Purple Scarf

For some weeks at knitting group I would stare across the sitting area at a grouping of the luscious colors of a display of Road to China wondering what excuse I could use to purchase some.  There wasn't really enough of any one color for a sweater, and I am really more of  a sweater knitter than anything else.  I have oodles of scarves and believed I didn't need another until one day when I was sitting next to that particular pile of yarn and I noticed that one of the colors perfectly matched my favorite purple winter raincoat.  I bought the yarn that night, fully intending to start the scarf right away, but I put the yarn aside while I fretted about what kind of stitch to use and of course, it slipped out of my mind.

I started the scarf just before DH went into the hospital, figuring it was easy enough to remember under stress, but also just interesting enough not to be monotonous.  Last week was warm enough that I believed I might not wear it until next year, but it is plenty cold again today and there is a threat of snow mixed with our rain tonight and tomorrow.

Somehow just thinking about the soft snuggly scarf around my neck makes even the thought of snow seem  tempting in that I hope it is cold enough with just enough snow that I have an excuse to wear the scarf without it becoming a bedraggled mess.  Of course, I don't want it to REALLY snow, nor do I want the snow to stick around, I just want a hint of snow, a warm scarf, and then for the sun to come out and melt it all away.

All in all I am happy with the scarf and happy with how it turned out.  I had 4 skeins and each skein yielded about 10" of scarf so I have enough length for cozy warmth but not much excess.  The only problem is there was a little trouble with the dye on some of the skeins.  I know the yarn is kettle dyed and I expect some variation in the color; that adds to the charm, but there was one section of two skeins where the color seemed more variable than the rest, although all skeins were from the same dye lot.  When I blocked the scarf, and got it wet, the variation became much more noticeable:

It is not quite as visible in this photo as it appears to me, but DH tells me he can't really see it when I am wearing the scarf.  If you look to the left of center in the picture you see sections where the variagation in the yarn is not just lighter and darker shades of the same color, but actually a different shade of red.  I didn't see this when the yarn was in skeins, and actually it didn't look this red until after I got it wet, almost as if some of the color washed out in those places.

It is not a major disaster, but an annoyance nonetheless.  I don't think it is going to stop me from wearing the scarf but that tinge of disappointment remains.

Comments

[Miriam]

Sometimes color variations like you have can add special subtlety when the item is viewed from a distance. If someone sees you wearing that scarf from 10 or 20 feet they may sense the specialness of the scarf because of the color variations. Naturally, I trust your judgement since you are seeing the actual scarf and I'm just drawing on an experience I once had. Enjoy the warmth of it and its wabi-sabi specialness. :)
Miriam

[Gina]

I trust you've worn the scarf today. At this hour (6:00pm), it's utterly raw outside. Might we see you next week?