I thought this would be fun…really just gives me another excuse to knit.  The International Scarf Exchange (ISE) is a group of knitters that exchange names and knit a scarf for their secret pal.  Sounds easy right?  Well, take a look at all the gorgeous scarves posted on their blog (link above).  What I have found…is that whatever you knit, whatever yarn you use,  whatever you create, it’s not GOOD enough!  It will NEVER compare to the scarves that are already posted on the ISE blog. 

So, it has been a longer process that I anticipated.  The ideal scarf would be in the colors and type of yarn that your secret pal requested, and is a pattern from which you learn something new.  A new stitch pattern, a new technique of some kind.  

I’ll take you thru the REAL cycle.  First, I went thru the yarns that I have and looked for something in the requested color.  The best I could come up with was Lorna’s Shepherd Worsted in Asian.  It was a safe colorway, I thought. But when I knitted a swatch, I found it to be more brown/tan than what I was looking for.   I also tried a stitch pattern new to me, it was frome Stitchionary 2 and consisted of a ladder pattern with a cable on each side.  I combined it with an edging from Knitting Over the Edge.  I hate it, it’s too busy!

Back to the drawing board.  I found some navy blue Debbie Bliss Alpaca/Silk.  I knitted a few swatches of different patterns and while I liked the feel of the yarn and the color was one requested, nothing did the yarn justice. 

About the 3rd or 4th attempt I found a stitch pattern in the Big Book of Knitting that did well with this yarn.  I combined it with another edge from Knitting Over the Edge and felt I was a little closer to what I was looking for.   After knitting 2 repeats, I decided that I don’t like this particular edge and I need a border and a better selvedge edge.

So, I’ve ripped it out again and started yesterday with a seed stitch border on the end and along the side.  I’m hoping it’s just enough to make it look more like a scarf instead of a swatch.  We’ll see where this takes me…to a finished scarf or back to square one!

Two weekends in a row I have been training with Girl Scouts to become a Canoe instructor.  It’s something I have wanted to do for several years (since my 15-yo was in 4th grade).  Anyway, the 1st weekend was a gruesome fast-paced instruction of 2 courses, then the following weekend we trained the Girl Scouts.  I go back in October for another course, then I’ll be certified with the American Canoe Association and will be able to take girls on river trips. 

There were several of us that were 40-plus and by default, decided to have a bruise contest.  I think we ended with a 3-way tie.  My winning bruise I could only describe.  It was in an area that, well…let’s say it wasn’t the sun, but the MOON.

I was able to get a bit of knitting done, I’ve been working on the Pilar sweater and I’m using Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Worsted in Seaside.  This is one of favorite colors, a mix of teal/Royal blue, tans and olive greens.  I’ve had several comments on how soft the yarn is and it is superwash wool, so will be easy to wash.  Here’s a pic of the back.

I hope to have it done before I go to the Southeast Animal Fiber Fair (SAFF) in Asheville NC, which runs the weekend before Halloween.  It should be cool enough to wear then and the fall folliage should be perfect while we are there.  My sister will be joining Mom and myself - and we’ve booked a cabin in the woods, complete with sleeping porch.  Knitting classes, cool weather, fall folliage, a walk in the woods….Life will be good.

9/11 - A day for rememberance  and prayer.

Time to play a little catch…up that is. 

Several of us went to the Tampa Devil Ray’s Stitch N’ Pitch Game on the 9th.  It was loads of fun and there was a great turn out for it being the first annual.  It was pretty cool seeing all the different projects in the works. 

Here’s a mother/daughter pic:

The Local Needle made t-shirts for all of us to wear, with a little something personal on the back of each.  We had quite a few comments from other stitchers. 

Here’s Mom’s shirt…

Here’s Leslie and friend, Shirley, at the game:

Another Leslie:

We all call her Bud.  In this pic, she’s knitting a game-boy case using Mango Moon Wooly (blueberry).  She’s my knitting tom-boy, and a HUGE Yankee’s fan.  Needless to say, while at the game she saw an announcement that the Yankees would be playing there later in the month.  Her father ended up taking her to that game (he has played a BIG part in creating our little Yankee monster). 

It was quite an enjoyable evening, and the Devil Rays won the game - well worth the 3 hour drive!

Back of Bud’s t-shirt: