Two more things on/off needles

I finished desiknitter's rangoli hat two nights ago, and here it is blocking.

This was a lovely quick knit.  Best of all, I didn't have to switch from circulars to double pointed needles until maybe the last five or six rows.  To that I say awesome.

The yarn's stuff I bought in Melbourne last year, from Marta's Yarns.  It's a nice wool, and I can't remember anything about it other than that (at Marta's the yarn's all on big cones, and they wind you off as much as you want; I got 100 g, and still have a small bit left over).

It turns out that my bobble technique needs work.  I don't think I did them very well, they kind of don't show up very much in real life, though I guess you can see them in this picture.

I also ended up using a size 6 needle, because I was worried about the tightness of the ribbing on size 5s.  Now, of course, seeing how the yarn relaxed when washed, I can tell that the 5s would probably have been fine.  But.  I worried.

I must admit, however, that I'm not sure I'm going to like this hat on my head.  In its unwashed, unblocked state, it looked goofy (on me, not generally!  I have weird hat issues), but we'll see how it does now.

I also just started something new with the alpaca that was going to be the frost flowers and leaves shawl.  It's the Alpine Lace Scarf from Victorian Lace Today.  This is the bottom border, and a single repeat of it will run up the sides.  In the center will be a leafy pattern.  I'm liking it so far, though working on the Orenburg shawl ruined me a bit for other lace work.  On Orenburgs, there's no purling.  And that's a good thing, in general.

I've been knitting quite a bit, despite the heat, in large part because I finally broke down and got cable.  And in a fit of profligacy and desire, a dvr.  So now I've got it recording all sorts of things (the Daily Show, Everwood, Farscape, Gilmore Girls, Slings & Arrows, Mad Men, and random movies that I've noticed) and have been very, very much enjoying this.  It's letting me catch things I missed during the spring, too.  Whee!

And, yes, I'm getting real work done to.  And even added to it, by agreeing to some additional service next week.  Man, what am I thinking?!

Comments

[desiknitter]

It is *beautiful*! The yarn is lovely, even P said it looks gorgeous. You know, the hat feels best when you have just washed your hair and you take it off at work and realise it hasn't been flattened. :)

Don't agree to additional service - remember the old days???

[desiknitter]

On a completely different note, I met this Italian woman the other day who was OMG totally your twin. Except with a strange Italian accent and longer hair. As she talked I kept thinking it was you but not quite you. Very weird...

[spudsayshi]

Maybe we're like seventh cousins or something. Mysterious identical seventh cousins. And we could trade places for a week, and hilarity would ensue.

And I'm glad you like the hat! I think I do like it better on now that it's been washed. It got... floppier, I guess, and more beret-like, which is a good thing. In real life, the variegation in the yarn is even more subtle, so I think it does work quite well, if I do say so myself!

Thanks to you for the pattern.

[Dawn]

Great job on the hat. I'm in the process of making one, too.