knitting progress

ok so i couldn't wait to post pictures of my knitting project...i'm still on the first one. yikes. no one told me it takes forever to finish a scarf! plus i am editing like crazy these days, so i don't really have time to work on it except at night when i'm too tired to read words on a screen. so every night lately i've been sitting with rick and watching tv or a movie (last night it was "The Namesake--great movie!) and trying to knit for an hour or so.

one thing i've realized so far is that it's still not that relaxing to me. i don't know when this part of knitting will kick in, but for some reason i feel tense afterward. it could be the way i'm holding my upper body while i do it, or just because i'm not all that great at it yet.

this scarf is for my daughter, gillian. the funny thing about it is that we live in florida, where she will almost certainly never be able to use it. so we have plans to turn the A/C down low once it's done so she can wear it around now and then!

what i need to know is how long does it need to be? if you can tell from the amount of yarn i have left, should i just knit the entire ball of yarn? or should i just measure it against her? also, can you see the stripes in the yarn? this is my favorite part about this particular yarn. it's not super soft or anything--after all, it is my first project so i didn't splurge on plush 100% cotton yarn or anything. but the stripes are so yummy to me. they turn out different shades of blue and gray every so often.

one friend said i could fix the little holes that have somehow appeared (well i know how--when i miss a stitch i guess?). but i can't figure out how to fix them without messing up the rest of the scarf. so if you have ideas let me know. or reassure me that it just adds to the character.

either way, no matter the wavy sides, holes, uneven stitching at times, i am still so proud to be so near completion! then it will be on to making one for aedan, who is already clamoring for "something blue."