Knititude

Latest FO ever!

While organizing my stash, I came across a scarf that was supposed to be a Christmas 2005 gift for my husband. I had agonized over yarn and stitch pattern selection, and finally started the scarf in January 2006, after he had chosen one of several swatches I had made (for his criteria, see here). Anyway, the poor scarf was still on the needles, and only about 18 inches long.

Well, I was waiting for some yarn to arrive for a couple of unbloggable projects, and needed some mindless knitting, so I decided to finish the scarf. And he likes it! Which is great...although if he hadn't, I would have appropriated it for myself....

Yarn: Filatura di Crosa Elen Cashmere (according to Yarndex, discontinued in Fall 2009), a DK-weight blend of cashmere, wool, silk and rayon, in color #9, dark blue.

Stitch pattern: "Seaweed" from Barbara Walker's 2nd Treasury of Knitting Patterns. For some reason I'm quite fond of this stitch pattern: I used it in my Seaside Gloves and also in the Seaweed Vest pattern, which was included in the book Brave New Knits. The "wrong" side is different from the "right" side, but both sides are attractive, so it works well for a scarf. 

Introducing my assistants

Vi presento le mie aiutanti

For awhile I've been wanting to purchase a dressmaker's dummy; it's tricky trying to photograph myself wearing samples! I looked at Dritz adjustable mannequins, but I thought they looked flimsy and I didn't like the colors of the coverings; I also didn't like the fact that increasing the diameter of the torso leaves big gaps in it. My office is right next to the front door of our house, with windows onto the front porch, so it's important to me that it looks nice. Then I found a non-adjustable mannequin at PGM. With a 34" bust, Ofelia is slightly chestier than me, but otherwise quite close to my measurements-- and most magazines and publications seem to want samples to fit a 34" bust anyway. (Ofelia is the Italian form of Ophelia, which means "unable to swim"...just kidding, it means "helper.")

Da tanto tempo ho voglia di comprare una manichina; e' difficile fotografarmi quando indosso i campioni! Ho considerato una manichina Dritz, pero' sembravano fragili e non mi hanno piaciuto i colori dei coperti. Ho trovato Ofelia a PGM. Ha il petto di 87 cm, un po' piu grande di me, comunque le riviste vogliono i campioni per il petto cosi'. (Ofelia= "aiutante.")

Unfortunately Ofelia lacks a head. So I also purchased a display head from Mannequin Hub. Giulia is ageless and rather humorless, but she does wear a hat nicely! I wonder if I should buy her a wig.... (Giulia is the Italian form of "Julia," which means "youthful.")

Purtroppo si manca Ofelia una testa. Quindi ho comprato anche una testa per esporre la merce da Mannequin Hub. Giulia e senza eta' ed anche piuttosto senza senso dell' umorismo, pero' porta bene un cappello! Mi chiedo se dovrei comprarla una parrucca.... (Giulia= "giovane.")