One for you, and one for me

WIP count: zero.

Hard to believe, as it took me almost two years to clear my needles of all of those languishing projects, but I finally did it -- and it's an incredibly liberating feeling, especially since the seasons are finally starting to change. It's time for lighter, brighter knits to take the stage, and I can't wait to get started.

Before moving on, here are the last two projects rounding out my FO list for winter 2007: first, a simple double-knit scarf in Rowan Cashsoft 4-ply (project details here on Ravelry):

chocolate caramel scarf in Rowan Cashsoft 4-ply

This is one of my most polished finished knits. Generally, I choose projects because they incorporate construction techniques or color combinations that I couldn't find in a store-bought item. In this case, however, I wanted to create a warm, luxurious scarf that would look good enough to accompany a button-down shirt and a wool peacoat to the office. The toughest part about a simple scarf like this is getting the ends to look good; I can never seem to make my bound-off edge match that of the cast-on, as the former always flares out unattractively. I also didn't want to take the easy way out and hide the disparity behind some fringe.

The solution? I exploited the fact that I had a tube of fabric that needed to be seamed up at each end to create a flat scarf. I ended up using a three-needle bindoff with the right sides facing out (I had to pick out the cast-on edge to get live stitches back on the needles on that end, but it was worth the trouble), which created a remarkably well-behaved seam. Take a look at this edge:

three-needle bindoff: no flaring!

I was thrilled with the results of this method, and the scarf is already getting plenty of wear by its recipient. Mission accomplished!

And my final FO of winter '07: the ever-popular Noro Striped Scarf (Ravelry details here). After knitting all of that mindless stockinette for the Cashsoft scarf, I decided I needed a new scarf of my own.

Noro Striped Scarf (colorways 84 and 255)

I couldn't resist, especially since I had a skein of Silk Garden in my stash, left over from Klaralund. I didn't want to do the 4-skein version, though. I tend to suffer from SADD (scarf attention deficit disorder) after the first four feet or so of repetitive knitting, and not even the excitement of Noro color evolution would be enough to convince me to knit ~7 feet of k1p1 ribbing. Five feet, on the other hand, I could handle, and it only took a little over two days to complete the entire project. Plus, a swim in Soak (the Amy Butler Sola scent, which strikes the perfect balance between musk and floral to make it work for both guys' and gals' knits) lengthened this scarf by an extra foot and softened up the Silk Garden. This is, without a doubt, my favorite neckwear of the moment, and I think it'll be perfect for the transition to sunnier days and warmer temperatures.

Next time: I'll detail my grand plans for Rusted Root, which I'm going to knit in the "it" color of the season. Any guesses? I'm hoping it'll be a mainstay of my spring/summer wardrobe, or, at the very least, that I'll be able to finish it before the color goes out of style!