Sky Scarf

The Sky Scarf - knitters, have you heard of this?  You gather a bunch of sky-colored yarns, and knit 2 rows a day based on what color the sky outside your window is that day.  At the end of a year, you have a scarf with 365 rows to represent the weather for a year.  Isn't that an awesome idea?  I love knowing that I'll knit at least a little something each day this year.  Can't think of a better way to start every day.

My sister Kelly told me about it. We're both going to do one this year.  The design is by Leafcutter Designs. You can download the free pattern on their site.  And of course, there is a Ravelry group for support and a Flickr pool where you can see others' work.

Here's how mine's going so far.  I didn't start until 1/7, so I had to guess on a few rows. Now, I set up a reminder on my iPhone so I don't skip any more days.  I think starting it was the hardest part.

Here's the only problem I'm having - keeping all the balls of yarn from getting tangled. You bring the yarn up along the side. Any hints?

Interested?  It's not too late to start.  It would be cool if a bunch of us made them and compared them at the end of the year.

If you decide to do a sky scarf, here a few tips that I learned when starting this project:

1.  I used size 5 needles - the 4 called for in the pattern was really tight.  I got a shorter pair at Michael's for $2.99 so they'd fit in my basket.  I cast on 31 stitches, one for every day of a (long) month.

2.  KnitPicks Palette yarn works well - check my Ravelry project page for the colors (I'm Knitty Jean on Ravelry).  This is a much more economical solution than the yarn shown on the website.  I couldn't justify a $75 scarf.

3. Roll your yarn into several small balls.  I'm finding them easier to work with than the center pull hanks.

4.  Set a reminder on your computer or phone so you don't forget a row.  

5.  Dedicate a space near your computer to store your work in progress.

6.  Use a basket or tray to keep the yarn together - but just a small amount.  Store the rest together in a ziploc bag for later in the year.

7.  Don't stress out about it.  I've seen some people on the boards that have journals and record the date and time and sky condition each day, or worry about checking the sky at the same time each day. Remember, this is supposed to be fun, not work.  In 2 years, when you look at the scarf, you won't care if it was 10:06, not 10:00, when you checked the sky on the 123rd day of the year.

8.  If you don't want to do the sky, some other folks are doing "mood" scarves - pick a color that fits your mood that day.  That idea sorta scares me.  Not sure I want to see a scarf with big swatches of black (just kidding ;) -- I just don't need another pink scarf.