Christmas Gifts

I don't make a lot of Christmas gifts as I don't like being stressed out during the holidays, I mean; where's the fun in that? This year I managed two, rather ambitious, scarfs.

First was a Star Wars Scarf for my Nephew. I wasn't quite sure what he'd like but I figured Star Wars was a pretty safe bet for an almost 12 year old boy. Come to think of it, Star Wars is probably a pretty safe bet for any human male under 110 years old. And boy was I not wrong about that, my Brother-in-Law was already plotting to steal it before all the wrapping paper was cleared away.

I'm not quite sure what went sideways on me but I did not have enough yarn to complete all the motifs in the pattern. Either the balls were under weight, or it just ate a lot of yarn, or my gauge was way off; I don't know. Although, having checked some of the other completed projects I now think the recommended yardage is low and you need 300-350 grams of each colour to complete this scarf. In any event I eliminated a few of the motifs, it still looks OK to me and I doubt my Nephew will notice. It's certainly long enough to keep him warm.

Experimented with a Russian Join to join the balls of yarn together and it worked really well, it does create a slightly fatter piece of yarn for several stitches but you don't notice it at all. I can't even find the joins and I know roughly where they all are. Whether this would be true for a single knit piece I don't know as this is the first time I've used this join but I will say it works really well for double knitting.

Yarn: Knit Picks City Tweed DK in Kitten and Obsidion
Pattern: Star Wars Double Knit Scarf by Jessica Goddard
Needle: 4.0mm
Gauge: 17 stitches and 24 rows = 10 cm

May the force be with you

Second was a Horse Scarf for my Canadian Niece. She's into horses, as any not-quite-ten-year-old girl would be. This was also a complete hit with the recipient and her Grandma kept threatening to steal it. Not my Mom, her other Grandma who joined us for a wonderful Christmas dinner.

I modified an existing pattern to make this scarf. The original pattern is here. Once I'd decided on that pattern I made some modifications:

• Worked only one horse on each end.
• Added a horseshoe border, I did this in DK weight yarn not Worsted so it needed a border in order to be wide enough.
• Added the small horseshoes running up the center between the two horses to make sure the fabric was locked together.

Yarn: Knit Picks City Tweed DK in Morning Glory and Plush

Pattern: Modified the Dual Sided Horse Scarf by Miranda Stanbery

Needle: 4.0mm
Gauge: 17 stitches and 24 rows = 10 cm

Current Weather

-26C and partly cloudy. It has been absolutely freezing cold for a week now.