Tuesday 19 June 2012

I Went Hitchhiking

Well, not in the sense of standing along a road waiting for someone to pick me up. I picked up someone instead, in this case stitches for a new shawlette. This is one of those projects that gives so much joy that it was nearly sad when I finished it.

I needed some mindless knitting and checked my favorites on Ravelry - and I must say that there is a lot to pick from. I have always thought garter stitch looks good on everyone else - but I did not like it for me. Well, everything changes.

So did my arguments against garter stitch. Having bought the yarn Socks That Rock I knew I was getting the best out of it with garter stitch.

After casting on I realised that I loved both the yarn and the pattern. The colors stands out with garter stitch and I was surprised about how fun it was to knit this. I like a tight knit so I used a 2.5mm needle. I think the garments holds up better when it is tight.

I love it when I can change my mind and get a new insight. It often seems like we has these notions of things. We simply has to try out things before making up our mind. I never thought I would like garter stitch - but I had never knitted anything with it. I could have missed this fun project just because I thought it was not me.

Having problems remembering rows?
As I have problems memorizing stitch patterns with different rows, I used a trick I saw on another blog. I am sorry - I do not remember were I saw it.

BUT, I copied and pasted each of the eight pattern rows into a table and cut them out.

I made a hole in the small sheets and draw a string of yarn through the holes to get them in order.

After each row I simply flipped over to the instruction for the next row.

Pure and simple - and I never lost track of where I was in the pattern. I used a clip to keep it together in the project bag.


The Stitch Story
Yarn: Socks That Rock (Fire on the mountain) from Blue Moon Fiber
Needles: 2.5mm
Pattern: Hitchhiker

Other materials: Tassels and small beads
Ravelry link: Hitchhiking To London


47 comments:

  1. That is such a beautiful combination of colors, yarn choice, and pattern!

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  2. Oh my goodness, that's beautiful! it looks great with white. I want to make a shawl for my cousin for her birthday, mind if I copy? Yarn, pattern everything it's just perfect!

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    1. Thank you very much Emma. Go ahead - you see the links for the pattern for purchase and the yarn is found on Blue moon fibers website!! Good luck!!

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  3. Du er utrolig flink med farger! Det er i sannhet en stor glede å se på dine arbeider! Sjalet er bare skjønt! :-)

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    1. Tusen takk Britt - garnet er farget slik så jeg kan nok ikke ta æren for det. Så fint at du gleder deg over strikkingen min!!!

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  4. Brilliant idea for the row remembering Lone! I will be doing that trick soon. As for your "hitch hiker", I am in LOVE with it. Of course I am a rainbow fanatic and when I saw the picture along with the necklace I said "OMG!!" As usual, you made my jaw drop. I sure wish I knitted as fast as you do

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  5. Fabulous... I already knew about Martina Behm, but not Blue Moon Fibre Arts so thank you for sharing this.

    It's weird indeed how we write off certain concepts! Like garter stitch. It happened to me, too. Accidentally, garter stitch is what pupils produce when introduced to knitting at school (well, they used to be, in Norway at least). I used to think of garter stitch as an error, something that only beginners would produce because they don't know any other way.

    It took me a while to realize that garter stitch has wonderful properties like ridiculous stretch, it doesn't roll and is about the only way, in my (current) opinion, that seriously variegated yarns look good. These are good things in my book. I'll drool over un-re-wound hanks of variegated yarn for hours. It's good that there is a way to knit it up into something that will be at least a vague reminder of what the hank looked like.

    By the way: Did you use the lightweight or medium weight variant of Socks That Rock?

    Hilsen Eva

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    1. Thank you for such a lovely comment Eva - I know all about that garter stitch in school with thick needles and dirty yarn. Ugh - I never knitted after that. Until I was grown up that is!! As for highly variegated yarn garter stitch really is fantastic!!

      I used the medium weight for this project.

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  6. This is nearly enough to cause me learn how to make it. It looks so beautiful and simple.

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    1. Thank you so much Jan - I wish you luck and it is really simple to knit!!!

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  7. Herlig, og helt i dine farver!! Jeg er begynt på Flangiflutti, og angrer litt. Liker ikke så mange vrange pinner, og er ganske så kjedelig å strikke. Og må hele tiden tenke på hvor mange omganger jeg har strikket. Gørr...

    Ha en fin tirsdagskveld!

    Klem :)

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    1. Tusen takk Desiree - så kjipt med Fangiflutti, men det blir jo flott til slutt. Har du en omgangsteller? Den kan gjøre det lettere!!!

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  8. Wow! Det tror jeg er den flotteste Hitchikeren jeg har sett så langt. Helt enig at det er en super kombinasjon av mønster og garn. Duskene setter prikken over i-en, jeg har virkelig fått øynene opp for dusker. Mye takket være inspirasjon fra deg. Nydelig matchende smykke til også. :)

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    1. Tusen takk Vibeke!! Jeg likte ikke dusker før heller, men ble overbevist på Ravelry. Det setter ofte prikken over ién, gjerne med litt perler også.

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  9. Gorgeous scarf! Wonderful tip for keeping track of rows!!

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    1. Thank you so much Miss Julep - glad you like the tip too!!

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  10. Süper şal ben çok beğendim elinize sağlık..

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  11. Lone, this is totally gorgeous!!! WOW!!!! Everyone where you live, must be totally jealous of you, when they see you with something new that you have made! I know I would be! ;o) I would be bugging you all the time to make me something ;o) Hugs ;o)

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    1. Thank you so much Stacy - you are always so kind. You make my living in blogland bright!!

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  12. What a beautiful scarf...love the color, the pattern, everything!
    You give me inspiration!

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  13. Så herlig skjerf du har laget! Og ikke minst smykkene til - for jeg antar du har laget smykket av fimo? Utrolig stilig!!! Og smart tips for å holde styr på hvor man er i mønsteret - kan jo være smart å laminere de også. Ha det toppers!!! :-)

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    1. Tusen takk Gnist - ja, smykket er også min kreasjon. Tenkte på å laminere - veldig smart. Særlig om man skal strikke flere av samme slag!!

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  14. Artig skjerf! En perfekt match mellom mønster og garn! Fineste Hitchhikeren hittil. Og smykket var jo bare priken over i-en. Du er en farge-mester!
    Ha en fin dag!

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  15. I love it! I found your lovely blog via your wonderful shawls on Ravelry and now here is another one!

    Thank you for all the inspiration - I'm longing to try making polymer clay jewellery myself but wonder if you have an Etsy shop for yours?

    Sally

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    1. Thank you so much Sally!!! I am sorry, but I do not sell anymore. But, good luck on trying - and remember to not give up. There is a bit struggling in the beginning!!

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  16. This is so fabulous! I had to look it up on Ravely and hope to be able to knit myself one soon!

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  17. Love the beautiful, bright colors in your Scarf--and it goes so well with your gorgeous polymer seahorse! That is a great tip that is useful for crochet and other types of needlework, too.

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    1. Thank you so much Debbie!!! I know - that tip made my knitting so much more fun and easier!!

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  18. Love the colors!! very nice!

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  19. Syntes sjalet ble knalltøft. Syntes også duskene ble det lille ekstra som gjorde sjalet til noe helt ekstra.

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    1. Tusen takk Helle - dusker er helt klart undervurdert... He he!!

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  20. Du har tydeligvis en fantastisk fargesans. Skjønner ikke hvorfor jeg ikke har oppdaget denne bloggen før, men kom hit via Mimouna, og har kost meg både her og med Ravelry-prosjektene dine. La deg til på DinStrikkeblogg.no. Håper det er greit. :-)

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    1. Velkommen manisk - og tusen takk!!! Alt i orden, og takk for at du la meg til!!

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  21. I saw your beautiful scarf on Flickr and came to check out your blog. I love your knits on Ravelry and your use of bright saturated colors.

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    1. Thank you so much Beverly - I am happy you found your way here!!!

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  22. I've messed up Hitchiker's first 16 rows at least 6 times this weekend. I'm going to cast on again. Thanks for the idea about the instructions! Maybe that will help me keep it straight.
    Be blessed,
    Laura of Harvest Lane Cottage

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