She likes the scarf & hat!

My sister received the scarf & hat I made her last weekend. She likes them! She was so pleased that she wore the hat home. Her teenage daughter pointedly asked, "Are you cold or something?"

She is also thrilled with the scarf, which I blocked to within an inch of its life. I forget if it's 63 inches or 6'3". Long, anyway, and about 4" wide, which is what she specified.

Maybe I'll knit for her again! Although Mom asked for a pullover with a scandinavian yoke for her next knit item. Sounds pretty straightforward.

Update on projects: One FO

Here's the FO: finished my sister's tam! Photograph by my son, 6.5 yrs.







Then, she asked for a long, skinny scarf, that would go around her neck a few times. I tried Mistake Rib, K1P1 rib, stockinette with garter-stitch edges, and each time, it looked like I'd end up with a short scarf. Then someone on the glbt-knit list suggested a diagonal scarf on oversized needles. That was the ticket!




Here's an update on Odessa, too. I am loving this wool; so springy, and the color is so intense. Don't know if my recent ex will still want it, but I'll offer it to her when I'm done, and if not, maybe my sister will want it.





Finally, here's the latest on the Lang Yarns Viva sweater. I tried it on (at about 8"), and it did fit! Lucky, since it would have killed me to rip all that out. I've decided that the little V in front is going to look like crap on me (just accentuate my belly), so I'm going to sew it up when I'm done. The cabling looks nice, though, no?

I have clearly lost my mind

Just got my order in of more Skacel Contrasto for a birthday gift for a friend. And because I can't simply order ONE yarn, like ever, I added in some yarn for a sweater for the little dude. This yarn. In black and orange. As I said, I have completely lost my mind.

Yes, I keep knitting absolutely garish things for my son. Because that is what he asks for and I'm a softie for the little guy. The latest thing he asked for was a head-to-foot T!gger costume, knit or otherwise made by moi. I figure a pullover with kangaroo pocket in this yarn is the closest I'm willing to come, and that's a lot farther than most.

In other news, I finished the tam for my sister, and it is mostly OK. The top is a little, eh, peaky, so I'm going to rip back just a few rows and do k2togs all the way around and see if that makes it flatter. It is really very nice, I think. I still think the cast-on edge is a bit tight. The wool is so soft and warm. And now I have one full ball and part of another left over. Enough for another ribbed hat for me? For someone else? I adore this yarn. Why doesn't everyone stock it?

Oh, and I finished the 3.5" part of the Viva top. Came across a challenge: the pattern has you knit the back & front separately. Now that I'm done with the two "separate" parts of the front, the yarn is at the middle. But in "real life," the yarn would be at the edge. So I think I have to cut it and rejoin it at the right side (not the left, right? Doesn't knitting go from right to left?). Weird, huh? I do still like it, even though the yarn does sometimes catch on the tip of the needles (which are plenty dull, being Clovers).

I've put aside Odessa for the time being. I kept making mistakes.

OK, so I didn't ADD any new projects...

I finished my sister's tam on the second day (thank God for fast projects!). Just before cutting the yarn to draw it through the last loops, I tried it on. It slipped easily past my forehead and ears and became, well, a hangman's hood, practically. Lovely.

I had wondered if the gauge was right. (The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns only uses gauges of 4 or 5 on up; my gauge was 4.5... ish.)

I ripped it all out (huzzah for ballwinders!) and started over on the 4-gauge pattern. So far so good, although my knitted cast-on edge is a bit tight for my preferences. I hate the thought of ripping it all back just to redo the cast-on. Think I'll soldier forward instead. The swirly top (one of 3 given top patterns) is just fantastic IMO.

I am loving the Mission Falls 1824 wool (color: Raven a.k.a. black). It is squishy, not too splitty, soft, and God bless them, superwash! Oh, and affordable.