Scarf Madness

Although Houston is not seeing the extremely cold and blustery weather that the rest of the country is , we do occasionaly need scarves to keep oursleves warm... or as a fashion accessory. I have been experimenting with some of the yarn I have around here that just isn't enough for a big project but just right for a scarf.

The scarf below is made from a chenille type yarn, multi-colored and hand dyed by the Great Adirondack Yarn Company. There was about 100 yards of it on the skein as I had only used a bit for the Carol Taylor project. The yarn was a little hard to work with as it tended to be a bit sticky. I garter stitched it on size 35 needles, 10 stitches wide, and ended up with about seven feet of scarf. I washed it in the washing machine and dryed it in the dryer. Some bits are now sticking out where the knitting was a little loose. Fortunately, that does not bother me as it does not detract from the great colors or the general coziness of the result.

My second attempt at playing with yarn for a scarf was a bit more adventurous. I had about six balls of various yarn in lovely sherbet colors. I garter stitched it using three strands of whatever was at hand, about 20 stitches wide on those size 35 needles. It came out to about four feet long and more like a shawl than a scarf. I don't know how cozy it will be but the various textures feel great and the fuzzy fringe will be fun to play with.

My final attempt is still on the needles but the texure is so fun that I thought I could share it now. I am using Tahki (I think that's the correct spelling) classic cotton yarn in navy and bright pink so there will be pink followed by blue followed by pink in color blocks. I had previously seen the basket weave effect in a fancy yarn shop with fancy wool made up into an elegant sweater. I loved the effect but had no idea how to do it until I read 'Drunk, Divorced and Covered with Cat Hair" by Crazy Aunt Pearl of blogging fame. The basketweave is achieved by knitting 10 stitches, pearling ten sticthes and continuing until you get to the width you want. I did not have a width in mind so I repeated the pattern once. The basketweave effect comes when you switch from knitting first to pearling first every ten rows or so. I'm using 5mm needles to do this one and it is 40 stitches wide.

BTW - Crazy Aunt Pearl's book is a wonderful read, not about knitting but about how she recovered from a divorce with knitting as therapy. We have all been devastated by an unexpected event in our lives and her journey is truly inspirational. You'lll laugh, you'll cry and, if you make it through the book, you'll find a few easy knitting patterns at the back of the book including instructions on the basketweave effect.