Knitting a Muffler!

I'm knitting a scarf!  It's Franco's Muffler from Knit Along with Debbie Macomber: Debbie's Favorites.  Actually, it's from my inbox because I got this a while ago as a Free Pattern Friday pattern.  But hey, if you'd like to try this then get yourself a copy of the book!  It's been marked down and there are ten other patterns that sound delightful!

And please note that I said I am knitting this.  Not that I have knitted this.  I brought this along for a few hours of traveling last weekend and I really felt like I was really making progress.  After all, I had some #8 needles and some bulky weight yarn.  The main body is two rows over and over.  I'm kind of a fast knitter.  I could finish this in no time, right?

Wrong.

I haven't knit a scarf in several million years, and so I'd forgotten that scarves are a million feet long.  Those numbers aren't exact, and I might be guesstimating on the conservative side, but this will be a nice project to pick up and work a few rows on when I'm in the mood for something simple.  There's just enough seed stitch in there to keep this from being a boring stockinette project, soI think I'll go until this seems long enough or I run out of yarn.

The pattern calls for 500 yards or so of bulky weight yarn.  I'm using some Bernat Softee Chunky--the older discontinued kind--but there are plenty of other yarns out there that are just as soft and just-fluffy-enough.  I'm already wondering what this would look like in a chocolate brown.  I bet that would be nice.  I may try this again in that color!  I also think I might knit this up in a wool blend next time, or with 100% wool.  The stockinette stitches are really rolling the whole thing up.  Wool would holds its shape a bit better, and would block more easily.

The pattern also calls for #9 needles to get a gauge of 14 stitches and 23 rows to get a 4" square.  You could go up or down a few needles sizes just to suit your own preference.  It's a scarf, so it should fit just fine and I think the stitch pattern will look fine no matter what.  Just use whatever you have already, or what's easiest on your hands.  I was initially worried about #8 needles making this too dense, but it's knitting up fine and I think it's going to be a really soft and solid-feeling scarf!

Now I just need to finish it....