180

Despite what I said yesterday, I am not making the Midwest Moonlight Scarf for my International Scarf Exchange 5 pal. What caused such a quick reversal? Trying to knit it.

The pattern looked like something I could handle. Since I tend to underestimate what I'm able to knit, I should have been set. An hour of wrestling with the pattern was enough to convince me that perhaps I'd be better off doing something else.

For one thing, it didn't look like I expected. Somehow I thought it was more like a modified basketweave. I suppose it is, but there are holes created by yarn overs that form some of the square-like shapes. I wasn't thrilled with how those were turning out.

The bigger culprit for me abandoning this project was the knitting itself. I'm using DK weight yarn, which I've never used for a scarf. I was having a lot of trouble getting the needle into the stitches to knit two together and ssk. Since there are eight of those in every other row, save for the three knit rows at the beginning and end, this scarf would take me an eternity to knit. A generous estimate would peg the scarf knitting time at 25 hours. More realistically it might be upwards of 35 or 40. I don't mind putting in the time but not if I'm going to be frustrated every other row.

So this pattern will return to my Ravelry queue, and I will begin work on something that should generate less aggravation. The Ruggles Reversible Scarf moves to the front of the line. I think my pal will like it better anyway. I feel certain that I'll be happier making it.