This started as some fine Merino top I purchased on eBay a few years ago. I bought 3# of it, and stashed it. Brought some out and started dyeing units with kool-aid and food coloring. This started out as pastel, I overdyed it again with some bright yellow food coloring. Way too bright, so dyed it again with black food coloring and spun it into a 2-ply approx DK weight yarn. I really love the depth of colors.

The short-row idea started when I saw some gorgeous gauntlets from desto here on Ravelry. No pattern available, but they were quite beautiful. This technique seemed to be strongest in some of the German groups, and I heard the name of Ruth Kindla. We have a book at the shop called Variations using Short Rows, that uses Opal yarn, and I took another look at it, and bought it. There is no “wrap and turn”, which I’ve always disliked, but this really cool, fast, and easy method of making an almost invisible turn. I did a sample, then picked up this yarn and just started knitting.

UPDATE: There are now a couple of videos on Youtube about this technique. Google or look up on Youtube: German Short rows. A couple of very clear videos.

This scarf kept me going through my Mom’s illness and death in September, giving me something to think about, but not a specific pattern to follow. I thoroughly enjoyed the knitting process, and love the organic colors and pattern. My camera seems to be losing its sense of color, so the photos are not quite the color, but close.

I started at the end without the buttonhole, and just kept going. The buttonhole end is all short-rows, turning completely in the opposite direction, and ending with a 3-needle bind-off of about 7 stitches on the narrow side by the buttonhole. I still haven’t really decided on the button, or the placement, and may add a few lightweight beads on the other end.