I found this cute scarf pattern from Lion Brand Yarn. It’s called “Meandering Rib Scarf”.  I love that it’s reversible, as both front and back looks the same.

It was a simple project with only two knit type of stitches (knit & purl). Just be sure to keep count!

Sometimes it’s nice to have a simple project at hand. Something to knit a bit, leave, and pick up again.

Nothing is more relaxing then getting the chance to sit down and knit a few rows each day.

The one pictured on the chair was knitted by Lion Brand Company.  It looks so pretty - all nice and plush. They used Fisherman’s Wool, which is a lovely wool to knit.

My version was knitted with machine washable acrylic yarn. It’s surprisingly warm and soft.

As much as I love wool yarn, most of them are a bit itchy. Unless it’s merino or cashmere blend. Cascade’s super wash wool is another nice one that isn’t too itchy for me.

Lion Brand has lots of nice and free patterns. Registration is also free. Enjoy!

Photo on right is from Lion Brand Yarn.

Just when I thought autumn was coming around, the sun is still shining brightly in California. And that means more chances for me to wear my favorite summer hat (by OLD NAVY).

At first it looks like another straw hat. But the paper yarn is actually soft, flexible, comfy, light and sturdy. Therefore a perfect material to knit hats or even bags. The material can also be used to make fabrics.

So what exactly is paper yarn? Paper yarn is made of a natural product called “abaca” or Manila hemp. This is also the same product used to make Manila rope found at your local hardware store.

This material comes from the banana family which is native to the Philippines. It is also grown in Ecuador and Costa Rica. A majority of it still comes from the Philippines.

The abaca plant takes about three years to mature. When the flower stalk emerges from the top center it’s time to cut it down at the roots. The leaves are removed and only the stem part (leaf sheath) is collected for the fiber.

OJI FIBER a Japanese company has found a way to process it efficiently. As mentioned from their company info, “It’s not only stronger, lighter and less fuzzier but also has better touch than conventional hemp.”

Here are some of the benefits of the yarn as noted by OJI Fibers.

Abaca Grows quickly

Abaca plant absorbs lots of carbon dioxide.

Biodegradable

Doesn’t emit poisonous gas when incinerated.

Check out how it’s made with this great flow chart illustrated by OJI FIBERS.

I haven’t made much jeweleries lately until I saw these pretty bracelets from Lee’s Design. They have inspired me to make a bracelet too.

The best things about making jewelries (or soap) is that they are truly unique. Handmade gifts always feel more genuine than something found at the mall.

And if you can’t make it yourself, you can always support local artisan that do excellent and beautiful work.

This bracelet is held together with steel wire and clasp. There’s also some fresh water pearls, random small gem stones and glass beads. I think I bought most of them from The Bead Shop many years ago.

Sometimes I still find myself admiring pretty gemstones and taking them home with me. Now they are just sitting there waiting for an inspiration.

The only thing about spring that makes knitting hard is that it’s much nicer to be outside enjoying the sunshine.

This is one of my first attempt at knitting something for my wardrobe.  It’s not perfect, but it’s just warm enough for spring days and nights.

It’s made with a wool and bamboo blend yarn. I knitted the two pieces separately and then sew the seams together along the sides and shoulder.

Learning lessons: Next time around I will use smaller needles and maybe use seed stitches for the ribbing and collar.

I’ve also just finished making a cardigan and that took me forever! Making adult sweaters take way too long.

Maybe I’m one of those folks that like smaller projects for variations. But meeting new knitting challenges can be fun too. As there is still more to learn and grow.

I am currently working on a toddler’s cardigan knitted in one piece from the top down. Hence no need to sew the seams. It’s a quicker knit and uses much less yarn.

I am attempting to model part of this spring vest here. One of these days I’ll have to get me a dress form.

I’ve been on a yarn frenzy lately and came upon the discussion on milk yarn. It is consider to be fine material with a nice luster.  One that feels luxurious and silky.

The question for me is whether it’s an eco-friendly material?

Cyarn, the producer of milk yarn, suggest their yarn is eco-friendly as it passed Oeko-Tex Standard 100 green certification for the international ecological textiles.

They also mentioned, “It combines the advantages of natural fiber and synthetic fiber - the protein fiber is a kind of fresh fiber with healthy function..”

Milkofil is another milk fabric maker. Info from ecouterre.com:

“A silk-like fabric by made from casein, the white, odorless protein from which cheese is made. Made by Maclodio Filati, Milkofil is said to have naturally antibacterial properties and perhaps even boost circulation. It does, however, take about 100 pounds of skim milk to make 3 pounds of milk fiber, a likely reason why it isn’t more widespread. b: Can be blended with other fabrics like cotton, silk, and cashmere to give it different characteristics.”

So far it sounds good, but I’ll have to say it can’t be too eco-friendly. Especially since it takes 100 pounds of skim milk to make 3 pounds of milk fiber. And not to mention all the chemical necessary to process all this stuff. And I am all for natural fibers, but I’d hate to see them use all the milk from the cow just to make yarn. And who knows how these cow are treated anyway?

Besides all that, it’s also rather expensive yarn. Cascade Yarn ran a test on some brand name yarns that claim to have milk but was instead made with acrylic. Here’s some of what they found from their test:

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Another fruit that produces fabric is pineapple. Well not from the juicy fruit part, but from the leaves.

Pineapple fabric is an eco-friendly and sustainable because the plants are a renewable and natural resource.

100 % pineapple (leaf) fiber is lightweight and stiff. Some describe it as similar to linen but softer than hemp. This fabric is called piña, it’s Spanish for pineapple.

Main producer of pina comes from The Philippines. For Filipinos, piña clothing is usually reserve for wedding attire such as “Barong Tagalog” shirt for men. The colors are naturally white or cream.

Anne Harte gave a neat description of how families process pina fabric with the Textile Society of Hong Kong newsletter.

Ms. Harte describes the extraction process as being done by hand.  The material is scraped from the pineapple leaf by using a broken plate or coconut shell.

These are usually done by families who get their pineapple leaf from the island or imported from Hawaii.

The number of pina weavers are limited so these fibers are expensive. So they usually blend the pineapple fiber with cotton or silk.

The resulting fabric is very soft and lustrous. I have yet to see any pina fabric for sale locally. I’m sure it would make the perfect summer outfit.

In the meantime, when I do cut up that pineapple, I’ll be sure of think of it’s contribution to pina fabric.

Photo from Wikipedia.  Pineapple leaf being scraped by hand  with a broken ceramic plate.

This Halloween has me thinking about Disney’s fairy tale princess. Come to think of it I don’t remember ever wanting to be a princess for Halloween. Maybe a black cat or friendly witch.

This is Snow White. It looks almost creepy but somewhat interesting and sweet. The cover art from the book, The Art of Disney Princess. Available at Amazon or The Disney Store. Image .

I also like this version of Snow White, although the make-up is a bit too heavy for my taste. Photo by Ryan Astamendi.

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I have a pair of denim (jeans) and noticed it’s made with both cotton and lyocell. I like that lycoell made this jean softer than most denim material.

It’s comfortable and cooling to wear in the summertime and warm in the winter. And the sheen and drape is nice too. So what exactly is lyocell?

According to the Ohio State University’s fact sheet, lyocell is made of cellulose fibers from wood pulp. The first commercial production of lyocell in the U.S. was in 1993 by Courtaulds Fibers, under the Tencel trade name.

Lyocell is considered to be an eco-friendly fabric because the wood pulp is harvested from sustainable tree farms. And dissolving agent used in production is recycled.

Because it is made from a plant material, it possesses many properties of other cellulose fibers including cotton, hemp, linen, rayon and ramie.

The fabric fact sheet also states that Lyocell is more absorbent than cotton and silk, but less so than wool, linen, and rayon. Stability, overall, is similar to that of silk and better than cotton or linen.

It is the strongest cellulose based fiber when dry. Even stronger than cotton or linen and is stronger than cotton when wet. Lyocell is much stronger than rayon when wet. This property of high wet strength usually determines the extent to which fabrics can be machine washed successfully.

It’s an easy to care fabric and has not lost it’s sheen after several washes.

Ever since I’ve started knitting, I’ve been noticing sweaters everywhere. And there are so many nice machine knit sweaters as well as handknits.

Pringle of Scotland (not the potato chip makers) is one such knitwear company from Scotland that started off with all handknits until they went with machine knit. They are considered to be “designer knitwear” made with fine yarns.

Pictured here is one of their argyle cardigan cardigan made with 100% Fine Cashmere. Quite expensive at $442.48!

A bit of history from the Pringle’s archive:

“Pringle of Scotland is the iconic brand founded in 1815 at the birthplace of the Scottish knitwear industry.

From the beginning technical innovation has led to the creation of knitwear as outerwear it became one of the first luxury knitwear manufacturers in the world, having expanded throughout Europe, the US and Asia during the 19th and 20th centuries.

Pringle has been knitting cashmere since the 1870s when it began as a luxury hosiery manufacturer.

Pringle also took a sporty two-piece cardigan and sweater set from the golf course and retailored it to create the ‘twinset’, and a classic British style icon was born.”

I somehow find this from Youtube very entertaining, educational, and funny!

I had lots of fun knitting my bamboo yarn scarf so I’m working on another scarf.  After a washing, the 100% bamboo scarf became even more soft and silky.  It’s really great for summer as it’s very cooling.

This one is made with the 100% cotton yarn.  The pattern is “Old Shale” and the deep blue color reminds me of waves crashing along the beach.  So I will call it “Wave After Wave” scarf.

I really hope to finish it before the summer ends.

If anyone is interested in this pattern here are my notes:

Make 44 stitch and knit first 4 rows as edging.

Row 1: Knit

Row 2: K4, P, k4

Row 3: K4, *[K2tog] 3x, [yo, k1] 6x, [k2tog] 3x, K4. place ring marker and *repeat for how ever wide you want the scarf.  I repeated twice.

Row 4: Knit

Repeat the 4 rows.