Cross Country Crochet

I decided to pack a crochet project for our drive to Boulder a couple weeks ago. It was a last minute decision I'm so glad I made.

I bought this special yarn a couple years ago intending to make a scarf for myself. Manos del Uruguay Alegria yarn is a hand-painted ultra fine merino blend. I love how soft it feels. I also love these colours. The soft greys and greens are perfect for me. 

I didn't crochet on our drive Friday night. I didn't crochet on our drive Saturday morning. I remembered to grab my crochet bag from the back of our SUV when we stopped for cappuccinos at Starbucks in Peru, Illinois - the one and only Starbucks we found en route.

I finished my cappuccino then pulled out my yarn. Before I could crochet, I needed to wind the skein into a ball.

I looped the skein around my knees and started winding. It tended to tangle, but with patience, I finally finished. It was time to crochet.

I crocheted all afternoon while my husband drove. I crocheted until the sun started to set. I took a photo before packing it away.

My crochet project stayed packed away until our return trip. I drove the first 4 hours on Saturday then crocheted until I ran out of yarn. I love how crochet makes a long drive bearable. I go from "Yuck, I'm stuck in the car with nothing to do" to "Yay, hours to crochet with no interruptions".

I finished on Saturday as the sun was starting to set. My Cross Country Crochet got me through much of the drive. Next time I'll take more yarn. It's a very long drive from London to Boulder and back again.

I love how this scarf turned out. It's even better than I imagined.

I followed this pattern designed by Heidi Beukelman. It is available for free on Ravelry. The moss or linen stitch is one of my favourites.

Yarn: Manos del Uruguay Alegria

Hook size: 4.0 mm

Starting chain: 350 (instead of 400)

Worked first row into back bump of chain

Total Rows: 35 (odd # so both edges look similar)

Finished size: 63" x 5"

Time per row: 13-15 mins

Total time to crochet: 10 hours (approximately)

I crocheted until I ran out of yarn. I ripped out almost 2 rows because I was 10 stitches short of 37 rows. I wanted to end with an odd number of rows to keep the edges looking similar.

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