Sunday, November 30, 2008

A Non-Scratchy Scarf for Steve

I hope everyone had a fun and festive Thanksgiving celebration. Steve and I had a wonderful time visiting his family in Napa Valley (California Wine Country). Whilst there, I took the opportunity of snapping a few pictures of Steve in his new scarf. I think it passed muster.



Which is a relief because he's a fussy one. Nothing "scratchy" or "fancy" for him. He's actually not much one for wearing a scarf, period. But as I observed to a good friend who remarked on having never seen Steve wear scarf, "he's going to wear this one," spoken with more confidence than I felt. But now having seen him wearing it I'm pretty sure he does like the scarf.



Particulars: Basic Scarf pattern, Ann Budd's The Knitters Handy Book of Patterns (and handy it is); 5 skeins Elsebeth Lavold's Silky Cashmere; US 10 needles. This is a simple "mistake rib" scarf where I cast on 27 stitches and knit until I ran out of yarn. I like a mistake rib scarf because it gives a nice drape to the fabric and in a solid color creates a nice no-frills manly scarf. If you are interested in mistake rib, this link will take you to a website that explains the simple stitch pattern.



As I mentioned, we spent Thanksgiving with Steve's family and this year we had time to pop in and visit his cousin Gerry at her pottery shop, P& G Art Studio, in Sebastopol, California.

Steve comes from a very artistic family and his mother and aunt are wonderful painters and his cousin Gerry is wonderfully creative too, as you will see. Actually, Steve's not too shabby an artist himself having studied at the Art Institute of Chicago while in medical school and he takes most of the pictures that you see here on the blog.

His cousin's shop is mainly pottery although she also sells a few fabric items such as scarfs, hats and pillows. As of yet they haven't got a shop on-line so you will just have to visit the shop the next time you are in the Napa area.



I love pottery hanging from a wall. It gives a California mission feel to architecture. Growing up I was fortunate to live near the beautiful Santa Barbara Mission which is situated next to a stunning rose garden. I have pleasant memories of sitting by it's fountain and wandering through its cool dark hallways feeling an eerie connection to the past.

Gerry whimsically describes her wall pieces as follows:

Vignettes: It is their pleasure to delight, beautify, adorn, furbish, decorate, and garnish as well as smarten, spruce up, embellish, and detail, festoon, or amuse.


As I've previously mentioned, growing flowers is not a talent of mine. It's ideal when a couple compliment each other's weaknesses and it would have been nice if Steve had a passion for gardening. But I had a sinking feeling that was not to be when I had to tactfully point out early in our relationship that he was smelling and admiring flowers that were plastic, and not real. Sigh.

Do you think I could fool people into thinking I have a green thumb if I scattered some of Gerry's flowers about in my pots? Maybe from a distance?

Have a great week everyone ~ and make time to put your feet up and enjoy a cup of tea while flipping through your favorite knitting magazine!

23 comments:

Cat in the Foxgloves said...

What a wonderfully cozy looking scarf and what a fun Thanksgiving you had!

t does wool said...

Steve looks very handsome in that scarf...tell him I said to wear it often ;-)...and what a wonderful Thanksgiving you had...thank you for the shop tour...the pottery is beautiful...and yes,go for the flowers!

Monika said...

Lovely scarf, very nice color! I hope Steve will wear it often. I like pottery too, but mostly bowls and mugs/cups. I think the ceramic flowers look great in your pots.

raining sheep said...

I love the scarf. My Adam is the same: he hates anything 'itcy' or anything that has much of a pattern. I would love to go to Napa valley. Babe and I definitely have to get over there and 'do' all the wineries.

Renee said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Renee said...

The scarf looks great on Steve, I hope he wears it a lot. I love making knits like that ~ they're great for my knitting mojo.
Sounds like you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! The pottery is lovely. I say go for the flowers!!

Willow said...

The scarf is a winner! I like the color and the pattern. It's very masculine and Steve looks great in it.

Tracy said...

That scarf is fantastic, Claudia! And Steve looks ever so handsome in it...that purple suits him! Great color and texture there, nice yarn to. Isn't that a nice one to knit with? My hubby is the same way, he's not much for scarves in general. But it gets very cold here so he does use one in winter. I knit him one two Christmases ago...and he does wear it. ;o) That arts studio looks such fun...Love your flowers, so pretty in the pots! Happy Days as you bask in the holiday glow ((HUGS))

SissySees said...

Oh shoot! I left my travel mug of tea on the stove...

Anyhoo, Steve and his scarf look great, as does all of his cousin's art. I'd have to give the "no fussing required" flowers a try, personally...

Anonymous said...

Well done for knitting something he can't resist! I've yet to think of anything to tempt Dave with!

amanda said...

Nice scarf! Steve looks very happy modeling it :)

A co-worker of mine is from Santa Barbara and has mentioned the mission - sounds like an awesome place.

Anonymous said...

I'm going to try and lose my "anonymity". Bear with me if I can't figure out how to do it.

Anyway, just to say I love mistake rib (just made one for my niece (a scarf), love the Santa Barbara Mission and love the Art Institute of Chicago -- all in one fun blog. Not to mention the pottery shop!

Anonymous said...

My favorite knitting patterns start with a simple pattern and let you knit until you run out of yarn. They are so relaxing to knit.

Steve looks great in his purple scarf!

The Wooly Wumpus said...

Steve is a lucky guy to have such a beautiful scarf, and such a talent for photography! Tell him one doesn't have to be born with a green thumb, it can be learned. There is hope yet!!

jillian said...

A perfect Steve-scarf!

Anonymous said...

It's a great scarf! Happy belated thanksgiving to you!

Darcys Knotty Knitter said...

Love the scarf Iam knitting with that color right now;)Hugs Darcy

Hilary said...

How on earth could he say no to Silky Cashmere! It's a great scarf, and Steve is rockin' it.

I think the ceramic flower is just as good as the real thing! :) I'll definitely have to check out her shop the next time I'm up near Napa!

Mr Puffy's Knitting Blog: said...

Hi Ursula! Thank you for saying hi :) Sounds like we have a lot in common ~ if you have the chance some day try and visit the Santa Barbara Museam of Natural History which is near the mission and also fun to wander around!

Knitterary said...

Scarves are sexy. Men should wear them more often. :) Steve's looks great on him!

Windyridge said...

Our scarves look very similar!
Pottery on the walls is a great idea. You are lucky to have such talent in your family!

knittingdragonflies said...

Love the scarf, and ooooo soft!! The pottery is lovely, a bit of whimsy in it, fun and colorful. I only have cacti in my windowsill, and have been know to kill those.
Vicki

Firefly Nights said...

Beautiful pottery and great to see the pictures of Steve and his scarf. But where was Mr. P?