29 December 2008

I just completed a scarf swap with my Knit Knack girls. The swaps are always a joyful event; it's really fun to get to know people by seeing what everyone makes and how they interpret each other's questionnaire answers. We have unique relationships, as we know many intimate details about each other, but lack some of the more basic friend-making factoids such as what they do for a living, how old they are, or where they live. But Houssaye said, "Tell me whom you love, and I will tell you who you are." So, I guess we know enough by knowing about the common loves we share.

I knit a scarf for Morganic, a feisty redhead from Sedona, AZ. I can tell she and I have different philosophies on most everything, but I hoped that I could make something she would like. The scarf's inspiration came from a statement in her profile: "I hate knitting cables but love the way they look." That made it clear to me I should knit her a cabled scarf so that she didn't have to knit one herself. Her favorite color is purple, and her fall coat is red. So, I picked a deep royal purple in a cozy alpaca blend.










I picked alpaca because Sedona gets pretty chilly, especially in the evenings. Berroco's Ultra Alpaca is not only a favorite yarn of mine, it's soft and fuzzy and nestles into itself well and stays springy. So it was the definite choice!












After browsing seemingly every cabled scarf pattern on Rav, I picked the Beaumonde Cable Scarf by SmarieK. I like ambitious patterns, and why should it matter if I've only ever done practice cables before? I am always throwing myself curveballs like this, knitterally speaking. Two types of cables are alternated, with a drop-stitch pattern that repeats about every 11 rows. There also is a seed stitch border on each side, which I love, as it keeps the edges from curling.















I made a mistake the first 2 repeats and omitted the last two rows, which means the cables are missing a couple twists. But I couldn't bring myself to frog it, so hopefully it blends in. I think it probably does to most eyes.















And sorry these pictures are so crappy. I'm still learning to take photos and the art of Flickr/blog-posting. A graphic designer I am not. But hopefully, I'll improve!