Purty.

I once dated a guy who was named (seriously) Bobby McGee. He was hot for a redhead.

And also, it took me a good few years before I realized I did not need to maintain a death grip on the needles and yarn in order to knit. I still can't knit "loosely" (and have to go up a size or two to get gauge sometimes), but at least I don't feel like my wrist is broken after a 15 minute session.

If I had dated a guy named Bobby McGee he would have turned out to be a bank robber, hee. MISS MONKEY GURL: when will I see you again? It's been too long!

And also, I can't wait to see your pom-poms!

I'm going to WeHo SnB this week, fer sure. I have to bring La LaurieAnn her plastic bags. She wants to be a bag lady when she grows up. Mebbe you could show up too...

Oh, and MY Bobby McGee turned out to be a meth-head. So sad. But, it *was* in San Diego, the meth capital of the world!

Hmmm. Soba could easily start her reign of terror from SD. And from there, THE WORLD.

You do know what I'm doing here, right? Just trying to be as annoying as humanly possible.

. . . And it looks like it's working!

Plus, I like the cover-guy on "Rises The Night". Mmmmmmmmm.

DANG. I was early to work, beat my boss in, got the elevator RIGHT AWAY and have commandeered (SP?) your blog. I must go buy a lottery ticket.

It is beautiful! I have a basketweave scarf that I started about two years ago also...I added an extra repeat of the pattern and now it could double as a placemat. I love the pattern but was thinking maybe it should really be a placemat or maybe it really wants to be something else altogether. Maybe a cable scarf? LOL

/hugs

Too bad I have to go back to work now.

Knit because you want to...to heck with 'have to'!

I don't know any Bobby McGee's..I knew a british guy who just went by "McGee", I never knew his first name so it quite possibly could be Bobby, I just remember he was really hot despite having teeth like Shane McGowan.
Anyway what you have thus far on that scarf looks GREAT!

I don't know how you can say that you are not a great knitter - my goodness, look how GORGEOUS that scarf is, even though you started it back when you were a beginner knitter (if I have my CAP timeline correct). AND I have seen you discourse quite knowledgeably about very technical knitting situations in the past...I am always so impressed b/c it is all greek to me! Anyhoo, all that to say, I consider you an EXPERT on the subject...and please do the poms poms sometime SOON and post a picture. Lordy I love a pom pom - it is my cheerleader past coming back to haunt me!

I am also SHOCKED at how good it looks. Sure I knotted the yarn in one place and have some holes around the cables but pshaw... it looks good from a distance! I'm surprised everytime I look at it that *I* managed to make it!!

The Return of the Pom! You say you'll be using "little" pom-poms, but remember how great those gi-normous ones you made were? Do those. And by "do those" I mean in 2010 when you finish this scarf, remember that we liked the giant poms the best and do those. Deal?

I think not using knots is overrated. If no one else will notice them, and it makes you feel more secure, then there's nothing wrong with knotting. NOT that *I* would do that. . .

MonkeyGurrl - you are totally cracking me up.

Laurie - cables are so cool for making knitting look extremely difficult and talent dependent... I am working on my first lace (in a heavier weight yarn and on size 6 needles) it makes me feel like a genius goddess knitter.

OKAY, I'll admit it - I KNOT my KNITS (particularly 100% cottons and slippery ribbons). There, I've said it! I feel much better now. Knitting police, come and get me!

Your cables are beautiful! I can't wait for the 20 years to be over so we can all see the finished product ;)

I am powering through a log cabin blanket. On a day when it is 90 outside, it is 80 inside my house (no ac). I.must.get.this.albatross.done! If I lose weight through sweating, so be it.

I didn't know I was a gourmet cook until I turned 40. See what you have to look forward to?!?!

You think her cables are hot, you should see her pom-poms!!! (wink-wink, nudge-nudge)

OMG Monkey you are cracking me up today!!

That scarf looks pretty darn good to me. I can't keep count when I knit or even which stitch I'm doing. I like to knit because it is therapeutic. The last scaft I made has purls on the knit side and knit on the purl side. I just hope the fuzz confuses the knitting police.

I think the scarf looks altogether great, Laurie. Nice needles and pretty cables, what could be better? And why spend money on stitch markers when pieces of yarn do just as well? I would like to know though, why you chose to resume in scarf in the SUMMER??? It's pretty hot, no? And the scarf will get long and make a mini-blanket in your lap. Maybe another hat would be more apropriate?

And MG?? You're cracking me up :)

All hail Soba - Queen of California!

Ahh..Stephen King and knitting in the same post.
What could be better?
:)

Dotty, Remember when the fuzz WAS the police?

lovely!! im scared of cables - i hear they're not too bad - and you've inspired me... so maybe ill try some in my free time. thanks for the great pictures and knitting inspiration. i need some of that!

Have to admit that I thought "yuck!" when I saw the book's picture and then I thought "her's is beautiful!" when I saw your two pics. Would you consider replacing the pom poms with a ruffle?

I agree with other commentors - your scarf looks just like the picture in the book, really good looking. That last picture of Soba is amazing, looks as if she is considering BIG things. I had a tea towell that flumoxxed (sp?)me, so it spent about a year in the 'ignore' pile. I got it out and somehow it was working again. All done now :)

rhett-- I was scared of cables, too, then Annie Modesitt explained how cables are just ribbing stitch gone a bit wonky. I took her "cabling without a cable needle" class but I admit I still use the cable needle, I like it, makes me feel kind of like a badass knitter LOL.

You just get to the place where the ribs will cross each other (that's pretty much what a cable is) and place a few stitches on the little needle. Hold 'em either in front or in back depending on what the pattern says, and then knit the next stitches off your left-hand needle, then go back and knit the stitches being held on the little cable needle. It's actually super-easy but the effect makes it look so complex.

Oh-- and I love pom poms with a passion so I prolly wouldn't replace them with a ruffle, I try to pom pom anything and everything...

I really like the way you name your pictures something cute, like "Soba_hates_my_singing.jpg" rather than "img001.jpg". This tell me so much about you! And about Soba!

Hot weather knitting = socks. Small, portable, not heavy. Delight!

Love it! :D Some day I will learn how to cable, some day as in probably never :P But it's lovely all the same. Just lovely for other people :D

Random note: I also have a cat named Bob, people always laugh when I tell them my cats names Ed, Bob & Sue. :)

It's looking good!

You know (and this would be painful) you could always rip it out and go up a size now that you "know better"...although that might push the completion date to 2032 ;P

Two things... 1) I take advice from Stephen King's books all the time. Despite how insanely scary his books are, he's got a pretty good grasp on the human condition. I listen to his audio books while I craft. 2) I totally agree with you on the knitting thing. I doubt that I'll ever be any good at it and I also knit super tight. I just can't help it. So my last project I way overcompensated by using huge needles. In fact, you've just inspired me to change out the picture on my website to include that lovely headband. Thanks.

And BTW- your scarf looks beautiful. I can say that because it, well, because it looks like a scarf. My headband looked more like a tubetop. Seriously.

That's one of the "Knit ..." books I don't yet own -- I have "...Hats" and "...Socks" and "...Mittens" and even "...Christmas Stockings". I think I need "...Scarves", too, now that I've seen your scarf -- I love that pattern! And yours is looking beautiful! You know, you could get really crazy-creative, and instead of knitting all five feet of it, just knit about 20 or so inches, sew the two short ends together, pick up stitches along one of the circular edges and then knit and decrease down to nothing, and voila! A hat! (Sorta like the Fiber Trends Braid & Bobble Hat pattern). Just a thought....

Also on a completely rhetorical note, is it wrong to take life advice from a fictional character in a horror novel?

Only if it is also wrong to ask myself, "What would Mrs. Peel do?" when I need self-confidence.

In which case, we're both in trouble.

Ooh, yummy cables. I lurve cables. Your scarf looks great! (all my cables have holes, too, and I've been knitting 10 years longer than you).

I've just discovered your blog and I've been reading through the archives (does that make me sad, or just really unproductive?). LOVE your writing!

By the time 2027 comes around, we might have flipped into an ice age, so you'll be right on time!

My mom started knitting a "baby blanket for her granddaughter" when I was pregnant and she is still not finished.

My daughter is just about 8 years old....

Laurie, I love, love, love your blog. I even {horrors} sent you an email to thank you. I know you hate email but I was overtaken with emotion (and maybe some wine, heh heh)and I could not stop myself. I am afraid of cables but you make it sound easy. I guess I have to take the plunge. Barbara (in San Diego--Monkey Gurl!) I did not know we were the meth capitol, who voted? Nobody asked me, hahahahaha!

Now I want to buy that book. Seroiusly. That scarf is gorgeous, and especially in white. That yarn is beautiful.
And LOL at the pics of Soba. That is one dominant kitty, I must say. The first pic, especially. Great.

You're at the point in the scarf where I normally say: oooh, what a great little bag! And bind off, seam up the sides and add a fun handle! And I live in Buffalo, where I should be making more scarves, haha.

I just finished reading On Writing by Stephen King, he said (wrote) that there is a part of him in all of his characters. So I'd say you are technically taking advice from Stephen and he's a pretty smart guy. Knit on!!

The scarf looks wonderful! I love cables. Don't you feel like you've accomplished something really amazing as you see them forming?

They tell me I'm a seriously crazy tight knitter, too. I don't think I am, but I always have to go up a needle size to get the proper gauge.

The cable scarf is lovely. I just finished a scarf in Malabrigo chunky merino in a hot pink to burgundy colorway and I'm dying to wear it. Thankfully, in Michigan, our summers are nasty but short-lived. Summer = 3 months of bad sledding.

Well first of all when it comes to "The Stand", one can utilize any and all of the fine characters, no problemmo.

Love the Pom Pom Project, it is really fun! I'm sure in 2027 you will have a neck to keep warm. By then I won't need a scarf because I will be able to paint little faces on my nipples and toss my boobs around my neck in very festive fashion. Warm AND chic, you can't beat that!!!

Lastly, honey, when it comes to personal enjoyment vs. the appreciation of others, there is just no contest. We all must accept and indeed work towards a greater 'reality'. In my reality I am one heckuva knitter and a generally stand up gal! That's the deal about personal realities, they can be anything we like. Go for yours in a Big Way.

It's very pretty!! Perhaps if Al Gore is correct (you know, climate change) we will soon have a second Ice Age and how cute will you look with a gorgeous scarf like that! Hopefully Tipper will be gone by then and you can finally score some Gore!! Just you, Al and the scarf. Nothing else!

Wow. Monkey really dropped off these last few comments. Was it Lunch Time? I'm guessing she had to actually work.... at work. I am dawdling as I type. I really, really don't want to focus on what I should be doing. Soba rocks, by the way.

Don't sweat the hitting the two year mark on a project. I have a cardigan that I started the week of my 16th birthday that still is no where close to finish. Oh, and I turn 30 next month. Enjoy the fact that you 1)still have the pattern, 2)you can wear it no matter what size you are when you finish it, 3)it's a classic design that will look good forever.
Or you can do what LoopedBack said and make a cute purse.
Have some summer fun!

It is scorching hot in MI today, so I can't imagine how hot it is there! Hasn't stopped me from knitting though-I am working on my third pair of socks in a month.
But I do nothing else. Really. My garden is sad.

I know you probably don't want to try this in the middle of a project, but did you ever read the article in Knitty about how to not be a tight knitter?

http://www.knitty.com/issuespring05/FEATloosenup.html

{{monkey in the trees. . . lurking. . .}}

Hey, Glen Batemen is my favorite character from that book! I think you could do a lot worse than to model your life on him.

WOW! That looks awesome. That is a very ambitious first cable project.

Did you get a package in the mail from Ruth? Did you get my email?...

And here I was, thinking that if I ever get my butt to SnB I would have to hide the summer cardigan I'm knitting because my "make one" increases have itsy bitsy holes at the bottom (Yes, I know I'm supposed to twist the yarn; I forgot on those, OK?) and I wouldn't want Laurie to see them after all her gorgeous photos.

We're all our own worst critics, aren't we?

(No, I am NOT going to rip it out; it'll be hidden when I sew it together!)

Blocking can hide a multitude of sins, too. Your scarf looks lovely and I adore cables!

And I nearly flunked racquetball in college, so there!

Yeah! A new post and new comments.

I would totally take advice from Stephen King. If nothing else, he has kept his marriage together for what, 30 years now? And every time I have seen their children, they seem wonderful. Good job Steve and... damn, Tabitha. Sorry.

I mentioned it on the audio book post, but here it is again: totally check out Lisey's Story. I think it may be even better when read aloud by a woman. What a great love story, and from SK no less.

You can't be a godawful knitter and be able to do cables at the same time. It looks great!

What is that rainbow thing in Soba's death grip?

Nice scarf, by the way! What do you do with them once they are finished?

On man, I have a scarf around here somewhere that I started in 1998. Maybe I should finish that thing, or at least cast off and admit defeat.

I don't know from knitting (although your scarf looks really pretty), but I just have to say "Confessions of a Matchmaker" ROCKS! If only that woman were here in the OC instead of in Buffalo, maybe I could get a date?

Heck, if the dry spell goes on any longer, I may consider moving to Buffalo!

Am I the only one who thinks Soba is just horribly misunderstood and is really not as evil as Laurie makes her out to be? She looks so sweet to me!! Then again, I've got one named Rosie who has slit the inside of my dear husband's nose more than once when he has tried extracting her from his seat. (there is a pic of her on my blog if ya wanna see how innocent she looks).

What is it about the two year mark? I taught myself to crochet in May of 2005 and have just now figured out how to (sort of) read a pattern. Gotta post before the storm! EEEEK!!!

Hey! It looks great. And...I'm being totally shameless...there's a free scarf pattern in my blog. With cables. Reversible. :) Just in case you want to make another.

Sorry for being shameless. I have no shame. No morals whatsoever.

That is a fabulously awesome scarf. Um... you do realize that the side cables pictured in the book twist to the left, and yours twist to the right? You know what this proves, don't you? It proves that the instructions in the book are WRONG.

(Why does she notice such things? you may be wondering, and just in case you are, I'm about to tell you. Because my OCD requires me to achieve twist symmetry in my cables, that's why -- so if I were knitting that scarf I would be compelled to twist one of the cables the other way. Probably inward, because I'm so introverted. And twisted. But you knew that, or at least you do now.)

I absolutely adored The Stand and Glen Bateman (the intrinsic worth of the clay!). If you were taking inspiration from, say, Lloyd Henreid, I'd be worried about you.

If it makes you feel any better, I started an afghan in the spring of 2005 for my sister as a Xmas present. I'm just now finishing it up, hopefully in time for her birthday in August! I do have to say though, at least in my partial defense that I broke my hand last year and couldn't knit or crochet for over 6 months. But that was a year after I'd started it already.

The production artist may have flipped the negative when the book was being printed. Purl followed the written instructions and not the picture.

That is really beautiful! Don't worry about the little holes--they'll probably block out. And I'm with you on the pom poms.

I maybe shouldn't admit this, but if it makes you feel better--I still have a sweater on the needles that I started in 1994. God's truth. I just can't quite bring myself to frog it, and I can't bring myself to touch it, either.

nice!!!

No moisture in the air?!?!?!??!

So unbelieveably jealous. Here in the Midwest in the summer the air is so wet it's just revolting.

Pretty scarf. :)

Oh, just to let you know, I now have "Me and Bobby McGee" in my head on endless loop ... thanks! (At least this time it's a song I like).

Of course, dotty, that must be it, it's the artwork that's wrong.

I too have scarf patterns and low morals btw.

"Also on a completely rhetorical note, is it wrong to take life advice from a fictional character in a horror novel?"

Not at all! *L*

Your scarf looks GREAT. :D

Good lord that scarf is pretty. I'd love to make one... Must... resist... eBay...

I don't know much about "Me & Bobby McGee" played on the guitar, but I know it's incredibly impressive when someone can sing it well. Is that what your cat is yowling about? :P

I love your blog, I found it about a month ago and you are SO funny!

Yay!
It looks lovely and it's not like cables go out of style..unlike, say a teal green poncho or something! :)

Okay - so much to say here:
1.) MonkeyGurrl - you crack me up. I totally bombarded a friend of mine with 7 emails while he was at lunch detailing new & irreverent slogans he can use to describe his struggling relationship. Just keeping things positive....

2.) Scrapper - *SO* impressed that someone besides me knows who Shane McGowan is! I lurve his songs. But DANG - he was not blessed with good looks or good teeth. ick.

3.) Laurie - SO glad to see you posting again. And the scarf looks beautiful! I can't wait to see a finished product. I'm still trying to figure out how to do anything basic with yarn, and am intimidated like crazy with something as complex looking as that cabling. You. Go. Girl!

4.) I once dated a guy named Bobby. We called him Hot Bobby. Because, well, he's hot. But there's just something about a grown man who goes by Bobby. Maybe that should have clued me in before I got involved with a man who lived with his parents because he lost his license to multiple DUI's so I had to come and pick him up from HIS PARENTS house 35 minutes up the highway just so we could go out on cheap dates.
Um - nothing cheap about the cost of gas for those drives. Oh yeah - and I had to drop him off at the end of the night too. And remind him to *kindly* take his makeshift-coke-bottle-turned-chewing-tobacco-spitter with him.

Why, people, why?? Oh yeah - he was hot. my bad.

So, as you can see from me and MonkeyGurrl - just steer clear of the Bobby's.

The scarf is truly worthy of further work - dontcha just love cables??

Those multi-cables are SO impressive!

And although it is 94 degrees here and in order to keep from passing out I have a fan blowing directly across me and the firebox otherwise known as "my laptop," I still enjoyed admiring your beautiful scarf! Nice touch, too, with the "distance" shot that made it grow two feet longer!!

I am trying very very hard to work up the nerve to attempt a sock. Have been reading instructions and spending hours on the 'nets staring at pictures - scary. Until now, I've been scarves all the way. Do you ever imagine knitting socks?

And how much wine do you think I'll need?

I totally have that same book. Your cables are beautiful, especially considering you started it when you were a novice.

Someone needs to give Monkeygurrrl a sedative. Or my job. Dang, now I feel guilty and I have to show up on Thursday.

My thought process looking at your photo went something like: 1) my, those are beautiful needles! 2) And look at those fantastic cables! It was truly wrong to ogle the needles before the cables. My deepest apologies.

Nice job; I wussed out on my first cable scarf and went with super-bulky yarn on size 13s! (And it's still not done.)

Wow, nice knitting! I recently learned to cable without a cable needle from Grumperina's website, and I have to say that it's made cabling considerably faster and less fiddly. You should try it! Here's a link: http://www.grumperina.com/knitting.htm Try it, you'll like it!

Its beautiful Laurie! I only wished I can Knit something as beautiful as that...Heck, I just wished I could knit at all!

Good luck!

Yes! Hot weather is totally sock knitting weather!
I've been in a lace sock jag more or less cause it impresses the heck out of my friends! Your Cables are awesome! Go you!

You knit? I had no idea. The eight inches you have knitted looks very lovely and I too, use the "bits of yarn to mark the cables" method. I still can't believe you knit? I don't blame you for slow knitting in the summer though, who care bear to have anything sitting in their lap in the heat (and yes, that include cats)?

You compared yourself to Glen Bateman! A character in my FAVORITE NOVEL EVER. (Did you fall in love with Stu Redman, too? I fell in love with Stu Redman. A lot.) I love Glen, he's so mellow and laid-back and such a bad painter, and so brave at the end too. No, it's not a bad idea to take advice from a character in a horror novel, not if it's Glendon Pequod Bateman. :)

And I was so excited about "The Stand" that I very rudely forgot to mention how beautiful your scarf is. The cables are wonderful!

Love the picture of Soba hollering, too. :)

Ooooh cable-y angora goodness. Hardly gets better than that.

I love your white cable scarf. I'm not a great knitter but I keep doing it anyway 'cause I love it.

The scarf is beautiful! You said something a while back about not wanting to venture past the hat & scarf--you were perfectly content and happy with those and saw no reason to knit anything else. I completely respect that, but now you seem to maybe...perhaps...possibly be ready to move on. If you are, I encourage it! I've been knitting for just over a year and knitting on the most remarkable items that I never would have thought I was capable of! It turns out that knitting is a lot like life--it's never as complicated as you try to make it out to be. =)

Btw, I used to be a scary tight knitter. Then I started knitting cables and lace and it turns out that a S1,K2,PSSO is *impossible* if you knit too tightly, so you learn to adjust. Now I find even my stockingnet is looser. =)

Beautiful scarf!! I did one cable scarf, the boyfriend pattern that Ellen has. It was fun!

I'm in knitting funk at the moment, can't get in gear to do anything much, although I have some new Noro from Black Sheep inventory sale.

Oh, I might have to show up on Thursday, I really miss seeing y'all regularly. Why I haven't seen monkeygurrrl since I accosted her at a knitting shop in Eagle Rock one night. There was a "reading" going on...very intriguing event. She didn't know me, but I knew who she was. Love that monkeygurlll.

I'm always love to see Laurie and Faith and Ellen, et al.

You ladies are the best!

Wow! I think that scarf is looking awesome! And
Sobakowa is hysterical!

Started crochet poncho in 1971. Gold, avocado green and brown. It's in style again but I'm sure my "gauge" would not be the same. I may give it to Good Will just so I don't have to think about it any more.

SPLAT!!!!

{{monkey in tree, flinging poo}}

Dotty, maybe you could donate it to Stitchy's museum?

Very pretty scarf! Just think, someday it will be long enough to warm your neck. It may be more neckwarmer than scarf, but it will be damn pretty!

oh yes please...i'll take one scarf in that nice cheerful spring green that i have been in love with for a couple years now....and a hat and gloves to match!....hee,hee,hee...

hey has anyone complained about the nutzy-strob-light-frenzied pop up window ad that is major irritating on your site now? wtf?

Don't bother using the memory brain cells to memorize a pattern. You'll never need to know this again. It has no long term usefulness.
However to make things easier for my eyes looking from the pattern to the project, I pin the chart pattern to the project. When I make a few inches of progress, I re-pin it closer to the needles.
Some projects just take a real long time. When I was 14 my grandmother gave me a tablecloth to cross stitch--all in brown thread. It was very boring. I only worked on it when I was sick or when there was nothing else to do. I finished it when I was 28 years old, and a newlywed. I gave it to my mother-in-law. Knitting projects are sort of like lifetimes. Some are short and others are L-0-n-n-n-g-g-g-g.
Marlyce in Windsor, Ontario

I TOTALLY know what yarn you are talking abt! I have the same exact stuff in my stash as well. I *think* I have 4 balls of the stuff, its SO nice and I'm not sure why Caron got rid of it. I never knew what to do with it, but the scarf idea is a good one.

No it is NOT wrong to take advice from a character in a horror novel, especially if the character is Glen Bateman! And if it makes you feel any better, technically The Stand is more of a post apocalyptic battle between the forces of good and evil novel, rather than true horror. :)

Yeah, Laurie. Like you would make "little" pom-poms. Awwhh-hah-hah, you make me laugh.

Come visit me in Pittsburgh. We have enough moisture here that you'll be wringing that scarf out in no time! I know, grass is always greener...

Don't feel bad... I have a cross stitch project I started in 2000 still sitting in a basket in the closet, and many more since.

That is one gorgeous scarf - I love cables! And i reckon we can knock that 2027 finsih date out of the water.

Surely we can manipulate that "you do 80% of the work in 20% of the time" theory to mean you'll have that bad boy finished by next week. Right?

I'm knitting some (3) cabled baby sweaters.
All in green cotton. so. cute. and small.

Don't melt under the wool. Chilled drinks darling.

gee I'm not really up at 5:00, it's 9:00 in toronto, and hot hot hot.

Here I go off to work in the yarn shop.

Hi monkey in the tree, please don't throw you caa caa at me.

i love pom poms more than life itself. more I tell ya.

love pompoms

love pompoms

OK, now I know where your germophobia began.

Wendy is onto something--listening to audiobooks while crafting = GENIUS!

And I love Confessions of a Matchmaker, too. That matchmaker has more balls than any of the men I've dated. If she were a man, I'd date her! I love her straightforward style.

Your scarf looks gorgeous! Soft and snuggly for those frosty LA winters :)

I'm even less of an athlete than you! In gradeschool, I was routinely picked after the kid in the wheelchair for team sports. Since then, I've gotten more fit but no more coordinated. Thank goodness knitting doesn't involve too much coordinationg!

The scarf looks great! oh dear, it's short trip from complex cables to the world sweaters I think. Remember, you're my hero, only hats and scarves! :0) Only kidding, keep going!

I *love* "The Stand" and in fact was just considering a re-read this summer during one of our endless car rides across the country (when I'm taking breaks from knitting, that is--have to prevent repetitive use injuries!). I say there's nothing wrong with taking life advice from fictional characters, no matter the genre (well, maybe except for romance novels).

As for knitting, I have been at it for 6 years now and still have yet to knit a cable, let alone any fair isle, intarsia, or even a sock. I stick with the basic stuff, that you can knit in front of a compelling TV show without having to look down much. Sure, I could buy this stuff for much cheaper, but I enjoy it and find it relaxing. None of my friends get it, though...they're mostly scrapbookers or greeting card stampers.

~Katie

It looks beautiful and don't feel badly. I have several lace scarves that have been put aside for later. I bounce between the, 'Oh my God I've got a baby shower gift to knit right now' to the scarves. I call them my fill in knitting projects. They are for no one in particular so I can take my time with them.

I saw a whole BLOG on knitting stitch markers the other day but do you think I can find it again? *sigh*

I admire anybody who has the ability to knit. I've tried and I can't get the hang of it. I think it's the directions. You see, I'm directionally challenged. Not the North, South, East, West kind of directions (I'm pretty good at those.) I'm "pull the yarn around the needle twice and up through the middle, and screw the A bolt in to the C slot" directionally challenged. However, I love to put things together so, if I have parts left over, I will go back to the directions to see what I left out.

I really enjoy your blog, my fellow Texas girl!

I love that show! Confessions of a Matchmaker
" you are gay, gay, gay". makes my day.

Confessions of a Matchmaker? Do we not get that in the deep south?

Your cable scarf is beautiful! I JUST learned how to cable and now I think I must knit this scarf! Good for you for picking it up again!

don't feel bad about the unfinished knitting project from 2005, I have some projects from the 1990's that I haven't yet finished (likely never will either). They are way down the list of priorities in the knitting department. I really think that, once you lose interest, the fun is gone. Why bother after that? Start something new and interesting.

Hey Jane, there's a book out called "Teach Yourself Visually Knitting" that might be more learning-conducive. Different people have different learning styles and I truly believe that if you can find the right way to explain it and they truly want to learn, you can teach anything to anyone.
My first cable pattern was the Forbes Forest scarf from Scarf Style. But scarves, hats, stockinette, lace, crochet- it's all good.

Rhetorical schmorical. Fictional characters often give the BEST advice, imo. :-)

Love the scarf and don't fret the course of time. I'm still working on an 8 x 11 quilt started in 1997. I know someday, when I die, it'll either be done or it wont.

We only go around once, and there are more pressing things to worry about...