Larisa & the Halfway Point

How can this be July already? To celebrate, my Larisa scarf is now available to download for free from Ravelry. Recent events in Casa Bookish:

• We went to see the new Riverside Transport Museum here in Glasgow. It is smaller than you think and the interior is painted a strange lime-green hue which makes everybody look jaundiced - but it is an interesting space. It'll be good to see more imaginative projects shoot up alongside the Clyde river.
• When Jonathan Stroud's Bartimaeus: The Ring of Solomon is the third-most intellectually challenging book I have read this year, you know I'm in trouble. It was hugely enjoyable, actually, but I feel guilty for not reading Clever Stuff. Maybe I should consult this.
• Don't knit lace when you are tired and stressed. Trust me on this one.
• As a household of news junkies, D and I have been glued to BBC News 24 and The Guardian's coverage of the UK phone-hacking scandal. MetaFilter has a great primer if you are unaware of the scandal (and stay for the comments).
• I had a stressful day trying to upgrade my blog software which turned out to be incompatible with my host company's servers. As you can tell, I managed to work things out, but I'm always thankful for UK hosting suggestions.

Glasgow had her annual Two Days of Summer but we are back to heavy rain, grey skies, and woolly-wear appropriate temperatures, huzzah! I am tempted to re-start Fenris which I had to rip out as I had grossly mis-calculated my measurements vs sweater measurements. Are you still working on your summer knitting?

Pattern: Kaldred

Here is a quick and easy pattern for Kaldred, a crocheted bracelet/bangle.

As the UK & US have different crochet terminology, I have included both. For the Danes among you, Kaldred also comes in Danish.

Tip: try embellishing Kaldred with beads, buttons, sequins or ribbons.

Materials: + Crochet hook size 4mm (US size 6 or G if you cannot find a 6) + Approx 20 yards of Double-knitting or light worsted yarn. I used Rowan Denim. + Knitter's needle for weaving in ends.

UK terminology: Row 1: Ch 8, sl st to form circle. Ch 2, turn. Row 2: 5 tr into circle, ch 4, 1 dc into circle, ch 2, turn. Row 3: 5tr into the circle you formed in previous row, ch 4, 1 dc in circle, ch 2, turn.

Repeat Row 3 until one repeat short of desired length.

Then ch 5 tr into the circle you formed in previous row. Make sure that this row “leans” the opposite way of your starting point so that when you hold the end and the beginning together they form a continuous circle. Join the two ends together by slip stitching along the side of the chained circle.

Weave in ends.

US terminology: Row 1: Ch 8, slip stitch to form circle, ch 2, turn. Row 2: 5 dc into circle, ch 4, 1 sc into circle, ch 2, turn. Row 3: 5 dc into the circle you formed in previous row, ch 4, 1 sc into circle, ch 2, turn.

Repeat Row 3 until one repeat short of desired length.

Then ch 5 dc into the circle you formed in previous row. Make sure that this row “leans” the opposite way of your starting point so that when you hold the end and the beginning together they form a continuous circle. Join the two ends together by slip stitching along the side of the chained circle.

Weave in ends.

Dansk opskrift: 1. omg: Hækl 8 lm, saml dem til en ring m 1 km i første lm. 2 lm, vend. 2. omg.: 5 stm i ringen, 4 lm, 1 fm i ringen, 2 lm, vend. 3. omg.: 5 stm i ringen du dannede i forg. omg., 4 lm, 1 fm i ringen, 2 lm, vend.

Gentag 3. omg. indtil ønskede længde.

Dernæst hækl 5 stm i ringen du dannede i forg. omg. Sørg for, at denne gentagelse af viften hælder den anden vej end den allerførste vifte. Hækl de to ender sammen med km langs den første luftmaskering.

Hæft ender.

Enjoy! God fornøjelse!