What I have learned during my sabbatical year which could also be called my year of scarves and baby hats is that my gauge for my foundation chain is very firm and depending on the stitch pattern, it’s a bit too tight. To combat this, I chain more loosely or need to go up a hook size for the foundation chain. This is only an issue if I am making scarves with a long starting row, several wide horizontal rows, instead of creating the scarf with lots of short vertical rows.
I am solidly a worsted /Aran weight girl, bulky is too chunky for me and I’m not a DK person.
Working on several scarves at a time keeps my memory sharp, it’s never too early to start working on braining training exercises. I generally complete a hat in one setting, so I can remember the pattern that I’m working on, but when I am working on several different scarves at a time, one at work, one upstairs by my bed, on that I started in my knitting group, one downstairs I may forget what I started working on. Especially since I’m not working from written patterns or the stitch pattern is “in my head.” To make the process easier, I keep the hook with the project, regardless of how long I put a project aside. Since I rarely use the suggested hook on the label, I can’t use that as a guide. I have several multiples of the popular hook sizes that I use and at least I don’t have to work out what size hook to use and to remember the stitch I was doing.
For many yarns that is always a little left over, so I purchased some gray and I will make some scarves with fun stripes. I like a medium gray as a neutral to make the colorful stripes pop. If it can be done in larger projects, why not on a smaller scale?
Another thing that I have learned is that I think about what I like in a scarf, not necessarily the color, but in the warmth, so I try to use stitches that don’t have a lot of open spaces to increase warmth. Just because I don’t like certain colors, doesn’t mean that someone else won’t. I would probably stick to blues and shades of brown if I chose what I like. There are many colors that are bright but won’t show a lot of dirt and add a touch of color or whimsy to our winter gear, which is necessary, sometimes to be seen when it is dark and to recognize your own items instead of just a sea of black.
I like the fast results I see: finishing up a hat in one or a few in one sitting or a scarf in a week or so in fits and starts. Portable projects are fun.
Earlier this year, I said I wanted to do more than front and back post work, specifically basketweave, but the combinations and multiples of posts make it possible to have something different and unique and keeps me interested. Combining different stitches or the same stitch in different yarn or direction makes it fun. My sabbatical year has been fun so far, because projects are finished so quickly.
Happy Crocheting!
