I am not knitting a scarf.

By some strange twist of fate and probably because I taught myself to knit and no one forced it on me, I have never knit a scarf. I crocheted one and I came close with a sort of scarflette thingy for Lizzie (I got bored, bound off and added a button so it would stay on). But I have never actually knit a scarf.

I tend to be a jump-right-in-the-middle-with-both-feet kind of person. When I decided I wanted to learn to knit, it was because I saw Erika Knight on a PBS knitting show saying that all knitting was a combination of two very simple stitches. I had been under the delusion that I would only ever be able to knit scarves and hats if I learned and that seemed boring. But she inspired me. I bought two of her books (Glamour Knits and Classic Knits) and a cheap How-to-Knit kit from the craft store.

It drove me nuts. I couldn't figure out how to cast on or how to hold the yarn. Then I found a video showing me the long-tail cast on and discovered Continental knitting, which made so much more sense since I had learned to crochet first.

After this I knit what I know now were swatches, but I was just practicing stitches. I got knit and purl down quick and my first swatch had cables on it, because I thought it was so cool.

My first finished project was a baby jumper for my best friend Robyn's sweet new baby Esther (new at the time, she is 1 or so now). Yup, I jumped right in with decreases, (someone or other on the internet assured me they were easy). My second project was an intricately cabled sweater from a Weekend Knits magazine. It came out pretty cool and I only made a couple of (mistakes) design changes.

So, having never knit a scarf and having a sort of snobbish prejudice against the simplicity (and never ending rows) of scarves, why then did I cast on this?

Well, after I bought those books, I put them on the shelf completely intimidated by the beauty of each project. Recently, I decided I had enough finished projects under my belt that I could tackle some of them. And, after seeing Julie and Julia, I thought it would be cool if I went through and knit every single pattern in them, all 30. Some are very simple (like the first pattern in each book, which this scarf is one) and some are intricate and intimidating (like the chinoiserie cardigan which has tiny yarn and a satin lining). Some are just, well, I am not sure who I know that would want a bright purple knitted bra, but I'm gonna knit it anyway. (if you want it, shout out before cast on, so I can make sure it fits you.)

Also, in a stroke of brilliance, I am going to turn several of these projects into my Christmas gifts for this year. :)

To break up the monotony of this scarf I am also working on this...

Believe it or not it is the near complete back of the Deep V Sweater in the Classic Knits book. This yarn (KnitPicks Comfy Sport in Pomegranate) is so incredibly soft I can't help but stop knitting every so often and pet it.

And I have decided to cast on this...

Because it is simple and beautiful and I am getting bored with the other two projects. Being that I fully intend to finish all three projects before Christmas, I do not have any qualms about having them all going at once.