All for me!

I finished my backyard leaves scarf and I love it so much!
Pattern: Backyard leaves scarf from Scarf Style
Yarn: 3 balls Cascade Yarns "Cloud 9" 50% angora, 50% merino 50g/109 yards
Needles: size 7
Finished size: 72" long- 6" shorter than the pattern states, but plenty long for me-it almost reaches my knees when it's just around the back of my neck! I only have a few yards of the yarn left, maybe enough to do 1 more repeat on one side, but then the 2 halves would be different lengths and that would have bothered me. I'd say that my guesswork meticulous yardage calculations gave me perfect results.Here's a close up of the pattern for those of you who haven't seen it. It's so pretty and a lot easier to knit than it looks. I just couldn't knit it while watching 24 on tv. I tried but it didn't go so well. The only flaw I found was the directions for joining the 2 halves. The cast-on edges were shaped oddly and didn't seem to fit together and there were some weird yarn-overs that confused me. Other bloggers got them too, so it wasn't my mistake. In the end, I just seamed to the best of my ability and this is what it looks like. It's not bad, but a picture in the book would have helped, or at least eased my perfectionist mind. If you've knitted this scarf, is this what you ended up with too?I love this scarf! It's soft and warm and soft and pretty and soft. Oh yeah, did I mention it's soft? Scarves always make me feel warm and safe, like a little kid all snuggled into bed. What is it about something wrapped around one's neck that feels so nice? I think it's that it's something 'extra'. Most people go out into the cold with a sweater, jacket, maybe even gloves, but a scarf isn't a 'necessary' thing for many people. A nice, beautiful but functional scarf seems so perfect and almost indulgent. Maybe it's that I didn't grow up in a really cold place (Northern California) and have never really lived in one. Maybe you cold-climate folks see scarves as essential as wool socks but not us west coast people. Anyway, I love my scarf so much that I wore it before I blocked it because I was so excited about finishing it. (The picture of me wearing it is post-blocking)

Because I'm on a scarf kick, here's a photo of the 1st scarf I ever made. (That sounds like I've made a lot. No, only 3). It crocheted because I am one of those knitters who converted when I realized crocheting was very limiting. A crocheted sweater? I don't think so. It wasn't for me, anyway. I love this scarf and crocheters always want the pattern but hell if I remember it. I don't even remember how to crochet. The yarn is Plymouth Encore which is 75% acrylic and 25% wool. I don't knit with acrylic anymore, but for those of you who like it, this is a really nice yarn. I've had this scarf for almost 10 years and it's held up really well and it's really soft.

I was going to give my 2 cents about Lolly's project spectrum but I'm tired after all the scarf blogging so that'll have to wait until tomorrow. I'll just tell you to go check it out, it's cool.