July is traditionally the time when I start making my list of holiday gifts; it gives me time to plan ahead, etc. The past couple of years I haven't been too great about handmade gifts or thinking ahead for that matter, so a couple of weeks ago when I started planning for this year I was pretty happy I was even thinking of December in August. Since most of my friends knit and most of my family have received their fair share of handknit gifts, J-La and I decided to make a different kind of gift this year (spoiler alert: don't click that link if you think you're gonna get a gift from me this year and want to keep it a surprise).
But there are still a handful of folks who will get a handknit and this is my go-to scarf for gifting. A million pluses and no minuses in my opinion: super soft, good color choices, unisex pattern, warm but flexible, super quick to knit—you can crank these suckers out if you've got a long list, one row pattern suitable for knitting even while watching films with subtitles! What's not to love?
The Go To Scarf
2.5 skeins Plymouth Baby Alpaca Grande or Misti Alpaca Chunky (interchangeable in my opinion)
US 11 needles
CO 23 sts.
Every row: *K2, p2, * to the last 3 sts, k2, p1
(aka Uneven Rib)
The scarf I'm working on right now is a pretty rockin shade of green that only came up in any decent fashion when I used my flash, which really took away from the texture of the garment (and made the shots look lame, as the flash generally does). So here's a Shot for Color and a Shot for Texture. Combine the two in your mind for a realistic idea of how sweet this little guy is:
Misti. Oh Misti. Such a wonderful thing. And I am jealous that all those (spoiler) classes are closed.
Posted by: Sonya | September 08, 2007 at 04:28 PM
Lovely scarf! I'm familiar with that stitch pattern and it is a great one. I haven't tried the yarn you are using and it looks awesome!
Ah!! Time to start on Christmas gifts already. I better try to start now. Last year I knit a dozen pairs of Fetching fingerless gloves (free pattern on Knitty) towards the end it was like a chore and knitting should never feel like a chore!
Posted by: Knitterella | September 10, 2007 at 06:27 AM
Isn't it frustrating that you can either get color or texture but not both? I finally gave up trying to photograph my Liz project.
Pretty scarf! Christmas? Christmas? Oh geez, I really need to start knitting for Christmas.
Your other handmade gift looks good!
Posted by: Carrie K | September 10, 2007 at 11:13 AM
hubba hubba misti!
Posted by: PuNkrAwKpUrL | September 16, 2007 at 09:48 PM
I took a June Taylor class last May. It was a fantastic start to my jamming career.
Posted by: Aunty Gabby | February 10, 2008 at 07:43 PM