i like lemons

After a three year break, I gave Arches & Columns another try, and this time… success! I’m not sure why, but this time around things seemed to go a little quicker. Perception? Determination? Who knows, but it took me about ten days of unrushed knitting to complete (and that includes some time off to knit the Felicity hat).

I followed the recommendation to use US sz 7 needles. The pattern says to use two balls (ball = 25g/240yds) of the Crystal Palace Kid Merino held together (which I did) and that it will take 3/4 of each ball to to get a 55-inch long scarf. A full two balls gave me 45 inches. I used about half of two more balls to get to my desired length of 60 inches. The width of the scarf was 8 inches. All these measurements were taken pre-blocking. After a light blocking, I did get an additional 10 inches of length, but hardly any more width.

The pattern itself is quite easy. Just four rows, with two of those rows being straight purls. The right-side, knit rows are easy to memorize. I did make a few mistakes (additional yo or not doing a psso) that I didn’t bother to go back and correct, but the pattern is quite forgiving and it’s difficult to see the mistakes unless you are really scrutinizing the scarf.

The overall look of the scarf is refined, but not too girly. The lace pattern would look really lovely if it was made into a wrap. The scarf will look good with a professional skirt and sweater, but also will “chic” up a pair of jeans and t-shirt. The drape of this scarf is really wonderful. The Kid Merino is soft, light and not itchy. Perfect for the in-between seasons.

I started my Arches & Columns Scarf over the weekend and it’s coming along ok. Very hard to photograph and get the pattern to show up. I did make a mistake a few rows in but I didn’t bother frogging and starting over. Just think of the mistake as adding “character” to the overall piece.

The scrap of paper that I have my basic basketweave/check scarf pattern written on is getting kind of ratty. I need to type it up and post it so that I can ditch the paper. I knit it at least once a year so I want to keep it handy. I’m hoping writing this here will force me to actually type it up, instead of going another year with that piece of paper.

Look what I found tucked waaay in the back of the closet.

It must be almost 3 years since I bought these balls of Crystal Palace Kid Merino. I think I had just finished knitting Branching Out as a gift for my mother. My first attempt at lace, though I did it in worsted weight yarn. I must have been feeling rather proud of myself, thinking I should try knitting one for myself using lace weight yarn. Nothing like knitting with mohair for the first time to knock you down a few notches.

I remember needing to frog and quickly finding out that mohair does not rip out easily. Frustrated, I decided to give that a rest and move on to knitting Arches & Columns in the cream color. Holding two strands together should be a little easier to control, right? It was, but I soon lost interest when things seemed to be going so slow.

Finding this little stash makes me think that I should give the Kid Merino another try. Right now the plan is for the black to go towards Arches & Columns, and the smoke/charcoal grey will be for Mist Lace. Maybe use the cream held together with some other yarn for a skinnier version of the Lace Ribbon Scarf?