Charmed Again Hitchhiker Scarf

Don't you just love a pattern that you use over and over again?  Sitting in your favorite knitting spot, a simple pattern at the ready, needles making their soothing, clacking noise.  Watching the yarn reveal itself as you complete row after row.  This is one of those patterns.

And one of those yarns.  I posted a few weeks ago about my yarn shop visits while on vacation in St. Louis, Missouri and Nashville, Tennessee.  Rachels Dyeabolical yarn is a dream to work with.  It is sock yarn, so it has great stretch and her dyeing skills really shine.

Shades of black, grey, brown and cream are perfect for me as those are the only colors in my closet.  Simple garter stitch make it an easy pattern and the little points keep you interested.

I'm a big fan of beads and charms and this is my second Hitchhiker using them.  You might recall my first charmed scarf here using worsted weight yarn and larger needles.  The beads and charms are knitted in as you go with the help of a little crochet hook.  You can also sew them on when you have finished the scarf.  I used 2 skeins of Dyeabolical Strong Arm Skinny sock in Queen's Tea.  400 yards in each skein.  US size 4 needles 32" circulars.

Here's a link to show the beading using a crochet hook: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Nrgyqwg2Lw
You can find the pattern if you visit Martina Behm on Ravelry.  She has a nice variety of patterns for all skill levels.  Hitchhiker is one of my favorites.

Have a great week,
Sheila

See my latest Pins below

Link Party!

Welcome to my first link party!  I am a new linky user and hopefully I have done it all correctly.  So, jump in and share your crafty goodness.

Be sure to come back next week to see if you have made it "Above the Fold". For you younger followers, the term, "above the fold"  is newspaper language used for those stories that have made it to the top of the front page, above the fold of the newspaper!

Below is a linky list if you’d like to link up and join the party.

(1) Make sure the link you submit is to the URL of your blog post or your specific Flickr photo and not your main blog URL or Flickr Photostream. 

(2) Include a link back to this post in your blog post or on your flickr photo page so that others who may want to join the party can find us!

No Etsy stores or other link parties. Just blog posts to your actual projects.

Knit and Fabric Boxes

 

I just love storage boxes!  Plastic, knitted, crocheted, ceramic, wood, you name it.  They keep things so neat and tidy.  If you are a knitter, crocheter or sewist, you know what I mean.  We have all sorts of bits and bobs that need a home.  This pattern you can find in Susan B. Anderson's book Itty Bitty Nursery.

I think this is some Alexander Henry fabric I had leftover from one of my Crochet Reversible Baby Blanket pattern.  Use bigger/smaller needles and fatter/skinnier yarn to make them as big/small as you like!

I used cardboard in between the knitted side and the fabric to make them sturdy.  Susan suggests plastic canvas as they then can be washed.  You can turn the smallest box into a pin cushion as I did.

They'd be great in the bathroom storing cotton balls, lotion, makeup brushes and the like.

Perfect on the baby changing table too.

She shows them and baby blocks, but, as my "baby" is almost 21, I use them for storage.  Easy to knit and a piece of cake to convert to crochet.  Also a great use of fabric scraps.

If you look close at the bottom right corner, you can see them featured in Australia's Shop 4 Kids Magazine 2011.  Always nice to be featured in a cute publication.

Have a great week,

Sheila

See my latest pins below

Local Yarn Shops Vacation

Just LOOK at this yummy yarn I found in St. Louis, Missouri at the lovely Ewe Knit Yarns!   As an added bonus, the yarn dyer herself, Rachel was in the shop!  What a great pleasure it was to meet her and have a little chat.  That's Rachel below in the black top giving a knitting lesson to one lucky girl.  It really makes the yarn so very special when you have a memory to attach to it, don't you think?  This DyeabolicalYarn Strong Arm Skinny sock yarn is hand dyed superwash merino with the most make-you-smile name.....Queen's Tea.

I do like to buy local when visiting yarn shops during my travels.  I was in St. Louis, my home town, to meet my cousins for a trip to Nashville, Tn.  Above is another local dyer, Skeined Alive Dyed and Gone To Heaven in Stop Saying That.  It also is a superwash merino sock yarn.  Gorgeous autumn  colors in this one.

Above is the shop.  It was a bit nippy outside to do any yarnings, but the inside.....

was full of cute baskets holding all the squishy goodness that I can't resist!  I love the little hanging baskets holding even more!  The owners and customers were so very nice and eager to help with a question or just to chat.  You can't say that about every yarn shop.

I also bought a lovely shawl pin.  I was wearing my Crocodile Stitch Shawl and really needed something to hold it while wearing as a shawl and not a scarf.  I got more attention wearing that shawl everywhere I went!  The airport was full of gawkers.  The female TSA agents caused quite a stir all rushing up to me!  The men TSA agents were quite alarmed for a second.

The next stop was Kirkwood Knittery.  I love these buttons, so colorful and big at 2" across.  They are destined to be used to hold a shawl instead of a shawl pin.

Off to Nashville we go!  Now, I'm pretty sure no one is interested in my ramblings about the full size replica of the Parthenon in Greece that's in Nashville....or President Andrew Jackson's home....or The Grand Ol' Opry....or The Gaylord Hotel (the largest hotel in the USA without a casino)....or Corky's Bar-B-Q!  However, they were all GREAT and if you are in Nashville, they are definitely worth your time.

I did, of course, find a yarn shop!  Bliss Yarns hooked me up with this local dyer in Mountain City, Tn...Miss Babs.  Yowza-Whatta Skein in Awesome.  And it is!  Superwash, hand painted and 560 yards!  WOW!

AND in the 1/2 off sale bin.....Cascade Yarns 128 tweed.

Bliss Yarns was full of people shopping and knitting.  I saw two full tables and there was a table tucked around the corner full of ladies chatting away in their southern drawl.  My cousins had a bit of a struggle with the accent, but my husband, daughter and I lived in Memphis for a couple years, so I felt right at home!  They were so very helpful and just a pleasure to visit with.  When you travel to a yarn shop out of your area, be sure to tell them you are out of town, they love to show you local goods.

Well, that was my trip.  Now I am back to bill paying, laundry, my morning job and snow!  Spring can't come too soon for me!

Have a great week,
Sheila