An Adventure Yarn

When I am in a knitting slump, one of the things I do is sort through the stash.   Sometimes, I am

looking for that spark to get me going again; sometimes I look to see if any of the yarn has lost its luster enough to go to a new home.

Earlier this month, the stash spit out yarn with history.   In the early 90's, my friend Bernie went on a backpacking trip through Alaska.   As she walked, she picked quiviut fluff off bushes.   When she got back home, she took the fluff to a spinner and had yarn spun from the quiviut.   The spinner threw in another fiber to make the quiviut less warm.

Bernie sent the yarn to me so that I could make a vest...a one of a kind vest...for her husband.  The vest was made and loved.   The vest left with the husband.   Every once in awhile, the leftover yarn would surface...and I would think about what I could do with it so that Bernie could have something from her Alaska trek.

A few weeks ago, the yarn surfaced again.   I looked at it carefully, made a mental note of the likely yardage, and began a scarf adapted from a shawl pattern on Knitpicks.  The ends have a funky curly

to them that makes the scarf a little more interesting than endless garter stitch.   My decision about the length was based on having enough left over to finish the second end.   I knit.  I knit.  And I knit.

Last week, I finished the scarf and gave it a nice bath in Soak Wash for Handknits.   After an overnight rest on the sweater dryer, the scarf was ready to go.

Bernie got it yesterday as a surprise.   She said she had had a tough day and was really happy to receive it.   Now, Bernie has a memento from the Alaska trip, and I am a bit closer to the center of the stash.