Knitting Marathoner Hits New Personal Best in NYC

I’ve written before about David Babcock, the knitting marathoner who holds the Guinness Book of World Records title for the longest scarf knit while running a marathon (12 feet, completed at last year’s Kansas City Marathon).

Babcock ran the New York City Marathon earlier this month, in part to raise money for the New York City chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, and while he was knitting while running, he wasn’t going for a record this time.

For one thing, he wasn’t allowed to use knitting needles, which are considered a security risk. So he had to knit with his fingers. (He was supported by Lion Brand Yarn and his training included running on a treadmill while knitting, which you can see if you click on the link below.)

For another, he was double knitting a scarf with his fingers with the words “I’ll Remember for You” worked into the scarf that he was knitting while running a marathon.

He finished the scarf around mile 19.

Which is probably why he was able to finish up the race besting his fastest time by almost a minute.

If you want to support his fundraising efforts, you can still visit his page and make a donation before the end of the month. His goal is to raise $3,000 and he’s about 80 percent there.

Next Pattern:

Using your yarn stash is important to me throughout the year, but as I start to feel the end of the year coming on I get more excited about using things I already have in the house. Maybe that’s because I don’t want to go to a store in the thick of holiday shopping times, or I like the idea of having a little space in my stash when the new year rolls around.

It’s super satisfying to use up all the little odd balls you’ve made over the year (or years), and I have several stash busting blankets I work on when it’s cold and will maybe finish someday.

If you’d like to start a stash busting project that’s perfect for using up odd balls, check out the Soukish pattern from Neisha Abdulla. This pattern is made for fingering weight/sock yarn, and it’s worked in a tube with allover color work.

This is great for a couple of reasons. You don’t really have to weave in your ends when you can hide them in a tube (this is one time you might even get by just tying a knot when you change colors!) and you can change colors whenever you run out of yarn and it will look good.

Of course the pattern is made with blocks where the designer changed colors, but you can change yours more or less often as you need to make it work for your stash. You can use blank charts to design your own color combinations, or even your own stitch patterns if you like. You can also adjust the length of the scarf as needed or turn it into a cowl based on the amount of yarn you have.

This project looks like a lot of fun and would be a great thing to have on hand to stitch up and then to wear during the cold, gloomy months.

You can get a copy of the pattern on Ravelry.

[Photo: Neisha Abdulla]

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Next Pattern:

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