This might seem odd......

I have just finished knitting a scarf and fingerless gloves for myself.  This must seem an extremely odd thing to do just as spring is peeping over the horizon.  But there is a good reason.  I occasionally volunteer as a steward in an open air theatre.  The season runs rather optimistically from April to October, so there are still lots of cold days ahead.  The theatre supplies warm coats for the stewards, but there are not enough for everyone who has to stand out in the elements.  The rest of us have to cram as many layers as possible under little cotton tabards.

The dress code for stewards is black, black and more black.  I had a lot of black dk yarn and decided to be a bit more prepared this year.  My requirements are very exact.  My fingers need to be free to take people's tickets and money.  My neck needs to be warm but the scarf needs to be as unobtrusive as possible.  The "Doctor Who" look would not be appreciated by the managers at the theatre.  Both items were very easy to knit.  I made up the patterns as follows:

Gloves

dk yarn and size 4mm knitting needles

cast on 32 stitches

rows 1-11: K2, P2 rib

row 12: [K1, P1] to end

row 13: [P1, K1] to end

repeat rows 12 and 13 until row 44 has been completed

rows 45-50: K2, P2 rib

cast off ribwise on size 5mm knitting needles

sew side seams of gloves, leaving a hole for the thumbs.

I have smallish hands and these fit perfectly.  For larger or smaller gloves, increase or decrease the number of stitches by multiples of 4.  The length of the ribbing and the main part of the glove can also be adjusted to suit.

Scarf

dk yarn and size 4mm knitting needles

cast on 29 stitches (or any odd number of stitches)

row 1: [K1, P1] to end

row 2: K1, [K1, P1]  to last 2 stitches, K2

So, basically this scarf is knitted in K1, P1 rib, but every row starts and ends with a knit stitch.  This produces a scarf that sits flat without curling and has an interesting little "pip" at the end of every row.

29 stitches are enough to make a scarf 4" wide which sounds very narrow, but is in fact wide enough for my purposes.  I was aiming for a scarf that was long enough to fold in half, wrap it around the neck and fasten by pushing the ends through the loop.  I will be able to tuck the ends neatly inside the tabard we have to wear and the scarf should stay in place without constant adjustment.

I could have searched high and low for a plain black scarf measuring 70" x 4".   But for minimal cost I have produced something that is exactly what I need.  I used less than 200g of yarn for the gloves and scarf.  It came either in a bargain job lot or as a generous donation...I can't quite remember.  This is the perfect example of when knitting becomes a time and money saving hobby.

 Last year, the start of the open air theatre season was freezing cold.  Hopefully, this year will be different.  If I don't need gloves and a scarf, I will be very happy.  If I do, then my hands and neck will be warm as toast.  "Lead on, Macduff" as Shakespeare (never) said......a famous misquote, but it sounds good!