Then, let me point out the awesomeness of the knitting.
That's an illusion scarf. Viewed at the right angle (nearly horizontally) it's a piano keyboard. And yes, the black keys are grouped correctly in sets of twos and threes.
Otherwise, it's just a striped scarf. Nifty, huh?
The pattern is Counterpoint from magknits. As soon as I saw the pattern, I knew I had to make it, and luckily, my best friend of many years has played piano for even longer. She asked for Cubs socks, but she got this, because I'd already started it.
It was kind of slow going at first, because sometimes I get cranky when I have to use a pattern. Suddenly though, the illusion pattern clicked and it went much faster (though not that fast, because I was still knitting on it furiously until about half an hour before she showed up). I had done an illusion pattern before (the alien scarf from Stitch 'n Bitch), but it was a very detailed chart. The trouble with detailed charts is that they show you the pattern, but not the technique. Now, I think I get it, and could probably design my own illusion pattern. This is a good thing, because a lot of the illusion patterns that do exist are crappy. Prepare for something cool.
The other advantage here is that it is made from Cascade 220 superwash, emphasis on the superwash. Kelli managed to spit beer on it within the first few hours of wearing it.
This probably deserves explanation.
You see, Kelli wanted chocolate cake for some reason, but that would have required going out, and that sounded like effort. I was trying to convince her to satisfy her sweet tooth without leaving, with Christmas cookies in particular. Somehow this led to me talking in the Cookie Monster voice (which I was hitting right on at that moment). And I said (as in the opening to "C is for Cookie"), "Let's think of other things that start with C," to which she immediately responded, "Chocolate Cake!"
But again, in perfect Cookie Monster voice, I said, "But it is not as a good as a cookie!" It's always good to time funny things just when someone is about to take a drink, because she spit beer all over the place. The scarf survived. Her sweater did not take the hit quite as well, but also survived.
Anyway, she needed a scarf, and the illusion pattern is always a fun party trick. She won't let up about the Cubs socks, though. I guess she knows what she's getting for her birthday.
In summary:
Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash, 1 skein black, 1 skein white
Pattern: Counterpoint from magknits
Needles: US 7 (4.5 mm)
Time: Entirely too long
2 comments:
When I made that Dark Mark scarf, I had to read about twenty patterns to really understand the how to do it. I just didn't get it from that pattern. About a week later on top of that DIY reaired the Illusion knits of Knitty Gritty. That helped tons too!
Illusion socks - here we come!!!
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