Pattern: Boteh Scarf by Kathy Merrick, Interweave Crochet Spring 2007
Hook: G 4.0mm
Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Solids, Amethyst, 1 skein

This pattern is a beauty. It is so simple, amazingly quick to work up, and yet the result is stunning. It almost feels wrong to only pay $5 for such a great design.

My scarf came out quite a bit wider than what’s given in the pattern—over 6″ at the widest point. I also only did 12 repeats of the pattern instead of 16; the scarf is for my five-foot-tall sister-in-law who would drown in the full length of the scarf. And a good thing too, because it grew quite a bit in the blocking.

I am sorely tempted to make another for myself. I adore Grumperina’s Caribbean blue Boteh and two hanks of this cotton/silk blend in Teal would only cost me $12…tempting, tempting.

Other entries about the Boteh Scarf:

• New Year, New Beginning

Remember when I mentioned I had an order coming from Fabric.com? Well Fabric.com e-mailed me after I made that post and is offering all CogKnition readers a $5 discount on their next order.

There’s no minimum purchase required; all you have to do is enter coupon code blogcog at checkout. Details are also in the sidebar.

And if you were wondering what was in my haul from Fabric.com, it was some selections from Amy Butler’s Lotus Collection and a few cute Asian-inspired prints that were on mega sale. And my rotary cutter! I plan to make a couple of the patchwork totes from Last-Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts. If I ever finish the pencil bag, that is.

Behold my latest Saturday Sewing, the pencil bag from Craftlog:

Saturday Erranding did wind up taking precedence over Saturday Sewing, but do not be deceived: what you see here is something like four hours of work. My seam ripper and I are the best of friends now; I attempted that topstitching three times before it came out straight. And now the zipper isn’t laying flat. I think I know what went wrong; I’m trying to decide if I should rip the whole thing out and just start over because I am Super Anal Retentive like that. Update: ripped and re-sewn. Much better now.

Lesson learned: when installing zippers, baste early, baste often. Marking a straight line on the fabric would probably help too, at least until I figure out how exactly I’m supposed to use my bizarro zipper foot. Update: I just needed to move the needle to the center position to get sewing in the right places.

On the knitting front, I’ve been working on a Sleepy Snake. It has a head now, which will hopefully make people realize that I when I say I’m knitting “a snake”, I mean a literal snake.

Why is this under Project Problems? The problem is not with the pattern. The pattern is wonderful and well-written. But you know how knitting projects sort of develop personalities? Well, my Sleepy Snake didn’t really like being toothless, and uh…

I hope they give him indigestion.

(But seriously, are you as amazed as I am by how realistic the head shaping is?)