On and Off the Needles

First, apologies to those who are bored spitless by my knitting escapades.  I will do two posts today and cover other "stuff."  

BUT, my scarf is done!!  I actually had both sections completed a few days ago, but joining them together needed all my faculties so I waited until I could give it my full concentration.  There were two recommendations for joining and I decided one wouldn't work at all; the other (the Kitchener stitch) I can do, but each time I've done it, I've been frustrated.  Then I remembered that a knitting magazine I picked up a couple of years ago had a feature on the Kitchener stitch, so I hauled it out and read and reread.  I'm visual, so it takes me a while when dealing with print, but finally several key features sank into my brain.  For those interested in the article, here's a picture of the front cover (visual, you know) of the Spring 2010 Interweave KNITS:

My joining went well--as a matter of fact, I finally caught on to the "rhythm" of the steps and I think I've made it over the hump with this process to which I say, "Hallelujah!"  In the next picture, you can see the joined section because of the diamond shapes where the two tops of each section come together:

A little blocking and I'm all set for winter!  I can't wait to make another.

And for what's on my needles now?  A new pair of socks, of course.  I love knitting round and round.

For other knitting projects around the country (world?), check in over at Judy's for some inspiration.

P.S.  Here's a quote from the magazine about the Kitchener stitch:  "British Army general Lord Kitchener was concerned that sock seams maimed the toes of this soldiers.  A smooth grafting technique solved the problem.  Today, Kitchener stitch (also called "weaving" and "grafting") has risen far above its utilitarian sock-toe origins to become a star technique of mainstream knitting."