"Transitional Scarf" by Veronique Avery FO

Pattern: "Transitional Scarf" by Veronique Avery

Source: "Knitting 24/7"

Yarn: 3 Balls Debbie Bliss Amalfi (70% Cotton, 15% Viscose, 10% Linen, 5% Silk)

Colour: 32008 Lot: 7179

Source: The Naked Sheep

Needles: 4mm Aero Straights

Size: 5 1/4" wide x 65" long

Start: June 18 Finish: June 26, 2010

Modifications: None

First of all, I admit, I didn't swatch. Its a scarf - I indulged myself and dove right into casting on...what a naughty knitter! 

The book states this design is intended to produce something to wear "between seasons".

The finished product (a birthday gift for my Aunt) feels very appropriate to this idea both in the hand and around the neck.  My Aunt's summers are spent on Georgian Bay where there is always a cool breeze - especially in the evening so I think she'll get lots of wear out of it not only spring and fall but during the summer as well. I suspect the fact the colour looks fabulous next to her skin (very much like Darling Daughter's colouring in these shots) will also prompt her to often grab it on her way out the door.

This is my first FO from "Knitting 24/7".  It was, indeed the kind of knit that as a project was

"portable and simple enough to make use of those nooks and crannies in life when things are busy but hands are free".

Working this piece in a week to a deadline was too forced to rely on "nooks and crannies" of time but I can see how it would lend itself to that kind of knitting.

The yarn is similar to but different from the one stipulated by the pattern but of all the cotton and cotton blend yarns we looked at the Amalfi had an unparalleled depth of colour and a soft, casual sophistication that really appealed to my Aunt.

I saw this yarn knit up as a sleeveless stockinette top at Passionknit. Fortunately I was already well into knitting this scarf because the texture of that fabric was kind of course - especially on the purl side. The yarn didn't celebrate the knit side of the stockinette terribly well either and I might have been put off using the yarn if I'd seen that sample first. It doesn't even feel like the same yarn in this lacier application where it reminds me of cotton chenille.

The colourway seems almost luminescent with a crisp freshness reminiscent of adding a squirt of citrus to a vegetable dish or salad. (I had the same impression when knitting with the DB Donegal Luxury Tweed this past winter  so I assume this must be something purposeful on the part of Ms. Bliss and her design team.)

Apparently this yarn is described by DB as a "summertime tweed". There are no tweedy flecks but it does indeed give that very impression. BTW the shot above and the one below is of the "wrong side" of the work. 

I like the softness of this side without the strong vertical element of the lines of double slipped and passed over stitches as you can see in this next picture...

I skipped my usual wet blocking and instead steam blocked it on the ironing board after heavily misting both sides.  This flattened things out to create a nice fabric and drape and smartened up the stitch work without squashing everything to death.

The pattern notes encourage a very loose cast on to allow for the scalloping of the ends and it seems I managed to accomplish that. (Big excitement for this generally "tight" knitter!)

The three needle bind off joining the two halves knit from the bottom edges up seems successful in that the pattern from each half lined up nicely.  (Is that line of garter supposed to be there in the middle? As you can see I decided that it was intentional - or at least not too objectionable because I left it that way but seriously, did I do it wrong?)

However correct or incorrect the bind off, I think she is going to love it and wear it and its finished on time so I'm happy with it too!

I'm also happy to have all of you to share it with! Thanks again for taking the time to drop by!

New Dawn Climbing Rose

This Canadian Taxpayer's View

Contrary to what the media have been reporting many Canadians think...I am happy about hosting the G8 and G20 meetings.

Yes its insanely expensive but...

...I want our city protected from paint tossing, window breaking, explosives hoarding gun toting hooligans - the so called "protesters" as distinct from "actual protesters". This latter group would be the ones with signs and chants and bull horns expressing opinions of protest. Expression of a contrary point of view does not necessitate throwing things, damaging property or hurting anyone. Anyone who can stand up to publicly state an opinion doesn't need a face mask to do it!

...I don't see the difference between "stimulus" spending like we have going on fixing roads and the like and paying police from across the country to work together on Summit security while the leaders are visiting. What is the difference? Construction workers or cops, they will all presumably spend their earnings back in their local communities and in so doing, "stimulate" their local economies.

And talk about an initiative supporting national unity! I heard one officer from the far north comment that she had no idea Toronto was a multicultural city!! The members of the security forces will go home with more than just stimulus spending in their pockets. They'll have a better understanding of their country and their countrymen and bring a more experienced and worldly approach to the work they do in their own communities after working together to protect this national endeavour on the world stage.

Then there's the suggestion that the downtown core of the biggest and busiest city in the country isn't the place to host a Summit. I think it is! Across the world, many think of Canada as nothing more than a collection of mountainous, snowy expanses - the imagery we saw during the Olympics.  We are a whole lot more than that folks and this exercise demonstrates it!

• Do I wish the price tag for all this was lower? Yup.
• Do I suspect its easier for reporters to chase the above mentioned hooligans around than to cover the substantive issues being considered at a Summit and so in the world of 24/7 news, that's what they do? Yup.
• Do I think attention starved petty criminals see the opportunity for a moment of fame in that media coverage and so feed the need for all this security? Yup.
• Do I recognize that by assembling the world's most powerful leaders in one place incredible things can happen to the benefit of the planet? And that this kind of powerful assembly also brings out those who would be most destructive? Yup.

So this Canadian taxpayer is wincing at the cost but I'm nonetheless proud and hopeful important things will happen here in Canada over the next few days. Maybe people around the world will ultimately reference a "Toronto Protocol" as the beginning of a new and wonderful force in the world.

And I've got an idea...I think any" news" outlet that gives attention and so profile to Summit hooligans should pay a fee to contribute to the cost of security that the media, in part creates a need for in the first place. Think about it, what would be the fun in being a lawless troublemaker if you couldn't rush home and see if you made it the 11:00 news!

Anyway, that's my view on the Summit.

A knit free, opinionated post - I hope you're not sorry you dropped by today!

Not much to post about a scarf!

Great progress is being made on this little project.  I've finished the first half, its off the needles on a holder and I'm onto the next side.

I'm having pretty good luck with avoiding stupid errors - aided immensely by incessant counting, a mantra of the stitches and several stitch markers against which to check the veracity of each row. 'Talk about training wheels!

The yarn is splitty in the extreme. There's no looking away for even a stitch but then given all I'm having to do to knit error free its not like I'm likely to do that anyway.

I'm aiming for completion in the next couple of days and at this rate it seems doable.

That's about it - there's really not much to post about a scarf is there?

In other "news" this is the last day of exams for Number One Son. "Our" summer starts tonight with a belated cast party for the school play in which he had a role. I feel like I'm fighting the cold My Beloved kindly brought back from his most recent trip and I'm in a bit of denial about just how much I need to get done before our holiday at the cottage starts next week. As Winnie the Pooh would say "Oh Bother!"

Thanks for dropping by!