Scarf 63 & Scarf 64 Get Married

Last weekend I went to Vermont to celebrate the wedding of one of my dearest friends.  It was an absolutely gorgeous weekend of tranquil scenery and lovely new friends.  Here we are with the happy couple, standing in front of Sunset Lake, where the wedding was held.  (And yes, I admit, this photo does make us look like we're auditioning for roles as hobbits and giants.  Let's just say there's a little height difference.)  

These dear friends live in Boston, so naturally I wanted to make them scarves as a wedding gift.  She had been weaving when we got married and made us the loveliest throw pillows, so it was fun to weave her a wedding gift in return.

Knowing they liked deep, warm, earth colors, I started by yarn shopping at Gauge Knits and picked up some rust and eggplant and red and brown yarns.  I started with Scarf 63 for the groom and decided on stripes.  I alternated orange and red stripes with a thin line of dark teal running between them, and used a deep, dark brown as the weft yarn (the one that goes side to side) to tone everything down a bit.  

Here's Scarf 63 on the loom.  Below you can see it all woven up.

For the bride's scarf, I went for a lightweight ruffle.  Using the same red wool as Scarf 63 and a mohair/silk blend in the same rusty orange color, I added in a stripe of dark, eggplanty-purple.  Hers was woven in a thinner stripe, with alternating purple and red, with just a few lines of the orange mohair on the end for a frothy look.  I spaced the stripe yarns farther apart than usual so the scarf would have a gauzy openness and stay very lightweight.  I used the mohair as the weft (side to side) yarn, so that the whole thing is barely held together with these very thin, fuzzy threads.  

After  weaving it, I carefully pulled the threads along one side to create the ruffle.  The openness of the weave kept it from being too bulky, but the ruffle still provides the dimensionality that I like.  I hope she does too!

I know I'm a sap, but I love the Beatles' song When I'm 64 and am so pleased that this love scarf happened to be my 64th!  

When I'm 64: My Weekend Project

This weekend I made scarves for a beloved couple about to get married.  I'll post the full deets when they've said their I Do's, but here's a little sneak peek.  

Scarf 59: Classic in Black

It's hard to tell from the photo, but those stripes are silver, offering a subtle shimmer to Scarf 59. The black is a smooth alpaca blend, making it classic, lightweight, soft, and chic. It's a secret special order for a dear friend of a dear friend. Let's hope she likes it!

The Mystical Energies of Scarf 34

Remember Scarf 34? It was a custom design for a yoga student of mine who wanted an extra-wide, extra-long scarf with jewel tones against a dark background. He is very tall and has had difficulty in the past finding scarves that fit his frame. I found this yarn and took it from there, even buying a new accessory for my loom (a 5 dent heddle, for those of you who know what that means) to accommodate the extra chunky yarn.

I was so pleased with how it came out and was excited to introduce it to its new owner, but then he got sick and wasn't able to come to yoga class for several weeks. We emailed back and forth - him sending notice that he wouldn't be in class, me sending back photos of the finished scarf - until he was finally able to return to class this week.

This scarf had had quite the build-up and many weeks of anticipation to live up to, so I was thrilled when I took it out of the bag and saw its new owner's eyes go wide in delight. Success! He jauntily wrapped it around his neck and immediately two women standing nearby lunged towards him to feel it, saying "Wow!" He responded, "It works! I'm never taking it off!" And we all laughed and laughed.

Amidst the laughter and spin-off jokes, he continued to admire it and tell me how much he loved it. My heart grew three sizes! Making something that makes someone so happy is just not a gift we get every day. He even called it an "heirloom" as he walked out the door.

This morning he sent me the following message, with the subject "My Scarf Now Probably Wants to Be Named":

My scarf seems to be able to be glow in the dark; I suspect the presence of mystical energies.

Thank you again for creating it. I look forward to wearing it across the next several decades.

Does it make sense to you if I tell you I feel like I should be thanking him rather than the other way around?

Funnily enough, another very tall former-yoga-student of mine recently purchased a scarf and inquired whether or not it had magic powers. Perhaps I should just tell him yes.

Scarf 17: Rrrruffles have Rrrrridges

Ooh to the la to the ooh-la-la. Scarf 17 is so glamorous I can't even stand it. It's all soft and squishy and shiny and ruffle-y. But let's start at the beginning, shall we? Like all her brothers and sisters, Scarf 17 started life flat, as a series of long threads. I decided to try some asymmetrical striping, as you can see here, on the loom. That's black cotton and silver/gray acrylic. You can't see the sparkles now, but just wait.

The weft yarn (side to side) is the same supersoft white and black handspun cotton that you met in Scarf 4. Let's take a closer look.

Can you see the sparkles now? Sometimes they're hard to see when the photo is small - feel free to click on it to make it larger if you'd like to get a better sense of the silver winding through what appears to be a wide gray stripe.

After coming off the loom, Scarf 17 was subjected to the ruffle treatment, but she didn't mind. I created an off-center ruffle running the length of the scarf, much like Scarf 10 but without the felting.

I'm so super pleased with the result (can you tell?). Scarf 17 just seems to have it all - softness, texture, stripes, sparkles, and those lovely ruffles. I love the ruffles because they add such a lovely three dimensional quality without adding extra bulk. The result is a scarf that looks great no matter how you wrap it - ta da!

Scarf 17 is available in my Etsy shop.

(Blogger is being so buggy today. I hope they fix it soon, but in the meantime I'm sorry for things looking all wonky.)