Mmmm, snuggly scarf

So, a FO that never got blogged as a WIP, even though I started it in March! Oops! :D

Some details:

Pattern - the Hourglass Scarf from Knitting New Scarves

Yarn - 2 skeins of Posh Emily in the colourway Marrakesh, held doubled
Needles - 8mm straights for the ribbing, 5mm DPNs for the gathered sections
Mods - quite a few, detailed below

I bought this book a while ago. At least two years, maybe (probably) more, and I've never gotten around to knitting anything from it. Trouble is, all of the designs are innovative and brain-stretching, and I've not really had the mental energy for them! They are gorgeous, and the instructions are very clear.

This scarf was a gentle introduction to some of the more mind-bending projects. It's essentially a chunky ribbed scarf, with some gathers thrown in at either end. It's supposed to have several sets of gathers at each end, creating the hourglass shape that gives the scarf its name. I decided to only have one at each end, though - they were fiddly, and I'm in the middle of MA finals and thesis-writing. Fiddly is not a good quality in a knit right now. The gathered sections were also supposed to have snippits of a contrast colour worked in, but I didn't have any scraps of Emily to use. I also knit the gathers a few rows shorter than called for, again because the fiddly was irritating me. I knit the body of the scarf until I'd used about half of my yarn, then stuck a stitch marker in and knit until the two halves were the same length.

Probably should have used a different bind-off, as this one flares, but it doesn't really bother me. At least, not enough to unpick it and redo it! I now have a lovely, soft, squishable new scarf that is just perfect for the May we are having. I sometimes ponder emigrating, but if I did I wouldn't get nearly as much wear out of my handknits.