Spring Charity Knit Scarves during Isolation

I am stash busting during our isolation, in the hopes of getting rid of the old to buy NEW yarn when we can safely shop again!

METHOD:
Done in whatever suits my fancy. 

The pink fringed one is leftover Lionbrand Homespun from Jen's Poncho, done in a repeat called "Purse Stitch" which gave it a neat lace look. 

The blue chenille is a skein of Lionbrand Chenille Thick and Quick in garter stitch. I started to crochet a scarf in this, but it's a nightmare no matter how you try to work with it.

The taupe is a basketweave stitch alternating garter and stockinette, extra wide but short enough to tie around your neck, probably wide enough for a man.

The unicorn puke color is a child's scarf done in Bernat boa. 
(I actually intended to make three of these, but Little Bear said he loved the color and the feel and wanted an extra long one for himself. I think I am raising a fabric-oholic.)

AND WHAT DID WE LEARN?
Marie Kondo all your yarn. Seriously. It sparks joy, getting rid of it. 

Charity Knit Scarves - Sashay

Okay, this is one of those "seemed like a good idea at the time" kinds of things. While I was in grad school, I ended up getting drunk one Friday and insisted my husband take me over to Michaels, where they had a bunch of this ribbon yarn on clearance. I picked up about 10 balls for 15 dollars and was real proud of myself until I realized I had no idea what to do with the stuff. My first thought was to make scarves out of it and sell them on Etsy. Then I made the scarves. There is nothing about these scarves that makes me think I'd have any luck for selling them at anything over $1 online. People at the craft shows can't even give these things away.

So now that they're all made, I'm thinking I will just give most of them away, unless I can find something else to do with the yarn. I made my mom a blue one, which she likes, and Little Bear cabbaged onto the Christmas red one, so I guess the others will be Christmas charity donations or gifts for the unsuspecting.

METHOD:

This one got frogged.

Done in the pattern on the label, with Red Heart Boutique Sashay multicolor lace yarn. 

AND WHAT DID WE LEARN?
Never buy yarn when you're drunk!

Fuzzy Purple Tank Top

Another purple garment, 'cause you just can't have too many. I bought the yarn for this ages ago, and only just got around to making it. I started it, did a few rows, and then put it off for something else. I ended up finishing it yesterday in the car on the way to St. Louis.

METHOD:
This is Moda Dea's "Tutu" yarn, in grape, and using #8 needles instead of the recommended from their free pattern. The pattern stitch is K1P1 ribbing, all throughout, which got a bit messed up at times, but the nature of the confetti ribbons in the yarn hides that.

AND WHAT DID WE LEARN?
The three-needle bind off! That made seaming the shoulders togther a lot easier. And the seams on this are ugly (I blame the yarn) but they're still SOOOO much better than before.

Shaping on the ribbing, or rather keeping the continuity of it, was hard. I'm not sure how exactly I was supposed to do it. I also learned, after the fact, how to seam ribbing so it looks seamless. This garment has lines up the side where the ribs don't meet, but once again the fuzzy nature of the yarn hides it.

This yarn is a bear to work with! The little fuzzies get caught in everything, and you can't really see your work very well. Still, it's soft and cute, and I MIGHT actually make another one.

One other thing: this is supposed to be form fitting. I need to remember to start making "form fitting" garments to fit a 38-inch bust, not a 40-inch. I guess you never really are as fat as you think you are :)

2020 update: I'm probably just giving this away. It is SO not me. And kind of ugly to boot.

Tank Top: my first real garment

This turned out not too terribly horrible. I wore it to work today and everyone thought it was pretty. It's a little big. I know I didn't have the gauge right, but I'm also thinking I might have measured my body wrong. But at least it's not too small! My first garment, and it lay around the house in two pieces for two weeks before I got up the courage to actually block it. The blocking went pretty well -- I shaped it exactly how I wanted it, and it looked good, stuck with 100 pins. The only problem was the cat, who seemed to think she had to walk, literally, ALL over the pieces. I had to smooth out cat footyprints three times! Next time I'm going to stick some pins in the towel with their points up. Then maybe she'll get the message. METHOD: Made from Caron's "Jewel Box" yarn on #9 needles, I didn't actually get the gauge right, so I'm making another one in the proper gauge to see how it fits. AND WHAT DID WE LEARN? This fabric is a little too thick, but it still feels okay. I should have put some kind of band at the bottom, because it really wants to curl up. The shoulder parts curl in too, and look more narrow than they should. I think if I make another one, I'll do it in seed stitch, and see how that looks. The chenille got kind of wormy. I'm wondering if I wash it and dry it again if that will help the chenille even out. Finishing this piece, sewing it together, was a NIGHTMARE! I ended up taking out the bound-off stitches in the shoulders to graft them together, which doesn't look too bad. But the side seams are uneven, and I think I really need practice on sewing seams. Or maybe I can just pay someone else to do it! Edited to add -- I wonder if you can just thread the yarn through the edges, in mattress stitch, and then wait until the end to pull the thread tight? Hmm ... that would make everything MUCH easier.

Second verse, same as the first

(Thanks to my lovely assistant Marilyn, for modeling this scarf.)

I started this one after skipping out on international dance class Tuesday Nov. 3, and finished it Sunday night, Nov. 6. Most of the work was done while I sat with hubby watching "Kingdom of Heaven." This was the second set of 2 for $5 Bernat Boa yarns I got at Michael's. I'm sort of tired of working with this eyelash yarn, but today my Mom found a pretty royal blue one for 40% off, so it looks like I'll be making at least one more. These are easy enough to make, however, that I might make a few more for friends. Hopefully with enough practice, they'll start to look less lumpy.

METHOD:
This scarf is from the pattern on the yarn label. It was made from 2 skeins of Bernat Boa yarn in the color "Parrot." I used #11 needles instead of the recommended.

AND WHAT DID WE LEARN?
To pay attention when knitting the last row! I checked to make sure I had enough, and then kitted the whole last row (which was supposed to be bound off!) Since I can't see the stitches in this yarn, I had to rip out about four or five rows before I was able to find the loops to rethread it back on the needle. How frustrating.