Having a conversation with fellow knitters and/or crocheters is life-giving. And there was one such conversation in 2023 that led me on another knitting journey.
Every summer, over the fourth of July, we gather with three of my husband’s friends from college and their families. One of the wives is a crocheter, so there’s always fun conversations and sessions of sitting in cozy chairs and making our craft. Last year, while talking about creative things, she said she had a request. Recently, she saw a scarf that looked like a pencil on Pinterest. Being a teacher, she wanted one to wear in the winter, while outside with her students at recess. So, she asked if I would knit her one. Needless to say, the rest of our visit was spent scouring Pinterest for patterns.
Per usual, most of what I found were crochet patterns. Not helpful for this knitter. I did locate one knit pattern on Etsy that was for purchase, and I honestly asked myself, “If you buy this pattern, will you follow it completely?” Would it be prudent of me to buy a pattern that I would modify and/or pretty much make up my own anyway? If you’ve been following along with me for a while, you’ve probably guessed the answer.
I pulled up several images of pencils, along with the average measurements for scarves, and dove into the experiment. One thing I’m continually having to work through is figuring out how much yarn is necessary for the final measurements.
Unfortunately, my original idea didn’t work with the amount of yarn I had purchased.
Back to the drawing board I went to make the necessary adjustments. Reworking the math, I was pleased with the new look, which looked closer to a pencil.
With each row, the excitement grew as the vision in my head of the final product came to fruition.
I won’t lie…a happy dance was definitely done when I finished. It worked!! And our teacher friend was ecstatic.
Shortly after the completion of the pencil scarf, an artist reached out to me on Instagram. She wanted to purchase a pencil scarf for her illustrator friend’s birthday. I had to take a minute. That was one thing I didn’t think about. This scarf could be for artists as well as teachers. How did I not think of that? (Community is necessary.)
The second pencil scarf was completed and sent. To my delight, the illustrator friend posted on Instagram and tagged the shop. (Did you know, word of mouth is the best advertising for handmade businesses?)
The post read, “It’s a PENCIL!!!!! ‘Twas my exclamation upon opening my birthday gift from my dearest pal!!!! It’s so soft and you know I’m obsessed with always having a sharp point!! I cannot even. Thank you, truly. Now when I say, ‘Never put down the pencil’…I have the perfect scarf to wear.”
Did a happy dance happen again? Yes, yes it did.
A couple months later, our teacher friend reached out again, with another request: a hat to match her scarf. Hmm. I’ve never made a hat before. Challenge accepted…again. The search for a pattern commenced…again. I had a vision in my head of what it would look like, and fortunately, I found a free pattern that I would feel comfortable modifying as much as I needed to.
It took a couple tries, but I got the measurements right. The only thing left to add was the black “lead.”
The black pom was perfect to complete the hat, thus completing the pair.
Now that I had the bases of a pattern for the scarf, more ideas have come flooding into my brain…but that’s a story for another day.