The Harlequin Scarf

What do you give someone who suffers seasonal affective disorder? A bright, colorful, warm handmade knitted scarf with orange fringe, that's what! It took me about two weeks to knit, but a lot longer to finish. You know how that works. You zip through the main part of the project and then for some reason, it take weeks and weeks to sew one last stitch. C'est la vie.


But it's done. My father-in-law loves wearing crazy hats to walk the dog. His latest acquisition was a court jester hat with great colors and little tassels on the end - given to him by my husband. I felt the hat alone wasn't enough to cast away the winter blues. No. He needed an added accessory. Enter, the crazy colored harlequin knitted scarf. It was my first attempt at intarsia (knitting with chunks of color) and it was great fun.

The package was sent and delivered a few days ago. I'm hoping it's new owner will enjoy the brilliance and joy of this scarf as well as the occasional odd-ball looks he'll get from the neighbors.

Harlequin scarf - the early stages

Harlequin scarf - final product

Welcome 2010

Wow, it's been about a year since my latest post. I've been neglecting my blog duties. So what was 2009 like? Let me 'splain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up: Started knitting a shawl, got laid off, summer started, stopped knitting a shawl, joined Facebook, updated resume, found another job, Michaels, TJ Max and Whole Foods opened up across the street, got a hair cut, went to the Bahamas - overdosed on conch, went to a funeral, went to a friend's wedding, visited my friend 8 hours after she gave birth, had a terrible Halloween, went to another friend's wedding, had an early Christmas in Denver, and last but not least started writing in my blog.

I'm sure there are lots of things in between that I've omitted. If I remember, I'll be sure to add it in.

I haven't knitted in over 6 months. Now that winter smacked me in the face, I started getting an itching for yarn. Today's high is 28-degrees, perfect weather for knitting a chunky baby alpaca scarf. As soon as there's progress, I'll post pictures. For Christmas, my mother-in-law gave me a stash of Donegal wool. She actually bought it in Donegal, Ireland - where she lives. My father-in-law, gave me a gift certificate to the Lamb Shoppe. Chritmas has treated me very well.

I'm hoping the new year will provide blog-writing inspiration. Here's to 2010. Happy Holidays everyone!

Slow Progress

There has been little progress on my end with knitting. Not to say that there hasn't been any progress. I'm a little over half way done with my third scarf, the one matching my ski hat. The little progress to which I'm referring is not having been able to learn anything new. I did, however take a trip to the library today and checked out some more knitting books and DVDs.

I'm trying to find a nice cable pattern for Timothy's scarf. If anyone has any suggestions or links they'd like to show me to serve as inspiration, I'd love to see them.

Also, there's another knitworking event at my job on Friday. I'm happy to see that it wasn't just a one-hit wonder.

Here are two shots of the third scarf in progress. It's possible I might finish it tonight. We'll see.

And So the Knitting Begins

As some of you may already know, I picked up knitting about two years ago. I knit one scarf and then hung up the needles. A sad effort, on my part. Don't get me wrong, given that it was my first try, I knit one hell of a scarf (see image), but never felt the encouragement to go on.


However, with the growing anticipation of 2008 and my inner circle of peeps boasting of exciting new resolutions, the need to accomplish something challenging and creative stirred inside. Granted, not everyone sees knitting as exciting...or new, for that matter. I do, however, enjoy the idea of taking a granny craft and turning it into something hip and modern. Several knitters have beat me to the punch in that respect, but that's okay. I don't have to be the first person to do it, just someone who's really good at doing it.




Before I decided to jump into a brand new project after a two-year lull, I decided to give myself a practice project. I'm simply knitting another scarf, same pattern, different textured yarn and different color. The blue scarf was a gift I made for the hubby for Valentine's Day 2006. The scarf I'm working on now is for my mom. The yarn I'm using (see image) is Lion Suede - color: Garnet. A lot prettier and more girly. I'm about half way done with the scarf. I'm hoping to have it completed before the end of the week. Pictures of the completed project will be posted. Wish me luck!