# Another What To Knit Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 22, 2006, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-what-to-knit-thread/361699 "2006-06-22T11:46:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2006, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-what-to-knit-thread/361699/1 "2006-06-22T11:46:43Z")
The scarf you suggested last time is going nicely, but I’ve got a new dilemma. My mother recently returned from a trip to Alaska and gave me two skeins of [this stuff](http://www.changingthreads.com/product_info.php/cPath/6_88_91/products_id/445), Raven Frog Fiber Arts Woolly Bear yarn in Princess Maksoutoff’s Gown. It’s gorgeous and a mix of 53% Mohair, 45% Merino, and 2% nylon. The gauge listed is 7 stitches and 9 rows to 2 inches on US 10.5 needles, but that may be double stranded and its about 150 yards to the skein. The question is, what to make? I’m not entirely sure there’s enough for a sweater, but a short-sleeved top might be a possibility, perhaps using the leftovers for some sort of accessory. Working stockinette stitch bores me, rather than sending me into a meditative state, I’m afraid, but a bit of lacework or a simple cable or two might work. Searching the web for this stuff has produced few ideas, but I’ll be visiting the local yarn store tonight on the way home. Thanks again for your ideas. I loved reading them last time. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2006, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-what-to-knit-thread/361699/2 "2006-06-22T11:49:46Z")
Would there be enough for a small evening wrap/shawl? It looks glamorous, so make something dressy out of it. ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2006, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-what-to-knit-thread/361699/3 "2006-06-22T12:47:32Z")
Jayne hat!! [http://alison.caffeinatedbliss.com/knit/jaynehat.php](http://alison.caffeinatedbliss.com/knit/jaynehat.php) Sorry, that’s my stock answer to “what should I knit” questions. ---
**Author:** ![Idlewild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8491ac/32.png) [@Idlewild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idlewild)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2006, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-what-to-knit-thread/361699/4 "2006-06-22T12:59:44Z")
Definitely not enough for a sweater. I would be slightly wary of making a short sleeve top in something that bulky just because it’s going to be awfully warm for a warm-weather garment. That might be a consideration. A wrap or shrug sounds nice though. I am not sure if you have enough for [this](http://www.magknits.com/warm04/patterns/parisloop.htm) but perhaps something like it, or you could grab a similar gauge but plainer yarn and do contrast plain coloured work for the bottom of it or up around the neckline, either would look kind of neat. (Sort of dividing it into one deeper section of your beautiful yarn and one narrower section of a contrast colour.) Actually considering the wooly bear yarn for detailing on a sweater might be nice too - you could do the yoke and the cuffs of a plain sweater in it using something else luscious and soft in the same weight for the body of the sweater. Or just the sleeves like on [this sweater](http://knitty.com/ISSUEspring04/PATTlitebrite.html). That way you could also pick something with more stitch definition to do a couple of cables on the body of the sweater. Depends how comfortable you are adapting patterns. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2006, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-what-to-knit-thread/361699/5 "2006-06-22T13:23:27Z")
I was thinking more along the lines of [Yarn Harlot’s Snowdrop Shawl](http://www.interweave.com/knit/interweave_knits/resources/shawl_pattern_resources.asp) found here, or the shawl discussed [here](http://knitty.com/ISSUEsummer03/FEATbildungsrowan.html). I don’t know if you’d have enough yarn to make the second one, but possibly for the Snowdrop pattern? (Or maybe if you use 2 kinds of yarn for the second shawl?) ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2006, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-what-to-knit-thread/361699/6 "2006-06-22T13:36:57Z")
[Chicken Wing Hat!](http://alohamedia.net/sarah/hats/chicken-viking/) You know you want to. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2006, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-what-to-knit-thread/361699/7 "2006-06-22T13:41:07Z")
I’m all about a cute cap-sleeve sweater. Are those the actual colors you received? I likes 'em. I haven’t knitted in decades, so I forget what you can and can’t do. Could you somehow incorporate a dragonfly pattern somewhere? Just a little one…maybe at the bottom or near the neckline? ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2006, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-what-to-knit-thread/361699/8 "2006-06-22T13:43:27Z")
Knitty has awesome patterns ( none of which I’ve tried.) but, here is a[shawll](http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEspring06/PATTtendrils.html) ,[another shawl](http://knitty.com/ISSUEspring05/PATTtieoneon.html) [a scarf](http://knitty.com/ISSUEspring05/PATTbranchingout.html) [If you have enough of this yarn left over after a project, you can do this](http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEfall02/PATTfizz.html) That yarn looks yummy! ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2006, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-what-to-knit-thread/361699/9 "2006-06-22T13:44:57Z")
How about [Bernat Matrix Shawl](http://www.macphersoncrafts.com/FreeProjects/FreeProject_Detail.asp?FreeProjectID=15) or [Plain Vanilla Shawl](http://www.black-purl-magazine.com/FAL05-PATvanilla.htm)? There are several shawl/wrap links on the same page as the link to the Snowdrop pattern. ---
**Author:** ![annieclaus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5a626/32.png) [@annieclaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/annieclaus)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2006, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-what-to-knit-thread/361699/10 "2006-06-22T13:57:33Z")
It’s gorgeous yarn! And it does look warm and cozy. I’d look for a puffy hat pattern. Should keep your head nice and warm during winter months. If you have some left over, a small scarf or neckwarmer to match would be good. ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2006, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-what-to-knit-thread/361699/11 "2006-06-22T14:09:03Z")
I just finished one shawl last night, except for weaving in the ends. Mum also bought 2 skeins so I would have enough to make a sweater or at least a top. I admit the stuff isn’t machine washable, so something I’d wear every day is out, but I’d still rather not make another shawl. \*\*ShirleyUjest, the chicken wing hat looks great, and I have a friend who’d appreciate it as a gift. Come to think of it, I’ve got an RG coming up with the theme “Food, Glorious Food!”, and it might make a great thing for their silent auction or as a prize for a tournament if I can make it in time. ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2006, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-what-to-knit-thread/361699/12 "2006-06-22T22:50:00Z")
All right! I surrender! I’ve checked with my local marvelous yarn store and, after taking a close look at it (and making a note that there is a yarn store in Skagway), they, too have said there’s only enough for a scarf or shawl, although, **Idlewild** , that sweater did look like fun. I’ve got a couple of books with rather gorgeous shawl patterns; there’s also something to be said for working on a straight, triangular shawl, working from the center back up and maybe throwing in around a little lace around the edges. I can’t get a look at the snowdrop shawl right now, since this computer doesn’t do .pdfs (it’s an old thing, with a rather small, overloaded hard drive which I need to upgrade). The other ideas definitely have possibilities, though. **Kalhoun** , those really are the colors, and they really are that gorgeous! If I do it right, I can envision a light-weight, lacy, fantasy. As I mentioned over in MPSIMs, I had a nasty shock the other day when I realized I’d been knitting longer than the clerk at the craft store I was at had been alive. I’m comfortable with lace and cables, and will try almost anything, although I’m still building up the nerve to cut my first steek. It’s rainy; my gentleman’s out of town. It sounds like a good night to go through patterns to me, although I’d love to see other suggestions! By the way, I may be going to Knitters Hell. You see, our church is getting a new priest next month and throwing a baby shower for his wife, and I’m wondering about giving them the Chicken Wing Hat! Maybe it’s good that I wouldn’t have time to make it before the shower! ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2006, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-what-to-knit-thread/361699/13 "2006-06-22T22:55:09Z")
> [@Siege](#): > > I just finished one shawl last night Surely not the pi shawl? _looks nervously toward the Carolinas_ ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2006, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-what-to-knit-thread/361699/14 "2006-06-22T23:19:53Z")
Bwu-ha-ha-ha-_ha!_ I thought I was the only one who remembered that joke. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2006, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-what-to-knit-thread/361699/15 "2006-06-24T22:42:36Z")
Under the wide and starry sky, Dig the grave and let me lie, Glad did I live and gladly die, And I laid me down with a will. This be the verse you grave for me: Here he lies where he longed to be, Home is the sailor, home from sea, And the hunter home from the hill. - R. L. Stevenson, “Requiem” When come back, bring pi shawl. ---
**Author:** ![stargazer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb8c5e/32.png) [@stargazer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stargazer)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2006, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-what-to-knit-thread/361699/16 "2006-06-24T23:34:10Z")
**Siege** , a fun and easy wrap is the [Tie One On](http://knitty.com/ISSUEspring05/PATTtieoneon.html) at knitty. I did the easiest one (the green one) and it’s great – it stays on even without a shawl pin, which is good because I don’t have a shawl pin! 🙂 It’s nice and light, and I like having a wrap that isn’t too big. For babies, I have 3 stock patterns: baby booties (I can’t for the life of me remember where I got the pattern, but I can knit a pair up in about 2 hours), the little puritan-style hat from _Last-Minute Knitted Gifts_, or the bunny from [here](http://www.heartstringsfiberarts.com/bunny.shtm). Last bunny I did was out of Kidsilk Haze and Rowan Kid Classic stranded together, and it was so soft and cuddly! Someday, though, someone I know will get a chicken hat. Anyway, I’m sure you’ve got a million patterns, but you can never have too many, right? 🙂