Sunday, April 18, 2010

Fish Tail Scarf

IT'S DONE!  I've been working on this one since last summer.  I went to the Sock Summit in Portland with my niece, Meredith.  I saw this scarf and fell in love with it.  So... I got the pattern and the yarn and proceeded to cast on.  Hmmm.  That should be the easy part.  Step one... cast on 350 stitches.  Jeez!  I messed up that first row and started over so many times I think I could have knitted a sweater in the same time!  When I did the cast on, I kept losing count.  And then I counted them... and counted again and came up with a different number,,,, and then counted again and came up with a third number.  Then... when I had the right number cast on, I did the first full row and didn't come out right at the end.  You get the idea.  It wasn't pretty.  I learned a lot with this scarf.  The holes were a little different, but hey... I love to learn.  Well... half way through this scarf I was longing for a good ol' garter stitch scarf.  But, by the time I was coming down the homestretch, I was almost wishing it wouldn't be done.  I finally caught on and started to like the pattern.
The yarn is Kauni and the pattern is by Lucy Neatby.  Both the yarn and the designer are top notch, in my book.

When I was finished, the scarf was pretty lumpy bumpy and the holes were all over the place.  I haven't been much of a blocker, but this was clearly a case for blocking.  I used Soak (I also like Euclin).  After blocking, the yarn was so much softer- as if it "relaxed".  And it was all nice and flat and the holes are all lined up.  It looks and feels soooooo nice, and it even smells nice!  I'm now a confirmed blocker!  I made a major discovery about blocking.  I'm going to do a separate post about blocking- I have a great tip to show you!

The only regret I have about this scarf is that I didn't make it longer.  But then... if I wanted to make it longer, I would have had to cast on 450 stitches.... AAAHHHH!!!!!! 

I have a little yarn left over.  I think I might see if I can get some fingerless mitts out of it to match the scarf.

The weather's warming up- guess I'll have to wait for next winter to wear it!

8 comments:

Margi said...

That scarf is so pretty, pretty! It looks a lot like this shawl that I downloaded from ravelry!
http://knitty.com/ISSUEss10/PATTsummit.php

QuiltSue said...

It's absolutely beautiful.

Anonymous said...

Well...I can certainly see why you fell in love with this scarf! Congrats on finishing it...that is 3/4ths the battle! LOL It is very pretty!!!

Barb said...

your scarf is very pretty....just the colors I like!!

Kath said...

I love this! The rainbow colours are very "me". I can see myself wearing this at a music festival.

Sue said...

Thanks, everyone. I really love this scarf.

And Margi- I'm going to try that crockpot lasagna you posted on your blog. Looks like a winner!

Micki said...

The scarf is just so pretty!
Micki

Mandy said...

What a lovely scarf it has turned out to be!
Your blocking boards are just like mine too. I got mine from a branch of Costco - an amazing find in the car maintenance section!
I used mine to block my first shawl. I really could not have managed to get the shawl to the size it is without my boards.
Thanks for sharing your adventures.