Monday, March 24, 2008

Something to Blog About



Malabrigo Melon Scarf
Pattern: Melon Pattern from Victorian Lace Today by Jane Sowerby
Yarn: Malabrigo Lace weight - One skein (470 yards) in Tortuga colorway
Needles: Knit Picks Options US size 4 (3.5 mm)
Size after blocking: 71.5" x 7.5" (Pre-blocked: 60"x 6.5")
Notes: I followed the recommendation for a scarf with garter stitch edges. I worked 5 melon pattern repeats with 4 garter stitches at each edge and 3 garter ridges at each end. I remembered having "flaring" issues on a scarf I made for Nick and so I went down a needle size for the last 5 garter rows. Next time I'll begin and end with a smaller needle.

This was my first Malabrigo experience. Now I understand. It was lovely to work with, and it is deliciously soft and warm and light to wear. My only concern is how it will hold up. Only time will tell.



Nick accompanied me to Skater's Cabin for this photo shoot. The light was pretty flat (read: These photos don't do justice to the beautiful richly colored yarn.), but at least it wasn't raining or snowing and there was occasional filtered sunlight. It seemed like the best we might get for awhile. When we got there, we saw that The Wolf was out on the lake.

Every winter since we've been here, people have been seeing this wolf around the lake/campground/glacier area. This winter is the first time we've seen him. The very first time we saw him, we actually heard him first. We followed his voice to the edge of the lake and stood watching him and listening to him howl for nearly an hour. Since then, we've seen him several times, and for the last several days he's been on the lake every time we've been there.

So after the scarf photo shoot, we came home and got our cross-country skis and went back. We skied a big loop around him, torn between wanting to get as close as possible, and not wanting to disturb him.

A wildlife photographer I'm not. (Like I needed to tell you that.) I know these photos are just average photos, but it's not every day you get to ski within snapshot distance of a wolf - nothing average about that.



13 comments:

Anonymous said...

I was going to compliment you on that gorgeous scarf - but that last wolf photo has totally taken my breath away and stolen my attention. wow.

Hilary said...

The scarf is magnificient! Wow. It looks truly gorgeous. I will be curious as to how it holds up too, since the only Malabrigo I've used so far I gave away.

How cool that you got pictures of the wolf! My first reaction was how much it looked like Lucy, lying in the snow. Very exciting.

MsAmpuTeeHee said...

I'm with gale...I am ooo-ing and ahh-ing over the scarf, but the wolf now has me totally distracted. Such an amazing life you have up there!

Would love to hear how the Malabrigo holds up. I have a couple of skeins of the laceweight in my stash, but I've never knit with it. But I have worked with the heavier weights before, and I just adore it.

Terhi said...

That is really lovely! I'm yet to try Malabrigo, but after seeing your beautiful scarf, I'm tempted!

A wolf, wow. Never seen one. It looks beuatiful.

Helen said...

Wow. Does the howling just sound like a dog, or is it very different? Cool knitting too :)

Anonymous said...

The scarf is gorgeous - I was just looking at the Malabrigo lace this weekend - so temping! Gorgeous pictures - amazing!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful scarf. I held a few skeins of that in my hand just the other day - but the colors were too bright for me - If they had that color, I would have definitely walked out with some! And that is just so cool about the wolf!

Holly Jo said...

The scarf is gorgeous. I am curious to hear how it holds up. I have two skeins in waiting.

I remember reading about the pug incident. :) How the wolf was probably "playing" with it. Weird, wild stuff.

kt said...

Ditto what gale said.

Ooooh and
Aaaah on all yer photos.

Mary said...

That scarf is gorgeous! And inspiring.

msubulldog said...

That scarf is stunning! I may have to put that one on the list.

And the wolf! What an incredible experience. He's beautiful.

*Max is quite an articulate young man and witty blog writer. :)

Anonymous said...

New reader here (thanks to Gale!). Can I just say that your photos of the wolf literally made me all misty. We visited alaska (a week in Denali and then down to Resurrection Bay for a week) and it was the most amazing trip we've ever taken. We even stopped in the real estate office while there. Your photos & blog post brought it all back for me - thank you! Lovely knitting, by the way - I've been eyeballing that very same pattern on Ravelry for a while now. It may be time to give it a whirl... Sue

Knitting Bandit said...

Gorgeous scarf. I know now I must buy the book and knit that scarf! The photos of the wolf absolutely stunning. The pure beauty that surrounds you almost (ALMOST)makes me wish I lived there.