FO: Slytherin Scarf!
I've finished my PoA Slytherin scarf!
Stitch Type: p1k1 rib
Width: 46 stitches, about 7.5" before blocking and 8" after blocking
Length: 11 trapped bars, about 7' without fringe before blocking and (despite my best efforts) 7.5' without fringe after blocking
Yarn: Morehouse Farm Merino 3-strand, 100% merino. 4-4.5 stitch/inch, 140 yards/hank
Main Color: 4 hanks of Hemlock
Contrast Color: less than 1 hank of Natural Silver.
Completion Time: I cast on 5 weeks ago, but I was out of town for 9 days in San Francisco and didn't take the scarf along because I was afraid of leaving it on a cable car...
It's a little shorter than the "offical" scarf, but I wanted it that way. The Morehouse Merino is an interesting yarn. It has an almost felted quality to it (I'm sure a spinner could tell me why that is) which gives it an extremely matte finish. It's not a thick-and-thin yarn by any means, but the yarn is not of a totally consistant thickness. The above two factors give the finished scarf a rather "rustic" quality which I like, but which wouldn't be to everyone's taste.
The grey has a slightly brown "oatmeally" quality, especially in some lights. Presumably this is because it's not dyed but made by mixing the wool of white and black merino sheep, and the black sheep are actually dark brown. The grey is very soft and I find the fact that it's undyed wool appealing, though. The green is less soft and seems more tightly spun than the gray (I admit I wish it were a little softer). I love the green color precisely *because* it's not the blue-green they use for Slytherin in the movies -- I like that sort of hunter green color but don't like wearing it -- but it's perhaps not the color to use for those looking for an exact replica of the movie scarves.
Two downsides to the yarn. One, not that I have extensive experience with felted joins, but I found it a little hard to spit-splice. The green yarn seemed a little hard to felt, and the looser grey yarn tended to lengthen as you felted it, making it hard to line the colors up properly. Still, I made it work and was pleased to have only one end to weave in. :-) The other downside is that I'll clearly be able to amuse myself by picking small bits of vegetable matter out of my scarf for some time to come.
Overall, though, I'm pleased and would work with the yarn again.
I was expecting the scarf to take a lot longer than it did and was pleasantly surprised. Still, I was getting somewhat bored by the end. I have a fifth hank of yarn I bought (thinking I would need more to complete the scarf) that I'll eventually use to make matching armwarmers and maybe a panta-like headband, but for right now I'm trapped-barred out.
In retrospect I wish I'd finished the thing on the plane to San Francisco where I could actually have worn it, but with my luck it would have blown away on Alcatraz or something.
I'm not sure which of the pictures to say is closest to the actual color. I'd say the colors are between the first and third pictures, with the green closer to the first and the grey closer to the third.
Now I'm all ready for frigid North Carolina April! (It was 84 here yesterday.) Oh, well, at least I'll have it next fall.
Stitch Type: p1k1 rib
Width: 46 stitches, about 7.5" before blocking and 8" after blocking
Length: 11 trapped bars, about 7' without fringe before blocking and (despite my best efforts) 7.5' without fringe after blocking
Yarn: Morehouse Farm Merino 3-strand, 100% merino. 4-4.5 stitch/inch, 140 yards/hank
Main Color: 4 hanks of Hemlock
Contrast Color: less than 1 hank of Natural Silver.
Completion Time: I cast on 5 weeks ago, but I was out of town for 9 days in San Francisco and didn't take the scarf along because I was afraid of leaving it on a cable car...
It's a little shorter than the "offical" scarf, but I wanted it that way. The Morehouse Merino is an interesting yarn. It has an almost felted quality to it (I'm sure a spinner could tell me why that is) which gives it an extremely matte finish. It's not a thick-and-thin yarn by any means, but the yarn is not of a totally consistant thickness. The above two factors give the finished scarf a rather "rustic" quality which I like, but which wouldn't be to everyone's taste.
The grey has a slightly brown "oatmeally" quality, especially in some lights. Presumably this is because it's not dyed but made by mixing the wool of white and black merino sheep, and the black sheep are actually dark brown. The grey is very soft and I find the fact that it's undyed wool appealing, though. The green is less soft and seems more tightly spun than the gray (I admit I wish it were a little softer). I love the green color precisely *because* it's not the blue-green they use for Slytherin in the movies -- I like that sort of hunter green color but don't like wearing it -- but it's perhaps not the color to use for those looking for an exact replica of the movie scarves.
Two downsides to the yarn. One, not that I have extensive experience with felted joins, but I found it a little hard to spit-splice. The green yarn seemed a little hard to felt, and the looser grey yarn tended to lengthen as you felted it, making it hard to line the colors up properly. Still, I made it work and was pleased to have only one end to weave in. :-) The other downside is that I'll clearly be able to amuse myself by picking small bits of vegetable matter out of my scarf for some time to come.
Overall, though, I'm pleased and would work with the yarn again.
I was expecting the scarf to take a lot longer than it did and was pleasantly surprised. Still, I was getting somewhat bored by the end. I have a fifth hank of yarn I bought (thinking I would need more to complete the scarf) that I'll eventually use to make matching armwarmers and maybe a panta-like headband, but for right now I'm trapped-barred out.
In retrospect I wish I'd finished the thing on the plane to San Francisco where I could actually have worn it, but with my luck it would have blown away on Alcatraz or something.
I'm not sure which of the pictures to say is closest to the actual color. I'd say the colors are between the first and third pictures, with the green closer to the first and the grey closer to the third.
Now I'm all ready for frigid North Carolina April! (It was 84 here yesterday.) Oh, well, at least I'll have it next fall.