Thanks

Sue Dean kindly sent us the pattern for the Cabled Keyhole Scarf she knit for herself (and the Big Contest).  Thank you, Sue, but the pattern is for sale here, and so we can't share it. The scarf is knit in Nautilus:

Belfast is a small town, so we happen to know Sue finished this scarf over a week ago but hadn't gotten around to taking a photo. Don't let that happen to you by Friday at midnight, for by then, the contest will be over!

Little Monsters

Today's entries are both knit up in the colorway Little Monsters. Betsy Schubert knit up a pair of Juniper Mitts. She has renamed them Beachcomber Mitts:

Jen Simoneau knit up this Lacy Waves Scarf:

One week to go!!!

Only one more week until the drawing for the Big Contest.

Mary Kelley, who purchased her yarn at In The Loop when Amy did the trunk show there, wrote: "Since the name Nautilus comes from the Greek meaning "sailor," I worked my scarf in a traditional Sailor's Rib using a 31 stitch cast on. I doubted, the entire time I was knitting, that one skein would be sufficient, but after gentle blocking, I find it to be a perfect length. I think my new sailor rib scarf will be one of the few things I keep for myself, I doubt I will be able to part with it. Thanks for making such a quality fiber." Thank you, Mary! Here's her scarf:

  

Sailor's Rib is a lovely, simple-to-do stitch. Here's how:

Cast on a multiple of 5 stitches plus 1.

Row 1 K1B *P1, K2, P1, K1B* repeat from *

Row 2 P1 *K1, P2, P1* repeat from *

Row 3 K1B *P4, K1B* repeat from *

Row 4 P1 *K4, P1* repeat from *

For you newbies out there, K1B means "knit one through back loop."

Mary Kelley emailed us, and recommended that if you slip the last stitch on every wrong side row as if to purl with the yarn in front, it eliminates the "little loopy stitch with otherwise forms along one edge." Thanks, Mary!

Naomi Foran knit Diana Hannas Birthday Cowl.  Naomi says this cowl only used a half skein of yarn! She sent us this close-up photo:

Keep those entires coming, folks! 

Tick tock. . .tick tock. . .

For those of you to young to remember, back in the olden days clocks used to make a sound that people called "tick tock."

Okay, it's too warm out for us Mainers to make any attempts at humor!

But, the clock is ticking; there's 11 days left to knit or crochet something for the Big Contest! We happen to know there's many of you who haven't sent your photos in yet.

The latest entries are. . .Sea Star knit by Betsy Schubert in the colorway Little Monsters:

EviePants knit by Jenn Steingass in Nautilus:

Beth Collins knit this hat in Mamma Mia, and you can find the pattern on her blog, Demonic Progress:

Happy July! (more entries!)

From Liz Vigorito, the Romney Kerchief:

Sue Black knit up this hat and little bag in the same color way. Isn't that neat?

Diana Rasmussen knit up this Palindrome Scarf, a reversible pattern:

Keep those entires coming in, folks! We're loving it!

There's 18 days left, folks!

No, the world isn't coming to an end, but the contest will be on July 15th! That's right. You've got 18 days left to knit or crochet something and simply send us a photograph to be entered to win the Big Contest. A few folks have taken this very seriously. Linda Hanford tells us she's used up all her skeins of 60/40 alpaca. Here's her latest, and last, entries:

A Hurricane Hat for herself (she's already made one for dear hubby), a pair of fingerless mitts, and a 

Bainbridge scarf:

Irlanda Isabel Corrales has also sent in another entry! Here's her crocheted neck warmer:

So, folks, get those needles clicking!

A shawl from Edna's Bounty

Linda Hanford's knitting needles must be on fire! In addition to her sending us contest entries, she's still got time for other knitting projects. Here's her Brandywine Shawl:

A close-up (obviously!):

Another 198 Yards of Heaven

Naomi Foran knit up another 198 Yards of Heaven Shawlette for our Big Contest (!) in the color Wood Nymph.

She's a busy bee

We've received two more entries from Linda Hanford. Here's her "scarf with no name:"

And the Traveling Woman scarf:

More entries!

It's so much fun seeing what people have made with one skein our Good Karma yarn! Keep those entries coming, folks!

Linda Hanford knit and modeled this Hurricane Hat, which she made for her husband:

Naomi Foran used a skein of Winter Sky to knit the 198 Yards of Heaven shawlette:

If you're not a member of Ravelry, the last link will not work. Another good reason to become a Ravelry member!

Faerie Garden Scarf

Congratulations and a big thank you go out to Lynn Swiriduk, who sent us not only a photograph of her Faerie Garden Scarf, but a detailed set of instructions for her creative design. You can find them here.

Lynn knit her creation in Sweetheart and she wrote, "I used all but 5 yards of the skein." 

I don't know how long it took her to make the scarf, but she said, of the instructions, "I think it took longer to write them down than to actually knit the scarf." 

"And our first contestant is. . ."

Congrats to Gracey for being the first person to send in her contest photograph! She bought her skein of Mamma Mia at the Rhode Island Sheep and Wool Festival.

Gracey said, "I made a cowl of my own design..it's pretty simple and used most of the skein...there's about 96 inches left, enough to make a crocheted flower...." 

The Nautilus Scarf

This new colorway of yarn inspired me. It reminded me of our Belfast coastline - blue water and pebbles, bits of crumbled old sidewalk, and foundations of buildings never built or built long ago. I set out to make a one skein project, and having made quite enough fingerless mitts for a while, a scarf was in order, a long scarf, one that was perhaps more decorative than useful.

I wanted the form to look organic, and indeed, it felt like the scarf was growing right off my knitting needles. Alas, it was not true, for I still had to knit 210 yards of yarn!

I'm not complaining. It was fun, but not as much fun as we had playing with it!

All coiled up, it looks like it might have grown here, along with the lichen:

And yes, it functions quite well as a scarf. Amy will be happen that I've cropped out her face to give you this close-up:

The pattern is here. It's oh-so easy to knit, even though, no, it doesn't magically knit itself. If we find out otherwise, we'll let you know!