Ginger & Cream

I actually have a finished object to show you this week.  It is a selfish knit, of which I have been very glad this week.  I don't know about where you are, but at the moment, we are cheering if it reaches freezing, because that is a warm day!  We are not used to this kind of cold in the UK, we are not equipped physically or mentally for sustained cold snaps in the weather.  We are a nation accustomed to a limited range of weather as we live in a temperate clime.  In previous years, when we had our brief time of snow and ice, we could afford to huddle down in the warm and stay inside, because it never lasted more than a couple of days.  After the past couple of Winters, and the current one, it looks like we better start thinking of Winter as being VERY cold and prepare accordingly. As a knitter I know how I'm going to do most of my preparation - I'm going to have an even better excuse to expand my stash! 

My new selfish knit has already seen quite a lot of use this week.  I'm so glad I made it.  It is my Ginger and Cream Scarf.  This scarf is so light and warm, you barely notice you are wearing it, until you take it off.

I told you about this scarf, when I started it.  Now it is finished, I have added a border of garter stitch, all the way round, to stop curling edges, and added fluffy pom poms!

I really like wearing a scarf this way.  I wear a very long woollen double-breasted Winter coat.  Its very smart, but leaves a triangle of exposed skin at the base of my throat .  Wearing a scarf like the above photo, fills that gap.  I really needed another scarf to sit inside my coat, as my favourite Noro one is very long and has to be worn draped over the top, which is better when the weather is slightly warmer.  I will probably make at least one more scarf, that fits the triangle, this Winter, especially if this cold November weather continues into the new year.

The pom poms, on the end of the scarf, are made by Katia and are sold individually.  They have a tiny elastic loop buried inside the fluff, through which you pass your stitch, to anchor them on to your knitting, in the same way you would add a bead with a crochet hook.

Please look away now if you like bunny rabbits (I'm talking about you Denise!). Just scroll down to the next picture ..................................................................... ................................................................ ..................... .....................
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OK, I'm sorry to say that these are made from rabbit fur.  I am not a great lover of real fur, because the idea of breeding animals purely for their skin, makes my flesh crawl.  However, rabbits are eaten for food.  As I use leather, I really can't get on my high horse and say "I refuse to use rabbit fur, because I think they are much cuter critters than cows". I am not a vegetarian and as such I should be pleased that something that could be a waste product is being used, rather than being thrown away. So while I felt a little conflicted about using them, they are so soft, I couldn't resist.

I already plan on making something very similar to this scarf.  As well as wanting another scarf to wear inside my coat I want to correct the errors I made on this one.  I feel that the ends of the scarf are a little inelegant, because I didn't really think the design through before casting on.  Luckily, in the case of this scarf, the fluff hides the ends really well.  In my next version I also think that I will leave off the garter stitch sides and sew up the edges to make a tube, as even with the garter stitch edging, the scarf rolls in on itself.

A tube shape would also enhance the warmth of the scarf by trapping even more air, and there would be no wrong side showing.  I may even knit it in the round, to save sewing up that laceweight Kidsilk Haze.

I actually have another skein of the cream Debbie Bliss Silk DK, because I didn't think one skein would be enough.  It is more than adequate for this scarf so I have a little left over plus one full skein.  I also have in my stash a skein of Kidsilk Spray, which is like Kidsilk Haze, but subtly variegated.

It is a very pretty yarn that I picked up in a sale, and never used.  I think this will be the perfect project, as it uses a full skein of the Kidsilk Haze.  This scarf would be less striking than the ginger one and more subtly elegant I think.  I also thought of making it into an infinity shape.  I don't know where this project will end up going as the ideas are buzzing around my head so fast I can't keep up.  I do know that it will feel gorgeous, whatever shape it ends up being.

I'm really happy that my creative head seems to be back with me.  I think I lost it for a while this year, as my pain levels increased.  I now accepted that the pain isn't going to go away any time soon.  I can't spend the rest of my life waiting for things to get better.  Giving myself over to being creative and innovative is actually what I need to do, to get myself through it.  I hope that this current rush of ideas keeps growing and developing and that I have the energy to keep up.  If I can't keep up now, I write all my ideas in a big note book so that I can go back to them when I run out of project momentum!

I'm hooking this post up to FO Friday and Fibres on Friday.  Click on the buttons below to go the relevant link parties.  I do love link parties, I've found some very interesting blogs, that I would not have come across otherwise.  The blogging world is very vast, and sometimes you don't want to read just the "famous" blog.  It can be hard to find new ones to read that fit in with your specific interests.  Link up parties bring blogs together with a common theme.  I now have another 10 regular blogs that I subscribe to, and I keep adding more.  Why don't you give it a whirl some time, even if you just look at the links?