Let the past sleep, but let it sleep in the sweet embrace of Christ, and let us go on into the invincible future with Him. (Oswalt Chambers)

Friday, January 23, 2009

Lilac Scarf Finished

Mom's vest requires more attention than I wanted to give to my knitting on inauguration day. I needed something mindless and pleasurable for inaugural knitting. The first things that came to mind - Andean Treasure, scarf, and a knit/purl Barbara Walker reversible stitch pattern.

Knitpicks Andrean Treasure, 100% baby alpaca, caresses the hands as it slides on and off the needles. It's almost too soft to be practical, but it's perfect for next-to-the-skin scarves.

I dug down into my stash bin and found three skeins of Andean Treasure in Lilac. Guessing that was enough for a nice length scarf, I plucked it out and went to look for a stitch pattern.


Since I don't like the thought of a scarf flipping over to an unattractive "wrong side", I pulled out a Barbara Walker book to find a pretty, reversible knit/purl stitch pattern.

Imitation Lattice is found on page 34 of A Treasury Of Knitting Patterns (the blue book) by Barbara G. Walker.

It's a multiple of 12 +1, so I guessed 25 stitches in pattern with 5 stitches of seed stitch on each side to prevent curling would give a scarf somewhere around 7 inches wide.


Andean Treasure has a halo, so I was able to use #7 needles and still get a nice fabric even though it's a sport weight yarn. If I were using Andean Treasure for a sweater I would want a tighter fabric and use smaller needles.

One skein made 20 inches of scarf, so I ended up with a warm, soft, fuzzy, 60 inch scarf. It will be going to the orphanage for older children in Akkol, Kazakakhstan.

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