I heart Koigu

Is there anyone who doesn't love Koigu? It is soft and delicious and the colors are just amazing, plus the yardage is excellent. I am partial to the handpaints but the solids are beautifully heathered.


Here we have a Chevron Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts and a Purl Beret. I had so much yarn I decided to make a matching beret, because I didn't need a ridiculously long scarf.



Close up of the beautiful colors:

Close up of the beret:

This yarn had been in the stash for more than a year so I'm happy to have it knit up now. And of course, the beret obsession continues (this is my second Purl Beret, also).

But seriously...

Enough with the snow already. We had another big storm (two weeks in a row!) and we are due for a huge nor'easter on Sunday. I am sick of being cold and really sick of my car getting stuck in the driveway. It's APRIL.
Okay, rant over.
The good part about the snow last week was that my Wednesday night class was canceled. We spent the night catching up on Netflix (Quills was excellent). And (drumroll, please) I finished my mom's birthday present. TWO WHOLE WEEKS before her birthday! I deserve a prize (more yarn maybe?).

Other FOs:

First two pictures:
Pattern: Scenester Hooded Scarf from Speed Knitting
Yarn: La Patrona Naturalana Esmerelda (100% Handpainted wool, handspun in Uruguay, 86 yards) 2 skeins color # 301-8
Source: The Yarn Basket (bought on my 21st birthday!)
Needles: Clover bamboo 24" circular size 15
Modifications: I cast on 12 sts instead of 10, then knit several inches longer than recommended for both scarf pieces, increased 8 more sts for the hood right at the beginning, and made the hood several inches longer than the pattern called for. I also used a three needle bind off to connect the two pieces of the hood rather than sewing them as the pattern recommends.

It's hard to tell in the picture, but the hood comes to a cute little pixie point in the back. My hands are in the mitts that are folded up and sewn together at the bottom. It's very practical and I am all about practicality.


Middle two pictures:
Pattern: The Purl Beret from The Purl Bee
Yarn: Koigu Premium Merino, (100% merino, ? yards) a little more than one skein (if you follow the pattern exactly, you only need one skein), color #? (light lavender)
Source: Stash
Needles: Addi Turbo 16" circular size 3, Crystal Palace bamboo DPNs size 3
Modifications: I knit an extra inch and a half before decreasing for the crown. The pattern recommends knitting extra if you want to make it floppy, and the first time I didn't knit enough and it looked like a beanie instead of a beret. It took a little more one ball, but if you only knit the recommended three inches (you might even be able to get four inches) you can do it with one ball.

If you want a beret with structure, I would recommend the pattern from the Winter '07 Interweave Knits. This one is floppy, but it's still fun.


Last two pictures:
Pattern: Silk Skull Caps from Alterknits
Yarn: Classic Elite Bam Boo (100% bamboo, 77 yards) 2 skeins color #4954 cerise
Source: Stash (from Patternworks a little more than a year ago, but I don't think they carry it anymore)
Needles: Susan Bates Quicksilver DPNs size 5
Modifications: None.

Don't mind the shifty eyed look in these (or the messy desk in the background) ;) This was tricky. You have to thread the beads on the yarn first, and let me tell you, a yarn with 24 seperate plies is not the yarn to do that with. It was also kind of a pain to knit with because it split so easily. Oh well, live and learn. It's really pretty and the beads make such a difference.


(At this point you're probably wondering just how much headwear one girl needs. A lot. Especially when you live in New Hampshire and it snows in April).

Whew. I feel productive. I actually finished them a few days ago, but I've been so busy with papers and other homework, not to mention going to the president's investiture on Thursday and to see Hillary Clinton last night (amazing picture coming soon!) that I didn't have a chance to post them. I haven't been nearly so productive the rest of this week. I do have these two lovely weekend days, so I'm off to get cracking.

Next up: Criss-cross shrug from Handknit Holidays. Also the Treeline Striped Cardigan from the Purl Bee.

Frogging

I finally got two projects I'd frogged back on the needles: the scenester hooded scarf from Speed Knitting and the Purl Beret (free!). The scarf was a gauge issue (entirely my fault, but I always get annoyed when my substitutions don't work as well as I'd hoped). I left it alone for about a week after busting through it (twice, because I had to re-knit it after I discovered the gauge issue) and now I just have to redo the hood. The beret was not floppy enough and looked strange on my head, so I frogged back and I'm going to add an inch or two before decreasing for the crown.
This is in addition to my mom's birthday present and the many other projects I have going.
I would also like to mention that it is now snowing with a vengeance. The only bright side is rumors of no school tomorrow, but it is much more likely that we will still have class and I will have to spend an hour digging my car out and moving it while the landlords plow our driveway.
Where is spring?