When last I wrote, I was heading off to Fairbanks Alaska on a work trip, and had thrown some yarn and tools in my bag in a rather cavalier fashion, figuring that somehow a credible project would work itself out.

That did not go as planned.

Here again is the yarn…

It is bulky weight, handspun of merino and sparkle (stellina).  The skein on the left is red and white which morphs about halfway through into red and black.  The skein on the right is black and white.

What I wanted was to make a cowl or similar item that blends these yarns together.  I wanted something chunky and kind of woodsy, yet also a little cool and White Stripes-y.  Which is certainly not too much to ask of 250 yards of yarn thrown together with no plan, right?

Towards this end, I decided to split the red-based skein in half, and insert the black and white yarn in between the red and black and the red and white as a sort of transition.  I didn’t want to do entrelac, because I have entrelac in mind for another project coming up shortly. And entrelac is fine, but it is definitely a technique that I can have too much of.  I thought that maybe simple texture should play a role in the item somehow, because the yarn is way too busy for cables or lace.  So – basketweave!  That should work, right?

It did not work.  And I just kept going.  “It will block out”, I told myself.

Then after I started “transitioning” by putting a chunky block of the next color in, I started to realize it wasn’t going to block out, and this wasn’t what I had in mind at all, but for some reason kept going.  Finally I made myself stop. I do need to unravel it, but haven’t been able to face it quite yet.

I do have a new plan though, which I will try as soon as I undo this horrible mess.  So you may soon this very yarn again shortly, in a hopefully less hideous version!