this bird has flown

Here we are, it's REVEAL DAY. After a frantic Wednesday night of finishing, the Doctor Who scarf is finally ready! All tails are tucked in. All fringe is attached. The foolishness and mayhem has been put away forever and in it's place is a gorgeous gift.


I invite Kimie to sit on the chaise with her eyes closed and her anticipation running high. With shutters flashing, I place the folded scarf on her lap. "Okay Kimie, open your eyes!"



"Oh my god, it's the longest Doctor Who Scarf in the space-time continuum!" she shouts in amazement. I breathed a sigh of relief that she didn't have to ask "what is it?" :)

It turned out to be a tad shy of the desired length at only 10'3". But still long enough to keep us both warm at the same time!



And do you know what happens now? The scarf is going home with Kimie to Scotland, and my house will be sad and lonely and empty without them
:(

week 10

I'M DONE!!!!

The knitting of the Doctor Who scarf is finished!!!!!!! There is still some finishing work to do, but the knitting is done! done!! done!!!

This past week, I was faced with the reality that I was running out of yarn. No two ways about it, I was NOT going to be able to complete the scarf according to the pattern with what I had left. I had two choices: buy more or improvise. I chose to improvise. I set aside the colors and lenghts I would need for the fringe, and knitted up the rest.

I added 57 rows: 1 green, 35 rust, 14 purple, and 6 green.

That makes the scarf 72 rows short! Not to mention that the color pattern is all wrong!!! AAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!!! Wait, wait. Calm down. It will be ok. Yes, it's true, the Doctor Who Scarf does not match the Doctor Who Scarf Pattern exactly. And if Kimie ever brings it to a Doctor Who convention, I'm sure someone will notice. But it's ok, don't worry. I'm not making this for a bunch of Whovians, am I! I'm making it for Kimie! And Kimie will love it! That's all that matters, right? RIGHT!!!!

Of course, you will have to tune in next time for pictures of the finished product. See you then!

week 9.5

This week's update got a little sidelined by an attack of vertigo. It ain't fun to knit when you're dizzy :(

But through it all, I DID make progress on the Doctor Who Scarf. Not quite the 200 rows I'd hoped for, but the end is in sight and I'm confident that I'll be finished by the Nov. 15th deadline.

I've added 179 rows: 30 camel, 8 rust, 16 grey, 8 mustard, 42 green, 10 purple, 8 bronze, 14 rust, 28 camel, 8 mustard, and 7 green. The scarf now measures 8'3"!

My biggest concern at this point is that I'm starting to run out of yarn. I'm all out of camel and I have 52 rows left. Hardly any mustard, but I've got 10 more to do. Do I buy more yarn or just improvise with the colors?

In addition to the 129 rows left to knit, I also need to make 14 tassles, 7 for each end. Each tassle is supposed to be made up of 7 1-foot long strands, each of a different color. That's 98 feet of yarn needed just for the tassles - even if I just make do with the colors I have left, I don't know if I will have enough!

Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion of the Doctor Who Scarf...

week 8

This week, I didn't get as much done as I'd hoped.

Spent most of the week in South FL, where just three short months ago, my sister Diane introduced me to the world of knitting. Hard to believe it was just 3 months!

I decided to try somthing new - knitting Continental (or European) style rather than American style. The difference is basically how you hold the yarn. Continental goes much faster, so I was zipping through - finished three colors in no time. But then I really looked at my work. The stitches were uneven - some were really tight, others really loose. It was a train wreck. So I ripped out the 34 rows I had done and redid them all. It's much easier to rip them out right after knitting them than realizing when it's finished that the middle looks a mess. So I didn't get as much added as I would have liked, but at least what I added is presentable.


I added 84 rows in all (not including the 34 I did twice): 4 bronze, 8 purple, 18 rust, 8 mustard, 12 green, 10 purple, and 24 camel. Added about a foot in length. It is now long enough to wrap around myself several times - this will keep Kimie very warm :) I still need to weave in some tails, something I have to do with each color change. This is my least favorite part of the job, so I have decided to put it off until later. Those are the strings you see hanging toward the bottom.

This week, I hope to add about 200 rows. Kimie will be here in a mere 16 days, and I am beginning to feel the crunch!


I also taught JT & Nicole to knit during my visit. JT didn't really take to it. But Nicole was ready to work on a knit-yourself-a-pony that I gave her for Christmas last year. So sad that I didn't get any pics for posterity...

week 7

The scarf is growing!!!


The Doctor Who scarf is finally taller than me. I know, I know, I'm not the greatest measuring stick. But if JT can use my height as a milestone, so can the scarf :)

I've added 117 rows this week: 11 green, 14 mustard, 40 rust, 8 grey, 10 camel, and 34 bronze. In all, I've completed 440 out of the total 832 rows! I'm just over halfway there! I've also done some calculating, and found that there are actually 49,208 stitches in this scarf, and I've completed 26,020 - 53% On the one hand, that's a great accomplishment; but on the other hand, I've still got so much to do!

Kimie will be here in four weeks, which means I have only that long to finish the scarf. Yes it is a Christmas present, but I don't want to ship it to her, I'd rather hand it to her. Because of this rush to finish, I'm going to be putting my side project aside. I did make a little progress on Erin's scarf this week, but it was very little. Here's another picture to tempt her with (Erin, I couldn't resist).

I had a "knitting party" this week - and I almost slipped and emailed Kimie about it! It was supposed to be a night of knitting and cocktails and chick-flicks. In the end, it wasn't much of a party - only one other person showed up, cocktails were replaced with Chinese take-out, and chick-flicks became half of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and my first (and likely last) viewing of Gray's Anatomy. And my guest wasn't so much into the knitting :C (TK, I guess you just don't have enough of the OCD in you!) But I did get some work done, and it was nice to hang out with my friend.

Stay tuned for more knitting notes! It's all downhill from here!!!

week 6

This week, I finished scarf #4, made strides on scarf #1, and got creative with scarf #5.

#4 - Lauren/Brenna's pink fluffy scarf is finished!!! Now I just need to figure out who gets the purple one and who gets the pink one...

#1 - I added 81 rows to the Doctor Who scarf: 10 grey, 12 bronze, 42 camel, 8 purple, 9 green. It is now just about 4-feet long - 1/3 of the final length. It's starting to look like an afghan :) Seems like I've been knitting forever yet I'm only 1/3 finished. Oy vey. I would've done more but I was getting really creative with...


#5 - Erin knows I'm making her a scarf, but what she doesn't know is that it is my most ambitious attempt to date. I had worked on it a little each day and on Saturday morning, I had about 10" completed. Problem was, I didn't like how it was turning out! The stitches on the edges were much tighter than the patterned stitches in the body so the edges were curling up - NOT the way I wanted it to look. So, I pulled it all out and started over, this time with a new border. I reknitted it all and it's turning out just fine! Everyone except Erin - click HERE to see the before and after pics. (I trust you, Erin...)

So that's where I'm at - tune in next week for more exciting news from the world of wool!

week 5

This week saw some setbacks, some fun, and some progress!

First, the setbacks: Lauren/Brenna's fluffy pink scarf was almost finished yesterday!!! I was in the home stretch, I could see the end of the big pink yarn ball. And then...

Every now and then I like to count the stitches to make sure I haven't dropped any along the way. The pink scarf should have 16, but I counted 17! I couldn't figure out where I'd added a stitch until I looked way down to the beginning of the scarf - ARGH! I had to pull out all but what you saw in the last update! I was so close....


Prior to the miscounting fiasco, Brenna and Lauren got in to the knitting fun during an overnight visit to Crescent City. Maybe when they're older, they can make me an afghan!

And then, there was progress! The Doctor Who scarf is looking less like a placemat and more like a table runner! I've added 95 rows: 45 green, 14 mustard, 6 camel, 12 purple, 8 rust, and 10 grey. I'm about 1/3 of the way through the finished product, and I'm happy with the progress and the speed. I have until Kimie gets here on November 15 to finish, and I'm confident I'll have time to spare :)


And finally, I have had a revelation about knitting and why it so appeals to me: Knitting is the perfect hobby for those with OCD tendencies! It's basically repeating and counting - what could be more suitable?!? So all you descendents of Mems out there, pick up some knitting needles and get started!

week 4

I've been quite the busy bee this week!

Monday, I finished Brenna/Lauren's scarf! It's kinda long, but as John says, she can grow into it! It is so soft & fuzzy - almost like angora...


And then, after all these weeks, I finally got my yarn!!! Yes, I have actually added length to the Doctor Who scarf!!! Right now, I think it looks like a placemat. But I like the mix of colors, and it's nice to see some progress. And how much progress is that? 32 rows of gray, 12 of camel, 10 of purple, 20 of bronze, 8 of mustard, 12 of grey, 18 of rust, and 9 of green. I have used each of the seven colors at least once, but I will be stuck on green for a while as I have to do 54 rows in all!


On top of all that, yesterday John & I went to a VW show and - please don't laugh - I brought along a knitting project! I started on Lauren/Brenna's scarf, this time pink. I made some good progress, and will continue to work on it a little each week. The purple one only took two days, so I expect this one to go quickly also.


And if that isn't enough, I hit some clearance sales and have two more projects ready to go! Stay tuned...

week 3

One more week has gone by with no progress on the Doctor Who scarf. My eBay seller [Craft Cottage] says it went to the post office last weekend, but I haven't received anything yet. We shall see what comes in the Monday mail...

But my hands have not been idle! No!

Donna's scarf is finished! I don't know its exact lenght, but I do know it's taller than me (not a difficult feat). I hope she likes it and gets much use out of it! (Sorry, Donna, you'll have to wait until Christmas to actually take possession.)


And since I was done with Donna's, I started on Brenna's/Lauren's. I am making them matching pink and purple scarves (and maybe hats, who knows), but don't know yet who gets which. You can't tell from the pic, but it's soft and fuzzy. Maybe I need to invent feel-o-vision :)



One thing about my knitting habit that's been bugging me is that I can't share any of this with Kimie. If she knows I'm knitting, she'll know I'm knitting for her and I'm sure she'll figure out what. So when she called yesterday and asked if I'd read any books, I couldn't say "well, no, I've been knitting mostly." It's strange that there's something about me that I'm sharing with lots of people that I'm not sharing with her, my friend of 26 years! Makes me wonder if there's anything she doesn't share with me...

Oh well, can't get too worried about that. Gotta get back to work!

week 2

Oh the frustration! Another week has gone by without any progress being made on the Doctor Who scarf. But word has come from the eBay seller that my yarn is on the way, so it should only be another few days.

In the meantime, I have made great progress on my alternate scarf, which I've promised to my friend Donna. It is now over 40-inches long! I've had to buy another skein of that yarn, which incidentally is called Fisherman. I don't know why it's called that. When I think what color a fisherman is, it is certainly not creamy. Unless it's an homage to their pasty skin? Who knows!!!

I also had the good fortune of finding a '50% off one item' coupon, and used it to buy myself a snazzy knitting bag with a zipper closure. This will come in handy as every once in a while, the kittens get a teensy bit interested in what I'm doing with the 'spaghetti'. If Smudge would only bite on command, she'd be a great pair of scissors! I am still waiting to find evidence of her 'craftiness' in the litter box :)



AND I'm making a few more scarves for people for Christmas - but I'm going to try to leave some element of surprise, so I won't be adding pics of those. :C

Until next week.....

week 1

Ask anyone "What would be the hardest part about knitting a 12 foot-long scarf with stripes in varying widths of seven different colors?" and the answers you'd most likely get are "Takes too long" or "Too many color changes" or "Too many stitches" or "Arthritis". But they'd all be wrong!

The hardest part about knitting this blessed Doctor Who scarf is finding the yarn! Yes, the yarn. Understand that this pattern is from about 20 years ago and colors have since been discontinued. Directions call for the scarf to be striped purple, camel, rust, grey, bronze, mustard, and greenish-brown. Sounds straightforward enough, but there's more. It needs to be wool or a wool blend. And it needs to be bulky or chunky weight. Ok, all the criteria are there. Until you begin to shop...

I started my yarn search online, and found that no company is currently offering those colors in that weight in wool or wool blend. But, there are two that have colors that are close enough to get by. Great! I jotted down a list for each brand and John drove me around to craft stores. (What a guy!) Stop 1: A.C. Moore. They had one color of my first choice, two colors of my second. Didn't buy any and headed on down the road. Stop 2: Michael's Arts & Crafts. They had 3 colors of my second choice, but five of my first. Great! I bought the five and figured I'd find the last two - purple & gray - a little further south. Stop 3: Jo-Ann Fabrics. They had exactly one aisle of yarn, and most of it was crap. NOT ONE color of either brand! I headed home to Stop 4: e-Bay. Here I found both purple and gray, and from the same seller no less! I clicked "Buy It Now", and with that, my yarn shopping was finally complete.

Time to start knitting! But wait, the first color in the pattern is purple... And I'd just ordered the purple... No matter, I'll work from the bottom up! And so I did. I cast-on my 60 stitches followed by 16 rows of mustard. Then switched colors and did 10 rows of rust. The next stripe is 32 rows of gray. Gray has not yet arrived... I am stalled... All the oomph is going out of me... I'm beginning to fade...


But wait, I've got an idea! I'll start a new scarf!

Isn't that what people do? They just keep knitting, no matter what, no matter who for, just keep knitting at all costs?!?



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No, I'm not getting obsessed...

Anyone want a scarf???

like an incubated ostrich egg, an idea hatches

About a month ago while visiting my family, my sister Diane taught me to knit. I bought some yarn, some knitting needles, and a book that had basic how-to's and some easy patterns.

One of the patterns was a scarf that I decided to make for my BFF Kimie who has need for such things as she lives in Scotland. This particular pattern was a simple rib-knit in blocks of several different colors. I was concerned whether or not Kimie would like it, so I emailed her this question:

I am making something for you for Christmas... The instructions that I'm following call for 12 different colors to be used. In my opinion, these colors are fine, but I don't know if you will like the scheme or not... Let me know if any of these are offensive to you and what you would like as a suitable replacement.

Her response?

From the sounds of the present you are making, is it a doctor who scarf??

Which got me thinking... "what if it WAS a Doctor Who scarf?"

You know what a perfectionist I am, if it's a Doctor Who scarf I'm making, it has to be exactly right. Not kinda like it, not sorta like it, it has to be IT exactly. So I searched the internet and found this guy who's aunt made him one, along with a reproduction of the official scarf pattern distributed by the BBC, and a note from the aunt explaining that at approximately 1-foot wide by 12.5-feet long, this scarf has over 48,000 stitches!

I said to myself "Self, this sounds like a GREAT first knitting project!" and got started right away.



This blog is a record of my attempt. PLEASE DON'T TELL KIMIE!!!!!!!