I went There and Back Again, and now have an awesome scarf!

Once upon a time there was this crazy, nerdy, knitting teacher who saw this incredible scarf pattern that told the story of The Hobbit, one of her very favorite books. It required double knitting (a skill she did not yet have), and lots of time, but on one quiet Saturday afternoon near the end of her term break she decided to GO for it, and embark on her quest.

It took awhile to get used to the rhythm of double knitting, and there is a little ‘oops’ in the hobbit’s garden to prove that this technique needed some working out, but before she knew it, the first chart was finished. Term started, life got crazy, and most of the knitting on the scarf happened on her weekend off. Yet, stitch by stitch, row by row, the scarf continued to grow.

Finally, after 812 rows, 74,704 stitches, and 3 1/2 months, the scarf was finished.

The dragon was complete, the treasure was won, and the last stitch was cast off. It was a quiet victory as there were no knitting buddies around to celebrate with, but not every victory ends with banquets and speeches. Sometimes it’s just the quiet of a Sunday afternoon in the bush; a gal and her knitting. There and back again.

I'm going to kind of miss working on the scarf--it has been my constant companion for all of term 2, and now I'm trying to decide which exciting possibility I should start working on next! There will be lots of 'ninja' Christmas knitting over the next few months, but I am excited about my current project that I'm throwing myself into--Nerdy Christmas in July! More details soon...

Chart nine is finished!

Folks, we've got dragon!

There is only one more chart and a bit on this epic journey, and then I will have to decide how much crocheting I'm going to do around the edges. Whew!

I made this luggage tag for myself over half-term and finished up the second tie this morning during handcraft--Jayne, the man they call Jayne....!

I also finished the first of the fingerless gloves that I was smitten with recently. Because these are purposely a size too small for me, and because I don't have the buttons here to finish them, it's a little hard for me to figure out if I made the flap long enough, but now I'm excited to make a pair for myself! I think I'll make mine a bit longer so I have 4 pattern repeats across the flap. I think they are supposed to stretch quite a bit, but as I said, it's a bit hard to figure out.

Well, I'm going to get precious little knitting done this coming week because of these minor things called EXAMS, but I'm getting excited about the crafting I plan to get done this holiday. Christmas gifts and a few 'treats' for myself are on the list as well as lots of reading. Boy am I looking forward to being caught up on sleep!

Huzzah for 'Finishitis'!

Whew—I’ve actually got some knitting done this week! Finishitis struck--score! One of my best knitting days was actually Sports Day; as the ‘scorer’ I had a lot of down time, so I finished off a birthday present for a friend. As a plus, this set of luggage tags also used up an odd skein of yarn! This was hand-dyed with the exhaust from some yarn I dyed as a present for Beth.

For the same birthday girl, I made this cowl and used up a skein of yarn I had forgotten I had. I wish I had been able to make this long enough to wrap around twice, but hopefully the recipient will still be able to appreciate it as it.

I also finished the hat I was working on in plenty of time for Sports Day, even though I didn’t end up needing to wear it. You know what, I love this hat!

See that button? That is an edelweiss button that a friend brought me from Austria. I’m so thrilled to have the perfect place to put it!

I also have to say, this hat looks pretty good, even on my head! The pattern is Izmir, and its free on Ravelry!

I also finished this hanging dishtowel that has been lurking about for several weeks. I wanted one to match my blue kitchen towels set, so I didn’t hang a new one up when I changed my kitchen linens over as motivation! I love the button; I wasn’t sure if it would work, but I really like the finishing touch it gives.

I’ve also started working on that fingerless glove pattern that I feel to greatly in love with--Spatterdash. I just got to the 'fun' part, the hand flap in the variegated yarn. Love it!

So, that's what was up with this knitter in the bush. Oh, I hope you all had a lovely 4th of July! I celebrated in private that evening; while there are many, many things I don't like about my country, I'm so glad that I'm an American!