Just Knit: Wavy Scarf

I recently completed this wavy scarf for a friend's birthday back in May.  I wanted to do something a little lighter that she could get some wear out of before summer finally settled in.  I used an acrylic yarn and knitted the scarf in a wavy, openwork pattern.  The pattern that I used can be found here on Ravelry.  The pattern is originally meant for a shawl but I decreased the width of the pattern and made it a little bit longer so that it could work as a scarf.

I found this pattern very quick and easy to knit.  I was able to complete the scarf to just over 5 feet in under a week.  However, I think my favourite part of this pattern is dropping and unravelling stitches!  As a beginner knitter I still make a lot of mistakes and dropping stitches is usually a big headache for me because it usually takes me a few rows to realize that I've missed a stitch.  Then I have to find my crochet hook and try and figure out how to hide my mistake without ripping back all my work.  This pattern, however, is full of intended dropped stitches.  I found it a lot of fun and oddly satisfying unravelling these stitches, kind of like popping bubble wrap.  The pattern is also very easy to memorize, making it a pattern that you can knit on-the-go without carrying a printout of the pattern.

If you are looking for a fun and fast to knit, I would really recommend checking out this pattern!

Just Knit: Summer Top/Cover-Up

I started this project towards the end of last summer.  Unfortunately, as the weather got cooler I began to loose interest in the project since I wouldn't be able to wear it before fall hit.  The last couple of weeks have been gorgeous here and so I finally picked up this project and finished it off.

The pattern is an edited version of this one.  Rather than finishing off the sleeves with ribbing I left them with the openwork pattern.  I did try adding on ribbing when I finished the top but apparently my knitting has gotten a lot looser in the last year and even going down two needle sizes left me with loose, floppy ribbing.  In the end, I decided to skip the ribbing altogether.

I also skipped the cowl neck collar.  I had started this project with the intention of wearing the top as a cover-up so I had planned to skip the cowl neck from the beginning.  I did have to add a crochet boarder to the collar though because it was just too wide to stay on my shoulders.  The collar is still wide enough to wear off the shoulder though.

The yarn I used was a 100% cotton, worsted weight yarn.  I had originally bought the yarn (a jumbo-sized 400g ball) to make dishcloths and potholders, but after knitting up a few I wanted to try something different.  I'll admit, this may not have been the best choice for this yarn but I will see how the top holds up after I've washed it a few times.