Trying something new

I'm going to stop apologizing for the lack of posts... 'cause you don't really care if I cleaned my bathtub or got stuck in traffic or whatever. I'd rather talk when there's something to talk about, even if it's sometimes only interesting to me ;)

I've been working on another ruffly scarf, this time in pretty Burgundy Malabrigo Merino Worsted wool... MMMmmmmmmmmmmmm.... yummy! I finally finished binding it off last night; I made it a little longer than the first, so there were almost 700 stitches on the needles. I tried a stretchier bind off, too, which works beautifully but I did not like doing it at all. K2, slip both back on left needle, then K2togTBL. K1, slip both back on left needle, then K2togTBL. Repeat until you're ready for the padded room, then do some more. I learned I don't generally like knitting through the back loop. Good to know, I guess.

So, the problem most people, including me, have with this beautiful scarf is that the garter edge (which you couldn't see when George modeled it the other day) really folds over to the right side. The only sure-fire way to stop it seems to be a full wet block. EEP! Since the folding drives me nuts on the first ruffled scarf, though, it seemed necessary.

I started by cleaning the tub. In theory, I might have been able to do this in the sink, but the tub needed cleaning anyway ;) I ran a tepid little bath, and doused the scarf, making sure to soak it thoroughly. Malabrigo felts if you look at it crosseyed, so I had to remember NOT to swish it around or anything in my desire to have it be fully soaked. "They" say it takes 20 minutes, but George was rather intrigued by this, so I'm pretty sure I didn't get past 15 at the most.

Carefully squeeze out the water, roll in a bath towel a couple of times to soak out as much excess as possible, and now it's on a sheet on the ironing board to dry. The idea is to make sure the garter edge (the non-ruffled one) is nice and flat. I also wanted to stretch it a little width wise -- it seems slightly too skinny this time around. My guage was definitely tighter, so that's part of the problem, I think. We'll see... this could take a while to dry. On the plus side, the tub is nice and clean ;)