Spence's Scarf

For some silly reason, I mentioned to Spence a month or so ago that I'd make him a scarf. And any comment stated to a 6 year old, even a passing idea, is as good as a promise. That night, he rummaged through my yarn bag and came up with a skein of bright red yarn that he wanted for a scarf. And he wanted me to start on it right away.

I have made a few hats on my hoop loom, and a tube scarf too. This time, I figured I'd mix things up a bit and make a flat-panel scarf using knits and purls, but on my hoop loom. Isela Phelps has some great instructional videos on "needleless knitting" with a hoop loom at http://www.decoraccentsinc.com/Loom_Knitting_Videos_s/14.htm. I followed her instructions and used the garter stitch for the first 8-ish rows, then switched to the stockinette stitch for the rest of the scarf, then closed with the garter stitch for the last 8-ish rows. What I didn't do was a border of three stitches of the garter stitch on each side of each row, which would have prevented the scarf edges from rolling. Oh well. You live and you learn, right?

So slowly but surely, I worked on the scarf over the holiday break, and hit the right length just as I ran out of yarn. I might consider making another scarf this way, but if I do I'll certainly take her advice about the garter stitch borders. One of these days though, I'd like to try my hand at making some woolen socks.