Handspun Scarf

It's Me Made May, and while I'm not technically joining in by forming myself any challenge, I have been thinking about my handmade wardrobe a little bit more than usual this month. I seem to want to knit nothing but garments lately, and so with the arrival of the cold weather I've loved pulling out my knitted things and wearing them. They span from a handful of jumpers/shrugs and shawls to beanies, a pair of socks and some scarves - including this scarf.

I thought it was high time I wrote about this scarf. It probably over qualifies for Me Made May, because it's a scarf that I not only hand knitted but handspun.
It encompasses the very first skein of yarn that I spun and the subsequent skeins after that. From a yarn perspective, it'd have to be described as art yarn. It's thick and thin, underspun and overspun (severely in a couple of spots where it has coiled up like a spring!), giving it a very interesting texture.

Because of this yarns odd, super bulky nature, I decided a very basic scarf would do. And it turned out that at the end of last year, in the chaos of moving, of trying to find a home whilst moving from accommodation to accommodation, this scarf was the only thing I felt like knitting. I can't remember how many stitches I cast on, but it mustn't be very many. On 10mm needles, I simply knitted. I've not made a project in plain garter stitch for I don't know how long, but I felt that it did the best justice to this beginner's yarn.

Thick yarn on large needles made for speedy knitting, and it was finished before Christmas.
A few weeks or so ago when the weather turned cold and blustery, I pulled it out of the bottom drawer and wrapped it around my neck.
It's a long scarf, and quite wide. The thickness of the yarn makes it feel almost like you're wearing a blanket, but when the weather is cold that's just what you need.
I spun the yarn from pure organic Australian merino roving with a 21.5-micron count, so this yarn is soft. It's the same fleece that the WOOLganic in my shop is made from, as I ordered it from my supplier. She very cleverly hand painted the fleece into beautiful rainbow shades, which spun and knitted up so beautifully.
It envelopes me in warmth in no time at all, keeping the wind out and feels so smooth and soft against my skin. The long ends hang down my back, their wideness covering it quite well and keeping my back warm.

This scarf is unusual, not something I would usually knit for myself. But I love it, and I'm quite proud of it.
It reminds me that I actually like spinning, and I really, really need to make the time for it again. My yarn will never improve if I don't spin!
I've only sat at my wheel once this year. The problem is that I love knitting so much, it's hard for another craft to compete with that. When I have the time to sit down and make something, I want to knit. My knitting list is already filled with so many things I want to make, it's hard to give up room on that for spinning time.
I do have a small spinning goal I want to achieve though (which I can't share here), with a deadline on it, so perhaps that will motivate me.
Only time will tell.


PS I blogged about the beginning of this scarf here. I later undid it and cast on again with the 10mm needles just before Christmas.

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