The Dartmoor scarf

So you’d think knitting a scarf would be as simple as, say, casting on about 70 stitches, knitting in stocking stitch till the thought of doing one more row makes you want to weep, and then casting off, right? Wrong. I forgot to consider the “roll factor” and no amount of blocking, wetting or frantic stretching will make this darn thing stay flat.

My excuse is that this was the piece I used to teach myself how to knit over Christmas and New Year 2007. (Actually, I started off with a couple of pencils and string, but this was the next step up.) I’ve only just finished it, not because I’m a slow knitter (although I am) but because it’s taken five weeks for the yarn to arrive from an online knitting supplier who shall remain nameless (could I have spun it myself in less time?!?).

The yarn is Freedom Spirit by Twilleys of Stamford, in colourway 507- Essence. It’s 100% wool, and predictably fuzzy to knit up, but I love the colour gradations in the stripes. Every ball (even the ones from the same dye lot) seems to knit up in slightly different colour patterns, which is not a problem in a scarf, but might be more noticeable in a sweater.

I call this my Dartmoor Scarf, as when I started it I was on holiday in Devon over New Year with my family. One day we were out walking on the moor, and all the heathered colours reminded me of the scarf sitting patiently waiting for me to take up my needles again. Here’s a picture of the landscape:

It was a beautiful walk, but so cold that ice crystals were forming on my father’s coat. So the scarf, although not perfect, is a woolly memory of a lovely holiday.