Chinook

Without Ginny's Yarn Along each week to keep me accountable, I keep forgetting to post about knitting-related stuff.  I figured I better post these photos before they look completely out of season! 

I started the Chinook scarf in March at the start of the spring rotation, hoping to have this done in time to wear it with some of my makes--the Raindrop dress in particular, but I had several other dresses that would have worked as well.  I finished it the last week in May, so technically in time, but I only was able to wear it once!  (I guess I should be grateful I got to wear it once, since I finished it in late May!)

The pattern is fantastic, and I love how you can adapt it to use up whatever amount of yarn you have.  I wanted to use exactly two skeins (I really hate having a lot of little balls of yarn left over that I can't use for anything) and I did!  I had about 8" left over, maybe slightly more, but not much.  Enough to use for holding stitches on a sweater sleeve or something like that.

I used CotLin yarn from KnitPicks, which is a 50/50 cotton/linen mix.  I've used it before with uneven results--it has a lot of drape due to the fabric content, so you have to be careful about the pattern, but I'd seen a couple of ravelers make this in CotLin, so I figured it would work out, and it did!  It does want to unwrap itself during the day, but I think perhaps a small pin in the front might help that.  It is a really nice weight for mid to late spring.  I normally don't wear yellow near my face, but I think I can get away with this because it is so saturated and bright.  Plus the navy blue kind of balances it, I think.

I would definitely make this again in wool, and possibly shawl-sized.  The lace is done all in one with the body and it is so easy to keep track of the pattern.  There is an applied I-cord on the flat edge which looks really nice as well.  A fantastic pattern!