Presenting the second rendition of Kureopatora’s Snake. As I mentioned in my last post, I like this much better than the red version I made. Totally 100% more awesome for sure. (Yes, hello, I am from California.)

With the completion of this scarf, I only have 4 more Christmas presents left to make. Or 6, depending on how ambitious I get with gifts for the almost-in-laws. A scarf for my boyfriend, a scarf for my mom (in progress), and I’m thinking maybe a hat for my great-uncle and some felted clogs for my great-aunt. I’m so ready to be done with my Christmas knitting!

Pattern: Kureopatora’s Snake

Yarn used: 2 skeins Patons SWS in 70041 Natural Slate

Needles used: US size 10.5/6.5 mm

Started: 12/10/07

Finished: 12/12/07

Size: Roughly 5″ x 62″ before blocking; roughly 5″ x 67″ after blocking. It stretches quite a bit when worn, so it’s most likely longer and skinnier than that when being worn rather than laid out flat on the floor.

Mods: I made the scarf 26 stitches wide instead of 30 stitches wide, to compensate for the larger needle size, and it came out to a very good size. I just love this pattern. I tried knitting it months ago in Patons SWS in Natural Geranium, kept getting confused and going the wrong way with the entrelac, and frogged it in frustration after just one repeat. I eventually tried again, and was surprised to find that it wasn’t that hard after all, and was in fact a very addictive pattern, unlike a regular, interminable 1×1 rib scarf. I put up more detailed notes about keeping track of the entrelac in my writeup of the previous snake scarf.

Notes: Apparently, I never got over the high school idea that blurry, monochromatic photos = Great Art. In these photos, I’m even wearing a long black dress I bought in high school! (The schlumpy black Ally Sheedy-type cardigan is from Target.) I set out to take some moody, wintry pictures a la Norah Gaughan’s self-titled Norah Gaughan Vol. 1, specifically inspired by the picture of this scarf. Lots of red lipstick and black eyeliner and dozens of totally ridiculous photos later (America’s Next Top Model, I ain’t) I managed to pick out a few photos that I wasn’t completely embarrassed to put up. To my surprise, the scarf came out looking way too warm in color when I converted the pictures to grayscale, so I left the photos in color. If only my skin and my walls were Goth white.


Woe is me, oh, I am so emo.

I thought this one came out kind of neat because my face is blurry but the scarf is not:

Perhaps superior workmanship will make me happy?


I am so tired by the tragedies of my life, I think I need to lean on this wall for a while

I think I just don’t have the kind of cheekbones that lend themselves to great Serious Art photos full of dim light and interesting shadows, and should stick to smiling and taking snapshots of myself like a normal person.

The ones on the balcony of just the scarf came out nicer, I think. Less drama!

Knitting knitting knitting. The media in the rest of my life has been full of knitting lately. I saw a play as part of a series called Sex/Death V the other day that involved someone getting stabbed to death with knitting needles. It reminded me of this Stephen King short story I read where a woman’s drowned husband comes back from the dead and shows up in the living room as a dripping wet zombie, and she stabs him in the eye with her needles.

There’s been a lot of talk about knitwear in the Golden Compass. My favorite from the movie was not the Gyptian garter stitch coat that’s generated so much buzz, but the pointy little imp hat in bulky marled yarn she wore while they were walking towards Bolvangar. It has a rolled brim and a pointed tip. I wish I could find a picture. It looks similar in overall shape to the meathead hat.

I’ve also been reading, and really enjoying, the Fables graphic novels by Bill Willingham. One of the key players in a major battle is a witch who knits. I highly recommend the series to anyone who enjoys graphic novels and/or fairytales.

I saw this link to KnitML on Craftzine and it’s all kinds of amazing in theory, but reading the sample sock pattern made my eyes glaze over. Maybe it just takes getting used to.