For my birthday last year, the lovely Ingrid gave me some of the latest "it" yarn, Brooklyn Tweed Shelter, in the deep shade of red called Long Johns (not that I've ever seen red long johns for real, only on tv in American westerns ... they pretty much only come in white or black here, as far as I can tell, not being a regular long john wearer).
I was very keen to try this out - these two skeins were burning a hole in my stash. I spent a while on Ravelry, surfing the patterns, as you do. I wanted something that would use up all the yarn (a generous 140yds/50g skein) and that didn't require too much thought on my part. A scarf or shawl seemed the best option, preferably something still interesting to knit.
When I found this pattern, I knew it had to be. The name helped - my inner 15 yo giggled with glee at all the stupid puns I could make as I knit this scarf. Which of course I will share with you...
Details
Pattern: Shag by Lynne Barr, from her excellent book Knitting New Scarves, a wonderful collection of amazing and unusual designs. This is one of the simplest patterns from the book, but creates a wonderful 3D design which is still very wearable, because it is flat on the other (equally attractive) side.
Yarn: Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in Long Johns, 2 x 50g skeins. As I mentioned, these are very generous skeins, and the yarn itself is so light and lofty - the skeins look huge, more like 100g skeins, because of the nature of the yarn. It contains a fair amount of vegetable matter, and is not the softest yarn out there. It softens up a bit on washing, but if you are at all sensitive to scratchy yarns, you might not want to wear this next to your skin.
Sticks: 5.5mm sticks - I used dpns, just because they were nice and short, given that the scarf is narrow (7.5cm/3"). Two skeins of yarn gave me a scarf about 160cm/63" long.
Time: I shagged away for just over 2 weeks - started on 18 February 2011 and finished on 7 March 2011.
Modifications: As my gauge was smaller than the pattern, I added a couple of extra stitches and did a few extra rows for each rectangle, but that's all.
I'm really happy with this scarf and am looking forward to wearing it. It was a real pleasure to knit. And it's a knit that keeps on giving, since it lets you tell people that you shagged all day yesterday. Or you had a quick shag in the morning. And then a long shag session in the afternoon. Or that you shagged all the way through the Knitters Guild AGM (one of my favourite shagging sessions!)
25 comments:
'Shag' is one of those words that so clearly delineates the differences between British/Australian and America English. You just can't imagine labelling a scarf 'shag' in Australia! But words aside, this is one of the Lynne Barr 'new scarves' I've been tempted by for some time. So pleased to see it's worked so well. (I'll leave it up to people cleverer than I am to make the inevitable comments about shags and the Knitters Guild AGM)
Oh brilliant! A scarf that made me giggle like a twelve year old boy! You're amazing. It looks great too!
At least with that scarf you'll never be cold like a shag on a rock.
Love it!
What an interesting scarf ... and an equally interesting last paragraph ! LOL
hehe, you do love a good pun, it is true ;)
lovely end result, most wearable I'd say. such a gorgeous colour, too
oh funny. I knew you'd get mileage out of 'shagging'.
It's turned out great. I really like it! I'm tempted....
There's nothing like a good shag... scarf that is ;D
Great scarf and book I too love Lyn's patterns they are innovative and interesting. Your version looks very cool indeed and looking forward to seeing you wear your shag ;)
Nice pics btw, the model is working a charm ...lol
It certainly is an interesting looking scarf and lives up to its interesting name!
Well, it looks like you've had quite the shag-fest! I've been wanting to try this yarn, but when I saw it at Stitches East, I thought it was, as you said, not the softest. I like the interesting scarf construction.
Well, LynS, I'm not sure why anyone would call a scarf a shag in America, either. The puns were inevitable.
And of course you have no intimate knowledge of long johns!! From what I've heard about those Sydney winters they're barely worthy of the name "winter"... your "low" temps are practically sandal-wearing temps here. :)
Looks like a fun knit. Maybe you could do it with softer yarn, get some other knitters to join you, and have an on-line shag-along.
Oh you do shag beautifully :)
it was fun to watch you get so much joy out of the name, and i think the end result will suit you very well when the wild southerlys blow. once this rain stops. lovely!
To me the first thing I think of when I hear the word Shag is shag carpeting, shag haircuts, not shagging as intimate activity!
I like the design of your scarf. It looks like a fun thing to knit. I haven't seen BT's new yarn but have heard lots about it. No one has mentioned that it's scratchy, yet.
That is really cool looking. In the first photo, curled up, it is little like a stylised rose. I love the sculptural aspect.
To my perverse delight, on the fron t cover of the new Piecework Publication, 'Knitting Traditions' they announce 'Mittens to Knit and Shag'! I'm not saying this was the only reason I bought it...
Shagging through the Knitters Guild AGM gave me my favourite mental image.
Lovely scarf BTW!
I'm not sure that I'm up to any shagging puns - but I love the scarf. Maybe a hair conditioner bath will soften it up a bit?
LOL@all the puns. I've never seen red long johns anywhere except movie cowboys, either, hmmm.
The scarf is shagadelic!
Oh that is groovy, baby, yeah!
What a stunning colour, and good to know about Shelter too... I've wondered how it knits up and washes for a while now. Aren't you a lucky thing to have some to show off? :)
Love it!
Just got home from vacation, and thrilled to come home to a post from you - much better than a bag of wet bathing suits and dirty laundry and unpacking! The scarf is cute!
Ohh I love the style and colour of your scarf. Nicely Done!
ps. i added your blog to my blog list.
Look's greatm, yeah baby!
And now that you have a Shag scarf, you can think about a pair of shagged (thrummed) mittens. Heh.
Fabulous. Love, love, love both scarves. You're pick patterns I might overlook, and then showcase how awesome they are. Perhaps you should make a blog where you comb through Ravelry for forgotten/overlooked gems? :) Thanks for sharing!
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