History Scarf is finished!

Happy November to all of you! I heard my first Christmas song on the radio this morning as I finished up my history scarf…disgusting!

The history scarf...read on for more!
The history scarf…read on for more!

November Resolutions

I want to do a quick set of Resolutions for you – I will recap my October ones soon but for now, these are mine for this month:

  1. Make scarf for JS
  2. Make three more Christmas presents

Short and sweet but fairly big again…before you get too excited about the big reveal for how I got in October I will say that it was my biggest failure of a resolutions month since we started. Le Sigh!

Join the group on Ravelry and stick your blog below on Mr Linky if you write a Resolutions Post!

FO Friday – History Scarf

Bit of an odd one this one – it’s the history scarf. You’ve never seen it – I didn’t even know it was going to exist before Wednesday night. I got out the patchwork blanket I’ve been working on with my gran for years, expecting to start sewing it up again, and I discovered a pile of oddly sized squares.

A particularly oddly shaped square.
A particularly oddly shaped ‘square’.

After a minute of thinking, I realised they were my first ever swatches, or ‘tension improvers’, done by an enthusiastic Corrie when I realised my tension was awful and decided I needed to have a go at sorting this out.

I just don't know what I was thinking on my needle-size for this one.
I just don’t know what I was thinking on my needle-size for this one.

They didn’t fit in the blanket and I didn’t know what to do about this, but as I sat on the sofa having had a big discussion about how it’s getting colder and it’s now scarf weather, I had my flash of inspiration.

More lumps and bumps...
More lumps and bumps…

I am truly awful at crochet, and in the spirit of the squares, I decided to crochet them together to try improving my crochet skills, as well as giving it a lovely border.

I did say 'lumpy border', right? First ever stocking stitch.
I did say ‘lumpy border’, right? First ever stocking stitch.
First ever moss stitch!
First ever moss stitch!

love the final result. It is no high-fashion piece. It has holes and it has very strange tensions in places, even a few areas where I seem to have got bored of going one way in the middle of a row and have reversed direction. However, I started work on this thing so many more years ago than I care to remember and it is a massive part of my history now.

— Let’s Knit magazine (@Letsknitmag) November 1, 2013

An extremely amateurishly lumpy scarf.
An extremely amateurishly lumpy scarf.

 I can say with some confidence that I have an even tension now, and the first steps towards that were taken with my scarf. It is the best length scarf I’ve ever had and I even put pockets for my hands in it. I *love* it.

Moving towards even...
Moving towards even…
Another pocket!
Another pocket!
Extremely stretched...
Extremely stretched…

I’d also like to show you a series of ‘selfies’ which I thought were hilarious.

Disastrous selfies - and these are only the non-blurry ones!
Disastrous selfies – and these are only the non-blurry ones!

Has anyone else found that when you are concentrating on trying to photograph what you are wearing to show off the knitting, all other thoughts go out the window and you end up with a truly wonderful and disastrous series of photos?

Much love,

Corrie xx

FO Friday with Tami's Amis

Photobucket

 

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31 Responses to History Scarf is finished!

  1. Natalie says:

    Oh you made me chuckle. I have completely given up on taking “selfies” of my knitting projects. I’m no good at it…at all. I love the scarf. What a great idea. I have some odds and ends bits from my grandmother – I think I will see if there are enough to do something similar. Thanks for the inspiration.

  2. kathleen says:

    I love your scarf! What a good idea.

    On the way back home from a Halloween dinner last night we passed an enormous, fully-lighted Christmas tree! Talk about “rushing the season.”

  3. Evelyn says:

    Aw what a lovely idea :) I really like the pockets on it

  4. Julie says:

    Love the scarf. You are invited to share this with Show Your Stuff:
    http://www.treasuresmadefromyarn.com/2013/10/show-your-stuff_31.html

  5. Dahle says:

    Love the scarf!! What a great idea!

  6. I always look anxious in my selfies. I try to smile pleasantly, but it just doesn’t work!

    That’s quite a scarf! I have a crocheted blanket that grows ever narrower towards the top … the first big project I ever did. It’s gratifying to see how far we’ve come, isn’t it!

    • Corrie Berry says:

      Definitely! I took it to Knit Night the other day and I was buying yarn for a different project and the shop assistant was saying “well if you’re a beginner you should use THIS yarn” and I was like….I am NOT a beginner, despite what it looks like because of the scarf!

  7. I think the “History” scarf is awesome. I made one of those knitted linen stitch scarves a couple of years ago with all my sock yarn leftovers – when I wear it I can look at each colour and remember the pair of socks originally knit in that yarn :) Wish I’d thought of pockets though !!

  8. wonderwhygal says:

    You and your scarf look fabulous!

    I love the unique finished items. It has a wonderful story behind it and that makes it all the more fun to wear.

  9. Andria says:

    That scarf is fabulous, what a great idea. I love the selfies, too great!!

  10. Cathy says:

    Great idea for resurrecting a piece of knitting into something unique and beautiful!

  11. Regula says:

    I takes so MUCH time to take a picture of myself that I can actually use …. ;-)

  12. terra says:

    Do you know Hundertwasser? It was an Austrian artist, painter, architekt. Your scarf remember me to his pictures and houses! Very lovely! I think he would love this scarf because it’s soo near to his work. If you want to see something from him: http://www.hundertwasser.de/
    By the way: I love your scarf too … ;-)
    Greetings from Germany!

  13. Chrissy Fair says:

    Clicked here from your What to do with swatches thread on Rav. I love this scarf! What a great way to make good use of those old swatches and beautifully sentimental, too. The pockets and crocheted-for-practice border are a nice additions.

  14. Stephanie says:

    Great way to take your learning swatches and make something you can use with them! It’s truly unique–I love it! Happy knitting!

  15. Corrie Berry says:

    Thank you very much Stephanie, it is definitely my favourite ever project!

  16. Alicia says:

    I’ve definitely taken some awful selfies… I have a bunch of blanket squares that are not very similarly-sized from my early days, too… I should find something to do with them!

  17. Christine N says:

    I remember this post! Thanks for sharing it with my link up. Sometimes the odd and unexpected projects turn out to be our favorites!

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