Knitted Cowlneck Scarf

So funny story...Wild Kat sends me an email saying, "Would you knit me a cowlneck scarf?  And in return I'll pinstripe your Singer sewing machine case?"  "Heck, yeah!!" I replied.  So she writes, "I'll get the yarn and needles in the mail to you this week."  Excellent.

Fast forward three or so days when the family and I return home from an outing and find the dog contentedly chewing on something unidentifiable.  "What did Bosley pull out of the garbage this time?" wonders my husband out loud, as he bends down to retrieve a tangled wad of gorgeous pale green yarn and some scraps of what used to be the box it came in.  Let's suffice it to say that the dog got a sound tongue lashing and spent some time in the kennel while I went in the house to sort out the pieces.  Miraculously the yarn was tangled but not destroyed, and the pattern sheet was crumpled but still legible.  Total disaster avoided!

So over the next few nights I worked up this oh-so-soft baby alpaca yarn into a cowlneck scarf.

The pattern that Kat sent was one of those freebies from JoAnn Fabrics.  You know the ones that they have hanging in the isles?  I love patterns that have only five lines of directions!  Admittedly I'm a better crocheter than knitter, but this whipped up in no time (although I did refer to Stitch 'n Bitch to brush up on my circular knitting basics). 

And here you have it.  A warm and snuggley cowl that I will get out in the mail to Kat...one of these days...I promise.  And I'll be sure to show you my Singer sewing machine case all decked out in gold pinstriping!  

So the moral to this story is twofold:  If you can't do it yourself, barter for it.  And secondly, don't ever assume your dog won't eat yarn and knitting needles.