Irish Hiking Scarf finished

Posting a picture requires me to find the camera and I don't think that is going to happen tonight.

I've finished the knitting for the Irish Hiking Scarf. I'm not sure how it happened but it finalised at about 70 inches which is a bit longer than my knittee requested. Hopefully she can live with that. It's certainly not ridiculously trip-up-your-feet long, and I'd prefer the extra yarn in the scarf rather than cluttering up my stash because it is too good to chuck out but too short to do anything useful with.

I'll make up the package to send out this weekend. I'm not sure whether I'll do the cruel Australian thing and include Vegemite (the most repulsive spread on the planet). Tim Tams are delicious but a bit bulky; maybe Caramelo Koalas.

One of the evil enablers on the Melbourne Stitch 'n' Bitch list (hi Larissa) posted details of a 20% off sale at Cleggs last week. I decided to use the opportunity to try some new yarn, the deliciously soft Lane Mondial 'Bizarre' 100% pure fine merino yarn. There was an interesting black/grey/tan/beige mix that made me think of wolves and I decided to get this colourway and knit a scarf for Jeff. He quite likes plain garter stitch which is not the most exciting thing to knit. I decided to use the Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf pattern which is a bit more interesting way of knitting garter stitch and is generally great for show-casing variegated yarns.

I'll have to post a picture of the scarf. Overall I am not overwhelmed by this yarn and doubt I will buy it again. It knits up into a lovely soft fabric and feels great. But unfortunately the yarn tends to split as one knits and I'm not impressed with the way the colour pools. It's also quite pricey ($8.40/ball on sale - $10.50 full price). Still it is great to try a new yarn and it is good semi-mindless knitting for in front of the TV.