So, I had bought some of the Lion Brand "Watercolors" in aqua, and some of the "peacock" colored Fun Fur. My original thought was a hat with a fluffy brim. But after reading the infamous "I can't purl, tee-hee" story in Vogue Knits, I decided on something else.

So here it is. The Fillyjonk's Cheap-Skate Celebrity-Designer Knock-Off Scarf*.

For those of us who live too far from "dedicated" yarn shops to hold skeins of luscious novelty yarns up to each other to plan scarves, or too cheap/poor to spend $100+ on said novelty yarns for a garter stitch scarf.

Go to your nearby Hobby Lobby, Michael's, or other craft purveyor. Purchase three balls of Fun Fur in a color you like. Also purchase three balls of "Watercolors" in a matching or pleasantly contrasting color, or three balls of the Lion Boucle.

(If you are buying the Lion Boucle, please buy a solid color of the Fun Fur - you don't want to put anyone's eye out with your color combination).

I recommend Aqua "watercolors" with Peacock Fun Fur, or Water Lily "Watercolors" with Lilac Fun Fur or Tropical mix Fun Fur.

If you want to be really fancy, and a bit less cheapskate, also buy two skeins of Chenille Sensations in a color that goes, or one skein of Imagine.

For two yarns, use size 15 (US) needles. For three yarns, you're kind of on your own, I recommend 17s unless you want a really loose scarf - then you could always cut a broom handle in two and get a woodworking-enabled type to carve points onto them.

Holding the yarns together, cast on 12 stitches. (This is how cheapskate the scarf is: I originally cast on and knit most of one ball each with 20 sts, but realized the scarf was too short. I didn't want to go out and buy more yarn (or worry about finding matching dyelots, or even FINDING the yarn again as my nearest Hobby Lobby is lax about restocking) . So I ripped back, 2 1/2 hours work, and started again with fewer stitches). Knit with garter for as long as you have yarn, or as long as you want the thing to be. Then bind off, and wear, or give to someone as a gift.

Another option would be to do four rows of yarn A, four rows of yarn B, and so on. But I didn't feel like weaving in a million ends, and carrying the yarn along the edges would have looked ugly with these yarns. And I wanted a project that was totally autopilot, no counting or anything.

you could call it the "why yes, I can purl, but sometimes I choose not to" scarf. Whatever.

(*don't get me wrong, I'm all in favor of money going to charities. But I'm not going to buy a $35 book on garter-stitch scarves just so $5 or so of it goes to fight AIDS. I mean, why not bypass the middleman, read blogger's descriptions of things they've tried for free, and just send $35 to AmFar or whatever charity you favor?)