From Uruguay with Love

It’s still pretty quiet in Lundaland. We’re having a very busy period at the office, and I’ve felt quite drained for the last couple of weeks. Therefore I haven’t had the energy to be particularly creative. As usual, when my energy levels are low, I’ve regressed into knitting. I find knitting and the handling of soft wool very soothing and meditative when my brains need a time out.

Last weekend my mum came over for a visit, and we went to a crafts fair together. I found some interesting things, but my best catch was a couple of skeins of hand-painted 100% merino wool from Uruguay. I couldn’t believe it that this amazing and exotic yarn had found its way into my hands.

Hand-painted 100 % merino wool from Uruguay (!)

I decided that I was going to make the yarn into a shawl or scarf, and back home I started searching the Internet for inspiration. I soon found a fun scarf pattern in the pattern library of the Drops Design site. I was amazed at the amount of free patterns that they so generously offer on their site. Do head over there and have a look. There are 14 different languages to choose from, so it’s very user-friendly! I salute that web site. Excellent stuff.

The scarf pattern I chose is this one. It’s nothing like your average knitted scarf, and I really like the tapered ends and the fun bobbles along the lower edge. Isn’t the yarn delicious too? I’ve been lusting after it since I first laid eyes on it. But I didn’t let it distract me from my Uruguayan wool, though.

Knitting in progress. Some rows were only worked halfway before turning back, and that created a curved edge (as there were more rows squeezed in on the lower edge than on the upper edge). Pretty clever, eh?

It didn’t take me even a week to finish the scarf, and I enjoyed making the bobbles and the curved shape, as it provided enough variation to keep it all interesting. Below is an image of the finished scarf. There was some wool left over, so I’ve started on a pair of matching wrist warmers too. This set will keep me snug and warm when winter comes.