Scarf Angst

My beautiful granddaughter Sarah turned 17 yesterday, and I wanted to make something for her. When she was little, she had a great way of fueling my creative efforts. Whenever I made something for her, she would look up at me, her appealing dark brown eyes wide, and say, "Grandmom, you make this for ME?" That always had the desired effect, sending me back to my stash-filled workroom to create yet another costume, doll dress, or whatever her heart desired.

I found 2 skeins of Coats & Clarks Jai Alai in the colorway Damson in my stash, perfect for a spiral scarf. I was nearing the finish line on this scarf when I realized there wasn't enough yarn to finish binding off - witness the circular needle dangling at the end of the scarf. I ran out to look for another skein, but Murphy's Law intervened. This particular color is now discontinued. I tried frogging it to make it one row shorter - no mean feat as the last row is 700+ stitches long! This yarn does NOT lend itself to frogging, and picking up dropped stitches was an exercise in futility. I dug through my stash, thinking I might have misplaced a skein. By the end of the afternoon I had dragged out all my yarn - 10 large containers plus assorted bagsfull - and along the way discovered the Luster Sheen sweater I crocheted 14 years ago. Alas, no Damson Jai Alai, or any other yarn good enough for Sarah's scarf. I took this picture to commemorate these 2 failures: the sweater that didn't fit and the scarf that ran out. Then I buried them with much pomp and ceremony in my stash and went out to buy more yarn for Sarah's scarf. Her birthday present will be a little late this year.