I know it's been awhile since I posted knitting-related material here, so I will do so now. My needles have been busy over the holidays - not with last-minute holiday gifts, mind, but with fun hats for myself and my husband. First, came the alpaca:
This is your everyday, basic 88 stitch cast-on hat, worked in the round. The yarn, Blue Sky Alpacas Sportweight Alpaca, was chosen by Rob but - once knit up - ended up being too fuzzy for his taste. It's a perfectly good hat, suited to a 22" head, so we're keeping it or giving it to a large-headed family member (we have lots on my side of the family hahaha). Alternatively, I may just go ahead and frog it enough to add in some cool orangey/red stripes...
So, one hat down and nothing to keep my husband's head warm, I got started on a new one. This time, we stuck with the tried and true (and test-driven in other hats) Blue Sky Alpacas Worsted, which is a 50/50 blend of merino and alpaca. Behold:
This one turned out great and he is happy with it. Hooray!
Rob's hat settled (and approved) I moved on to a one-skein little wonder for myself:
Sorry about that glare from the flash. This is a simple cabled hat in Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Superchunky (which, incidentally, sets off zero itch-detection from my forehead itch sensor array - so soft and smooth!). It was fast and easy. Here you see it blocking on a balloon I inflated to 21" and set in a little bowl on my counter. I was trying to get it to block so that the closure at the top wouldn't look so...nipply...as it did when it came off the needles. It worked! I finally have a hat that I chose for myself, rather than just appropriating Rob hats that didn't make the cut. Now I'm working on a garter stitch alpaca scarf for Rob and tonight I will (at long last!) cast on my Wisteria.
Oh! I almost forgot that I also completed my first fair isle project, the "Fairly Easy Fair Isle", just in time for our snowbound holiday staycation:
See that hat? It was made for Rob a couple of years ago. This year I finally gussied it up a bit with the addition of a little silk flower I purchsed at Liberty of London back in November. I get complimented on my "great hat" all the time now. What a great purchase that purple posy was!
Anyway, the sweater: it is super-cozy and I like it very much. The sleeves fit great, but the body is a bit big. It's meant to be a cozy around-the-house sweater, though, so the size doesn't bother me one bit. I just wrap myself up in it and enjoy the snuggly warmth of alpaca and wool.
You can see more photos of these projects on my ravelry page or my flickr page. Just look for seattleyogini...and let me know what you think!
