Long Rows - - Short Month

I'm thinking i may be seeing a bit of a 'theme' here ... February's scarf is called "The Long and Short of it all" simply because it is the shortest month of the year ... and i decided to knit a scarf with LONG stripes to switch things up a bit.  We're in the midst of showchoir season and i'm seeing the trend of LONG days of rehearsal and competition, and SHORT nites before the A.M. alarm goes off again!   LONG Saturdays followed by SHORT Sundays ....  Long  Rehearsals, Short school days .... but welcome to life!  Yes?

The perks of these LONGs is that it often means LONG times of knitting as well.  So it seemed a perfect solution and a slight deviation from the normal scarf routine ... Knit 15, turn.  Knit 15, turn.  Knit 15, turn!  Because this scarf is an adventure in Length i would highly recommend at least a 24" circular needle to accommodate all the stitches.  It really was an easy knit - rather mindless actually - since each row lasts for a while.  Easy stitch patterns to remember - - Seed Stitch and Double Moss Stitch, sprinkle in some stockinette to break up the texture ... yet another great stash buster!  Change up the stripes, making each one a different color but keep your Edge Stripe Color (Color A) consistent between each row and you really CAN do some Stash Busting!  Click on the "String of Purls" tab at the top of the page for all the directions and to get started on a fun February project ....

Another "perk" of all the Long days is that i'm afforded time to Ponder while i'm sitting and knitting, and we all know that i LOVE some good pondering - though it has been known to get me in trouble if my ponderings have me wandering down the wrong path! [on those hormonal days i'm prone to most definitely end up in the wrong part of town . . and conjure up all KINDS of twisted and distorted pieces of information .. not to mention what it does to my knitting!  other than teach me how to FROG yet again!] .... Long bouts of pondering can and should leave me with promises .... with hope .... with a most certain Reality Check that regardless of the timespan there are things that are Secure in my Days ... AND my nights!

Genesis 28:15  I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land.  I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.

Psalm 56:3-4  When i am afraid, i will trust in You.  In God, whose Word i praise, in God i trust;  i will not be afraid.  What can mortal man do to me?

Matthew 6:34  Therefore, do not worry abaout tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Psalm 28:7  The Lord is my strength and my shield;  my heart trusts in Him, and i am helped.  My heart leaps for joy and i will give thanks to Him in song.

Grab a cup of tea, your yarn and some stitch markers just to keep your count .. in case you do start to ponder and your mind starts to wander ... cast on and in no time - - yet another scarf to share ... or wear!

Do you hear what I hear?

rachael's scarf
Originally uploaded by KeepingKnitSimple50

have you ever held your yarn and just simply KNEW what you had to knit with it? the pattern, the texture, the colors dictated and inspired, and at times even SCREAMED just how it should be knit?

well, i recently found that to be true when Rachael picked this skein of yarn to compliment a new coat for this winter. i tried a seed stitch and actually had a nice little scarf unfolding but the results just weren't the "IT" i had hoped for ... and then i saw IT in my mind ... the tassels, the deep rib stitch ..... and after several attempts and rip outs and do-overs i finally found IT .... and it has been flying off the needles - - and i'm LOVING it !!!!!

i finally decided on 17 stitches. and did i mention that i tackled 'fringe' for the first time! I cast on 1 stitch, pulled out 18" for fringe and attached that back, cast on another stitch and pulled out another 18" for fringe and followed that same procedure until i had 16 fringes and 17 stitches loaded.

I purled back the entire row by purling 2 together (one cast on and one fringe loop) and then ending with a single purl stitch.

Now time for the scarf pattern:

Knit 2, *K 1 in the stitch BELOW, purl 1*, repeat * *to last 3 stitches, K 1 in stitch BELOW, end with Knit 2.
Knit 2, *purl 1, K 1 in the stitch BELOW*, repeat ** to last 3 stitches, purl 1, end with Knit 2.

Follow this pattern to desired length and then end with a full Purl Row.

End with a Knit 1, add fringe, Knit 1, add fringe, etc. ending with a Knit 1. Bind off by k2tog, (K1 plus fringe loop), k2tog, pass 1st stitch over 2nd. Continue binding off in the manner until you have 1 stitch remaining. Cut yarn and pull through to end your scarf. Weave loose ends. Rachael's scarf is going to need almost 2 skeins. (One thing i actually remembered to do was to measure out how much yarn i would need to finish the scarf - ie, how much would it take to do the fringe row. i measured that much off from the outside of the skein of yarn and wrapped it up as a 'reserve', then continued knitting by pulling from the middle of the skein)

To make fringe, i measured 18" of yarn and folded it back up towards the needle. I then squeezed this end on the needle and grabbed the long loop and twisted it 20 times. This resulted in the yarn twisting up on itself. I slipped the end loop onto the needle and did another cast on ... I'm sure there are probably better explanations but i found that this worked for me and after trying to 'eyeball' things i found an envelope that served as the perfect template for measuring the loop each time.

Listening to my yarn has been so much fun ....hearing the comments that others have made when they see it has helped to confirm that it really does pay to be still and listen. No need to be afraid of the quiet ... sometimes the silence screams loud enough for us all to hear!