Hitchhiker Take 2

I decide I needed another Hitchhiker in my life.  Having knit my first Hitchhiker last year, and having worn it frequently, I decided I needed another for variety sake.  

I had hand-dyed sock yarn earlier in the year in a blue speckled green that screamed garter so off I went.  Based on my first go round with this pattern I knew one skein was not enough for 42 teeth so I decided early on that I would add something on the end to extend.  I debated blues and yellows but the black...ohh the black, it was meant to be.  I added the black in a few lines at a time and finished with a wide stripe.  

I love it!

I'm over my Hitchhiker itch for this year...maybe another for 2017?  

Hitchhiker

A few months back I completed the Hitchhiker scarf by Martina Behm, becoming 1 of over 20,000 knitters to start this project according to Ravelry.  It was a great knit.  It's one of those scarves that immediately jazzes up an outfit without being fussy.  Here's my version knit in Special Merino Lace from Loveknitting.com (an awesome place to shop for yarn BTW).  The yarn was being discontinued so a grabbed 4 skeins (2 in a mottled purpley colour and 2 in green) at a steal of a price.  Its 100% Merino and beautifully soft and squishy.

I learned several things from this scarf.

First, this yarn is a dream to knit with.  Its soft, not splitty, and glides across the needles.  Its a shame its been discontinued.  I foresee more Merino purchases in my future.

Second, if you want the same size as the pattern, you need to swatch and match gauge.  I didn't swatch so my scarf was a bit smaller than I would have liked and the fabric a teensy bit on the dense side.  Blocking stretched things out a bit but bigger would have been nicer.

Third, and most humbling of all, sometimes math and logic will fail you if you don't look at the big picture.  I was happily knitting away and realized my scarf was coming out small so I checked the gauge and then the finished measurements and did some math.  Based on my math, things didn't add up.  I huffily kept knitting, thinking I was mislead about the size.  Then, I stretched my knitting and realized I was an idiot...the scarf stretches on a diagonal because of the construction.  I contritely continued knitting and apologized (in my head) to Martina Behm for doubting her.