Project Spotlight: Mustard Scarf

One of the things I miss since the redesign at About.com (and it’s lovely, so I can’t complain much) is that there’s no longer a blog component so there’s not a place where I can share what I’ve been working on or projects I’ve finished.

So I thought maybe I’d try bringing some of that over here, and that I’d start by telling you about a pattern I knit over the weekend.

Jane Richmond’s Mustard Scarf is a free Ravelry download that I must have downloaded a long time ago. But I came across it again last week, and when I was feeling a little tired of another project I’m working on I decided to cast this one on.

It calls for 150 meters, or about 164 yards of yarn, but I used less than a ball of Knit Picks City Tweed (color Jacquard, a ball the company gave me to sample years ago) and ended up with a bigger than called for project without using all the yarn (which is 123 yards). So depending on your gauge you can use less, or just make a smaller scarf if you like.

The project is eyelet rows alternating with knit rows (or, if you’re like me and your hands just purl on the wrong side without being asked, purl rows) and is just a big rectangle. You sew a button off to one side and use that to help hold it on your body. The fun thing is that it’s worked with medium/worsted weight yarn but size 15 US (10 mm) knitting needles, so it takes no time at all.

I cast on after my daughter went to bed Friday night and was done in time to wear it to a neighborhood gathering Saturday evening (excuse the Instagrammed look of the picture). I like it because it’s part scarf and part cowl, and was just the right size to be a scarf for my daughter when it got a little cooler than we expected. She may never let me wear it again. The good news is I can make another one super quick.

See the details of my project on Ravelry.

What are you working on? I’d love to hear about it.

Over the years I have shared a lot of pumpkin knitting patterns, and I’ve knit and crocheted a lot of pumpkins myself. But it feels like there are always more fun things to try with knit pumpkins, so this year I wanted to look a little more beyond basic stockinette or ribbed pumpkins and share some pumpkin patterns with cables, bobbles and colorwork.

In the cable collection we’ve got these cute little basic cable and ribbed pumpkins from Elly Bear Knits. There are two sizes that make a wide, flat pumpkin and a taller round pumpkin. Both are worked in the round as a tube that’s cinched top and bottom when you’re done, and they use bulky weight yarn.

Another cute cable pumpkin knitting pattern comes from Gray Bear Akswokrat. This one is knit flat and it looks like a chunky yarn but you could use other weights to make pumpkins of different sizes. This one also has an I-cord stem and uses yarn to cinch up the sections of the pumpkin, giving it a more natural look.

Add some bobbles to your pumpkins with this design from Autumn Shelter Makes. Also worked in the round in a tube, it features a repeating pattern of bobbles and uses yarn wrapped around the outside to make segments. This one looks like worsted weight yarn to me.

Of course there’s nothing that says your pumpkin has to be a single color, so let’s throw in some colorwork. I love the look of the Cozy Fall Pumpkin knitting pattern from South Stitch Girls. The little leather loop adds a rustic touch but you could also just add a stick. These pumpkins have five colorwork options and are worked in worsted weight yarn in the round.

There’s also the Autumn Fair Isle Trio pumpkins pattern from Equestriann Style, which has three different sizes of pumpkins with four colorwork designs. They are worked in super bulky yarn in the round and look good with high contrast or more muted color combinations.

Have you read?