Hand Knit Baktus Scarf with Edging

I love knitting this scarf. It looks great and is easy to knit. Years ago I bought a skein of variegated purple wool yarn when I went to the annual Taos Wool Festival in Taos, New Mexico. I wanted to find the right project for this yarn, since it was just one skein and fingering weight. I finally decided this scarf was the right project to knit and since I had knit this scarf years ago and liked it, I knew it would turn out right.

The actual name of this scarf is called Crest of the Wave by Jan Henley. The pattern is free on Ravelry, just click on the link.

The colors are so much prettier in person as purple doesn't photograph true (at least not in my camera). The colors are really a deep eggplant that variegates to a red plum and has touches of lavender too. The photo looks more blue, but it is not at all.

I love the look of the edging too. This is all garter stitch knit, but having the edging adds a nicer look to the scarf.

Not having a model to photograph this scarf makes it kind of hard to see how it looks worn. I love how soft and warm it feels when I do wear it.

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Close to You Hand Knit Scarf #3 in Blue-Green Variegated Yarn

I love knitting this scarf. This is the 3rd one I have knit. It uses fingering weight yarn and looks great in so many colors and types of yarn. The first one I knit was an alpaca/wool blend in a soft variegated pastel blue-violet colors. Then I knit a solid pink 100% alpaca one and this one is a wool/acrylic blend. 

On the first one I knit, I followed the picot bind off, but the last 2 I did a regular bind off without the picot edge. It was much easier and I personally didn't think the picot added anything to the scarf. This is a free pattern if you want to knit your own scarf. You can find the pattern here on Ravelry.

I am starting a different knit scarf tonight. I just finished a hat knit with cables last night. Happy Knitting and keep warm.
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Over Dyed Hand Knit Scarf

In June of 2012 I knit a Bactus scarf  using yarn that I dyed with Prickly Pear juice from the prickly pears I gathered. I remember soaking the juice from the pears in a large pot until it fermented and then immersing the yarn skein into the pot. I left it soaking for a week or two. By doing this, I didn't need a mordant and the longer it soaked the deeper the color pink I obtained. (see last photo below).

I was taking out a scarf from my closet the other day and I noticed the scarf that I had dyed with the prickly pear cactus juice was now very pale pink. I didn't remember it being so light pink. So I looked at my photo of it and it was a pretty shade of dark pink when I first dyed it. People asked me at the time I posted about dyeing the scarf if the color would stay that pink. Well I had no idea, since it was the first time I ever dyed with prickly pear juice. Now I can say the dye definitely fades over time. It was a pale pink for a few years, but not sure how many years?

So I decided to do an easy over dye. Since the scarf was already a pale pink, I needed to keep that in mind so I didn't end up with a dye that would end up turning an ugly color. I decided to dye it purple by mixing red and blue food coloring together. I soaked the scarf in water and vinegar as a mordant first and then added the mixed purple dye. It wasn't the prettiest purple, so I then added just some blue and squirted it here and there and let the colors soak and bleed as they wanted to. 

I like the end result (it could have turned out disastrously just as easily though, so whew)! The colors of the scarf are purple and a blue-green shade now. I hope this doesn't fade over the years, but if it does, I can dye it again and hope for the best.

This is the dark pink from dyeing with Prickly Pear cactus juice in 2012. This faded to a pale pink over the years. It was mostly in my closet, so not out in the sun. I guess it mainly faded with time? I really loved this shade of pink, but not the faded pink. I should have taken a photo of the faded pink, but didn't think about it.

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Knit Scarf for Grandson

I knit this scarf for my grandson.

The Buddha looks warm and cozy modeling this scarf, lol!

Thank you Buddha for being my model.

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22.5 Degrees Knit Scarf

I knit this scarf using the fingering yarn (from KnitPicks) that I hand dyed myself at the end of summer. The scarf pattern I used is called 22.5 Degrees and is a free pattern on Ravelry by Martina Behm. It was easy to knit. I am currently working on knitting a few different scarf styles using different yarns.

The knit edge is knit on after the rest of the scarf is knit. There is a link to a YouTube video on how to knit the edging and I found it helpful to watch the video first and then it was pretty easy to knit.

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Knit Shadow Scarf

I have been in a sewing/quilting slump for a while and just can't get motivated to sew at all. However, I have been doing some knitting and here is one I finished a few days ago.

This is a smaller version of the knit shadow shawl that I made a few years ago, and another one here that I made for my mother. This one is knit with 2 yarns a black yarn and a variegated alpaca yarn.

Little picots are knit along the edge.

Some readers have asked me where I got this pattern and I forgot to include the link, so here it is.
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Garter Knit Baktus Scarf

I knit this baktus scarf using the sock yarn that I had dyed with prickly pear cactus juice.

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Linen Stitch Knit Scarf

This scarf was knit with the linen stitch, which looks somewhat like it's been woven instead of knitted: On the left side the back of the scarf shows and has more of a bumpy texture:

I bought this beautiful wool yarn at the Taos Wool Festival in Taos, New Mexico a few years ago and finally decided to make something with it. I bought 2 skeins because I wasn't sure what I would make with it or how much yarn I would need, but thought 2 skeins would be enough for a scarf and a hat. So now that the scarf is made, I will decide what to make with the remaining skein and leftovers from the first skein.

The yarn is so soft, and it doesn't itch at all like so many other wool yarns do. It is from the Plain & Fancy Sheep & Wool Co. in Henderson, Texas. I remember having a lot of trouble trying to choose from so many yummy-looking colors of variegated yarns. The colors in the photos don't do it justice as the colors are very deep and rich in person. This color is the Magenta Variegated. Pin It Now!