Sunday, November 09, 2008

Miss F's Fabulous Forties

Since the gift has now been gifted, I can tell you all about Miss F's Fabulous Forties scarf.
I've gotten into the habit of knitting gifts for a bunch of friends turning 40 and at the start of October I remembered that Miss F was one of the soon-to-be-4o crowd. Gah! Since her birthday is this week (but her party was yesterday) I had to get a move on! I thought a lace scarf would be do-able in a month (and fits in with the Long Lacy Summer) and since Miss F is a bit sensitive to wool, I decided on lovely Handmaiden Seasilk. And when I found a colour called Topaz, which just happens to be the birthstone for November, I figured it was perfect!

Details
Pattern: Andrea Reversible Lace Scarf - from the Knitting Pattern a Day calendar for 2008 (one of the few decent patterns!!). I made the scarf 3 pattern repeats wide, plus 6 garter stitches on either side - so 48 stitches all up.

Yarn: Handmaiden Seasilk - 1 x 100g skein in Topaz

Sticks: 3.5mm KnitPicks Harmony Options

Time: October 8 2008 - November 5 2008 - pretty good effort I thought!
What I learnt: Seasilk grows a lot on blocking! Pre-blocked, the scarf was 143cm/56" long by 14cm/5.5" wide. Post-blocking it was 175.5cm/69" by 22cm/8.75". Wow! I did block it pretty severely but I'm so pleased with how it turned out.

And I think Miss F is too!

30 comments:

Bells said...

I remember our discussions about whether or not you could get this done in time - you made it! And it's amazingly beautiful. It looks SO LONG!

Well done. Great, great gift.

Michelle said...

I think it's absolutely stunning. I'm fascinated by the idea of seasilk!

m1k1 said...

What a fascinating pattern, with the reversibility 'n' all.
Beautiful knitting. Gorgeous gift.

DrK said...

oh that is lovely, and so beautifully symbolic as well. a very thoughtful gift!

Anonymous said...

It's beautiful! What a gorgeous present for your friend. I love how long, yet light, it looks.

Anonymous said...

Absolutle stunning! Both pattern and yarn colour :-)

Snoozen said...

I thought it was amazing when I saw it last night. You truly are a legend. Have a great birthday tomorrow Rose Red. Birthday hugs about to be... Snoozen

Linda said...

Thats beautiful. Seasilk is a yarn I would like to try one day.

Anonymous said...

Oh, wow! Can I be 40 again?! As soon as I saw this, I wanted to grab my needles and cast on. It is gorgeous!!! And can I tell you that I've been scouring the dollar stores for those blocks. Such a smarty-pants idea!

Anonymous said...

Oh how clever to have lace that works on both sides!! I agree that your blocking blocks are fabulous!!Such a wonderful scarf.

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous!!

Alwen said...

What a difference between blocked and unblocked!

And apparently the verification word thinks it was fab, too: fabadvol

Donna Lee said...

I have that pattern a day calendar and most of the patterns are unbelievable. That was one of the pretty ones and it looks lovely.

LynS said...

So beautiful, RoseRed. The colour is superb, and I particularly like the way the pattern is framed by garter stitch.

MadMad said...

Oh, she'll LOVE it! And I am so with you on that calendar! It's funny, I JUST saw the Andrea scarf (I was a little late keeping it up to date because, let's be honest, WHY?!) and was like, Hm... I actually like this one!

Anonymous said...

I hope your birthday is fibrously beautiful
=jen

Sue said...

Gorgeous color and pattern. What a wonderful 40th present. I wish I had knitterly friends like you close by.

Alesha said...

Just beautiful!!!

Alesha

Amanda said...

Simply beautiful and the colour is just perfect.

kgirlknits said...

this is beautiful. I am always amazed at the transformation lace takes once blocked - you're lucky you had the room to spread it out!

Anonymous said...

I am envious of the evenness of your knitting. My garterstitch edges are always so untidy.

MadMad said...

A little birdy told me you're, um... 21, was it? Yeah, that's it. Happy, happy birthday!

TinkingBell said...

So so so lovely - and a very very happy birthday to you - enjoy yourself ridiculously much! Haqve a champers for me - after all - isn't life fun in your twenties! ;)

My security word is midefzin - which sounds like a new headache pill - or possibly a weight loss drug!

Anonymous said...

How thoughtful! And I love how you put so much thought into it, from the yarn to the color. Fabulous job!

Anonymous said...

So beautifully soft,intricate and simply exquisite. Perfect colour.

Very touched Wicked J.

A big thanks for hosting my do and the brekkie on Sunday too.

Hope you got the birthday message I left for you yesterday.

Look out for the postman tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

So beautifully soft,intricate and simply exquisite. Perfect colour.

Very touched Wicked J.

A big thanks for hosting my do and the brekkie on Sunday too.

Hope you got the birthday message I left for you yesterday.

Look out for the postman tomorrow.

Lynne said...

Tres belle!

Ann said...

Wow - it's really long but it's gorgeous & I love the color. Great job & such a great friend.

Kate said...

Happy Birthday! I hope that shoes feature large in the gift zone.

I love this scarf. Where' syou get your blocking wires from?

Irene said...

Gawgeous!!!