Whoever got the idea that being a homemaker is boring must not have been one or around one. We have one of the most diverse jobs in the world. It is anything but boring. Always new situations, new problems to solve, new joys to celebrate, and new projects to work on. Whatever that may be.
That said, I interrupt my posts on quilts to interject some yarn work–fancy yarn, at that.
After successfully tackling a scarf for a Christmas present, a couple weeks ago I wanted to figure out what to do with some specialty yarns I have. I bought them because they were so pretty, but I didn’t have a clue what I’d do with them. I decided they’ve been sitting in my stash too long and it was time to figure that out. In trying to decide what they’d be good for, I decided to learn a new technique. Arm knitting. {Link to a youtube video that is pretty close to how I do the actual arm knitting. My scarves are my own pattern.}
Now, I’ve done plenty of knitting before, but it’s not one of my most used skills. I usually prefer to crochet, because I can complete projects quicker with it. But I have to admit, I’d never used my arms as knitting needles before. I was game to try when I saw you could complete a scarf in a half an hour. (Quick, cute, useful projects are usually good motivation for me.)
20 yards Sashay Sequins. Knit 6 chains wide, approx. 45″ long. Leave an arm span+ length for binding off, and connecting the ends for Infinity style.
I also don’t wear a lot of scarves, mainly because many of them are too bulky for me. I feel buried in them. But we all know the solution to not finding styles you like is to create your own. Necessity is the mother of invention, they say.
So I set out to solve all these problems. And I’m quite pleased with the results.
30 yards Sashay Metallic. Knit 6 chains wide, approx. 5′ long. Leave an arm span+ length for binding off and connecting ends to make Infinity style scarf.
The yarns I started with were Sashay (Tutu – Pink)
After doing a couple arm knit infinity scarves–a longer one that would double loop, and a shorter one that will just single, I decided I wanted to do something different with a third Sashay (the “plain” one) I had on hand. I wanted for more of its own design to show through, so decided to crochet it into a ruffle scarf. I love the way it turned out too. {A youtube video on how to crochet Sashay yarn. I didn’t lock the chains or use near as many loops as she did.}
30 yards “Tutu”, I *think* I did every other hole, and 5 links per single crochet. (10 made it way too full and short.)
All this playing with yarn even motivated me to organize all my yarn and gather all my needles/hooks and patterns back together into one place. Which led to a couple little girls asking when I was going to make scarves for them, pink ones. And a couple boys saying they could really use scarves for the cold weather. So stay tuned for part 2 of this “yarn”.
Have you ever arm knit? If so, what did you make?
