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Prosaic

I am getting better, thank you.  The cold was a strong bug, but I was stronger and am now left with only the cough.  If I drink plenty of liquids (more than a liter) per day, even the cough is rather inconsequential.

During the recuperation I have been knitting in the round.  This means using only the knit stitch going around and around and around and there's been a whole slew of this one simplistic stitch.  Perfect, mindless, calming and good for recuperating.  Having said that it is also boring, but the results are starting to show.

First, the ¨O¨ scarf is nearing the end.  Paul and I decided to leave it as full of woolly goodness as the instructions require and if that means he wears it only in really cold climates, so be it.  However, he does not want it as long as the original.  That photo can be seen here.

If you look closely at that original it is wrapped around the neck at least once and the ends are long, almost to the model's hips.  This is not what Paul wants.  He prefers no wrapping around the neck and something that ends above his waist.  So I have been knitting in the round to complete it and so far nine colour blocks of 2,640 stitches each or 23,760 stitches in total are done.  This creates a scarf of 52 inches (1.3 meters) so far.  There is another ¨O¨ to make which will add another 6-7 inches getting the length he wants.

(BTW Paul has been very good in saying nothing about the shellacking his team, The Ohio State University, gave my team, University of Wisconsin, in football a couple of weeks ago while I was away.  In fact I had to bring the topic up.  The score, 59-0, caused the Wisconsin coach to accept a new position at Oregon State University, a step down I believe.  My poor Badgers just can't seem to beat those Buckeyes.  And to think I am actually knitting an Ohio State scarf; it must be love or insanity.)

The Ohio State scarf


This project should be done by the end of the week.  A significant amount of fringe has to be added to close the ends and it needs a good blocking.  According to the instructions I need to find a ¨color-catching sheet, found in the laundry aisle.¨  This sheet and the vinegar the instructions tell one to add to the blocking water will prevent the very bright red from bleeding into the gray.  

I also started the second Jeweled cowl.  The Mini Mochi yarn was calling to me with its appealing variegations; I couldn't wait to see if it would be as beautiful as I hoped.  And it is, see:



It surpasses my expectations; love, love these colours and the way they melt together. During a bit of stash diving I found the beads pictured below. Note they contain varying tans and dark colours. So I counted them (yes, my life is full of interesting activities) and found there are 398 in total.


So I decided to add them to the Jeweled cowl and see how the combination works.   Dark beads are added to light rows of yarn and tan/light beads to dark rows.  Want to see the results?



The dark beads really pop, but as you probably noticed the lighter beads only add a simmer and no real colour to those dark rows of yarn. I like it all well enough I think I will use these beads; odds of finding another project so perfectly suited for them are slim.

But this project will need to be started over due to bad algebra. (Can I blame it on being sick when I did the math? I could but chances are good I would have screwed it up anyway.) The number of beads available to the number of rows needed for the cowl was miscalculated. There will need to be a few unjeweled rows at the start and finish. Additionally, I have decided since I am separating the colours on the cowl knowing the exact number of tan and dark beads is useful, so indeed I will be counting them again.  Really my life is full of unbelievable activities these days. Knitting in the round and counting beads!  Prosaic indeed.

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