I sew with nice fabric. For me, it almost always costs less than ready-to-wear clothing and it just seems worth it on so many levels. Now, with knitting, I’m not so sure.
I bought some starter yarn (Liberty Wool in aubergine) which cost $8.50 per skein. Each skein is about 122 yards. I’m almost done with one skein and this is what I have:
I reckon it’s about four or five inches of (horrid) stitches. I’ve just been mindlessly knitting (not purling—or am I?) to get the hang of it. I think I might need at least 10 skeins to make a scarf and not a potholder. Eek! That’s more money than I’d pay for a regular old wool scarf. Hell, on sale you could get a really plush cashmere scarf. Is it worth it? Specifically, is it calming enough of a hobby? I’m not sure.
This isn’t becoming a knitting blog. The deal is, my sewing studio of choice (i.e. the only one in the District) has apparently been booked solid by an instructor. So, I’ve no place to sew. G Street Fabrics charges $15/day for machine rentals (though they do rent Berninas like fancy people). I’m a bit torn. This coming weekend, if the universe is good, I won’t have very much school work and I’ll have loads of time to sew. But I’m also going home the following Wednesday. But! I’d love to finish some muslins and go home to sew the final products. But! I have to write a fairly important paper when I’m home. And! I should be writing a fairly important paper right now, but I’m taking an ill-advised break. Sigh. We’ll see how it goes, then? Grumble, grumble, grumble, harumph.
Seam Ripped 
but! if you pay more for expensive fabrics because it’s worth it, then! surely it’s worth it to rent a bernina, and! sewing (unlike knitting, perhaps?) is a calming hobby which will only aid in the writing of your paper.
JUSTIFIED.
That was poetry.
Hm, let’s think about this. You have 4 or 5 inches and have only used about half your ball, looks like, so that would be 8 to 10 inches of length from that ball. But it also looks like it’s quite wide — wider than the average 7- to 12-inch scarf. If you mean to be making a big, wide wrap, rather than a scarf, that will take some yarn, for sure.
Thanks for the sane words. I was a bit too enthusiastic with my castings on and actually cast on 120 stitches. I think that means I’ve got something closer to a large wrap than an average scarf. When I compare the depleted ball to a new one, it looks like I’ve got a bit less than a third of it left. I’m in that awful beginner’s limbo where I wonder why it seems to be taking so! very! long! Though flipping through the drool-worthy pictures on your blog, I’m beginning to think it might be worth it.
So assuming you’re getting roughly 5 stitches to the inch, you’ve got 24 inches there. If all that garter stitch isn’t giving you The Feeling, just keep going till you’ve got 10 or 12 inches, bind off, then seam the two ends together and you’ve got yourself a little cowl!
Brilliant idea!
Give in to the Bernina hire and get yo sew on! Knitting can wait, I say 😉
Agreed, agreed, agreed! Knitting is not so great for instant gratification.