Knit Scarf Keeps Goin' and Goin'

One of my DianeLoves2Quilt resolutions for 2019 (post for 1/15/19), listed under small projects, was to "have a knitting project going". I was keeping that goal by intending to knit five Santa and five Elf Top This! hats (post dated 2/6/19). In anticipation of having completed those, I'd also ordered two scarf kits from Craftsy back in January so I would be prepared to keep a knitting project going after I'd finished the ten Christmas hats. The knitting patterns of each scarf seemed interesting enough and each project seemed of a reasonable size to be considered "small". The two construction techniques are different so I will stay engaged. Here is the first one I started. I will have a future post about the other one. This Architexture scarf requires two skeins of yarn instead of three and therefore would be the smaller of the two projects.

I ordered the Architexture Scarf Knitting Kit in Lavender Heather. This scarf is worked from one pointed end to the other on straight needles. The pattern of central decreases and edge increases form the shape.

The yarn is gorgeous but it did take me a while to wind one skein, 494 yards, into a ball. 

The yarn's weight is number 1, Super Fine Fingering, and although the standard recommended associated needle size for Weight 1 is US 2.25 - 3, this pattern called for US 5. I am not too far along, but this combination of fine yarn with large needle does seem to yield a nice, soft drape.

The yarn is a 100% Merino Wool and it feel so soft.

The pattern was a bit of a challenge, not in the particular classic stitch variations – garter, stockinette, ribbing, seed – but in coaxing them all to lie on the bias. I knit continental style and so getting the increases and decreases to lie in the desired direction required a bit of thought, but I got the hang of it. Off to the left of the photo, the center spine of the scarf is beginning to take shape by the decreases. The M1L and M1R methods of increasing – knitting into the strand in the row below and twisting the stitch in the appropriate direction were new to me. I usually increase by knitting in the same stitch twice. This smaller size needles and fine yarn combination plus the newly learned increase techniques means the going is slow for me. The scarf is a constant 95 stitches wide, even with two increases and two decreases every other row. In two days I knit about 2 inches. 

At that rate, this means that knitting an 80 inch long scarf will take about 80 days. Phileas Fogg, the main character in Jules Vernes' 1873 novel, proved you can go Around the World in 80 Days – and in a hot air balloon no less. Oh, wait. That hot air balloon part of the book is a misconception! Per Wikipedia's article about Around the World in 80 Days

Although a journey by balloon has become one of the images most strongly associated with the story, this iconic symbol was never deployed by Verne – the idea is, briefly, brought up in Chapter 32, but dismissed, as it "would have been highly risky and, in any case, impossible." However, the popular 1956 movie adaptation Around the World in Eighty Days used the balloon idea, and it has now become a part of the mythology of the story, even appearing on book covers. 

And as to going around the world in a hot air balloon...? How long does that take? Per my standard source of information,Wikipedia 

After landing down in Australia on July 4th 2002, Steve Fossett became the first person in the world to complete a circumnavigation of the globe in a hot air balloon, completed in just under 15 days. [...]  Fossett would on average, manage about 4 hours of sleep each day, in broken down segments of 45 minutes naps.

Since this post is already so off track from knitting, I might as well finish my diversion with this circumnavigating-the-globe path information. Phileas Fogg planned a route by rail and steamer.

Steve Fosset planned a balloon route much closer to the south pole. Technically then he did not travel as far.

Perhaps Steve Fosset knitted to pass his awake time. Maybe two weeks could be my goal for completing that scarf but I am more dedicated to sleeping than knitting. Even at Phileas' 80-day time table, I have my work cut out for me. There will be no problem with keeping my 2019 resolution of having a knitting project going. I think this one will last me a while. Like the Energizer Bunny it will keep goin' and goin' and goin'.

In googling for a picture of the Energizer bunny I learned something new. Did you know the Energizer Bunny was not the first on the advertising scene? He had a predecessor, the Duracell Bunny created by the competitor Duracell in 1973. When Duracell's trademark lapsed in 1988, Energizer swooped in and created their own similar colored and similar species mascot in the United States, the Energizer bunny. The Duracell Bunny trademark was registered internationally in 1989. A court battle resulted in the compromise that The Duracell Bunny was permitted to appear only outside the United States and Canada. If you see the Duracell Bunny within the USA it is very likely a third party counterfeit. Within the courts, the Duracell/Energizer trademark battle keeps going, like my scarf. Perhaps I should have started knitting it in pink?

Per c-racho@neiu.edu, the color pink is described as representing "friendship, love, and playfulness," and said to "reduce violent behavior and make people calmer." Those attributes hardly fit the battle of the bunnies, now does it? I think I will keep the scarf in its current color. Besides I have already invested my time knitting 2 inches out of 80 inches, a whopping 2.5%, out of Lavender Heather! Before I continue with the remaining 97.5%, and before I keep going and going with this blog post, I will link up with Main Crush Monday for March 10th.