project #27: in from the cold striped scarf

I woke up on Sunday feeling quite out of sorts and lazed about for most of the day, catching up on my Netflix queue. First on the list, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965); which had been languishing on top of my television for many weeks (months?). It took me awhile to become taken in by Richard Burton's character, but was a good way to wrap up my homegrown cold war film festival.

Next up was Grand Hotel (1932).

Grand Hotel... always the same. People come, people go. Nothing ever happens.

This film is brilliant -- one I could watch over and over (and have). Highlights for me: a fresh young Joan Crawford as Flaemmchen and of course, Garbo. The two Barrymores aren't exactly slouches either.

At some point I came to a realization that I had to have some knitting to show for all that time spent on the couch so started this new scarf. I chose a scarf because it's the perfect bus knitting project for me, and inspired by this free pattern from Crystal Palace, chose to make a striped chevron scarf.

The chevron pattern is very simple to remember, but I wanted to have something to refer back to should I get distracted. So, I wrote up my own instructions and transferred it to a text file that I could load it onto my ipod.

I'm using the Merino Style yarn I had purchased but rejected for an earlier project. There's nothing really wrong with this yarn (though one skein did have some splitting issues). It's just very utilitarian and I can't say I really enjoy knitting with it. The resulting fabric is rather stiff. This might be due to the pattern, or perhaps the gauge I'm using. It's ok though, because I would rather have a somewhat dense fabric to keep those cold winter winds away.

The Project: in from the cold striped scarf (inspired by Shimmer Chevron Striped Scarf)
The Yarn: Knit Picks' Merino Style in Coal and Vanilla
The Needles: Crystal Palace 4mm
Started: October 9 2005