“When you die, don’t you dare come back and visit me,” I said to my dad one day. He just stared back at me, grinning.

We share the love of horror movies, ghost stories, superstitions – you name it! I remember once as a kid, we went into a haunted maze together. He was holding my hand as we tried to find our way out. He let go for a minute then grabbed my hand again. It seemed like we were walking in circles forever – we were so lost. I was talking to him but he wasn’t answering so I turned around and imagine the horror when what I saw was not my dad, but a terrifying masked man! Just a few steps behind him was my dad, grinning from ear to ear. No wonder he wasn’t saying anything. I was so mad!

That’s my dad! Always the joker.

I share this story because I can relate to today’s design inspiration:

Part 4 // Volver by Debby Reece 

I was contacted by Debby Reese, the other half of the Periscoping Sisters, just after Christmas. She asked if I had some time to test knit a scarf. It was perfect timing. The holiday rush was over, and I just finished all the gift knitting for the family.

‘Volver’ is a verb of Spanish origin which means “to return”.

Debby notes, “This scarf pattern is inspired by my dad, the one I seem to return to for direction and support when I reach the crossroads in my life. Hence the name Volver” 

I too have great admiration for my dad. Ever since I was little, he was always there for me, if not holding my hand, having my back. Except for when he’s trying to scare me. This pretty much sums up my relationship with him.

The scarf is knit in garter stitch with an interesting construction. Debby gives a lot of freedom to the knitter to choose as much or as little colors they prefer. I went for 3 and played around with the striping.

 

It took me several tries to get the look I wanted. I originally planned to use a dark brown, a light brown and green for this scarf but after several attempts, I couldn’t make this color combination work. I had a look in my stash and found some white yarn (lost the tag) and opted to switch it with the dark brown.

Much better!

This was a relaxing, quick knit. I used a worsted weight so it’s extra warm and cozy. I plan to gift this to my dad for his birthday which we are celebrating this weekend. He was so excited with the socks I made him last year and totally knit worthy!

Thanks for following along with this series, A year of test knits. I sure learned a lot from these designers. I gifted this shawl to a special lady who was so kind to cook amazing delicious food for our family, just because! And as much as I wanted to keep this for myself, I knew my MIL would love it. Yellow is her favorite color! Nothing gives me more pleasure than gifting hand knits to the people I love.

I just finished another top secret test knit and I can’t wait to share it with you soon!