Iced Tea Scarf

December 2015:  My sweet Michigan friend, Dawn, gave me the above as our "Pay it Forward" challenge for the year.  It's yarn, dyed in tea, in a tea glass, with a pattern called Iced Tea Scarf.  She purchased it in South Carolina at the "Sweat Tea Capital".

I'm super excited to start this pattern.  It'll be my first to work on from a chart.   And it'll get me going on cabling again!

can ya see the beads?

January 2016:  I lost count of how many times I started this pattern.  I would work half of it or more and completely frog it and start over.  It challenged my brain to try to understand the chart.  But eventually, everything clicked and I'm so happy with how it turned out.  It might end up being gifted.

I'd never added beads to a scarf until now.  I had no internet service at South Llano River State Park, so I couldn't google how to add them in while knitting.  So I did the scarf, then used one strand of embroidery thread, per Dawn's suggestion, to sew them on one by one.  Love the look.

Thanks again, Dawn, for such a thoughtful gift! And......it's eased my fear of cables.  I immediately started another pair of Owling fingerless mitts, which require cables AND beads!