Around 3 years ago, I chanced upon this “fancy yarn” that was in the dollar bin in Target. I always look at balls of yarn a different way, thinking of the possibility of what I can do with it given my limited knitting skills. (No fancy stitches for me, and while I can read crochet patterns, I cannot do that for knitting which I learned first by using chopsticks reading the step-by-step illustrated instructions from our encyclopedia back home.)
When I saw this fancy yar, I purchased batches with the thought of creating a scarf or perhaps a wrap for a friend of mine in the Philippines (although she is now here in another part of the US.) The yarns have been sitting in my attic all this time, and I have finally found the inclination to start making one for myself. With fall here, I thought the gold would be the better pick over the pastel colored rainbow mix.
I like knitting because I can get into the rhythm of the stitches and be thinking of something else or be in the middle of watching television. It has always been a good de-stresser for me, and I’ve always found it rewarding to wear something I made rather than something I bought. It is a good exercise in patience as well as I often find myself repeating the project at the start when I realize the number of stitches I worked for the first row were either too little or too much — and there is redoing the work when you realize knitting wasn’t the best idea for the thread or yarn.
One small ball apparently comes out to approximately a square foot using my size 15 kneedles (10.0mm). It’s not a warm and fuzzy scarf — it’s more of an accessory to add color particularly to an all black attire which is so me during the fall and winter months. (Although I have tried to add more colorful turtlenecks to my wardrobe, I count several black ones in shortsleeves, cap sleeves and long sleeves. I can actually go through a whole week wearing some shape or form of a black turtleneck top.) It can warm up your neck but only when bundled up. To compensate for the flimsy material, I’m doing a wider width that bundles up to a nice bulk. 65 stitches from left to right. My estimate is that I will use approximately 8 balls of the yarn, making for $8.00 in material cost. Even if I end up using 10, that’s still a good deal for what I’m making.
I’ll post a pic of the finished product here when done. Meanwhile, let me go back to the project.
The sudden spurt to create something was brought about by the colorful fall scarves I saw in the stores when I went window shopping yesterday. I looked, I touched, but I did not buy — I have too many yarns waiting to be knitted or crochetted into something to wrap around my neck that I have vowed NOT to spend on that fall and winter necessity. So I’ve started knitting again. I had started crochetting but then the design of the yarn doesn’t work well with patterned stitches, unless they are knits and purls.
Pinay New Yorker 