Nelkin Designs "Lolatude": Kit #1

Lolatude Kit #1

Back in August, I was looking at knitting designs by Laura Nelkin.  I stumbled across her blog where she was advertising an upcoming event where you could purchase project kits and have them mailed to your home for one, three, or six months.  I decided to treat myself to six months of project kits since my 50th birthday was in September.

I received my first kit in the middle of September. This is what came in the package.

• A Gale's Art Hand Dyed Sock blank (about 33 grams)
• some beautiful beads
• a Japanese bead needle
• some coordinating thread 
• some candy
• a post card with keycode to download the project pattern 

This was a pretty quick knit since it was only about 1/3 the size of a regular sock blank.  The instructions have you knit a boomerang shaped, asymmetrical triangle. You start at the narrow end then and, at the end, you work a number of rows in what's called "linen" stitch.  Finally, you bind off with an "I-cord bind off".  Next you create three tubes out of small (size 6) seed beads using needle and thread.  Thankfully the pattern had a great video link for how to make these Peyote Stitch Tubes.  It was a little tricky at first, but I enjoyed the bead work.  At the end, you sew the tubes to the linen stitch border of the scarf and then you insert the narrowest tip of the scarf through the three Peyote Stitch Tubes.  Each of the tubes is a different size depending upon the number of beads you use when you start the Peyote Stitch Tube.  

Eeeeek!  I made a mistake. I sewed my tubes on in the incorrect order.  I could not insert the narrow end of my scarf in the correct direction so I had to insert it in the opposite direction.  Thankfully it still works, it's just not as the designer intended.  So there you have it... a one of a kind scarf!

Here are some photos to show you what the kit looked like when it arrived.  I am also posting some photos of what the project looked like while in progress. I sure am looking forward to receiving and making my other "Lolatude" projects!