Last night I started a scarf for my mama. I no longer have the yarn labels, but the multicolored one is from Bernat and the solid burgundy alpaca is from Debbie Bliss. I'm knitting this in half linen with a selvage edge. How I do this edge is . . first off, I add two stitches to the entire cast on that I've determined. Let's say I've decided to knit this using 21 stitches for the pattern . . I'd make it 23 CO stitches to account for the selvage. After CO 23 stitches, the first stitch in the next row I knit in the back . . then I begin my pattern. When I get to the final stitch at the end of that row, I bring the yarn in front and slip the last stitch off purl-wise. This is done for every single row . . no matter what the pattern calls for. The first stitch of every row is knit in the back - and the last stitch, the yarn is brought forward and slipped off purl-wise. This makes a very nice, even edge to the work. It also makes it easier if you want to crochet a decorative edge around when you are done. However, with just a scarf . . I don't think I'll be crocheting an edge. This is nice enough!
Here's the full pic with the yarn I'm using so you can see them individually before they combine:
This is the front of the scarf, clearly showing the lovely half linen stitch pattern:
And lastly, this is the back of the scarf. After completing a half linen stitch row on the RS (right side) of the scarf, I purl across the WS (wrong side):
Aside from working on this scarf . . I'm still working on my SiL's severely delayed Christmas present. Not that it's too difficult . . that's not the issue. It's just a bear to work with. Knitting for felting requires that you knit almost 3x the size of the finished piece you are trying to complete. So since I've determined that this will be a tote bag . . you can imagine the size of this thing! Maybe I should have promised it for Christmas 2008. *lol*