January 05, 2008

Winter Crafts

It's not my fault: someone who doesn't know me very well gave me a (possibly regifted) terrible scarf for Christmas. Don't get me wrong--I appreciate that the giver thought of me at all, and took the time to wrap it and present it. But really, it is one of the worst things I've ever seen. It was made out of some sort of rat-like grayish acrylic matted "fur" held together by black threads. It was neither beautiful nor useful since there wasn't enough fabric to wrap around your neck. And goodness, you wouldn't want it dangling out of your coat in case you got it caught in a bus door and strangled on it, or in case someone thought you were wearing something's entrails. But it's gotten cold, and I've craved a new scarf, so I dug through my yarn stash and came up with a nice cranberry red boucle yarn with a soft mohair halo and a bit of gold running through it. It's a nice antidote to the acrylic roadkill. But as such things have a way of getting everything else rolling, I stopped by the Knitter's Cottage in Fredericksburg today and spent a long time handling some of their lovely yarns and looking at patterns.

A lot of people knit socks, which I think are fiddly and which I won't wear since I'm the princess and the pea when it comes to socks or shoes that don't feel absolutely smooth and soft and lump-free, although there's some nice sock yarn out there. I bought a modest project (a two-color hat) and I'm contemplating the purchase of some beautiful gray angora and wool yarn for another scarf. One thing's for sure: the cost of good yarn and a pattern book or two makes counted cross stitch look downright inexpensive, however expensive hand-dyed fabrics and silk floss might be. Here's my scarf so far:

Here's a little more on Fruit of the Spirit.

And I picked up Dimple Designs' Ladybugs I again. It's done over 1 on 32 count Glenshee linen, and I can only do it in bright natural light. It has about 12 different colors of red in it, so it's a little hard to keep track of what you've stitched and what you haven't!

6 comments:

Michelle-ozark crafter said...

Everything is lovely! That scarf sounds, well, I am not sure what! And I am with you on the sock thing. I must have lightweight socks and no lumps, bumps or loose threads please! I know, picky!

mainely stitching said...

I hear you! Though I don't knit (yet!), I have some friends who do, and the cost of good yarn is simply appalling.

That said, your new scarf is glorious!! What a color!!

xeyedmary said...

I'm stitching Fruit of the Spirit, too! I started at the upper left of the chart. Here's a link to my latest progress photo. http://anotherxcrazyblog.blogspot.com/2007/12/stash-alert.html
I keep re-naming the chart to Fruit of the Loom or Creepy Kids (I'm not sure I like those 2 little children at the bottom!) or FOS. I love house designs- a lot of my projects include houses of some kind. Your work is amazing!

Wawanna said...

That is one lively color and it looks so soft, that scarf will be a joy to wear, not only a joy to knit. I have learned to knit & crochet this year, & yes very nice yarn is really expensive, but you will have a one of a kind treasure.

Deb said...

LOL I'm falling over laughing at XMaryX's comment about the kids...I've been calling them the Munsters. They have really kept me from buying this piece, though I want to so much! Your progress is great and I'm going to keep following you with it. It's a great little design, but for the pigtails, which I would really have to do away with! LOL

Michelle said...

It's dangerous in those yarn stores, isn't it??? Love the yarn you chose for the roadkill replacement scarf. So pretty! And I bet it's soft too. Your ladybugs look amazing - I have a kit for mini scarabs that I'm looking forward too - all those beautiful jewel tones.