Scarf 61: Another Adventure in Ruffling

Well, that didn't take long, did it? I suppose once I say I'm going to do something, it's easier to get around to doing it. Having a beautiful sunny day to take photographs didn't hurt either.

So now, at long last, I'd like to introduce you to Scarf 61. Do you remember when I mentioned buying a little bit of red yarn at Dallas' White Rock Weaving Center back in January? Well, here it is, all woven in! It was specially picked from among the hundreds of yarns by the friend who commissioned this scarf. The red yarn is a shiny cotton; the black is a soft and strong wool/alpaca/nylon blend , which was used in Scarf 59 and Scarf 23. Together they make a lightweight scarf with a subtle ruffle.

Scarf 61 is a custom order, so it's on reserve in my Etsy shop.

Big & Tall & Warm for All

One of my yoga students, a tall guy, was complimenting my scarves the other night and asked for an extra long, extra wide scarf to suit his frame. Now, you should know by now that there's little I love more than a special request. He didn't have any specific colors in mind, so I told him I'd bring some yarns to class next week to see what he liked and we'd go from there.

Not content to wait, I went ahead and whipped up these two bad boys. Both are over 7 feet long and woven from thick & fuzzy wools & acrylics (with some mohair, cholorofibre, and other things thrown into the mix). They both have a big presence, making them perfect for taller people or cold northerners who love to wrap themselves in giant scarves.

My Big & Tall Fellas will be making their debut at Mind Body Yoga tomorrow and may visit Etsy later in the week if they don't get snapped up first.

Three for the Flock

Time is ticking and I've been busy weaving scarves for Flock's grand opening on September 29th. My goal is to have 10 scarves for Flock by the end of next week. Here are the first three.

Why are there so many scarves about rainbows?

The secret of Scarf 15? Rainbows. Pure rainbow happiness for cold little girls (or cheerful grownups). Scarf 15 makes me so happy. Henry says it is his favorite of all the ones I've made. I hope somebody nice gets to wear it someday. Someone who lets her friends wear it at lunchtime.

Here's the no-longer-a-secret rainbow ingredient: Rainbow Yarn!

See how nicely it plays with the soft and squishy turquoise yarn?

Here you can see the beautiful drape that the hand weaving makes possible:

And, oh that happy fringe! Here's a closer view of the fringe:

Happy happy, all around.

Scarf 15 is for sale in my Etsy shop.

Easy Being Green in Scarf Fourteen

In her profile for Ravelry (an online knitting community), my friend described her favorite colors as: "green, green, blue-purple, and did I mention green?" Scarf 14 was inspired by her unapologetic love for this most amiable color. Green is the color of new growth - so fitting for this project of mine involving so much personal growth. It is the first sign of spring poking through the muck of winter. Hello, green!

Lest this scarf take us into leprechaun territory, I mixed the bright Kelly Green (hey, my color!) with a variegated green & brown. It's still mostly green - the brown sneaks in through little dark stripes and subtler, lighter stretches - but it feels more appropriate for fall and winter. It will still perk you up on a dark day, but will actually go with your winter wardrobe.

Speaking of growth, don't you just love how the scarf grows from this tangle of yarns to the soft and suave accessory pictured above?

Scarf 14 was sold in my Etsy shop. It's going to be an early birthday present for someone who loves scarves and all things green. You can just imagine how happy that makes me.

This just in!

Look what arrived in the mail - my tax permit! That's right, folks - it's not all yarns and looms over here at One Hundred Things to Do - we've got some business going on!

But something else was delivered to my door that I'm equally excited about. Can you guess what it is?

It's a fringe twister! It's been taking me an hour or more to hand twist the fringes of my scarves, so I decided to invest in this little doodad. It cuts the fringe twisting time approximately in half, which means I can charge less for the scarf. Win win.

That there's the fringe on Scarf 13, looking all pretty in in brown and green. I don't think you've officially met, so here's a closer look.

Scarf 13 was a custom order - an ultra-skinny, ultra-long scarf in wool and cotton - and was sold on Etsy.

Will the real Scarf 12 please stand up?

+++ Earlier today I published a post all about Scarf 12. If you're getting this via Reader, you've probably already seen it. The trouble with that post is that all the pictures weren't of Scarf 12, they were of Henry's scarf, which I grabbed by accident to photograph this morning. Oops! Here we go again - same story, different pictures. +++

Last winter I made a scarf for Henry (my better half) and everywhere he wore it people told him he looked like George Clooney. Henry looks nothing like George Clooney. What's up with this scarf? Magic, I think. Only answer that makes sense.

Of course I couldn't go too long without recreating the magic of the George Clooney scarf, so that all men (not just my husband) can have the good fortune to go around being mistaken for movie stars.

The secret is a silvery gray wool crossed with a variegated gray and brownish-olivish wool/acrylic blend. The result is a surprisingly sophisticated scarf with colors that shift in the light. Very adaptable, kind of like George Clooney.

Newlin the Cat is getting as close to it as possible so that he might be mistaken for George Clooney too. I don't have the heart to tell him the magic only works for people.

Scarf 12 is for sale in my Etsy shop.

Scarf 7: Rainbow, meet Rain Cloud

Wouldn't Scarf 7 look great with a denim jacket? My cousin Zak says it's perfect because the colors are happy but not too bright. My mom says it's perfect because it's not too wide, so you can loop it around and around your neck.

I had such fun weaving Scarf 7 because the stripes are all one yarn, making it fun to see what's coming next! And I love the way the colors interact with the silvery gray lengthwise yarn (warp yarn).

You can find Scarf 7 for sale here, in my Etsy shop.

Scarf 6: Brown and Blue and Soft All Over

I tried a new design for the borders on Scarf 6. It brings in a little extra of the blue/green/teal yarn and adds a little something special that's hard to put your finger on.

Subtlety is the name of the game with Scarf 6, who I can see comfortably flopping around an Ivy League campus, surprising those who come near with its tealy charm.

Scarf 6 is currently for sale here, in my Etsy shop.

Scarf 6 was also featured in a Treasury List!

Scarf 10 - All Ruffled Up

I finished Scarf 10 today. It's appropriately named Scarf 10 because it took me well over 10 hours to complete, but boy-oh-boy is it worth it. I can't possibly describe how absolutely luscious this scarf is. See for yourself:

It has a row of wool running down the center, which I felted to create a soft band in the middle flanked by asymmetrical ruffles down the sides.

Only yesterday, when it came off the loom, it was flat:

It was so pretty and soft I almost couldn't bear to plunge it into the hot water, but plunge I did. It took about two hours to hand felt the wool stripe.

And now it's done!

You can find it for sale in my Etsy shop.

In which we learn about Scarf 9 and Making Mistakes

Last Friday, after two days of dreaming about making one hundred scarves, I gave myself a deadline: seven scarves in seven days. I'd already made three and I wanted a total of ten before committing to this project. Seven scarves in a week is a lot and I knewmy other work would suffer, but I wanted to see if I could sustain interest, talent, and output in that time. This evening is my deadline and I've only made it to nine. To top it all off, the last two were failures.

Yes, that's right. Failures with a capital F.

Why are they failures? Scarf 8 is not at all what I intended and Scarf 9 is not functional. Look at the photo up above. Do you see the hole in the scarf? This hole was carefully and deliberately made to allow the other end of the scarf to slide through so that the wearer doesn't need to tie it. It was intended to be worn by children or as a small necklet by adults. The problem is that it's difficult to measure the scarf while it's on the loom and the hole ended up right smack dab in the middle of the scarf, not only completely useless in this spot but an eyesore as well.

In spite of this, I'd like us to take another look at Scarf 9.

Aside from the misplaced hole it's sort of beautiful, isn't it? I had concerns about mixing these yarns, but I love them together now. This scarf is unsalvageable, but I can buy more yarn and make others like it. And that's why we're discussing Making Mistakes and not Giving Up.

This quote from Jack Canfield appeared in my Facebook feed today:

"As you begin to take action toward the fulfillment of your goals and dreams, you must realize that not every action will be perfect. Not every action will produce the desired result. Not every action will work. Making mistakes, getting it almost right, and experimenting to see what happens are all part of the process of eventually getting it right."

Wowza! Is that what I need to hear today, or what? I want to repeat it again, right now, emphasizing every single word.

Yes, I am one scarf shy at the end of week one. Yes, two of my scarves are duds. But the other seven? They're soft, scrumptious, marketable beauties that I'm proud to send out into the world with my name attached.

So here's to the end of Week 1. Here's to Making Mistakes. And here's to hopefully, eventually, crossing-your-fingersly Getting It Right.