7752 knits later...

7752: That's how many stitches are in this scarf.
64: That's how many inches long it is.
3: That's the number of years this project has been on the needles.
630: That's how many minutes it took me to make it.
76.13: That's how much I would have to charge to break even on this scarf if I paid myself at minimum wage for the labor.

I am not a very fast knitter. I'm decent at keeping a somewhat consistent tension, but I've never ventured very far into the world of knitting patterns. I have some sweet books with some patterns I definitely want to try. But I can't find the motivation to sit and figure out how to do anything fancy. The 3D nature of knitting makes it so much easier to learn by being shown than by reading it in a book. If I lived a little closer to my mom or to my sister Amy, I'm sure I would get more into it. But as it is, this is about the extend of my knitting skillz: endless garter stitch...knit, knit, knit, knit, ad infinitum!!!

And that's what this scarf is. 19 knits per row, 8 rows per stripe, 51 stripes in all, knit with your everyday, average cotton yarn on US size 10, 6 mm needles. In retrospect, the thin needles with the thin yarn made this an ill-planned project, and had I known how long it would take me to finish, I probably never would have even started. But now that I'm done, I'm glad that I persevered for the sake of my original vision: a tightly knit Gryffindor scarf.

This is my first striped scarf. Rather than ending the yarn at each stripe, I just fed the unused color up the side, which makes it just a touch sloppier than it could be, but all in all, I don't mind it. It has a front and a back, but I like the funky mini stripes on the back just as much as the traditional stripes on the front.I contemplated adding fringe or some other detailing on the ends, but quite honestly, I'm a little sick of staring at this scarf. I started it in January of 2006 for a friend who I have unfortunately lost touch with. Over those three years, it's moved with me 6 times to 5 homes in 3 states, a little ghost of adventures gone by. Casting it off the needles was a bittersweet endeavor, but I was mostly happy to close the chapter on this scarf's production. 3 years is a long time to stare at an unfinished project!

A little note on scarf finishing: I didn't have a yarn needle, so I tried to make one out of cardboard so I could weave the loose ends of yarn back into the scarf. After about the third or fourth time through, my little cardboard needle fell apart. Sad day. But then I had the ingenious idea of using a crochet hook. Why has no one ever told me about this?!? It was so easy and fun and definitely my favorite part of the 10 and a 1/2 hours of making. Crochet hook, people. It's the way to go.

As a special bonus today, I also want to show you something I made a few weeks ago: my Harry Potter pitcher! I made it to go with my Harry Potter dessert set. (Oh yes...be jealous.) Basically, I have the very best sisters in the world. They were my matrons of honor, and for my bachelorette party, they took my girl friends and me out to a pottery painting place, and everyone painted either a plate or a mug in the colors and theme of one of the houses at Hogwarts. (Then we went back to Megan's house and watched High School Musical.) When I finally got home from the hospital after my honeymoon (a long, sad, pneumonic story), the first thing I did was run/wheeze over to my Harry Potter dessert set, which had been fired and was waiting for me to behold its glory. I had 5 mugs and 5 cups and a serving platter. But where to put the butterbeer?? Well, problem solved.Happy [Harry Potter] Holy Week, everyone! (Is that okay to say?)