Scarf Pattern - Adding to the Christmas Stash

I think I'm finally getting on top of these Christmas presents.

We're all agreed as a family this year to only give token gifts to the home as a whole, baked goods, a tin of sweets, that kind of thing, but because I've already finished a few things I'll still give them as presents this year. I've explained that there are already finished and ready to be given and that I don't expect anything in return, so nobody will feel pressured to run out and buy a last minute present.

I picked up this yarn in the January sale last year, it's 70% acrylic and 30% wool, DK weight and it's lovely and soft, perfect for a garment worn next to the skin.

I started the scarf as a plain garter stitch scarf without any real plan of where I would go with it, because of the variegation in the yarn I thought it would be nice enough left plain, but somewhere in the second ball I decided it needed something else.

The pattern is as follows

CO 35 st
k every row until scarf is desired length
begin short row
k 34 st turn leaving 1 stitch on the original needle and k back across 34 st.
k 33 st turn leaving 2 stitches one the original needle and k back across 33 st.
carry on like this knitting one less stitch on each row until the last row.
k 1 st, turn and k 1 stitch.
If you wish to leave the scarf tapering to a point cast off at this stage, otherwise;
(k, p, k) into every stitch on needle.
knit for six more rows and cast off.

I used a pattern from a Nicky Epstien book for the corsage but you can get lovely patterns for these here and here and at Knitting Pattern Central, or feel free to leave the scarf completely unadorned.