Post pictures of your projects and patterns

So, my first entry to this comm a month or so ago was a ribbed scarf, here - and I have been meaning to share this with you all, but I kept forgetting. It's done! It's actually been done for some time, and rolled up in one of my knitting boxes. I located it today while I was searching for my lost pair of size 7 needles, and remembered that I hadn't uploaded the finished product here or to Ravelry. So here it is!

( ribbed scarf yay! )

I'm really pleased with how this came out. It was a simple, improvised design - I cast on 28 stitches, then worked it k2 p2 on every row until I decided I was done, then fringed. One end is stretched out oddly, which is something I think I did when I put the fringe on, but I haven't blocked it yet so I'm hoping it'll fix itself when I do. If it doesn't, I may give it a stitch or two with some white thread to pull it back into shape.

Now it's time for me to gripe!!!

I'm sure you've all seen the Spectra frilly scarves - they look like this:

( Spectra scarf )

I like these scarves; they're cute and trendy and VERY quick to make - I can do two in an afternoon of TV-watching. Well, when I was at JoAnn yesterday, I found that Red Heart is now making its own version of this same yarn. In case you've never made one of these, the Spectra scarf is made of a specialty mesh thing that you really weave more than knitting, and whenever I'm making one I kind of feel like I'm repairing a fishing net. *g* But here's my complaint:

( complaint )

As you can see, the Spectra mesh is much larger, and the Red Heart mesh also doesn't like to stay open after you've opened it. It just sort of squishes back up. Because of this, it takes FOREVER to work. I sat down yesterday expecting to knock out two of these; I am only HALF finished with ONE of them. (I also found as I hunted down the Spectra in my stash, another brand of this called "Flounce" that has even smaller mesh. I didn't realize when I was grabbing EVERY COLOR THEY HAD at the yarn shop that I wasn't getting all Spectra. That'll teach me to pay attention!)

My other complaint about the Red Heart is that it's not as pretty all knitted up. You saw the Spectra and how cute and frilly it is; here's the Red Heart:

( blah. )

In short, I am very unhappy with the Red Heart and I strongly recommend to anyone who's planning to make one of these that you go with the Spectra and avoid the imitations. *grumble*

Cross-posting to knitting