switching gears

after a sleepless night saturday night stressing about the cookies 'n creme poncho, i decided to make travis' cousin a scarf instead. i just am not at all confident that she will like it, and i've put too much time and money into it to not feel good about giving it to her. i personally like it, but it's pretty funky-looking. it's definitely not something that would appeal to everyone, and it's no fun to knit for someone unless you have some minimal level of confidence that she will like it.

on top of that, it's stressing me out because i need to buy more yarn to finish the poncho (i've already spent more on it than the secret santa rules allow) and christmas is less than two weeks away (keep in mind it has taken me three weeks to get halfway done). knitting is supposed to be fun, not something i stay up all night worrying about. so i've put it aside, and i'll finish it when i get the time.

meanwhile, i'm about one third done with the scarf and it's really pretty. i'm using the cream stylecraft "linen-look" yarn that i bought in san francisco from my yarn stash. it looks and feels like a linen/wool blend but is vegan. i'm making a short "keyhole" scarf in a seed stitch pattern. if i have enough time and yarn when i'm done with the scarf, i'll make her a matching hat like the seed stitch hat i made for myself. i feel much better about the gift now -- it's conservative yet feminine, pretty yet practical, and i feel like it's the kind of thing that any woman would like.