Postcard and a Bit of Fluff

Thanks so much for all the kind comments and good wishes for mine and DH's wedding anniversary. I made sure that I went to Marks and Spencers and bought nice food that wasn't going to make me into a kitchen slave. Normally I'm against paying exorbitant prices for the sake of not having to prepare Brussels sprouts, for example, but on occasions such as this I make an exception! I lit candles, set the table nicely, put on some ambient music and had DH's pressie and card ready for him to open when he arrived back home from work. I do like going out for meals but, just sometimes, it's nice to be home and do one's own thing, don't you think?

Yesterday, I received another postcard from my Secret Pal. It's the Hikone Screen again! This time, though, I have a bigger chunk of it. If you compare this postcard to the last one, you'll see that the bit of Hikone Screen shown in the previous one is also shown in the bottom left hand corner of this one. It's a bit like Russian dolls in that smaller pieces are contained within larger ones! Thank you, Secret Pal! The Postal Service has stamped it on the wrong side which is a bit of a shame but I shall treasure it all the same.

I'm really enjoying my Secret Pal experience and am, I think, very lucky as regards both my spoiler and spoilee. I probably have enough clues now from the postcards, etc, that I can actually find out the identity of my Secret Pal if I so choose. Normally I love sleuthing. I'm a great one for solving mysteries and I love cryptic crosswords, etc, but on this occasion I'm getting so much fun out of the mystique that I've decided not to become an armchair detective . . . at least for the moment! ;-) I will tell you that she lives in Germany but that's all I'm saying.

On the knitting front, I'm frantically trying to get certain things on the needles finished before the Knitting Olympics commences on Friday! Let's face it, as a potential knitting athlete, I should be training and limbering up by swatching and so forth before the big event. But what do I do instead but go and get sidetracked with yet another scarf. I do like the instant gratification provided by scarves and also think that as I started the Curly Whirlies blog, I need to contribute something now and again. So, as I'm on a stashbusting mission, too, I used the two half used balls of Kid Silk Spray in the Regal colourway that were left over from the double stranded Ruffles I made to knit this Garn Studio Ruffle Ended Scarf with Rosette.
























On the right it is shown with the rosette and, on the left, without it. I used completely different yarns so it doesn't look quite the same as the original. The scarf in the pattern is knitted in mohair yarn of a similar gauge to Kid Silk Spray and the rosette is done in a chunky yarn from what I can gather. However, the only yarn I had to hand for the rosette that was suitable as regards colour was some Rowan Big Wool which is thicker than chunky yarn. I also didn't have a large enough crochet hook so the rosette is knitted rather than crocheted as in the pattern.

Personally I think the rosette looks too heavy in the Rowan Big Wool and I prefer the scarf without it. I will probably make another rosette and use it along with this one to embellish a bag - perhaps a bag knitted in black coloured Rowan Big Wool - as I think that could look quite striking.

The pattern of the scarf itself is garter stitch with a row of dropped stitches every fourth row and the ends of the scarf are extremely ruffly being crocheted in double trebles.


The outcome in Kid Silk Spray is a scarf that is very light and airy which is why I refer to it as a Bit of Fluff!

Before the big day on Friday I hope to post photos of the rest of the almost finished objects that are currently on the needles here and there. Crossed fingers, toes, etc!!!