the blue blog archives: cotton stripes

It's the beginnings of a Jilly scarf (the pattern is in the Free Pattern Archive for Rowan subscribers). My mom picked out the yarn, Manos Cotton Stria, last year on my first trip to Downtown Yarns. She loved the look and feel of the Stria and got a kick out of the red and the white together. We instantly thought candy cane stripes and I remembered that I had at least one pattern for a nice, stripy scarf (besides this one, there is a chunky-gauged version in Rowan Junior). We excitedly purchased the yarn. Then, as so often happens, it got tucked away for a year (to ripen? to cure? who knows what it does while we neglect it?). I did think about starting it several times, but have to admit that the thought of winding all those hanks into balls led me to tuck it away again and again. Now that the boys LOVE winding yarn (in fact, I like to have some yarn ready for winding in case the boys start to get wild and need a way to redirect their energies) and mom's birthday is once again approaching, it is time.

It doesn't hurt either that I've absolutely fallen in love with long scarves. This one should end up looooooong, since I have about a foot so far and have barely made a dent in the first two of six balls. This is so much fun!

posted by alison at 9:43 am | in 2005 accessories , the scarf file

Comments

I love it! I think its so cute that your boys love to wind yarn!

Posted by: Dani at July 21, 2005 9:53 AM

A new project -- I thought you'd be reading HP#6,
but am so glad you started this colorful new project.

Leslie

P.S. Is the pink yarn that you recently purchased next in line?

Posted by: Leslie at July 21, 2005 10:27 AM

I love the red and white stripes!! I have that pattern, and have been meaning to make it for a while now...hmmm, I may have been inspired!!

Posted by: Stacey at July 21, 2005 11:02 AM

I know a few little boys who love winding. They do it so hard, though. I'm also working on a really long scarf, this one in laceweight (it's on my blog today). Sorry for the choppy sentences; typing while feeding baby :-)

Posted by: larissa at July 21, 2005 12:11 PM

Oh, I meant to comment on the scarf too! Baby brain :-) Red & white is not my thing, but I'm intrigued. I'm not a Rowan subscriber, so I'm excited to see how it looks when finished.

Posted by: larissa at July 21, 2005 12:18 PM

Can't wait to watch it grow....my daughter loves to wind yarn too! It's always nice when you find an activity that engages the kids and is also productive (i.e. makes your life a little easier).
Take care

Posted by: michele at July 21, 2005 12:19 PM

I found some Stria at one of my lys's a couple months ago and fell in love. It's soo soft and pretty. I am glad I read that review of it, now I know what it can handle. The scarf is so fun!

Posted by: Vicki at July 21, 2005 12:19 PM

Hey Alison,

Do you think the Rowan membership is worth it? I'm kinda on the fence about subscribing.

Posted by: Liz at July 21, 2005 12:35 PM

Mom is going to love that scarf! I can't wait to see it all knitted up. That Stria feels so good and that scarf will feel so good on her neck.

Posted by: jenn at July 21, 2005 1:10 PM

My husband refers to stashing as marinating. Any time I buy yarn and begin knitting with it immediately, he always asks if that will affect the final project since the yarn didn't get to marinate.

Posted by: Liz at July 21, 2005 1:17 PM

I like to think of yarn in the stash as "mellowing." And your Jilly scarf looks lovely so far!

Posted by: Kat at July 21, 2005 1:44 PM

It kinda has a barber pole look to it too!

Posted by: Nadia at July 21, 2005 2:14 PM

Go see my blog - special entry dedicated partially to you. *hee hee*

Posted by: Eklectika at July 21, 2005 3:45 PM

Hmm. Remember how you kept knitting and knitting that extra-long sleeve for your NBaT?...Maybe you had "long scarf" on the brain!

Cozy red and white stripes will be the perfect thing to cheer up a gray winter day.

Posted by: Linda at July 21, 2005 10:40 PM