Here Comes Spring...At least In Copper Form!

The "upside" to living in the San Francisco Bay Area (California) is the benefit that the weather is almost always pleasant.  The "downside" is that the weather is always pleasant...so much so, that we don't really have "seasons" here.   There is no snow, no excessive sweltering heat--just sunny days and rainy days.  And rain is NOT a season...it's just rain.

As a result, there are only two seasons that really interest me each year and which provide even the smallest form of seasonal changes...Fall and Spring.  Autumn because the leaves turn lovely shades of red, orange and gold, and spring because this is when we see all the lovely little cream and pink colored blossoms. 

As I sit patiently waiting for the arrival of the first buds of spring, I've been busy creating metal flowers to occupy my time.  These lovely copper flowers were made with 16 gauge copper wire, bent into flowers, hammered vigorously (because, frankly, there is no other way to hammer...but vigorously) and then adorned with a curliqued and beaded butterfly and beaded flower center.  The entire thing was then stuck on a pleather cord with hammered copper hook and eye to close the necklace. 

Obviously, I'm not the only one with a "hankering" for the delicate buds of spring time.  My pals at Handmade Enthusiasts here in San Jose, CA, will be joining me this month to smash out some more flowers for a great flowered necklace.  Pretty!!

What is a Zarf??

When I was first introduced to the word "zarf", it was as a curiosity presented on the Today show.  Then later, I found the word highly useful in my battles with friends across the globe in Word Scramble and Word Scrabble.  Recently, the humble zarf has become a great beginner project for my pals at our Handmade Enthusiasts meetup. 

So what is a "zarf", you ask?

A zarf is the cardboard ring that goes around the coffee cup to keep your hands cool when you are holding that morning cup of coffee.  But if you really want to be kind to the environment, you'll consider using a zarf that you make.  Coffee cozy or zarf, here's a SUPER easy pattern I've designed to make your own zarf.  And, best part, it can use up all those little yarn scraps you have lying about in the craft room.

Here it is...GRACE'S KNITTED ZARF

Materials:
1 Pair Size US 6 Straight Knitting Needles OR
1 Pair Size US 7 Straight Knitting Needles
1 small ball of Red Heart or Acrylic Yarn in Worsted Weight
1 Crochet Hook or Tapestry Needle

Abbreviations:
K = Knit
P = Purl
M1 = Make 1by picking up the yarn between the stitches.  Place the yarn on the left needle, and knit into the BACK of the loop, 1 stitch increased
K1F&B = Knit into the front and back of the next stitch


If using Size 6 Needles, please cast on 34 stitches using the long-tail method
If using Size 7 Needles, please cast on 30 stitches
Leave a tail of approximately 10 inches.  We'll use this to seam up the zarf.

(The design for the larger Size 7 needles, appears in the parentheses)

Row 1 -3 - K all stitches
Row 4 - K 17(15) stitches, M1, K to the stitch before the end of the row, and K1F&B into the last stitch
Row 5-7 - K all stitches
Row 8 - K 18(16) stitches, M1, K to the stitch before the end of the row, and K1F&B into the last stitch

Row 9 - This is the start of the stockingnette stitch center, so feel free to change colors here if you'd like something stripey...  K all stitches in same color or a new color
Row 10 - P all stitches
Row 11 - K all stitches
Row 12 - P all stitches
Row 13 - K all stitches

(if you'used a different color in the stockingnette center, please change colors at Row 14)

Row 14 - K 19(17) stitches, M1, K to stitch before the end of the row, and K1F&B into the last stitch
Row 15 - K all stitches
Row 16 - K all stitches
Row 17 - K 20(18) stithces, M1, K to stitch before the end of the row, and K1F&B into the last stitch
Row 18 - K all stitches
Row 19 - K all stitches
Row 20 - Bind off all stitches fairly loosely.

Seam up the side of the Zarf using a tapestry needle and "whip stitch" or a crochet hook and a slip stitch.  Because this is something that will likely be washed a lot and used over lots of cups of coffee, the seam should be fairly sturdy, yet flat-ish.  Feel free to use "Dutch Knitting" to embroider initials into the middle "band" of your Zarf for easy identification by the Zarf's owner.

Enjoy!!