I've just packaged up this scarf I made using Teva Durham's "Braided Neckpiece" pattern from her book Loop-d-Loop. It was quick and easy to make up. I used Berrocco Memoirs, a yarn that has now been discontinued, that's a blend of 43% Wool, 40% Mohair, 14% Rayon and 3% Polyester.
I'm sending it off to our Ayi, to thank her for her help and kindness during our time in Shanghai. She's definitely one of the things I'll miss most about life in Shanghai. She's probably the best employee I've ever had, most likely because of my almost complete inability to communicate with her, leaving me therefore, unable to tell her how to do her job. She was always patient with my pitiful attempts at Mandarin, somehow figuring out what I really wanted when I asked her to do something that made no sense (like asking her to iron the dishes, or wash the bed). Hopefully this will keep her a bit warmer as she goes about Shanghai in the bitterly cold, wet, icy and windy winters.
The scarf was quite fun to make, you sort of make a hole, then make some strips that you weave between. Harder to say in words than it was to do. There's an interesting texture created by knitting one half in stockinette with the knit side showing, and one half with the purl side showing. Which contrasts nicely when it comes to the weaving in and out part.