A New Year!

My wish for all for 2008 is happiness, prosperity, and, most of all, health. If you have good health, the happiness and prosperity pretty much take care of themselves.

And now two new EASY patterns! A beginning knitter could do either of these and get great results. All you have to know is cast on , bind off, knit and purl, and sewing together for the hat. Pompoms and fringe are optional.

The first one is a simple scarf. It's really just one "column" from the garter and rib baby blanket. Like that pattern, any yarn will work and you get a nice wavy edge where the rib sucks in more than the garter stitch.

Cast on desired number of stitches. Even is best and I did mine with fourteen stitches.

Knit (garter stitch) for sixteen rows.

Now for sixteen rows, do a k1p1 rib.

Keep alternating blocks like this for desired length of scaf and end with a garter block.

For an alternative, you could do the middle eighteen inches or so in the ribbing to make a seaman's scarf. The ribbing will "scrunch" better behind the recipient's neck.

For an easy matching hat, cast on about forty stitches and knit a rectangle to go around your head snugly.

Sew the beginning to the end and gather one end, adding a pompom if desired. You could also sew the end flat/square and put pompoms or tassels on the corners for a more "skater" look.