Christmas Knitting

This is scarf number 1 - Afetos.  I've chosen a sock yarn with a light tweedy speckle, and it is a pattern I have knitted before.  Quite a high wool content to this yarn.  The lace pattern is not complex but needs care because it is not symmetrical.  

So I was pleased to se this one finished: it had turned out well, I thought.  Then I gave it a bath preparatory to blocking.  Oh dear - the sheepy quality of the wool now made its presence felt.  In fact, it stank.  I put it out on the line to air and then repeated the wash with a rinse using part vinegar.  Now it smelt of sheep and vinegar.  A third wash and a rinse with bicarbonate of soda.  The smell was now in abeyance, but I would not trust it in a rain shower.  

What to do?  This is scarf number 2.  It is a set of Regia Ombre 100% Merino, knitted using the shape of Afetos without the lace panels.  I made the transitions less stark by putting in some stripes at the changeovers.  This feels lovely and looks quite sophisticated.

But, crucially, it has no smell.