Knitting Blog: For the men in my life

Two projects are featured here. One has been done for a while, but I didn't have a good picture of it on its recipient. The other project is one I finished yesterday, just in time to give it away.

The Studly Lace Scarf

This project is a combination of a pattern I liked and a hank of yarn I happened to have in my stash. The pattern was a dropped-stitch basketweave scarf in the spring/summer 2009 issue of Vogue Knitting, and was designed by Laura Bryant. The magazine shows it as a wide scarf, almost a shawl, in a delicate pink. The pattern has a cool feature: you deliberately drop certain stitches and let them run down from the top to the bottom of the scarf. A dreaded mistake is transformed into a design element.

The yarn I had was dark, shot through with yellow, reds and greens - a very different feeling. I also had only one skein. I decided to make the scarf narrower than designed, to make sure it would be as long as possible. I also knew that as much as I liked it as I was knitting it, this was not going to be for me, but for someone else. I just didn't know who.

Then one day, as I was knitting the scarf in the car, R. asked me quietly, "Will you knit me another scarf?"

The back story: twice before I had knit scarves to order for R. Both times he lost them, within weeks of receiving them. I had vowed I would never knit him another scarf.

As soon as he asked, though, I knew this scarf was for him, and christened it The Studly Lace Scarf.

Some details:



A close-up of the completed pattern, after the stitches are dropped.



Being blocked on my new blocking mats. I wet the scarf and stretched it to within an inch of its life, using metal wires and pins to pull out the fabric.



All nicely blocked.



And proudly modeled by its new owner. I'm hoping this one does not get lost! It is very fine and light, adding just a bit of extra warmth, so I hope R. simply leaves it on. It's when he takes the scarf off that it gets forgotten. Somehow my handknit scarves never seem to make it to the lost and found bin...

The Studly Socks

My other completed project is a pair of socks for my father. This project also has a back story. A couple of years ago I made him a pair of felted clog-style slippers.

And he hated them.

So this spring I reclaimed them, and told my father that I would replace them with a pair of handknit socks. I am visiting him next weekend, so I have been diligently working to get them done.

I have given the scorned clogs to my son's GF, who appreciates fuzzy warm things.

Here is a pic of the finished socks:



And a detail of the patterning:



They are called Cauchy Socks, named after a French mathematician. Very appropriate for my dad, who is a chemist. They were designed by Cookie A, and are found in her book Sock Innovations, one of the hottest knitting books to come out this year. This woman uses traditional construction techniques to create the most lushly patterned socks around. This pair is quite conservative, i.e. studly. My feet will be graced by some of her more ornate patterns in the future.

It's back to the endless shawl I've been working on. I'm also going to be swatching for another pair of socks. I'm joining Abhorsen327 in sock obsession. Socks provide so much knitting goodness and satisfaction in a small package.