Off the Needles: Variegated Cotton Scarf

Another stash busting project using a yarn that I have no clue of when or where I acquired it. I suspect it must have been something I got at a discount, but there is no price or store name on the skein wrappers. The yarn is Classic Elite Yarn's "Seedling" from the Verde Collection. Seedling is a worsted-weight 100% organic cotton yarn, and my skeins are in handpainted colorway #4564 "Paradise." (This colorway appears to be no longer available.)

The pattern is "Chenille Diagonal Lace Scarf" from Knitted Shawls, Stoles, & Scarves by Nancie M. Wiseman (Martingale & Company, 2001, pp. 20-21). I made mine longer than called for in the pattern because I wanted to use up all the yarn I had on hand.

The piece worked up very quickly as there are only 40 stitches to cast on and only 2 sets of two-row repeats. I would have finished even sooner if I had settled on the pattern at the outset. I started out in crochet with a couple of unsatisfactory results that caused me to abandon the efforts after I had worked up one skein. (Out with the trusty ball winder...) Then I switched to knitting with two more aborted attempts before going through my library and found the pattern I finally decided on.

I find I do this a lot so it's good that I'm a fast knitter and crocheter. But I hate that I waste so much time starting and redoing before reaching a successful conclusion with a project. I suspect that this is a problem caused by impulsively buying yarn (often in only small quantities) with no plan in mind. Later it becomes a struggle to match up the yarn with a suitable pattern that will accommodate the yarn on hand. Or maybe I'm just extremely indecisive and can't decide if I like or hate a design until I'm far into it. I did confess the other day that my most useful craft tool is my ball winder...it's just the trick for taking apart failed projects.