Christmas is Coming

Christmas is still a long way off, of course, but I have a few Christmas presents to knit so I have made a start.  I can write about the scarf I am knitting for my sister because she already knows what it is - in fact, she chose the pattern and the yarn   The pattern is the Belle Dentelle scarf  by Teresa Murphy, which is free from her web site.

I have changed the pattern a little bit, partly because I wanted the centre panel to be a bit more interconnected, rather than having a line of holes all the way across after every pattern repeat.  The other change was to introduce a few purl stitches on the right side rows of the central pattern, to avoid the whole piece rolling inwards.    I know blocking should cure that, but in my experience it doesn't completely.  (Maybe I'm not very good at blocking.)  And it only takes a very small proportion of purl stitches  to avoid any tendency to curl - I think they add an interesting bit of texture, too. 

I haven't added any purl stitches to the side panels, because there the pattern seemed to need the continous scrolls of stocking stitch, so that part of the scarf is not lying completely flat,  but even my blocking should be enough to sort that out.

 The yarn is Sublime baby cashmere merino silk 4-ply, which is which is good to knit with and will be gorgeously soft to wear.  I bought  4 balls and I have nearly finished the second of them.