Monday, March 10, 2008

I SpunKnit

While I was unable to get in as much spinning as I would have liked to during NaSpiMoMo and the Redux, I did spin some. After seeing the Stork's Nest Scarf by Nancy Bush in the Jan/Feb08 Piecework, I thought that my Shetland/Angora yarn could be nice match. I wondered whether I had enough yarn and what size scarf I would get, but did not fret a bit. After all, it is a scarf. I could always change the number of stitches in a row, the number of repeats knit, needle size, or frog it if nothing worked. Then I saw the SpinKnit idea slated for March, and I knew I wanted to try it. I was also ready to get some lace back on the needles. I have enjoyed the sweater knitting, but it is not laceknitting.

This was a quick and easy knit. The charted pattern is a twelve-row repeat,
but it is much simpler than that. Even after having memorized it, I still kept the chart by my side to mark the number of repeats I had knit. By the time I had knit the chart fifteen times, it was clear that I would not be knitting it the thirty-one times as written in the pattern. My handspun was a bit more substantial than laceweight, I bumped up a needle size, I never looked at the listed gauge, let alone check my gauge, so I was unsure of what scarf I would end up with when I finished knitting. I knit something like eighteen repeats plus the first eleven rows of the chart, and sweat my way through those six rows of garter stitch and the stretchy bind-off. I knit up every bit of my skein of yarn. I wondered about the length. Then it was blocking time. I was able to try for the first time my interlocking flooring squares and some checked cloth I had bought for blocking. After I pinned it all out, I tested out the ability to set the whole thing up on its side in the other room. It worked! After unpinning, I have a new 10"X60" scarf. I was going to give this to a friend, but I know she has some allergy troubles, and am unsure about how she would do with the fibers I used, but I really wanted to knit something for her. The length of the scarf ended my dilemma. It is too short for her. I will have to plan something else for her. Besides, the yarn I spun is not as soft as I would like, especially for a gift.

Anyway, I have had the scarf done since Saturday, but did not get
any pictures taken until today. We had a small adventure. The new car bug bit my husband, so we ended up driving to Atlanta to check out the Smart car. It was nifty, but I do not think we are getting a new car in the near future. It was a long day, but it meant something to him for us to make the trip, so that makes it worth it. I slept through much of the trip. It was more comfortable for my back to be reclined, and I just kept falling asleep. Besides, I was in the sun on the way down and not up for having a pile of wool on my lap, and it was dark on the way home. Speaking of, I am glad to be home.
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