Scarves for the sake of it

Mentally, I am in a weird place right now.

In knitting terms it means that I am not working on the projects that are on needles. I think they understand this in their little fibers as they are all sitting quietly on the sidelines, waiting patiently. The blanket, the sock, the curtains and such have all become silent witnesses to my simmering mind.


That is not to say I am not knitting.
Rather, it means that instead of having a diversity of patterns in my mind, I am focusing on the last pattern I have memorized. I have added a garter border to the Isobel pattern so that I can avoid blocking and can easily get away with a thicker yarn.


Years ago I started knitting and I asked my Grandma what her favorite color was. She likes green, a deep forest-y green. I told her I would knit her a scarf.
I have cast on and am a good ways in.

A few days ago, my roomie's mother sent me a text asking if we were still alive or had forgotten her. The "mother's guilt" did not stop there. When we talked on the phone she mentioned that she was still wearing the scarf I had knit her years ago. (Which was actually a project she was supposed to do but she couldn't get into knitting and had me knit if for her. She was taking a class and happily displayed the scarf as her own.)

The fact is, it was my first fun fur scarf on size US15 needles and started the craze as all kinds of co-workers saw it and wanted one of their own. It really is a flimsy, strangely colored scarf and not one of great pride. The nice thing is that size US15 needles and thin novelty yarn hide all possible gauge issues.
But I know the truth.

So today I cast on another Isobel-variant scarf, this one with the borders and one less repeat, in my red Classic Elites Yarn-Lush. I picked the red yarn because red is her favorite color and it was either the beautiful angora that was going to be a hat for me or the Dark Horse Fantasy yarn that I am hoping to make a sweater or vest with (as soon as I learn this color thing.)
Marvel at the wonder of "mother's guilt" and how it can part a knitter from good yarn!

Sure, I could have gone out and purchased more yarn, but a) I am really trying to cut down the stash b) if I get this done with one skein I might still get away with a small hat for me (it will have to be knit top-down for safety.)
Besides, I know I still have other precious yarns.

My knitting right now will be simple scarves of the same pattern with minor variations because I don't think I could handle any thing else right now. The stitch repeat in this pattern is fast. The fact that it is a scarf with 37 sts per row (31 sts on the red scarf) also helps make it relatively fast. Quick easy projects for me right now. I think I am needing the comfort of productivity and visible results to sooth me.

I am re-learning why so many knitters start on scarves and stay with them for years. There is a lot of options with scarves, really. There is a whole bunch of little changes you can make to increase ones skill or even just to play around with. Most people love scarves and they are easily adapted to many other tasks, besides warming necks. You can decorate an room with scarves and you can make them any size you want.

Scarves are like the dogs of the knitting world; loyal and unconditionally loving
us, even if we say mean things. The scarves wait for us while we go off to work on other things and are right their waiting for us when we want adventure or relaxation.

Scarves are typically not very demanding projects. They tend to be friendly, cuddly projects (unless it is a deviant pattern or it is paired with a deviant yarn) that welcome you to knit at your own pace and try different things as you go.

For example: This scarf pattern has happily allowed me to get more practice knitting backwards (which, for me, means moving stitches from left to right). When I did my variation to add a garter edging with the green scarf, I finally got to learn how to purl backwards, incorrectly and then correctly. I can now comfortably knit either way. With the red scarf, I practiced yarn overs from left to right and was rewarded with proof that I now get how other people wrap their yarn on the needles. Some day, I'll figure out what most people are talking about when they say clockwise/counter-clockwise, but not today.


When my brain begins to feel better I'll get back to work on my existing projects, the Project Queue of 2009 and perhaps even get that second sock cast on. Right now, it is better that I don't think of all of those things.
Better for me, the simple unconditional love of the scarf.

Party as Promised

Well, I was going to post this after the party, but I was tired. The next day I had to work and since then I just have been trying to catch up with various things.

Thus follows my report of the Yarn For Breakfast's First Annual Christmas Party and Gift Exchange.


First, the spread. There was tasty food and more tasty food. The picture I took was premature as more dishes arrived a bit later. My favorite was the peanut butter and chocolate cookies, for which I managed to get the recipe.

I brought pastry wrapped cheddar smokies which were actually made by me with no spotter in the kitchen to guide me or prevent me from melting random kitchen items. I am no cook. Baking is a skill I fluent with, but with cooking my vocabulary is limited and often requires a translator. I was very proud of the results of my cooking as the food was tasty and no cutting boards were accidentally destroyed in the process.

Back on December 2nd I aired out my tale of woe as concerns the sock. I told you of how I had ripped it back and left you with a mental image of a tangled pile of yarn next to a partial sock. What I forgot to mention when regaling you with my pain was how limited my pick-up-stitches skills are. Picking up 2x2 ribbing with size US1 needles was beyond me.
I put out a cry for help as the only thing I could think of would be to rip back the entire leg to the stockinette section as I could not thread a lifeline in the ribbing nor find the purl stitches.
My plea was answered by Carly. I promised a gift for whoever got the stitches back on the needles. She told me no such gifts were needed, but I feel she earned it after spending quite a bit of the party tucked away with a bright light working with those size US1 needles quietly concentrating on getting the sock back to a workable state. I had picked up some traditional German Christmas cookies, Domino Stones. They are made with layers of soft gingerbread, creamy persipan and fruit jelly coated in a rich bittersweet chocolate. A barely worthy reward for someone who is willing to do what I myself could not make work.

Diligently she worked and lo, the sock was ready for rows. We needed to complete a row or two to make sure all stitches were accounted for. I told her she could, but as I knit backwards it would probably be best if I did the first row. She was fine with that, but curiosity got to her and she watched me knit the row and asked how she would be able to knit a row for me without making a gap or messing up the stitch orientation. I told her she would knit with the needles on the far side of the sock purling the stitches that were purl oriented to her and knitting the knit ones. Because she would be knitting from the inside it would actually be going the same direction and me knitting from the outside. She asked to try and I handed over the sock. It was an easy success and I got to show that left-handed knitting is easily swappable with right-handed knitting. It was very nice.


Then came the gift exchange. We drew numbers and picked up gifts, then came the opportunity to steal other gifts BEFORE unwrapping the gift. I think this was the best version of the gift stealing I have ever experienced. We had much thieving and still had the surprise of what was in the gift at the end. Several gifts were stolen three times around, the max stealing. This was caused partially because knitters with gifts of yarn can't help but talk about the yarn and so many of us knew that there was some very nice yarns even if we didn't know how much or what else was in the package.
My contribution was named "Most Creative" gift. My gift was two skeins of Cascade yarn and custom designed cookies to match the yarn (plus one cookie that matched a yarn which I have). The yarn was nice, but everyone was taking with the cookies. I had gone to the Cookies by Design store in our area and taken some yarn with me. I talked with the person there and requested cookies that matched and they did an absolutely wonderful job! They even did the labels and the variegation to perfection! They had given me a sample cookie and it was so very tasty. In the gift, I included their catalogs in case someone wanted to see about ordering some.


Myself, I got the perfect gift. See, I wanted the yarns I saw other people had landed. I really did. Yet, each time I caught myself with gift envy I reminded myself of my stash at home and my roommate's comments when I had come home with more yarn after shopping for the party.
No, I didn't need more yarn. Rather, I needed something to replace the knitting bag I used to have. My friend Carolina had crocheted for me a mini-backpack complete with straps. Large enough to hold a large skein and a project. She even put a little pocket on the front and a flap lid with a crocheted button enclosure. This whole thing she made from plastic bags. It was stain resistant, easily cleaned and a great example of recycling. It was perfect, until one of my cats decided to chew off the button and a strap and put a hole in it. When I packed up my knitting to take with me to the party, I had put my projects in this little paper bags I have collected from yarn shops. In a sense, I was brown-bagging it to the party.
I needed a replacement. So when I opened my gift, it was to find the thing I needed more than yarn, a knitting bag! Add to that a super bonus WIP bag! I have been wanting one since I first saw it but have either never found one or was not really sure I would use it. Currently, it is holding the ripped remains of the sock as I work to finish it a second time. The WIP back has prevented me from having to wind the yarn and I know that I could use any ball that will fit in there and yarn won't go bouncing around the room.
Immediately I began loading my projects into the bag and the sock into the WIP bag(which now travels with me to work and back. I take calls while working a sock and can keep the yarn below the desk with no worry about it causing problems.) My roommate does not care for the colors of the bag. When he told me this I told him I could have ended up with more yarn and he shut up quickly. He is learning to accept little wins.

Coming soon:
Knitting for male genitalia is not hard.