First of all, I would like to apologize to all the lovely people that sent comments for my chunky braided scarf pattern and that I negleted completely. I’ve been terrible. Probably nobody’s reading the blog at this point, but, what can you do? I guess I deserve it. It’s been almost half a year since my last post.

 I promise that’s going to change now. I promise. Just wait and see.

I’m very excited about all the nice responses my chunky braided scarf recieved in Craftster, so… here’s my attemp at writing a pattern for it. It’s really rudimentary, but the making is a lot easier than what you might guess from just looking at it.

Some people asked me about the kind of yarn I used, well, it’s called Alpandina,  a Peruvian blend of alpaca and acrylic. It’s really really warm, but it’s also quite light-weight, so I had to use five strands held together with size 13 knitting needles.

 OK…. so.. pattern, I hope you can all understand it!!

With 30 stitches,

Do a 2×2 rib for as many rows as you are comfortable with. Remember, this will replace the usual fringe.  I did it for about 20 rows.

Note: I did the ribbing and braiding in the same needles, however, I think I should have done the ribbing with a size smaller. Since the braiding makes the knitting tighter, the rib is a bit too wide for the rest of the scarf, so I would recommend trying it with needles a size smaller. Haven’t tried it yet, but I think it would work better.

After the ribing is done… (all the wrong side rows are purled)

(RS) –>

Row 1: Knit

Row 3: Knit

Row 5: Slip 5 stiches knitwise to cable needle, place in front of work. Knit 5 stitches, then knit 5 stitches on cable needle. Repeat two more times.

Row 7: Knit

Row 9: Knit

Row 11: Knit 5. Slip 5 stitches knitwise to cable needle, place behind work. Knit 5 stitches,  then knit the 5 stitches on cable needle. Repeat 1 more time. Knit remaining 5 stitches.

Repeat pattern as desired. End with a 2×2 rib.

Ok… I couldn’t find the original paper where I had written the cable pattern, but I’m pretty sure this one is really acurate. Please let me know if the pattern is confusing in some form and I’ll try to make it clearer.

Thanks for all the nice comments!

You can see the chunky braided scarf post here: http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=176869.0

Last week was a though one…. With winter arriving and my back in pain, life just seemed a littler darker.

I have to admit, (that like the Beatles once said) it’s getting better. Today was a nice day.

I finally went to see a doctor about my back. The only thing he said was that I was screwed and that I couldn’t dance or do yoga for some more time, and that I needed to go through some physical therapy, but at least now I know I’m on the right path to healing, I had been putting it off too long.  I feel a lot better, the doctor didn’t really tell me anything I didn’t know he would, but hearing it strangely did a lot of good for my mood.

 I ran into someone I hadn’t seen in the past few week and whose absence had been the icing on the cake that my last few days have been. It was a lovely encounter which, a pizza and a night in front of a fireplace later has ended only half an hour ago.

Also, I’ve been helping a friend of mine with a short movie he is making, I’ll post details later. And last, but not least, I finally bought new batteries for my camera, so I can finally take some pictures of the new scarf I finished only recently…

I’ve been going through a chunky knits craze recently, and I had been observing for quite a while in different designer’s I like, a tendency for super long and chunky scarves.. Here’s my own attempt at it…

took this one to show the construction a bit better, but it’s a little blury.. it’s the best I could do though.

I’ve hurt my back. It’s awful.

I can’t sit down for more than five minutes without feeling terrible pain. It’s just very hard for me, feeling my body as an enemy, after feeling so in touch with it. With all the dancing and yoga I had been doing I felt comfortable in my own skin, I understood my body, it’s limits and it’s possibilities and now I feel as a stranger in my own arms, legs and back.

My back’s been hurting for the past month, I had to stop with the dancing at first, and now I can’t do any of the physical stuff I’m used to. I’ve never been a “sporty” person, but I had been enjoying the level of understanding I had been experimenting with my body lately.

Anyway, I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow, I hope this all ends soon.

Lili is a friend of mine, who (I think) I’ve got a lovely story with.

 Lili is Italian, she moved to Lima about a year and a half ago with her daughter Tanit, as her Tanit’s father is peruvian and she wanted her to grow close to him. At the time, I was in a relationship with Tanit’s father best friend. Today, neither Lili or myself are still involved with them, but we’ve remained very close friends. I like knowing that our friendship goes way past the fact that we were these guys girlfriends.  I also love seeing her now, in love, happy and enthusiastic about her future.

Anyway… I told Lili short ago that I really wanted to travel somewhere, but that I just couldn’t save any money as I kept spending it whenever I saw something I liked.

That’s why she made this for me. I can now put my money in it, and there’s no risk in me spending it, as I can’t get around breaking it. I’m going to keep saving in this little pig until there’s no more room for a single coin. I’ll break it then, and I’ll travel as far as I can.

Winter is finally coming, something for which I have mixed feelings. I love summer, spending days lying in the sand, swimming in the cold water. Nothing makes me happier that walks through the park during the summer, when the afternoon light makes it’s way through the leaves.  Everything just feel simpler then.

 Winter, however, is good for staying indoors. I can catch up with my reading, knit and cook. Even my musical taste changes in winter. Winter is uncertain for me, which I love and fear at the same time.

What I adore without a question about winter is… warming up. And something I adore year through, is headwear. In that sense, winter is perfect. Hats, slouchs, earwarmers, the posibilities are endless.  This is what I’ve done so far.  

So simple, and so lovely. A quirky earwarmers that I came up with while watching some tv.

I haven’t been able to use this one yet (winter is just arriving, and days are still pretty warm) but I’m guessing I’ll wear it out by the end of september. I made it after the adorable big blue berett pattern by tragicheroine in Craftster.