women of a certain age are like sunflowers; they know how to turn their faces to the sun.

Friday, December 3, 2010

Simple Gift

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gain'd,
To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,
To turn, turn will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come round right.


Sometimes we get so caught up in all the hustle & bustle of the holidays, that we forget to breathe. We have alist a mile long of gifts to buy & parties to attend, & cookies to bake. And don't even get me started on the subject of Christmas knitting!

We forget to stop & smell the poinsettias...

I had a lovely retreat over the Thanksgiving holiday, spending a few quiet days in our cottage in the north woods of Michigan with my husband and parents. No kids. No grandkids. No pets. No crowds of shoppers. Just us and some much needed breathing space.

So what did I do with all this leisure time? I played aggravation, watched old movies, and knit on something mindless. Something easy. Something...simple.

SIMPLE GIFT



Materials:
3 skeins Malabrigo Worsted (model in Pearl)
Or equivalent yardage other worsted weight yarn
size 9 (US) needles Gauge: not important


DIRECTIONS

Using size 9 needles, cast on 57 st (or any multiple of 4 plus 1 st).

Rows 1, 3 & 5: p2, k1, * p3, k1; rep from * to last 2 st, p2
Rows 2 & 4: k2 tog, yo, p1, *yo, sk2p, yo. P1; rep from * to last 2 st, yo, skp
Row 6: k2, p1, *k3, p1; rep from * to last 2 st, k2

Repeat these six rows until desired length, ending last repeat with row 4. Bind off loosely.


Finishing


Weave in ends. Soak & Block to desired dimensions. (Mine is 18 by 78 inches) Cut 12 inch lengths of yarn & knot 4 strands in each hole at end of scarf.



And it's reversible!

This may well be one of my favorite FOs - quick, easy, softer than soft, warm enough to guard against the bleak mid winter, stylish enough to toss on for a nice accent to my winter cardigans.

Sometimes what we need is right in front of us. Just keep it simple...

10 comments:

Unknown said...

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Unknown said...

Susan, I love this. Thank you for the pattern.
Simple Gifts is one of my favorites of all times.
Have a wonderful holiday season.

DawnMarie said...

Hi Susan, hope you are well. Love the scarf, beautiful pattern. I'm finishing a cable scarf and have made a snowboarder hat and gauntlet gloves. No cards made as of yet :0 xx

LaceLady said...

Love the "Simple Gifts" scarf~ shawl~wrap. Thank you! trying to figure out how to knit the pattern in the round, today's challenge! Love Galadriel's Mirror as well!

Adam's Nanny said...

I just came upon your "Simple Gift" Thank you so much. I love all your patterns. The ice storm is going to hit us tonight and as long as the power doesn't go, I plan to curl up and give this a try tonight.

Gillian said...

I've just found this pattern and have been looking all over for a nice one to use for my mom's christmas present!!! Progress will be documented on my blog!
http://sparrowlanecrafts.blogspot.com/

Unknown said...

Hi
I love this design and I plan to make a scarf, but I'm not sure what sk2p and skp mean. Would you mind instructing a n00b to knitting? Thanks!

Susan Pandorf said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Susan Pandorf said...

slip, knit, pass slipped stitch over

Julie said...

For the sk2p, is it slip as if to knit or purl? Many thanks!