Spirals....

The spiral scarf intrigued me because I’ve never knit 720 stitches on one row, ever. The pattern starts out deceptively enough with only 90 sts. but quickly expands to 180, then 360 and finally 720 sts., so be warned and use the longest circular needle you have at hand. I started out with a 24” circ but had to move up to a 40” for the last few rows.

This is what 720 sts. look like on my Denise needles. I had to join two of the cables together to produce this length.


It’s a delightfully easy pattern and produces a beautiful spiraling scarf within a very few hours. Ok, so it took me two days but that’s because I only knit a few minutes at a stretch. The newest newbie knitter could toss one of these scarves off the needles within hours. Variegated or sparkly yarns show up nicely in this pattern.

When you cast on your 90 stitches, use the stretchiest cast-on you can because you want your first row of stitches to expand with the ruffles. Too tight a cast- on will make it awkward to increase the following rows. Also, when knitting into the front and back of each stitch, don’t be miserly with the yarn or tighten up your stitches. Leave lots of slack between each stitch and you’ll find the process that much easier with each succeeding row.

This is where the fun begins. I’ve started binding off here and you can see the spirals starting to form.


As for the amount of yarn needed, I used small leftovers from my stash. I ran out after a few increase rows so I just switched to another skein of completely different yarn. In fact, I ran out halfway through one row so I used a slightly darker pink skein to finish off the row. It’s virtually undetectable when finished. You could also work it deliberately with half one colour then change mid-stream.

The needle size I used was 8mms (US 11) but you can try any size with this pattern. The bigger the needle size, the looser the spiral. I would guesstimate using size 8mms and knitting worsted weight yarn, you’ll need approx. 200 metres, depending on your gauge. Let your knitterly imagination soar and you can create a truly unique scarf.

Here’s Furball wearing the finished scarf. Isn’t it gorgeous? I wore it around the house all day, I love it so much. I even took it out to K’s workshop while he was busy grinding and sawing and making a woodly mess so he could appreciate the design. He was suitably impressed…


Oh yes, here’s a link to the PATTERN. In the May edition of Knitpicks catalogue the pattern is called the Potato Chip Scarf. I see why it was given that name. I’m already halfway through another spiral in black and silver.

Wildlife in suburbia...

This little fellow stayed in that spot for quite awhile. I think he was intrigued at having his picture taken.


One of the many black squirrels frequenting our backyard. They give nice contrast to the yellow buttercups.


Rocky makes a return visit and he’s not shy:



The little teddy on the left is a stitch marker I received from Heather. Isn’t he adorable?

I don’t have a project on the needles just yet that requires a stitch marker, so I’m using him as a row counter instead. I turn his face to the back when I’m on an odd number row.



Scenery...

Steveston Harbour on one of K's cycling jaunts:


A rest stop along River Road:



Renovations…

Some of you may know we were busy last fall revamping our upstairs bathroom. K was doing all the work and I watched and cheered him on. We’d completed the shower stall and surrounding wall and were all ready to have a go at the next stage. Then one morning we were both standing in our downstairs hallway, just chatting. Suddenly we both looked at each other and said ‘this hallway sucks’. And it does.

So we postponed the final stages of the bathroom makeover and have made inroads on the hallway. K has thrown a lot of white goop on the largest wall and filled and sanded and thrown more goop around. The carpet is looking even rattier than it did before.

The intent is to replace it with ceramic tile but first we have to finish the walls, replace all the mouldings around the doors and entranceway into the living room, stain the doors white, replace the lighting and paint everything. I figure we should be finished sometime in 2010, just in time for the Olympics. I should have photos next week.

Sarah’s just hanging out in the garden.


Now I'm off for a cup of tea and another long nap. See you soon. Enjoy all your days and thank you for all the lovely emails and good wishes.


“There are no passengers on Spaceship Earth. We are all crew.”
~Marshall McLuhan