A Summer Scarf

I'm away soon. We are leaving on a short trip to Alaska for a wedding and I'm very excited about going. I've never been as far north as Alaska and I can't wait to see what this area of the country is like. The bride is the daughter of close family friends and she is a terrific young person. She joined the Peace Core after college and spent a year living in a remote village in Peru teaching about nutrition and sanitation. Since then she has worked for the park system in Alaska. It is so nice to see her find someone with a similar love of nature and interest in helping improve this world.

By the way, if you happen to see Mr Puffy, please do not mention this trip. He's not going and it's a bit of a sore subject for him.


I think I'm going to take this scarf with me on the trip. I love the pop of color it gives and I like the way it spruces up an otherwise casual outfit. There is, after all, different degrees of casual and even in the wilds of America one does like to look put together!

There is also something I want to point out about this scarf. Notice the natural color tones. That's not by accident. Have you ever fallen in love with a stunning brightly colored handpainted yarn only to realize after knitting it up that it goes with absolutely nothing in your wardrobe? I have. As a result I'm now a little more circumspect when I select yarn colors because, frankly, I am a project knitter and not a process knitter. I want to actually wear what I've knit and not just around the house. But it's an evolutionary process. You simply have to knit with that spectacular sparkly yarn with eyelash embellishment at least once just to get it out of your system. Someday I'll share a project (or two) illustrating what I mean. When I feel you need a good laugh, that is. Not that there is anything wrong with brightly colored embellished yarns per se. I have seen really gorgeous shawls and scarfs knit with these yarns. I just think that it is harder to wear them, you know, out in public.


In any event, this happens to be an example of what I would describe as one of my more judiciously selected handpainted yarns. It is still a gorgeous handpainted yarn but using more natural and wearable colors. It's currently my favorite summer accessory because the yarn is cool and drapy and I like the way it feels (it's 100% silk).

Project Specs: Shoulder Wrap kit using Handmaiden yarns, 100% silk spun, nova scotia colorway, I believe.

The gourd in the picture is from Frannie's Gourds an artist located in Santa Ynez Valley, California, a small rural town near where I grew up (Santa Barbara, California). In the fall these gourds start appearing in the local Farmers Markets and while I bought mine already painted for those crafty ones out there - and you know who you are - I think it would be a fun project to paint your own gourd. I've seen them made into birdhouses and I think that is a pretty cool idea. Here's a link to a craft site that sells them already prepared for painting and crafting.

Have a fun weekend everyone and I'll see you when I get back from Alaska!