Sun 18 Aug 2019
Back in February, I started a blog post about the Waving Ribs sweater. It was a stash knit, using some Briar Rose Seapearl that I bought back in 2014. It had tried and failed to be many things, but I finally got a stitch pattern I loved with the yarn.
Sadly, by the time I had finished knitting the sweater front, it was clear that I didn’t have quite enough yarn to make a full sweater with long sleeves, and I know from experience that I never use short-sleeved sweaters. And so, I ripped it back, removed a repeat or two, and knit a scarf instead. Six months later, I have a new piece to add to my work wardrobe.
The stitch pattern is one that I worked out myself, though I’m sure I’ve seen it before somewhere. It’s an offset rib, with a repeat of 32 rows. You work one block of 2×2 rib, then one block of 1×1 rib, repeating across a row, and then increase/decrease at the transition rows to switch from one to the other. I knit 16 rows straight, decreased to 2×1/increased to 1×2, knit 8 rows, decreased to 1×1/increased to 2×2, and knit for another 16 rows. The only hard thing about it was making sure that the increase/decreases were worked on the right side of the piece, so that the same set of stitches was increasing/decreasing on the same side of the fabric each time. The pattern pops beautifully in such a shiny yarn.
I did go to a couple of yarn shops looking for the perfect navy blue yarn for the next project (my work wardrobe has a lot of blue in it, and I could use some more accessories in that department), but I didn’t find what I wanted. I’m really trying to focus on knitting from the stash anyway, so I cast on for another simple garter stitch scarf instead. The yarn is a Merino/Cashmere/Nylon blend from Sun Valley fibers (colorway: Canyon) that I purchased back in Madison at a knitting guild meeting (or possibly at the Sow’s Ear…not 100% sure which), making it from 2011 or 2010. Pattern is simple: yet another garter stitch triangle knit from the corner, with a few rows of k2tog/yo eyelets thrown in where I feel like they fit.
I originally bought the skein to mix with a more variegated handpaint in the stash, but I’ve been finding that fairly basic scarves are more wearable, so I kept it simple. I’m loving the color, and it’s knitting up fast (I used size 3 needles for both projects). It’s nice to have a project with some momentum again; here’s hoping I can keep it up!
I adore Seapearl. It is one of my very favorite yarns. I actually have two skeins of it in a lovely dusty purple, just begging to be something wonderful (when my stash is unpacked and I’m not knitting a college blanket!). I really love the way it looks with that stitch pattern – it’s a perfect match! Here’s hoping the momentum continues 🙂