The (In)famous Noro Striped Scarf

I know, I know, this scarf has been blogged to death, but I was so happy with the result that I have to share:


I used 5 skeins of Kureyon in total and cast on 45 stitches on a 4.5 mm needle, knitting in a K1, P1 rib. I started with colours 178 and 185 and alternated these every 2 rows, carrying the yarn up the side. I knitted a selvage stitch by knitting the first stitch into the back of the loop, and slipped the last stitch with the yarn in front. When my first two balls of Kureyon were finished I decided the scarf would not be long enough (I casted on more stitches than the pattern asked for), so I decided to raid my stash and use one ball of colourway 146, from which I wound 2 balls, so I was knitting with the start and end of the ball alternatingly, does that make any sense? This way, I still ended up with a variation, despite using the same ball. When colour 146 was finished, I went back to my regularly scheduled programming using colour 178 and 185 again. All said and done, the scarf measures 7" by 80", just the right size in my opinion.

This was a quick and easy knitting project, perfect in it's mind-numbing repetitiveness, yet intriguing enough because I couldn't wait to see what effect the two colours would end up making. Highly recommended and the perfect project for beginning knitters.

French Market Bag

Okay. So it’s taken me nearly four years to finish this bag. I base that loosely on the date on the bottom of the pattern I printed up from Knitty.com – November 19, 2004.

But don’t go calling me a procrastinator just yet – I was hung up on the Kitchener stitch I needed to graft the handles together. After a few missed attempts, I turned to YouTube and watched a video from the TheKnitWitch who explained things in terms that finally made sense, and voilà, the French Market Bag was finally complete!

I made a few modifications, like centering the handles over the front and the back of the bag and knitting up the sides of the bag until they were 10” high.

Bag pre-felting:

Bag post-felting:

I put it in the washing machine on a hot cycle with a bath towel, and it took about 40 minutes on the regular wash cycle until it was felted to my liking.

If I’d make another, I’d make it even taller, probably about 14”, and felt the dickens out of it again. As it was, this bag took the better part of 6 skeins of Kureyon in colour 149. Also, I’d make sure both handles were the same colour, one of mine is grey and the other sort of oatmeal. I swear it didn’t dawn on me until I saw the finished product.

All told, I am happy with the end result.