Cupcake Forward, Cupcake Back

I started on the Cupcake shirt from The Happy Hooker, and I thought that my yarn was the right weight, or close enough. But it turns out that weight makes a really significant difference in a big project like a shirt. So I had to frog a couple hours of work.

For Father's Day, though, I'm making a navy blue scarf with a gold U of M "M" on each end. I designed the M myself because surprisingly enough there isn't one in existence already. It was a lot harder than I expected.

I went to Michaels and instead of my usual Red Heart Super Saver yarn I got Loops & Threads Impeccable yarn, which, while similarly acrylic, is AWFUL to work with. It's softer to the touch than Red Heart, but it is definitely less hook-friendly: really squeaky and splits easily. I'm probably not going to use it again.

Anyway, scarves are pretty quick so I figure I'll have it done by tomorrow evening. Pictures will follow.

Update: This scarf is kicking my ASS. It took me probably about an hour just to map out the M on graph paper in the right proportion in a reasonable amount of stitches. I decided to do it in half-double crochet because I find single to be a little too stiff. I thought double would be too long and would stretch the M out. Turns out, Hdc does that anyway. Gonna have to frog the whole thing and start over. GRRRRR.

Second Update: Even with single crochet, I am not loving this M. The color changes are very visible and very out of place. I frogged it and I think I'm just going to go with a slip stitch surface crochet...if I can resist trying this tapestry method again.

Third Update: It is about 2AM and I successfully tapestry single-crocheted the M. I'm trying to line it with slip stitches now, to cover what I'm going to call blips, or stupid flecks of the wrong color. If I intend to finish this scarf by tomorrow night, which I do. I'm going to need some caffeine. Last post for tonight.