Orange and olive

Monogamy paid off: I finished the Larch scarflet (the designer’s term—I think of it as a shawlette) in time for my friend’s birthday yesterday. Unlike me, my friend will wear orange, so I was happy to have the chance to knit something in colors I rarely touch (the yarn is Heritage Paints from Cascade Yarns; the colorway is Fall Foliage). It was fun to knit (minus the deadline) and I like how it looks, so there’s a higher-than-average chance that I’ll knit another one for myself. So I took more detailed notes than usual: gauge and dimensions before and after blocking, and how much yarn was consumed at various points, usually measured after each half-pattern repeat, which were the logical points to stop early if it looked like I was running out of yarn. Which I wasn’t: I had almost enough for another half-pattern repeat, and I was really tempted to try, just to use the yarn up. (Acknowledging reality, I ended the pattern as written and slipped the remaining yarn into the bottom of the gift bag. Maybe the recipient can find a use for it.)

The pattern is wonderfully flexible. There’s no declared gauge (“It honestly doesn’t matter. Pick a combination of yarn and needles that produces a fabric you like.”), and Rue includes suggestions on how to adapt the pattern if you don’t have the 450 yards she recommends. The beginning section, in garter stitch, is good almost-mindless knitting, while the Old Shale pattern is easy to do yet looks impressive. But if (when) I make this again, I’m using lighter stitch markers. The ones I used for this project totaled 17 g, and when your project is less than 100 g to begin with, that’s noticeable.

And I got to knit something in orange yarn. Whee!