Still kind of in a "scarf" mood. I'm almost done with the Mosaic scarf; I've decided to finish that - and to try to finish the Interlacements socks as well and maybe the Noro hat - before I start anything new. (I also do have the stalled-out - because it moves so slowly and is kinda boring - the Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf made out of the Lion Brand sockyarn.)

But there are a lot of scarf patterns out there I want to try. Like Farrow Rib - cast on a multiple of 3, then knit 2, purl 1 across every row. (A more elegant version, that has selvedge stitches on the edges, is here). (A picture of the scarf can be seen here).

And the mistake rib scarf I talked about earlier. (pattern, plus others, here)

And some of the other knit-purl patterns. (Fuzzy Galore's versions; zigzag scarf; Catherine Wingate's reversible patterns)

And other scarves: Cabled scarf, kombu scarf

And for those with a sense of irony, there's a pattern out there for a scarf like the one Martha (yes, THAT Martha) wore on the day of her conviction: here

And hats, like the skater boy hat (which I think also works for people over fifteen).


I'm contemplating just giving in to the desire to make scarves (and hats, and maybe mittens, but there's the sizing issue with those) over the course of the next year, and develop a Gift Box Project where I make stuff - stuff that will fit "anybody" - when it's a pattern I want to try out or a neat yarn or when I just get the urge to make something simple. And then keep that Gift Box on hand, and when I decide I want/need a small gift to give someone, either because they've given me something or because I just feel the random need to give them a gift, I've got something ready to go. And if I've not given it all away by next pre-Christmas, I can send stuff off to charity groups.

I've been rooting about in my stash - found two skeins of green-ish Encore Colorspun the other day. I think I bought it for socks, back when I was more into doing (and when I lived somewhere where you could regularly wear) worsted-weight wool socks. I think it's going to become a Farrow Rib scarf. And I have two sets of yarn for the big bulky watchcap pattern that was in "Real Simple" a couple years ago - and I really don't need two more identical watchcaps.

There's an old German proverb that goes "Begin to weave and God will supply the yarn." I'm thinking "begin to knit gifts and you will find the recipients."

Also, to modify a quote from Calvin (no, not THAT Calvin, the one from Calvin and Hobbes): "It's not the having, it's the making." I'm very much a process-knitter. Oh, I like having the things I make - I've already worn the green alpaca Chinese vest several times this fall, and it delights me to have certain items and be able to wear them. But a lot of the time, I get excited by a pattern or a yarn I want to try out, and in the past I've kind of limited myself from stash-diving to use stuff up, or I wind up looking at the things I bought when I got into a "mood" and ask myself: now why on earth did you think you needed yarn to make ten identical hats? But if I decide to have a Gift Box (or Charity Box), I don't need to look at it as money wasted, I can look at it as Potential Gifts. (Even if it's a "gift" to someone I don't know and will never meet).

Incidentally, if you're not on the Knitlist or are not aware, the Knitlist home page has a wealth of free patterns from over the years - patterns that Knitlisters wrote and gave as gifts to the list.