Liesel Scarf

Well I finally managed to complete Mary Joy Gumayagay's Liesel scarf. I am very pleased with the project, the pattern is well written and no problem to figure out, although I had some trouble at the beginning with the SK2PO (slip one stitch, knit two stitches together, pass slipped stitch over), I can't remember what I assumed it meant but my knitting posse at Men Who Knit cleared everything up for me.

Don't think it was all wine and roses, Liesel and I started off on the wrong foot. This was my first "big boy" pattern, life before Liesel was all knit, purl and not much else. I was determined to get through this however. I started Liesel on some aluminum (I don't like metal), straights which were the only thing I had at the time in that size. What resulted was bursts of progress and then a mistake of some sorts would send the thing flying into the frog pond. "Great" I thought, I would have to lock myself up like a hermit if I were to ever make some serious progress with this (that's when I learned about using a lifeline). Then something new came along to halt this project, I ordered my KnitPicks Options Interchangeable Harmony Wood Circular Knitting Needle Set, surely after frogging it yet again I could wait until my fancy new needles arrived and dump those aluminum straights. Well, as it turns out the size I needed for the Liesel Scarf was in place and I was happily knitting away when I found there was a defect in one of the tips which snagged unrelentingly at the wool. So another wait was eminent, thankfully Knit Picks took care of the problem in no time at all. Finally, with no more excuses, Liesel was under way toward the end of February. As I type this entry, it is done. Liesel is blocking on my ironing board right this very moment, as a matter of fact, my hands are still pruny and smell of wool wash.

As a beginner, I learned some good lessons from this pattern. Here's a little rundown...

• When dealing with patterns composed of various stitches/techniques, keep count of your stitches! I double checked at the end of each row that I had the correct number on the needles. I also went through each row of the pattern and wrote down the number of stitches that should be left on the needles at completion of that row. This made life so much easier.
  


• I made myself a large-type printout of this pattern in an easy to read font with lots of space between rows. I put said pattern on my clipboard and was ready for action (this stopped me from knitting half of row 6 and finishing it with half of row 7).
  


• SK2PO means Slip One Stitch, Knit Two Stitches Together, Pass Slipped Stitch Over
  


• Using a lifeline is as vital as the name suggests. I used a length (not too short or it may pull through) of black cotton embroidery floss after each pattern repeat. This way if I had to frog, I only had to rip down to the string which also let me know how my stitches should go back on the needles. I used embroidery floss as it is less likely to get in the way when knitting the row above it, embroidery floss also doesn't (shouldn't) shed, getting odd colored fibers into your work. Think about it, why would you want to frog an entire project when you could get away with frogging only a couple of rows?
  


• The felted join is a fabulous way to start a new ball (assuming that the yarn you are using can be felted)
  


• Knitting the tail of your Cast On into your work with the first couple stitches (no need to weave in one end at least).
  


• Duplicate Stitching as a means to neatly weave in the remaining yarn end(s).
  


• And finally, I've learned that my ironing board isn't such a great blocking board. I really need to come up with something different.

All in all I am very happy with my Liesel scarf. This is the first project I am super proud of. I will post some specs as well as pictures of the finished scarf soon. Also, to my fellow newbie knitters; dive in the deep end. I highly recommend it. Choose a project that seems just a bit too advanced for you and get yourself through it no matter what. I guaranty you will be pleased with the lessons you've learned.