Be-Scarved

Be very be-scarved.

I surprised myself by finishing up my Pavement Scarf yesterday. I still had a good part of the 4th and final ball to go when I sat down to knit, and I just flew through it. After dinner, I gave it a good soak and pinned it out on the floor in our spare bedroom with some blocking wires. Thanks to everyone who commented about just doing this. It’s how I used to block things before I had a blocking board – don’t know why I was reluctant. I left the ceiling fan on full blast overnight, and this morning, I had a nice cozy scarf to keep my neck warm while walking the dogs. It so light and airy, and I love it.

As mentioned before, Shelter is a great yarn to work with – it doesn’t split and feels nice in the hand. And, despite it’s rugged aspect, isn’t all that scratchy against the skin. It did puff up a bit after blocking. The reversible cables are genius, if a bit difficult to get used to at first. I did some math; there are 336 cable twists in this scarf, which ended up being 8 inches wide and 75 inches long. The medium size was supposed to be 7.25 inches wide and 72 inches long. If this had been a fitted garment, my gauge would obviously have caused problems, but who cares with a scarf, right? It’s much longer than the Henry scarf I made a few years back, and the color is perfect.

Scarves are one of those things that beginning knitters learn to make – and some knitters never move beyond. Typically, they don’t involve shaping, although this one did have a row each of increases and decreases. They’re fairly easy to make and fit isn’t usually an issue, so they make great gifts. If you’re going to learn to knit, you’re probably going to end up making a scarf. And you’ll probably end up giving one to someone else. 

Just this weekend, Jeff and I were watching Werner Herzog’s Encounters at the end of the World (2007), wherein we saw a well-worn and probably hand-made scarf on volcanologist Clive Oppenheimer, as he stood on the rim of the quite active Mt. Erebus, on Ross Island, off the coast of Antarctica, probably in December at the height of the Antarctic summer. I liked the thought of him packing this hand-made thing and taking it with him to the ends of the earth.

Here’s to staying cozy and warm this holiday season, wherever you’re spending it!