Saturday, June 16, 2012

Brady Scarf from Ruhama's


Dynamic Favorite...

Next time I get the ridiculous notion that I can finish a six foot scarf in three weeks on #3 needles, remind me what my life is like.  Remind me how many times my plans have been hijacked by low-level chaos and how nothing ever goes as planned for the Pleiter family.  Wisdom teeth, camp physicals, short notice house guests, and fun phrases like “I think we need an xray” and “How could your tear your meniscus without knowing it?” have been too much a part of my life this week.

This week, I’ve been feeling fortunate if I even get half my paid writing word count in...I do have a novel due in September, after all.  Four different sets of plans spun on a dime to entirely new scenarios, and making fiction has felt like pulling teeth (something I am far too familiar with this week).

In all this hysteria, however, I was reminded how much knitting soothes me.  Many times when my workload made me want to run for the hills, when I couldn’t seem to think in straight lines, a few rows of knitting returned me to functionality.  It’s the one thing I seem to be able to accomplish when I can’t accomplish anything else--even if I can’t accomplish enough of it to get where I want to in a pattern.

I do love this pattern, but I am worried it won’t wash up as soft as I like a scarf.  Still, I doubt I’ll have much call for a wool scarf in summer, so we’ve got some time to let it soften up.  A friend suggested I add a drop of fabric softener or hair conditioner to my usual Dawn blue bath, so I’m game to try.  Even if it does end up a bit rough, the piece is dynamic enough to still be a favorite.

And a favorite scarf is a thing of beauty indeed.  Thanks, Ruhama's, for a clever, amusing project I'm sure to enjoy for many years.

Up next, we hear from another knitting publishing professional--my lovely agent Karen Solem, and start the nifty Feza vest from Fiberwood Studios.

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