You asked for it, you got it: WiP Wednesday

Papa's scarf - WiP
Originally uploaded by vivi en france.

Well, here it is! This gorgeous thing is going to be a gift for my beau-pere, if I can get it finished in time. This pattern comes from Stitch and Bitch Nation and is called "Mom's Sophisticated Scarf," but I've made an executive decision that it's suitable for papas as well. I'm using Berroco's Pure Merino Heather, which I bought in Boston. I really wanted to use the pattern's recommended wool (Karabella Aurora 8), but when the shopkeeper told me she didn't have any, she pointed me in this direction. Despite its being a bit thicker, when Carrie and I spotted this color, we both fell in love with it. I don't know if you can tell in the photo, but besides being this lovely purpley/dark blue color, it has some gorgeous flecks of raspberry in it as well. Plus, it's so soft and lovely to work with! I was concerned about how it was going to size up, but it's clocking in at 9.5 inches wide, which is two inches wider than the pattern, so I think we're doing alright.

The real challenge is that I'm one and a half skeins through, with three skeins to go, and I've got to try to finish this up by Saturday. Yeah, this Saturday. My father-in-law's birthday is Sunday, and we just happen to have an appointment in Troyes on Saturday morning, so it seems natural to be able to give it to him then (plus my mother-in-law's ballband dishcloths, since her birthday was at the beginning of the month). I'm making myself crosseyed with all the fevered knitting, but after a disastrous mistake last night while watching tv, which resulted in frogging about five rows, I've learned to walk away at least every hour or so and do something housewifey. Who knows, maybe I'll get it done, and maybe I won't, but I don't mind a challenge now and then!

Oh - and yeah, I'm using circular needles, only because I happen to have circular needles in the right size, but not straight ones. I actually did my misty garden scarf with circular needles too, and I confess I like doing straight work on circular needles - I'm so clumsy that, with this method, I don't have to worry about catapulting needles across the room!