I might like winter, but I'm no dunce, just slow.

As previously mentioned, it has been very cold this week. Each day, I drive to town with a chill running down the back of my neck. In this 4th day of severe cold weather, I, who live in Canada, was born here, have spent 50 winters gaining experience, own no winter boots, no toque, no scarf and have not for a couple of years. I have no warm mitts only plain sturdy cowboy leather gloves with no lining that I buy at the work wear store. This chill down the back of my neck is not a new feeling.

There, now you know my dirty little very un-Canadian secret.

I just never made anything like that for myself. Years ago I knit and crocheted scarves for my kids on a regular basis, just never for myself. I did contemplate a fun fur scarf a couple years back when that was popular, but I found I really hate working with all that fuzz, so it never happened. My approach to staying warm and winter wear was always about extra for the office where it is frigid and you can't reasonably wear your coat. I never even thought about the half hour one way I spend commuting. It just never occured to me.

I consider myself reasonably bright, generally competent, even brilliant on one or two rare occasions in my life. I always knew I would find something that would reveal the empty parts. Knitting seems to be the key to the Pandora's box of my common sense. Since taking up knitting, my lack of brain power is now not just on display, but is on display distressingly frequently. It just never occurred to me to make a scarf for myself, only for my kids.

Sigh.

Since it has been brought my attention by reading recent crochet and knitting magazines, that scarves are not just for cold, but can be very stylish accesories, it finally, belatedly, occurred to me that I had the power in my own hands to make a scarf for myself. So I did. Sort of.

I came across pepperknit's blog, and saw this nifty little thing, The Bainbridge Scarf. I was intrigued. It was small, and looked like it could be finished quickly, it didn't look like it would be bulky under the front of your coat (my chief objection to winter scarves is that they always make me feel stuffed in ), and I liked the way it tied to stay in place. It also looked like it would be a great little crochet project as well as a knit.

The overall size of the project called to me too. I had a single skeins of several yarns given to me for Christmas (thanks again guys for the yarn, just to play with). I tried a couple different things, and ended up using Paton's Shetland Chunky in a rich burgundy colour.

The photos is a bit fuzzy (it's greatly enlarged). It is a stitch pattern from Harmony Guide Volume 6, called Wide Double crochet (I think - I really should confirm these things). Regular doubles except that you place your stitch between the double crochets in the row below rather than in the loop of the stitch below. Its a interesting variation on this most basic of stitches, and it worked well with the bulky yarn.

The fabric it created has such a soft flowing drape. It is a relatively open pattern, and yet the bulk of the yarn fills the openings in the nicest way, without adding any additional firmness or stiffness. And no, no ties. It ended up not being a Bainbridge at all,just a nice loop scarf to wear under my coat.

Why not Bainbridge? Well, I know I've mentioned how I just seem to go off on my own without reading very carefully, so it should come as no shock. I missed the part where the project was supposed to be only 4 inches wide. Mine is at least 6 inches and verges on 7. Its just too much fabric.

But I am going to do that Bainbridge in crochet. I don't think the Bainbridge is really suited to a bulky yarn, though I do really like my result as is, but next go round, I'm going to use something lighter, a double knitting weight or heavy fingering weight ought to be just right in crochet.

And yes, my neck was toasty warm driving to work this morning, thank you very much.