Let’s Get Scarfy

I bought enough Shibui baby alpaca for a scarf and mitten set. Since the Ambroso mittens don’t include a matching scarf I had to come up with something that would work. When I bought the yarn I intended to make up a scarf pattern with the same Ambroso stitch pattern. I think using the two asymmetrical cables up each side of the scarf would be beautiful. But getting back to what I wrote about on Monday, this yarn is not the ideal match for this style of cables.
So then I went searching on Ravelry and found a few lovely options in my faves.:

from left to right: forbes forest, drifted pearls, unique melody
As I browsed around, I kept focusing on texture. Not necessarily any one kind of texture, but just something with a great tactile feel. Bobbles, columns of knits and purls, and yes – I was even taunted by the traditional cables that I knew wouldn’t suit this yarn. In the end I went with Unique Melody because I loved the bias patterning and I thought the yarn would drape well – especially when knit up at the ball-band gauge (looser than the mittens). I’ve always had a thing for leaf and flame motifs – one day I will knit you Shetland Triangle – so Melody was an easy sell.

I’ve knit through the entire setup rows plus a couple repeats and I’m in love! If I keep going at this pace I should be done in a few weeks. I’m anxious to wear it though so don’t be surprised if you see this pop up as an FO even sooner. It’s been a long time since I’ve done a project that needed blocking as much as Unique Melody will need. It’s taunting me to keep knitting just so I can actually block it and see it in all its drapey, glory. I can’t wait.
ps – a big thank you to Andi who reminded me about Rose Beck (the Unique Melody designer) a couple weeks back in this blog post. I’ve known about Rose Beck for a while but it was Andi’s post who brought her top of mind when it came to choosing this scarf pattern. Thanks, Andi!