Doctor Who scarf complete

I have finished my Doctor Who scarf and it came out shorter than the knitted version would have so my 1 knit to 1 crochet did not work out as well as I'd hoped.

This one came out about 83" without fringe. The original knitted version is about 9' (108"). However, instructions say to make fringe with a 12" strand of all seven colors. I didn't add fringe to my scarf as I wanted to conserve the yarn for a possible second one - many skeins were only partially used.

To estimate how much longer the fringe would make the scarf, I took a couple of 12" strands and made one fringe on a swatch I had lying around. The fringe ended up being about 5 1/2". With 7 strands in each (one of each of the 7 colors), it might be a tad shorter. So let's say 5".

Fringe on both ends then might add 10" to the scarf. So it would then be about 93". Total length of 108" in the knitted scarf minus 93" would still leave me 15" short which is not as much as originally feared, but still not as close as I'd like.


Since there are 314 rows in Tara's version, adding length on each row by using a hdc might make it too long. Even if each row was only 1mm longer that would be 628mm which is almost 25", so too long.

Another possibility is to use a larger hook and a smaller foundation chain. That would really move away from the knitted look of the smaller stitches. Of course, if I knew how many inches there were of each color I could adjust number of rows as well, but I only have the finished size and the number of knitted rows.

For my purposes, which is just because I wanted to make it, this should be good enough. I thank Witty Little Knitter for all her hard work. Having the specific yarn colors was wonderful, and even though mine was short, having the knitted row numbers was a big help. It gave me a way to go and I'm pleased with the outcome.

Now I'm trying to finish that Jacob's Ladder lapghan I started a while back. Trouble is finding enough yarn in my stash to make 7 rows. Might have to use a creative bit of coloring as I go on. :-)


Happy crocheting!
Sandie

DW scarf progress / hyberbolic planes

Still working on the Doctor Who scarf. I had a couple of setbacks when my dog decided to pull skeins of yarn out of my bag and tangle them to bits. This surprised me as he doesn't generally fool with my yarn. Well, I think he now has gotten the message that this is NOT acceptable behavior. I was able to untangle and rewind the yarn into balls. I just had to remember which was which color for the scarf as I'm following the pattern for the color blocks.

I hope to be able to finish the crocheting in the next day or so, then have to tackle the tails. Here is a photo of where I stand right now. It is about 73" at this point. That is very approximate. I have about 30 rows left I think. I am on my second skein of beige and olive but have a good bit left of the other colors at this point.

If you're interested in all things Who, you might like to have a look at what Amazon has available Search Amazon.com for doctor who. I have four different Who wishlists from the classic to the new series. Particularly close to my heart right now are the The Sarah Jane Adventures since sweet Elisabeth Sladen passed away recently. Such a lovely lady and wonderful actress. She will be missed. Doctor #10 (my favorite, David Tennant) appeared in the The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Complete Third Season and #11 Matt Smith appeared in the 4th season which is not yet on DVD.

But I have taken a turn away from crochet, haven't I? :-) Big Who fan here.

But back to crochet - a couple of weeks ago I discovered the book Crocheting Adventures with Hyperbolic Planes. VERY interesting reading. I really enjoyed what I read. It does take some concentration and if you hate geometry and such this is probably something you'd prefer to skip. While I don't pretend to understand most of it, I did catch a bit and hope to crochet one of these interesting characters at some point. It had detailed instructions on how to crochet a hyperbolic plane. Someone at Eons also posted this link, at the University of Florida, to more patterns.

Just to let you know what you're in for - a hyperbolic plane has constant negative curvature. What is curvature? Good question. I can only explain it by example. A straight line or flat surface has zero curvature. Circles have constant curvature because they are curved everywhere in the same way. Curving outward is positive curvature - like an egg or a hill. A valley would be negative curvature. So if a surface has constant positive curvature it is a sphere.

To put this into practical use, if you made a crocheted pentagon and you surrounded it with crocheted hexagons (laying them side by side with no space between them), you would not be able to lay them flat. They will eventually form a sphere - a soccer ball is the example used in the book. The premise is that a surface with constant positive curvature will not be able to lie flat but will, in fact, close in on itself eventually, thus becoming a sphere or circle.

The book had examples of where this concept is found in nature and different ways to use it in crochet. I found it fascinating.

The Institute for Figuring is another site that I've mentioned before with more crocheted examples. 

If you're interested in this topic, I suggest you get the above book and do some research online, google hyperbolic plane + crochet, for example.

I don't know if I mentioned here before but I decided against making the Sweetheart Ripple Afghan in Reversible Ripple Afghans for the time being. I may do it later but am not doing the crochet-along. It's just a matter of time and priorities.

You might remember that this Sweetheart Ripple is the afghan by Kim Guzman. If you ARE working that sweetheart ripple afghan, do go have a look at the video demonstrating the special stitch. I thought it looked to be very helpful.


Happy crocheting!
Sandie

DW Scarf progress

Progress on the Who-scarf. I've done 21 color sections and it looks to be somewhere in the vicinity of 3' long.

If my figuring is correct, I've done 141 rows. There are 314 rows total so I have 173 left to go. If my estimate of the current size is correct, I am going to be a bit short on the nine feet. We'll see how it goes.

I chained 36, to account for the turning chain and worked each row in single crochet, changing colors as per the chart.

Of course, there is also the fringe to consider. It is supposed to have fringe. Haven't decided if I'll do the fringe or not. I generally don't add fringe, but for a little more authenticity in this case perhaps I will. I am not shooting for a totally authentic scarf. I could not get such without looking at the original scarf and also knitting it. But this will be close enough for my needs.

I would be further along, but had a little mishap earlier. My dog, who never messes with my yarn, decided this would be a good day to break his good habit. This is the result. That cost me a good bit of time as I had to untangle this mess. I was NOT a happy camper and Jack absolutely was aware of my ire by the tone and volume of my voice when he was caught. Then he was banished to the outdoors. No worries. My daughter was out there to watch him.

The yarn was salvaged and I continued to work as I watched TV. Jack went to sleep on the sofa.

That's all for today.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie

Doctor Who scarf begun

It is begun! I started crocheting my Doctor Who (Season 14) scarf this evening as I watched the second episode of Season 6, Day of the Moon. This was part 2, the conclusion of the season opener, The Impossible Planet.

As noted before, I am using the color notations and yarn found at http://wittylittleknitter.com/season-fourteen/.

 I read somewhere - maybe at Chris' site? - that the scarf is 11" wide. My sample knitted piece was not that wide, but I decided to just use Tara's knitted cast on of 35 for my foundation chain and see where it took me. It took me to 10 1/2" which is close enough for me.

Since a crochet row is one pass where the knitted rows include two passes, I am working the exact number she has on the chart. She noted to double that number for knitting. There are 44 color sections. I have just begun the 12th section so about a quarter of the way done. 

I am also working on that Jacob's Ladder that I began a few weeks back and have yarn ordered for the Special Olympics scarves. I also have some leftover Wool Ease, with which I plan to make more scarves.

All in good time.


Happy crocheting!
Sandie

Doctor Who

My Vanna's Choice yarn came in from Knitting Warehouse! Now that the Knit Your Bit scarves are done - though this is an ongoing project so I'm sure I will be making more for them - I can begin my Doctor Who scarf (while I wait for the Special Olympics yarn to get here). :-) Never let your crocheting fingers lie idle. LOL

I do already have a Doctor Who scarf which was made for me by my daughter, which I love (both the scarf and the daughter). She worked it in filet with the words Dr Who on it. I used it many times this past winter.

The scarf I will be making now will be in the colors of the scarf worn by Doctor Who #4 (Tom Baker) during Season 14. It is the shortest one at 9'. Since I myself am short, I thought that best. :-) I have long wanted to do this, but was finally inspired to begin by reading about my friend Ghost's scarf, in progress.

The pattern I am using is from Tara Wheeler's WittyLittleKnitter. I e-mailed Tara and she e-mailed me right back. Seems like a sweet lady. I have also referenced Chris Brimelow's pages. My scarf will be somewhere in between the two of them I think since I don't have access to the original scarf myself. ;-) I do have two of the episodes in which it appears, however, and I will be watching those soon. Maybe I should do that before I start. LOL

The Doctor Who original scarves were knitted and the patterns I found are knitted, but I am going to crochet mine, in those colors. I did attempt to knit a few rows just to see the difference in size between a knitted row and crocheted row. I had mixed success with that project. LOL But suffice to say I think I can do it well enough in crochet to please myself - and that is who I'm trying to please with this project.

You might remember my Doctor Who afghan ... Well, if you don't, here is a picture of it. heh

I have found another Doctor Who afghan over at Ravelry, but this one is knitted by Carrie Fritsche. Beautiful thing. The pattern pdf is I think 19 pages long. What a lot of work. She put her TARDIS in the center of a larger piece, giving a background. Really, really nice. I love it.

Carrie has kindly given me permission to post a photo of her ghan so here it is. The yarn used in her pattern (free download at Ravelry) is Knit Picks Wool of the Andes. The blue is Arctic Pool Heather. Dove Heather is the light grey. Coal is the black. Cobblestone Heather is a dark grey. The way she uses these colors to get the effect is amazing. Really cool. Did I say I love it?

I love mine also, of course, and as noted before I don't knit - at least not anything anyone would want to actually see even if I could make myself finish something.

Happy crocheting!
Sandie