Scarfalicious

Welp, here's the scarf, in all its basketweavey scarfalicious glory. (Graciously modeled by a lamp.*)

Specs:
Yarn: Filatura di Crosa 501 superwash wool, French Navy, 4 skeins
(still available at elann.com in limited colors)
Needle: US 6
Size: 5" x 60"

Pattern:
Cast on 42 stitches.
Garter for 5 rows.
Follow basketweave cable pattern for 24 pattern repeats.
Knit in K2, P2 rib for 12 inches. (note: RS rows will begin and end with K2)
Follow basketweave cable pattern for 24 pattern repeats.
Garter for 5 rows.
Cast off.

Basketweave Cable Pattern
Row 1: Knit
Row 2 and all even rows: K3, Purl to last 3 stitches, K3
Row 3: K6, *C3F* to last 6 stitches, K6
Row 5: Knit
Row 7: K3, *C3B* to last 3 stitches, K3.

C3F: Slide three stitches to cable needle and hold to front of work; k next three stitches; k 3 from cable needle.

C3B: Slide three stitches to cable needle and hold to back of work; k next three stitches; k 3 from cable needle.

Overall: I'm getting kind of tired of this yarn, as it's the same as the chocolate vest I'm working on as well. But I will say that it holds the cables really well, it is easy to work with, and it has enough sproing to make it pretty easy to do cables. I think that the cable pattern is a little too "stiff" to work as an allover scarf -- if you decide not to do the neck ribbing, you might go up a needle size to give the scarf more drape. But I think that this scarf, in addition to being a wonderful lesson in cables, will keep its recipient quite warm in cold Kansas winters.

*If you look closely, in the background is one of the best marketing promos I've received in a while: the Entertainment Weekly DVD of movie trailers. Nearly an hour! Of previews! Of many fall/holiday movies! If they keep doing it, they will guarantee a subscription renewal. (Yeah, I'll probably renew anyway. I'm a pop culture junkie.)