Must. Have. More.

In the spirit of stash reduction, or as I prefer to think of it, making room for more stash, I have finished a scarf for myself. I've got to say, I have been absolutely in love with this project from start to finish.

To begin, I bought this Fleece Artist merino/silk blend last summer. This souvenir fiber was one of the best spins I've ever had. The ease of spinning, the wonderful feel of the fiber, the colors...they all added up to a wonderful experience. I chose to navajo-ply to keep the colors separate, then happily started to look for the right pattern.

I found it at Knitty.com, the Branching Out scarf from Spring05. Lace is often a love/hate relationship with me...love the look, hate tinking (lace often tries to defeat me...but this time all went well. The pattern is well-written and easy to follow. I think I would even use it again.

The picture is a bit dark, but then it's been a bit of a dingy kind of day. It really doesn't do justice to the richness of the colors and the sheen from the silk.

There is enough yarn left to make a pair of mittens and possibly a hat or headband. I'm searching about for a motif to run up the back of the mittens so that they coordinate with the pattern in the scarf. Yet more enjoyment out of my souvenir!

I must. have. more. of this stuff. I looked at Fleece Artist's website and, to my budget's dismay, found that they have a retailer very close to me. My only hope is that they are carrying only the yarn, which is likely. I might be able to resist that. Maybe. Oh forget it, you know I'll cave.