties. Pachuko Organic Cotton is less soft, and has greater stitch definition, so although it's lovely in its own right, it is not truly a "substitute". Perhaps my commenters will have ideas. I assume there's probably a smaller regional company that produces organic cotton. If you know of a regional farm that makes something similar, please let me know below.

Wildflowers and Southern Snow

One of the things I've been sneakily trying to do over the last few months is get rid of all the WIPs on my needles - sort of a naked sticks by 2006 without actually announcing anything (because, of course, it's 2006 already). I'm closing in on that goal. You may remember that I started a scarf for my friend Hope earlier this fall. I had to lay it aside for a few months while other projects took over, but after Christmas I picked it up again with a vegeance:

This photo doesn't do it justice. The yarn is not at all grey, but instead a lovely oatmeal.

I wanted to finish it for Hope's birthday (which was Sunday!), but I have absolutely no hope of blocking it until our furniture and towels arrive, so that's a no-go. Instead, I'm following my latest scarfy bliss and continuing to knit until it is very, very, almost obscenely long, and then adding some luxurious fringe, the way I did with my so called scarf. I think luxury is a great attribute in a scarf.

The photo above curls around to show the right side and the wrong side. I'm starting to think I may prefer the wrong side. It's got kind of a lacey, snowflakey thing going on that appeals to me.

After I finish off my Southern Snowfall Scarf - it's a freebie, so you guys will get the "pattern", too - the only project I have left staring me in the face is River. When I get to that point I'll decide whether to forge ahead and finish before picking up anything new or to let her languish on the back burner. At this point, I'm thinking River may get shelved, as I have some important projects coming up with and for friends and my MIL that will need attending to soon. For such a lovely looking project, River unfortunately engenders a certain ennui.

Oh yeah, I said something about Wildflowers in the title, didn't I? I've spun up almost all of my 4 ounces of Wildflowers bfl and it looks like this:

Click here for a different view

This is even more thick and thin than my Tahiti and because I started spinning it a few months ago I stuck with the general plan and let it be overspun. This wouldn't be a problem if I decided to ply it, but I kind of like it as a singles yarn. Do any of you spinners out there have advice about knitting with overspun yarn? I've read that you can counteract overspinning by knitting through the back loop. At this point I could still ply, I suppose, but I think instead I will forge ahead and try the ktbl, unless you guys have other suggestions. Thick and thin and overspun aside, I love it! How fun!

Southern Snowfall

Here's a little something to distract you from the fact that I have not been knitting this week:

Click here to zoom out

I started this piece as a swatch a few months ago and liked it so much that I decided to keep going and make it into a scarf for my wonderful friend Hope. Hope gave me the yarn (Blue Sky Alpacas Organic Cotton) to play with as I was debating whether to purchase a huge pile of it for a bulky sweater. I ditched the sweater idea (well, at least for now), but I love the scarf. I call it Southern Snowfall because it reminds me of the snow we used to get in the tidewater of Virginia when I was growing up. Faint and delicate, with gaps where the sidewalk peaked through. A poetic scarf for a poetic friend.