Hot pink scarf and general witterings

I gained a few balls of a gorgeous boucle yarn at a destash night some time ago, and decided it was enough for a scarf or possibly even a scarf and a hat. Someone on Ravelry suggested a method of making "no curl" edges on the knitting machine - basically you transfer the last two but one stitches at each end towards the end, and knit two rows - thus producing a lace hole 3 needles in. Seemed like a nice idea, but the scarf, once finished, still curls. Not prepared to wash/block it and find out it still curls, so have decided to make it in 2x2 rib instead. Unpicking is going to be fun. Not!

Alas, 45 mins later I had managed to keep dropping the right hand end, and when I'd fixed that I spotted two dropped stitches waaay down. After grappling with rehanging it before the dropped stitches (remember this is a boucle yarn) I eventually gave up and started again. By now I'd discovered that adding the fine knit bar and the end stitch plates helped no end. I think that my chunky ribber requires a new sponge bar, though, as the needles don't stay up when empty. Some versions of this ribber came with a simple plastic bar but not mine, oh no! It can't be maintenance-free! For two pins I'd borrow the bar out of the standard machine, but it's shorter and I'd lose it inside.  I discovered I have a new sponge bar in the lid underneath the Silver Reed, but I suspect it's for the standard, I think I was having garter carriage problems at the time.

Oh well, I am up at Metropolitan in a few weeks so I shall pick one up then, I'm sure I can manage until then!

Managed to get about 75 cm of knitting done (the weights were on the floor) before I needed to leave for the gym. The yarn is such that the purl side is more interesting, because it has more bobbles, so 2x2 rib works better than stockinette.

What else have I been working on? Last Saturday we were visiting friends down south so I cast on a basketweave crochet baby blanket (purely to try out the stitch, really), in the leftover pink yarn from the hot pink hoodie. Yes, the Cog was driving, never fear. He drove back, too - I'm not entirely sure I trust him with my car. I did have to remind him to get into 4th gear at one point. It is such a quiet engine I find I do that myself a lot, not realise I should go up a gear! That and I usually have loud music on!

The basketweave effect is produced by crocheting 4 trebles around the front post of the previous row, and then 4 around the back. It uses up a lot of yarn but looks really effective, and crocheting around something is easier in low light/watching tv than actually trying to find the top of the stitch. Had done quite a bit in a new colour, but discovered I'd decreased by accident waay back and had to rip a load. I hate crochet sometimes! :)

Finally managed to take my mohair shawl to KnitWits on Wednesday, and then completely failed to get it out of my bag to show to people. *sigh*.

Right, gotta go, girly night in tonight! yay!