Ruffles for Lisa Progress

Here are some pics of the Ruffles for Lisa scarf.  I'm not a very fast knitter, but I hold my own pretty well.  Even so, these 900+ stitches are taking about 45 minutes per row.  Woof!   The needles are Harmony Wood from Knit Picks, on loan from the magnificent Miss Colleen, intrepid assistant and dear friend.  (Hers have a 40" cable, and my longest was a 32".) 

I can't spread it out to confirm, but my knitting math says the short side is about 4 feet, and the long side is about 6 feet, so it should be nice and ruffly.  (Ruffles are made by increasing the number of stitches exponentially so that the full part of the ruffle is two to 5 or 6 times the length of the cast on.)

Why ruffles?  And a little open work?  I was looking for something simple and ruffly because each fold of fabric traps more air, and the trapped air makes any garment warmer.  Lisa likes her scarves short and narrow, so getting one to be short, narrow, and warm is a good trick.  To top it off, the yarn she feel in love with was the sock yarn.  Light, thin yarns are not going to trap as much air as a bulky.  So, the magic of ruffles comes into play.

I think I'm about another 25 rows away from finished, and the sample above represents about 20.  I'm aiming for the finished project to be about 5 inches wide.  25 more rows only represents about 19 more hours knitting, plus weaving in time for the ends.  Only.  This is when I wish I were a faster knitter.  I really want to get this off the needles and take a look!

Ghosts of Knitting Past

I was trying to tame my stash last night.  I don't know why.  I know better.  I had this notion that I could separate all the wools from all the non-wools, and that this would somehow make my life more - I don't know.  Better.  In this process I discovered many things:



Applique Stocking Sample



1. I own a whole heckuva lot of yarn.

2.  The stash is about the same weight as my dog.  Max is a German Shorthaired Pointer, Labrador Retriever mix.  Think your average 8 year old child.

3.  My children become concerned when they see the entire family room furniture and floor covered in yarn, when I'm sitting in the middle, head in hands, saying, "Maybe. Maybe."

4. While purchasing yarn I have largely disregarded my allergy to wool.

5. I really DID buy a ton of Cascade Pure Alpaca about a year ago.  I just found it again after looking several times.

6. While purchasing yarn I have made a great many dubious choices.



Tweed Faroe Mitten.  Why?



Why would I buy one skein of cashmere that is only 60 yards? Why would I buy tweeds for a Faroe Project? (Yes I did.  There are pictures to prove it.)  Why did I store the stash in so many different places?

How could I lose track of making Christmas stockings for my children, and just quit after designing and knitting a sample? Why would I store FOs in with the stash?  When did I ever think I would use acrylic for anything except baby blankets?  Why is my darning egg in with the bulky yarns?

This makes me think that a few years from now, while re-sorting the stash, I may find more unanswered questions.  Will I be wondering why I made so many cowls?  What was my obsession with mittens all about?  How much sock yarn does any woman need?  What the heck was I thinking the last time I sorted out the stash?