I wasn’t sure what to do with the wool left over from Tricia’s Canada Jumper. 8 skeins is not enough to do a whole other garment, and given that the shade of Paton’s Inca that I’m using (7005) is not being produced this season I felt it better to use up the yarn rather than purchase more.

The result is an Open Star Stitch Beanie for Jen, and an Open Star Stitch Scarf to match (still a WIP).

The basis of open star stitch is;

Cast on a multiple of 3 stitches

1. On R1, knit 4. Cast off the second stitch that was knitted. Yfwd (to increase), knit 3. Cast off the first of the three knitted stitches by passing the stitch over the needle. Repeat until 1 stitch remains, knit 1
2. On R2, purl
3. On R3, knit 2, yfwd. Knit 3, cat off the first of the three knitted stitches by passing the stitch over the needle. Repeat until 2 stitches remain, knit 2
4. On R4, purl

Using Paton’s Inca with standard gauge, the pattern goes like this;

• Cast on 50 stitches on 7mm straight needles (I tried knitting this on circulars, but my 7mm circs are too long. Could be adjusted for circs)
• Knit 1, purl 1 rib until fabric measures 8cm deep
• On the next row, knit 3, inc 1 by knitting stitch and passing it back on to left needle
• Should have 63 stitches.
• Continue in Open Star Stitch as above for a further 15 cm.
• On the next row, knit.
• On the next row, k2tog, repeat until end. Continue rows of k2tog until single stitch remains.
• Sew edges together with wrong sides facing, then sew in ends and turn inside out.

Today I got cash out via EFTPOS at a shop in Geelong. I asked for $100 in cash, which I received. It wasn’t until afterwards that it dawned on me that the amount that I had authorised was $100.01. So, where does the one cent go? Obviously not to me, and probably to the shop which was assuming I wouldn’t notice. I didn’t mention anything at the time – but I want to know whether this is standard practice or just a typo by the woman processing the transaction? Surely one cent is not worth it, but over hundreds or even thousands of transactions? Has anyone been diddled like this?

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