Best of the best

Here we are in Illinois in January. Although we only got a dusting of snow, the polar cold is moving in. I just heard on the radio that our average temp for all of 2014 was 49.9 degrees F. 

The serious cold moves in tonight and for the rest of the week we're expecting wind chills in excess of -20F. 

With that in mind, I've decided the best article if clothing I've ever made in my whole life is...my Doctor Who scarf. 

All 12 feet long and 8" wide of it. The yarn (Cascade Pacific) is soft but has some substance to it and it's long enough to wrap around 3 times and still have tails long enough to cover my front. 

I had a friend who years ago defined the criteria I still use for a proper mug. She called the 3 finger test. If you couldn't comfortably fit at least 3 fingers through the handle, it didn't qualify. 

I now have a new criteria for the perfect scarf and this Doctor Who scarf is the criteria against which all winter scarves will be judged against. Forever. Period. 

Want to make your own?  If you can form a knit stitch, you can do it because it's garter stitch from start to finish. www.doctorwhoscarf.com

And if you don't know who Doctor Who is and why the scarf matters?  www.bbcamerica.com/doctor-who

The scarf belongs to the 4th doctor played by Tom Baker and you can see episodes (both the original and the modern day versions) on Netflix. He was my first doctor back in the 70s so that makes the scarf even better (as if it needed help :-) ). 

So if you live in a cold climate it if you're just cool, you need your own Scarf. 

Third time charming

The third Doctor Who scarf really is charming. I have to say, knitting 3 Doctor Who scarves in about 5 weeks was a little over the top but I know the kids loved theirs and I definitely love mine. 

Theirs were knit with the most accurate colors I could lay my hands on in 100% acrylic so easy wash and easy dry for Mom.  (www.doctorwhoscarf.com has everything you need to know if you want to make yours)

Mine, however, was knit with Cascade Pacific, 40% super wash Merino/60% acrylic, in the colors most closely related to the proper colors. It's not really that close but they were what was on hand at Knitorious in St Louis. 

(This pic doesn't really show the colors very well.)

I probably never would have used this yarn had it not been for this project but I really enjoyed knitting with it and the Merino gives it enough softness that I'm seriously considering it for a new sweater. 213 yards in the skein so you could definitely do something cool for a reasonable price. 

It would be a perfect pick for a modern take on a fair isle pattern.