Crochet Lacy Scarf (Joey群編2007年12月秀氣蕾絲圍巾)

Yarn: Lang Venezia Color (50% mohair 50% acrylic), color #0150 Blue/Purple Variegated - 2 balls (142yd [130m] / 50g)
Pattern: Joey's Knitting House KAL
Needles: Clover E 3.5 mm crochet hook
Size: 7 3/4" wide x 41 1/2" long
Duration: 2007/12/06 - 2007/12/08

線材: Lang Venezia Color (50% 毛海 50% 壓克力), 色號#0150 藍紫段染 - 2 球 (142yd [130m] / 50g)
圖樣: Joey編織の屋 96/12群編會活動-圈起來的愛
針號: 3.5 mm 鉤針
尺寸: 寬 20 cm, 長 105 cm
製作日期: 2007/12/06 - 2007/12/08



Finally, I was able to report this project as finished to the KAL in a timely fashion. For once. Both previous projects took me a while to complete, I was always near the bottom of the finish list. This project is quick and simple. It took me about 2 days (total of maybe about 6-7 hours). Crochet lace does work up much faster than knitting as far as the time it takes to cover the same surface area.

哈!這次是我最快交功課的一次. 前兩個作業都拖了好久才交, 每次都吊車尾. 這條圍巾織來簡單又快, 花了兩天的時間 (用帶小孩作家事的空檔, 共約6-7小時吧?). 鈎針蕾絲還是比棒針來得快, 同樣的大小, 用棒針可能需要多一倍的時間 (以我的龜速來算的話...)

I love the lace design of this scarf. So delicate and pretty.
我很喜歡這條圍巾的蕾絲圖樣, 很細緻的感覺.



For this project, I decided to find something from my stash to work with since the yarn requirement isn't as strict (well, it is a scarf, I don't have to worry about gauge too much) and I don't need a whole lot of yarn. I picked these two balls of Lang Venezia Color, originally intended for the Reading-in-Bed Shrug but didn't work out. I have had a hard time trying to use up these two balls of yarn ever since, and this project seemed to be the right fit. However, this yarn is scratchy. Although I love the colors, I did not enjoy working with it. I couldn't even get it to feed smoothly from my left hand while I crochet, and I have never had this kind of problems with other yarns. It is a bit itchy too on my neck, maybe not the best choice for a scarf.

這次用的線是我從庫存裡翻出來的, 反正是圍巾嘛, 大小尺寸可隨意, 密度就不需要太刻求, 用線量也不大. 這兩球線是以前打算用來織TKA的蕾絲小外套, 試了織片後發現效果不佳, 之後就擱著不知道怎麼把它消耗掉. 這次看到這條小圍巾, 我就想到了這組線. 顏色我是很喜歡, 不過呢, 這線的質感實在是不太好, 很澀的感覺, 在鈎的時候左手繞線常常有滑不動的情況, 卡卡的, 我用別的線時從來就沒有這種情況發生. 這組毛海圍在脖子上有點刺癢, 實在不太適合做圍巾.



The original design of this scarf is very short, only 84 cm (33 inches) long. Trying to use up the yarn, I made the scarf a bit longer. It was difficult to gauge how much yarn I would need for the lace edging. Not wanting to have to unravel (this is mohair after all, I had a really hard time trying to unravel just two rows when I made a mistake), I decided to stop the main body lace after I had gone into only 1/3 of the 2nd ball, and started the lace edging. It turned out I didn't need that much yarn after all. When it was all done, I still have about 1/4 of a ball left, enough for another 4 inches of the main body lace. Oh well. Right now, the length isn't too bad, it is enough to wrap around my neck and tie a knot in front. Another few inches would have been nice, but this works too. And the good thing is, I used up another set of yarn from my stash, yeah!

原設計的長度很短, 只有84cm長. 本來想儘量把這兩球線用完, 能織多長就織多長. 不過實在是不知道緣邊的蕾絲會用多少線, 很怕到最後不夠要拆. 這組毛海拆起來是很痛苦的, 我有一次小小織錯拆了兩段, 才短短兩段就拆的線打結連剪刀都出動了. 所以第二球只用了1/3, 我就決定開始織緣邊蕾絲. 結果其實不需要那麼多線, 整條圍巾織完還剩1/4球的線, 夠再織個10cm. 現在這個長度也還不錯, 夠脖子圍住前面打個結, 如果能再長一點點就很完美了! 最驕傲的是, 庫存裡又少了一組線啦!



I was also eyeing another design in this month's KAL - the white scarf with the spirals at the ends. Now this one is done, I am gonna try to see if I have suitable yarn in my stash to take on that project.

其實這個月的另ㄧ條捲捲/螺仔肉圍巾我也很喜歡呢, 有時間再去翻翻庫存看有沒有合適的線可用, 這次可要挑比較柔軟的線材了.

Turtleneck Shrug

Yarn: Rowan Kid Classic (70% lambswool, 26% kid mohair, 4% nylon), color #835 Royal - 4 balls (153yd [140m] / 50g)
Pattern: Scarf Style
Needles: Addi Turbo US size 7 (4.5mm) / 24" (60cm) & KnitPicks Options US size 7 (4.5mm) / 24" (60cm) circulars
Size: Sleeve to sleeve 61"
Duration: 2007/10/15 - 2007/12/05

線材: Rowan Kid Classic (70% 羊毛, 26% 毛海, 4%尼龍), 色號#835 深紫 - 4 球 (153yd [140m] / 50g)
圖樣: Scarf Style
針號: 兩組4.5mm/60cm輪針
尺寸: 兩袖緣之間長 155 cm
製作日期: 2007/10/15 - 2007/12/05

I had wanted to make this shrug for at least more than a year now. I bought the yarn from way back and just somehow forgot about it. Until recently when I was going through my stash, I rediscovered this project. I felt a bit guilty about it. I have been buying a lot of new pattern books and new yarn, while I have tons of projects waiting to be casted on in my stash. I made a promise that when and if I start a project with new yarn, I must also finish one of the older projects from my stash. I used to keep track of my projects in an Excel spreadsheet, but it got so big and cumbersome that I just gave up. I thought, I'll just knit whatever comes to mind. But this, could also be dangerous, I may never finish knitting my stash.

想織這個作品想很久了, 線買好放了至少有一年多, 後來不經意地把它給忘了. 前一陣子整理毛線時看到, 小小的罪惡感了一下, 決定從現在開始, 每做一個新project, 也要同時消耗一個舊project. 我庫存裡的舊projects可多了, 本來還打進Excel裡做記錄, 後來實在是多到我自己都懶得整理懶得看. 就隨性一點吧, 想織什麼就織什麼.



The design of this shrug/scarf is very unique, but knitting it could be quite boring. The never-ending repeats of k3 and p3. I was just about running out of patience when I finished both sleeves. Good thing I got other projects on the needles to keep me going. Whenever I felt like I've had enough with this thing, I just switched to another project and then came back to this shrug later. But when I finished the Upside-Down Sweater and was waiting for it to dry on the blocking board (which took 4 days!) I had nothing else to play with except this, I had to try to stay focused to finish it.

這件shrug兼圍巾的設計是蠻特別的, 但織到後來實在是有點無趣, 三上三下不斷重複, 兩隻袖子織完我的耐心已經快磨光了, 還好有別的projects同時進行中, 每當我覺得快織不下去時, 就換個project來玩. 可是像前一件上下顛倒穿織完時, 光定型等它乾就等了4天, 這4天中只好乖乖地與這件shrug奮戰.



This shrug is very simple to knit. Even though it was simple, I did manage to visit the frog pond once. I followed the pattern and knitted both sleeves till 23", started decreasing for the shoulders, and then joined to knit the turtleneck. When I just finished the sleeves, they were too long for my arms. Not wanting to rip them out, I decided folding the sleeve cuffs after all is done would simply fix the length problem. Soon after I started knitting the turtleneck, I realized I would run out of yarn. One of the worst things when a project sits too long in a stash - if there's not enough yarn, most of the time it's next to impossible to find extra in the same dye lot. I really did not need too much more, maybe just 1/4 of a ball would suffice. Given Kid Classic is quite pricey, I did not want to shell out money to buy another ball. I decided to rip it back to where the sleeves were about 21" long, then restarted with the shoulders and the turtleneck. I was afraid that the yarn wouldn't stand up to the unraveling since it contains mohair, but other than some BO stitches where it got stuck, ripping it out was fast and easy. And the yarn still feels the same. I really enjoyed knitting with it.

這件織法很簡單, 可是我還是有小拆了一下. 原本是按照圖樣兩隻袖子各織了23英寸後, 減針織肩膀部位, 然後接合織高領. 袖子剛織好時有點訥悶, 我的手臂沒這麼長呀! 那時懶得拆, 打算袖子反摺就好了, 應該也不錯看. 領子開始織沒多久後, 我就後悔了, 很明顯地線不夠用啦! 這也是projects囤積太久的一個壞處, 一旦線不夠, 要再買到同缸號的線可是難上加難. 這次缺的線也不是那麼多, 再買一球也是有點浪費(更何況Kid Classic粉貴...) 想了想, 決定拆! 把兩隻袖子拆回到各21英寸處後, 再重織肩膀和領子. 原本以為這線帶毛海會很難拆, 結果還好, 除了有些收針的地方拆起來卡卡的, 其他的都拆的很快, 而且線的質感並沒有太大的影響, 這組線真的是不錯唷!



This is probably the only FO that I can wear right now, but I will spare you the sight of me actually wearing it. With a big belly, somehow nothing seems to look the way they should.

現在肚子越來越大, 這件作品好像是唯一還能穿的. 不過為了大家的眼睛著想, 還是不要穿上來嚇人... :D