Swan Dive Scarf

Hello friends!

You may remember me writing about all the new patterns I had been working on over the last few months? Well here is the first of the new series!

The Swan Dive Scarf is stylish and easy to wear and fast and easy to make :-) 
Short rows and simple increases combine to make a deep v-shaped scarf. 
When worn “Highwayman” style (with the point at the front) it keeps your neck and chest lovely and warm from chilly winter winds. 
The Swan Dive Scarf is suitable for both men and women, making it the perfect go-to pattern when you need a last minute gift :-)

Materials: 
5mm 100-120cm circular knitting needles. 
240-250m 8 ply or DK yarn in Main Colour 
50-60m contrast yarn for Pom Poms (optional) 
Tools to make Pom Pom (optional) 
Tapestry needle to weave in yarn ends 
1 stitch marker

Tension/Gauge: 15 sts & 28 rows = 10cm (4”) Although tension is not essential to the outcome of this scarf it is important to use a slightly larger needle than you would normally need for your yarn to create a slightly loose fabric so that your scarf has a nice drape :-)

 The pompoms are optional, of course, but I think they might be my favourite part! :-) The yarn I used to make this sample is DK or 8 ply Cameo (wool/angora) from Bendigo Woollen Mills for the main grey colour. The pompoms are made using Bendigo Woollen Mills Classic that I hand dyed using Landscape Dyes in Sulphur Yellow :-) You can find this pattern on Ravelry, Etsy and Craftsy :-)

Owl Wool

Hello friends!
This week I have been trying to figure out what I am going to wear to a costume party on the weekend. I had lots of ideas, some of which were a fox, Wednesday Addams, Where's Wally (or Waldo, depending on where you're from), or an owl :-)
I decided that an owl would be the most fun.... so I have been searching through my extensive collection of crafty bits and pieces and have found some very owly things...
I didn't know how I was going to make the wings. I knew I didn't want anything too cumbersome or anything too structured. I don't know if you've ever worn "wings" to a party before, but it's a pain to have to manoeuvre through a crowd with big, inflexible wings, it's hard to sit down, it's tricky trying to get in and out of a taxi, etc, etc hehehe. They might look fabulous, but they're impractical. So, then I had the idea that I would KNIT some wings.... semi-crazy, but I hope it's going to be a good idea...
So I have dyed some wool, pictured above. It's a semi-solid cool brown colour. The official name of the dye is WOMBAT, and it's pretty accurate as a wombat colour. It's a Landscape Dye that I got from KraftKolour, who have a fabulous range of dyes of all varieties (they also have outstanding customer service and fast shipping :-)
The wool I'm using is Bendigo Woollen Mills Classic 12 ply, which is soft and squishy and chunky :-)
And the pattern I'm using is Temporale Dorato, which is a free pattern on Ravelry. It's gorgeous! I think it sort of looks like feathers...? I am modifying the pattern a  little bit so that it buttons up the front (so I can flap it around like wings :-) I'll write about the modifications when it's done, as a few people have tried to modify it in the same way and appear to have run into a few problems... I also ran into a few problems when I was trying to figure out how to modify it as well.... It took a lot of Maths power to figure it out!
Have you made any fun/crazy/successful/unsuccessful patterns lately? What have you made? Share in the comments!

Work In Progress 15.06.2010

I managed to do a bit more of my scarf/shawl last night (although I am a bit slow, as I have injured my hand). I think I'm about 25% of the way through to the finished product, so I can't really complain about that progress :-)

Maybe I'll have it finished sooner than I think?!

See my previous post for more information about this project :-)