The Bubbles Brigade Begins!

For Christmas, Sylvia invited some of her more adventurous knitting friends to join her in the “Bubbles Brigade”. She gave each Brigade member a kit for Lucy Neatby’s Bubbles Scarf, accompanied by this note:

“You are a member of the Bubbles Brigade. All meetings are called when necessary and knitting strategy is planned over a bottle of champagne.”

The Brigade includes: Sylvia, Joan, Carol, Gerrie, Marty, Cynthia, and me.

Lucy Neatby, as you may know, is a renowned knit designer and instructor. If you haven’t yet, you must visit Lucy’s website. And I strongly encourage you to check out her blog, “Happy Stitches”. And, hey, take a class from her too!

You will quickly see that she’s crazy about double knitting. Her Bubbles Scarf is a fantastically clever example of this intriguing technique.

Now, none of the members of the BB had tried double knitting prior to this project. But we are all game! My first effort at the scarf was a few weeks ago, when I started the swatch. I got up to row 6, then I put it aside for other, more pressing projects. Because this is the first time I’ve tried double knitting, it took a fair amount of concentration. But I can see that with practice it will become more natural and logical.

The first “official” meeting of the Bubbles Brigade was earlier this week at Gerrie’s house. The meeting began with the obligatory toasting with champagne.

Then a lunch of chili and cornbread. Dessert was cookies from Mary’s Kitchen Port in Traverse City. Then we knitted. And knitted some more.

Of all the members, Sylvia has made the most progress on her scarf. She graciously shared many of her hints and tips (i.e., mistakes) with those of us taking up the rear.

Sylvia’s accomplishment:

Joan’s beginnings:

Gerrie’s start:




I’m headed to Mischicot, Wisconsin for the weekend. For travel knitting, I’m taking my “Tattoo” sweater with me. When I return, I promise to spend some time knitting bubbles…and maybe drinking some bubbles too.