Pretty

Hats - almost as much fun as socks. Here's the latest, and quite lovely, I think.

Pattern: Selbu Modern
Yarn: Koigu Premium Merino
Needles: US2 and US0

Koigu's colors, especially the Painter's Palette blends, are just stunning. I have a bunch in my stash, two skeins per color, bought with the intention of making them into socks. Well, in the meantime, it's just not my favorite sock yarn anymore, mostly because without any nylon it doesn't wear quite as well. So, what to do with it? This hat is one solution.

Small needle projects are fun when you want a lot of knitting in a nice portable package. I cast on for this in anticipation of some quality waiting room time at my annual appointment with the ob/gyn; the last few years, I've had some seriously long waits because of someone else going into labor. Since I was prepared for that, of course I got to go right in this time. The small needles only bugged me at the very end, as in the very last two decrease rounds, working with one color on each hand on double points. That was a major pain in the a**.

I'm old school; I like my double points and just haven't found the love for magic loop. But I did have an epiphany on those last two hateful rounds: working on double points while carrying yarn on the right hand sucks. I normally knit continental (yarn on the left hand), but the second color has to go somewhere. Every time I made a stitch with the right hand yarn, I had to let go of the right hand needle to "throw" the yarn around the stitch. A minor annoyance when there are a bunch of other stitches still on it to hold it in place; a nightmare when there are just a few, and the needle wants to slip away or twist in the breeze or otherwise generally misbehave. So, yes, I now see where "double point desperation" might come from, especially if you knit English.

[Kitty is still here. I think Egg is in love, despite his allergies. We agreed though that I should post signs in the neighborhood today, because it is bad karma to steal someone's pet.]

Crawling back into the light

A bout of the winter blues has been an unwelcome visitor over the last few weeks, but despite not getting it together to post anything, I haven't been entirely unproductive. Happily, the re-purposing of the Portland Tweed from the unfortunate hooded scarf into a sweater was in my humble opinion entirely successful:

TAH-DAH! Something I will actually wear (and already have)!

Pattern: Climbing Vines Pullover (Interweave Knits, Winter 2008)
Yarn: Portland Tweed by Classic Elite (bought at Sheep To Shawl in Montevallo)
Needles: US7s for the body, US6s for the ribbing
Modifications:

• Worked body in the round until the armholes,
• Simplified the armhole shaping,
• Picked up the sleeves at the shoulder and worked in the round to the cuff,
• Added a small gusset in the armpit (I HATE sweaters that bind),
• Made the neckline a little higher and the overall length a little longer

Santa Claus also had something on back order for me, which finally arrived. At last year's Maryland Sheep & Wool, I bought two hanks of Delly's Delights Twist of Heaven Alpaca DK, all they had left. I had no specific plan for it, but I couldn't leave without it. The name is perfect; it is unbelievably soft and lush, possibly the softest alpaca yarn I've found so far. And the color! A strand of chocolaty brown and one of a soft gunmetal grey (there's an oxymoron for you!) This close-up kinda captures it.

Anyway, at some point I decided that two hanks weren't enough, and two more arrived last week. Yards and yards of the most perfect alpaca yarn ever! And because I think it's so perfect, I'm utterly intimidated picking out just the right project for it. I mean, how can I even contemplate sullying something so wonderful with a mediocre project? So the search goes on for just the right thing...