A Fly-Fishers Warming Scarf

It seems that when it comes to fly-fishing in cold bitter weather I have more than one Achilles heel. Most notably, one of my vulnerabilities is the cold wind blowing on and down the back of my neck. Here of late I've been giving much thought as to a remedy of this particular sensitivity that I seem to own.

This past Saturday, Miss Carol and I found ourselves simply milling around the bunkhouse. There came a point that she would find her way to her beloved sewing machine. Miss Carol came by this stitcher just about a year ago - as matter of fact it was a Christmas present, and she has spent many an hour creating works of fabric for friends and her loved ones.

I guess the cog-wheels of my mind never cease churning and Saturday as I found myself becoming mesmerized by the whir of Miss Carols machine...I had one of those moments when I knew I had found a solution for my issue with the cold wind on my neck.

All I had to do now is approach Miss Carol and believe me friends I gave that approach careful thought and planned words. I decided to engage her in complimentary conversation.

"Miss Carol, you are a wonderful seamstress and I would greatly appreciate a fly-fishing scarf for my neck. Do you think you can create me one?" I asked.

"Barry, I think you have finally gone mad over fly-fishing." she replied.

"My dear, I went mad over fly-fishing many years ago. You are witnessing now... the madness simply grow."

Of course Miss Carol agreed to make me a scarf but little did she know I had more detail for her. I told her it wasn't just an ordinary scarf but one that would have a pocket. And naturally that would prompt the question from her why would one want a pocket on a scarf?

Also, I told her the pocket needed to be in the middle of the length of the scarf, about the width of a credit card, and made of mesh material. That prompted even more questions from this fabricator of fabric.

I explained to my love that I planned on taking an air-activate hand warmer and inserting it into the mesh pocket. The mesh would allow the heat from the warmer to move by convection and since the pocket was in the middle of the scarf the back of my neck not only would stay warm but be free of the wind.

Now...Miss Carol didn't have the proper material to make me my choice of a scarf. I wanted a color of forest green or autumn brown - something that would blend in with nature and she doesn't readily keep mesh material on hand. However...within two hours she had come up with a proto-type.

She took some "flying eagle patterned" material to make this scarf (that was as nature friendly as she had) and then instead of mesh she used lace. For a proto-type it looked good to me.

On my trip to river Sunday, I decided to give the warmer scarf a test run.



Here's a picture of Miss Carol's creation and you can see the pocket positioned directly in the middle of the length of the scarf.



She went as far as getting some of the hand warmers so she could make the pocket the correct size.




All I had to do was open the package and insert the warmer into the lace material and wrap it around my neck...which I did. I stayed warm and toasty all the time I was at the river Blue on Sunday.

This proto-type worked so well we've already made plans for a pure version. We'll be leaving the bunkhouse here to make a ride to a big city somewhere and once there we will certainly visit the General Store and their sewing and notions section.

Those cog-wheels are churning again and I'm currently wondering about pockets on my long-Johns.