So now only one question remains. I have made 33 of 42 "teeth" on the shawl. My ball of yarn is dwindling and I recall that I started about 100 yards short of the pattern's recommendation. I called my LYS and asked her to set aside one more skien of Ella Rae Lace Merino in my green color way and she did. Do I have a shorter Hitchhiker and have spent $25 on it or a regular size Hitchhiker and have spent $50 on it!? I suppose I could always make it super sized... I just don't want to spend $25 on 400 yards of lovely yarn to use only a quarter of it at that price. Recommendations?
In
the meantime, I am still fitting in "reading" my audiobooks. I try to
walk instead of drive to kill two birds with one stone, listen and
exercise. Major Pettigrew had a very dratic turn in the end which I was not expecting at all! Brace yourself!On another topic, the characters were enjoying readying Kipling and it has spurred my own curiosity and I plan to scrounge up something to read. I think many of his books/works are available in the public domain for Kindle, so that should be easy.
I am about halfway through Julia Child's My Life in France and I absolutely love it. I have never been a Julia Child fan because I don't really care for the sound of her squawky voice, but this book has changed my mind! It is so interesting how differently people lived post-WWII. A minimum wage worker could support a family of three, leaving his wife to invest her time in keeping a home, raising the children and learning. Julia's husband worked in the foreign service in Paris for what she considered a meager sum. But oh! What's a girl to do with nothing but time! How about enrolling in the most prestigious cooking school in the world!? Child obviously lived a charmed life compared to today's standards, but I won't begrudge her that, she certainly worked very hard and in an inspiration to many. Check it out!
Last but not least, I've started The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society and it is a book best left for listening to when not distracted. It is nice that each characters' letters are read in by a different person, so it is easier to keep them apart, but attention to detail is still needed. I like it, so far.
Joining Ginny and Frontier Dreams.
Hi! Dropping in from Ginny's....I made a Hitchhiker last year and it is on the short side. I don't remember how many teeth is has, but I would suggest using at least part of the second skein. Mine is just short enough that it doesn't stay wrapped and needs to be pinned; I wish it were longer. Part of the problem may be the silk in it that makes it more slippery, but I always wish it were longer. $25 on a scarf you won't wear isn't good economy. :-)
ReplyDeleteOops, forgot to mention that I loved the Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Society! That Julia Childs book sounds great; I'll look for it.
ReplyDeleteI think it's up to you, you could make matchy mitts to go with the shawl, or a pair of gift mitts? for next Christmas with the left over yarn.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to hear what you decide.
This shawl is going to be beautiful! The lovely yarn and the simple pattern work very well and I love the shine!
ReplyDeleteIf you can live with it being shorter (and possible having to use a shawl pin) then just end it. If it is going to bug you then by all means get the second skein. You can always use the leftovers for a hat or mitts like Karen said. It looks really pretty so far!
ReplyDeleteWould it be possible to do the last leg of the Hitchhiker with a complementary color of yarn instead? Or can you find someone on Ravelry that has a small amount of the small yarn that you could buy?
ReplyDeleteI have been calling this my Smaug scarf and have toyed with the idea of adding red/orange since the combination of my current yarn and the "teeth" in the pattern seem so dragon-y to me. Maybe this is just the answer to my problem. I can find a contrasting bit of fire-breathing yarn to top it off... though it would reduce its wearability with that strong color contrast... hmm...
DeleteI have made two Hitchhiker's and none of them has 42 teeth. The one I use most has only 35 teeth and is still long enough to wrap around my neck as a scarf. So if I were you I would try to wrap it around my neck and see how long it is before I bought more yarn if you don't want to spend the extra money.
ReplyDeleteI have The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society waiting for me on the shelf. I might make it my next read ;)
I'm here from Ginny's love the yarn you are knitting with. I have read the Julia child book I thoroughly enjoyed it
ReplyDeleteI have heard that Julia Child was also in the foreign service, as a spy! But perhaps that is another book. I'm working on my third shawl, and what I've learned is always buy the second skein. Because I did not and I have two nice, but shorter than I would like scarf/shawls.
ReplyDelete