And the winner is.....

all of them.

I mean, most people did vote for Danica. And a KAL is supposed to have everyone doing the same pattern. But I kind of felt bad forcing you to knit something you may not have wanted to knit. And who says you can't just knit whichever one you like? The whole point of this is to do it together, and I figure you're more likely to stick with it if it's one you really want to make.

But - I do ask that you stick to one of the four. It's fun to see how others are doing the same thing you are - and it is easier to help people if someone else is doing it too.

Also, I've created a separate blog just for this knit along. It's called the "Infertility Sucks" Scarf Along, and it can be found here. We will use this blog to post our progress and cheer each other along. This way we aren't boring all of our non knitting readers to tears with all the knit one purl two going on. So if I know who you are, I have sent you an email inviting you to participate in the blog (it's free to sign up). If you'd like to participate and you didn't get an invite, please send me your email address (mine is yeahsoiknit at gmail dot com) and I will add you. Oh, and if you would be so kind - blog about it and link to the new blog - hopefully more people will join (If anyone is technically inclined and would like to design a blog button - you will be my BFF)

And one other thing. I'm a little worried that I picked patterns that some may find too challenging. I do believe they are all learnable, and I am 100% committed to helping you get through the whole thing, so I really really hope you all stick with this. I will also be posting links to tutorials and other sites I think may be of help to you along the way. Feel free to post a question to the site, or email me directly. No questions are too dumb, and knitters are the nicest people!

Now go out and buy your yarn! Remember, worsted weight, any flavor. I hope you will make this scarf especially for yourself, so pick something soft and pretty. Knitting for loved ones are okay too - but why not treat yourself?

We offically start knitting Monday, October 15th.

I am so freaking excited.

It's TV time!

I came out of a building the other day and saw one of the Cavemen. He was being filmed standing in front of a statue reading a newspaper. For a commercial I guess.

Then I was watching Kitchen Nightmares and found that they were doing a restaurant that is like 2 miles from my house. I've never eaten there, but I might now that it's been redone.

Then I was on my way to happy hour when I passed a filming of 10 Years Younger. Saw the guy in the box but I didn't stop to guess how old he was. It was a pretty big crowd.

What's next? Maybe I'll run into George Clooney somewhere. Well, a girl can dream.

Speaking of television:

My favorite, The Office, has started. And while I'm thrilled that Pam and Jim are finally an item....I wish they would stop making such a big deal about it because you know that all that happiness is going to come to a huge horrible crashing end. I'm not sure if my heart can take it.

I've been sucked into Dancing with the Stars....next week they should really vote off everyone except racecar guy and cheetah girl. The rest is just painful to watch. Wayne Newton is so creepy looking it gives me the willies. With the black hair, orange face and deer-in-the-headlights-I've-had-too-much-plastic-surgery expression, someone should just shoot him and put him out of his misery. The good news is that if you DVR it, you can watch that sucker in under 30 minutes.

And could you believe I haven't even watched Grey's yet....I better catch up on the web. Dont tell me what's going on!

Knit Along

Knitting (and crocheting) is a form of therapy for me. My life is crazy and my brain is always going a hundred miles an hour. Clicking away on my needles helps me funnel my energy - having my hands do the moving enables my brain to slow down a bit so I can think. Something about the repetitiveness of the motions puts me into a zone of concentration (or oblivion, I've missed many train stops because of it). Not to mention it is a productive use of my commuting time. That's why I knit now.

But why I knitted "then" was slightly different. The energy I had then was a nervous anxious energy as a result of all the waiting. Waiting for appointments, waiting for test results, waiting to start the next cycle after another BFN. The knitting was the ultimate distraction - I sought out soft pretty yarns - having somewhat of an artists' eye, beautiful color combinations made me feel better just to look at them. I also attempted new and more complicated techniques. It was during my darkest days when I taught myself to knit both a pair of socks and a lace shawl. It was an alchemy of sorts...all the negativity, worry and anxiety were magically transformed into a useful and beautiful thing. It made me feel like a little bit less of a total failure.

I've been reading more about the Red Scarf Project, and while knitting for charity is a great thing, especially when it's for orphans, they seem like they are already up to their armpits in red scarves, and because they need to be gender neutral, they can be limited in design. So I'm going to make the executive decision to nix the charity knitting (you can still donate your scarf if you wish, but it's not the main focus of this knitalong).

I would like this to be more focused on us as individuals - taking the time to sit and look inward and create. It would be ideal if you can find yourself some quiet time for this purpose, but as the mom of a toddler myself, I realize this is not always possible. But if you could somehow get that alchemy going it would be awesome.

So on to choosing a pattern. I wanted to ensure that the yarn required was obtainable from any mega craft store. The options below are all for any worsted weight yarn (like Wool Ease or Simply Soft) which are widely available, and would look great in any color. I also tried to choose things that contained an element that might be new to most people and therefore a bit of a challenge. I hate knitting boring scarves...I fall out of love quickly and the project then sits unfinished. Please remember that one of the purposes of a knitalong is to help each other through the pattern, so please don't be turned off by things that look too hard. Trust me, these are all do-able. And you will be glad you rose to the challenge.

My so called Scarf - an interesting stitch pattern


Irish Hiking Scarf - cables


Column of Leaves Scarf - lace type pattern

Danica - Entrelac (this one looks harder than it is - if you can learn to pick up stitches, you can do this - the effect is stunning - check this one out, and this one and this one) It's like magic - hey magic, alchemy...hmmm.....

I'm open to any other suggestions as well. If you think these are way too challenging, let me know too.

I will accept votes until Monday the 8th. Then everyone will have one week to get yarn. I am proposing to kickoff this knitalong on October 15th, which also happens to be Pregnancy & Infant Loss Remembrance Day.

I hope you will join along! You can follow our progress on the "Infertility Sucks Scarf Along" Blog.