Long Enough?

Enough yarn?

Just wonderin' if there will be sufficient yarn to make my Cashsilk Fern Scarf long enough?  I know I can fold it over and secure it with a pretty shawl pin (I think one of the local craft shops carries hand-carved wooden shawl pins).

Over 40" in length

Thus far, my scarf has managed to grow to just over 40".  Ideally 50" would give enough length to tie and wrap it once around my neck.  What if it's just shy of my target length?  Maybe a severe blocking length-wise could garner more length?  Not sure  . . . 

Nearing the end with only a wee bit of yarn left 

There's only a wee little ball left.  Gotta be hopeful . . . 

A Little Progress

A little progress goes a long way towards finished items.  Yup, there be knitting at my place--and lots of it!

It started with travel knitting.  I knew I'd have no online access during my vacation, so I needed something to occupy my hands (and my brain, especially during the flight.  Have I mentioned how much I dislike flying?).  I brought along 4 projects: my current project, two long-standing projects that had fallen by the wayside, and a new project.

The growing Cashsilk Fern Scarf

The current project was the Cashsilk Fern Scarf which has grown by leaps and bounds.  It's about 38" at last measure.  I'm aiming for 50", but not sure there's enough yardage for that.  I'll need to leave enough for the border (2 rows of stockinette followed by four rows of moss stitch).  A good blocking should help with the length.  If it still runs short, I'll look for a pretty shawl pin to wear with it.

The still untouched Cranberry Neckerchief

I had brought my dandy Cranberry Neckerchief, but in the end, I didn't really touch that one (You can read more about that project from an old blog post dating back to summer 2011).  To be honest, I hadn't really left good notes about where I was in the pattern (although I could easily have frogged it and started anew since I wasn't too far in).  It definitely is something I'd like to revisit--and eventually finish.

A finished sock and the beginnings of the second

My other long-standing project was the Aquaphobia Socks: finished one sock and started the second one.  That pattern also had little in the way of any written pattern mods or notes regarding where I had left off (you can read more about my initial attempts with this project in a post from Feb 2014 and one from Dec 2013.).  If I'd had internet access, I could have more easily deduced my mods; instead I was forced to deconstruct and experiment (again!) to figure out what I'd done with the first sock.  Rest assured that everything was written down this time.  Ha ha!  After all, I may use the pattern again because it nicely controls the dreaded colour pooling that sometimes plagues variegated yarns.

The pretty coloursin my first lace shawl

And of course, there's the new project, my first lace shawl (aka the Oaklet Shawl which is a free pattern on Ravelry).  This has been great "mindless" knitting--a good take-along project when watching a movie or chatting over drinks at the cafe.  Sometimes it's just nice to do something simple that doesn't tax the ol' brain cells too much (although that'll probably change once I get to the lace border).

Now it's time to get back to the knitting.  There's lots to finish . . . 
Later, ;)

Perseverance, Progress and Patience

Every crafter, including me, needs the three Ps: perseverance, progress and patience.  What do they mean?

Finished afghan with completed border

1) Perseverance means eventually I will finish a project given the appropriate effort (i.e. not leaving it in the bottom of a basket hidden in the back of the closet!).  For example, my long languishing Bernat Mystery CAL from 2010 is finally finished!  Yup, got the border done and am now slowly working through the finishing process (i.e. weaving in all those pesky ends--lots of ends!!).

Detail of border/edging

2) Progress means that work continues on current WIPs.  For example, my Cashsilk Fern scarf continues to grow.  It's almost 20 inches which is nothing to sneeze at.  I continue to peck at that daily, even though it's slow going (go figure that thin yarn takes longer to grow, but grow it does).

Halfway for Cashsilk Fern scarf

3) Patience means having to wait before I embark on a new project.  On our last foray into the big city, we visited LK Yarns .  Having been there before, I knew the shop had products at many price points, but some lovely Handmaiden's Mini-Maiden tempted me.  It's ruby colour and soft silken feel whispered in my ear until I could resist no more.  At $30 a skein, it's some of the most expensive yarn I've ever bought (I bought 2 skeins).  Based out of Halifax, Handmaiden Yarns makes luxurious hand-dyed yarns that command a luxurious price.  Lucky for me, most of the Mini-Maiden was discounted, and I suspect it might have been because the labels were missing (So really I saved money.  And periodically repeating that to myself assuages my guilt, LOL). 

Handmaiden Mini-Maiden in Ruby

Special yarn needs a special pattern.  After many hours spent searching for the right pattern, I decided on the larger shawl version of Ashton Shawlette .  Although the pattern was highly recommended by knitters at Ravelry's Beginning-Lace-Knitters Group, I feared the project might be a wee bit above my skill level.  Even with all my lace experience, my projects tended to have simple lace stitches with simple rectangular shapes.  My only shawl project was a simple garter-stitch shawl.   

Drops Fabel in Sunset for first lace shawl

What to do?  Use less expensive yarn (I'm looking at you Drops Fabel) and attempt a simplified shawlette to learn about shawl construction.   The Oaklet Shawl with its stockinette body and lace border should fit the bill nicely.  It'll be my traveling/airport/try-not-to-freak-out-on-the-plane project.  Then when I feel more braver, I can use the expensive stuff.  

Good Girl

Yup, I've been a "good girl": got much more knitting done this week!  Yay for me!

Growing Cashsilk Fern Scarf

Met up with my knit group too.  Haven't seen some of the gals in a long while.  With this year's hard winter (bad weather or terrible road conditions), everyone hadn't been meeting on a regular basis.  Besides, school kept me busy.  

Detail of unblocked lace pattern

Hopefully I'll continue to attend knit night this fall.  It's a nice break.  And I usually get a fair amount of knitting done.

How's your week?

Slow Progress

The week whizzed by and there was little progress made on my lace scarf.  Work keeps gettin' in the way--go figure?!

Little progress . . . . 

Don't misunderstand.  There has been knitting, mainly at nap time when my toddlers are all fast asleep.  But it's slow going . . .  :(     Maybe I'll get more done at knit night this week . . . (and I promise to show some updated photos).

Lacey Goodness . . .

Yup, I has lace!

Beginning of lace scarf

I wasn't sure how the colours would work out, but it's striping very nicely. The Cashsilk Fern Scarf  is a fairly straight-forward pattern with both written instructions and a chart.  Using stitch markers to separate the 16-stitch pattern repeats helps me catch potential mistakes early.

Detail of seed stitch border

Initially I used a seed stitch border for the first four rows before starting the lace pattern.  I also added an additional 5 stitches on either end to continue the seed stitch (in the hope of controlling the fabric's tendency to curl--hate the curl!).  I just hope there will be enough yardage to make the scarf long enough . . . 

Yummy Yarn

Yarns Plus Silken Twist in seascape

I bought this yummy silk-wool blend almost four years ago at Romni Wools in Toronto (Plan to visit family in TO over the summer, so hopefully there's a trip to Romni Wools in the near future).

Cashsilk Fern Scarf with yarn

At just over 400 yards, I'm hoping there is enough to make a reasonably long lace scarf for yours truly (I think the colours will compliment nicely with my turquoise winter jacket).  I was eyeing Cashsilk Fern Scarf, a pattern I'd added to my Rav fave list almost five years ago.

After reading comments from others who've made the scarf, I decided to add a moss stitch border along the ends and on either side.  That's an extra 10 stitches to the 66-stitch width.  I hope my scarf will still be long enough . . .