Monday, January 1, 2007

Bound off for Afghanistan


I actually finished this around 11 last night, but couldn't get a decent photo until today. Even with the benefit of sunlight (or what passes for it in my native environs), I still had to struggle to get the colors to render properly. In reality, the purple is somewhat redder and the overall effect is more muted. Of course, it would help if I knew more about photography than "I push this button, right?" My dear spouse has kindly stepped up to provide some tutorials, so I entertain fond hopes of improving.

About the FO: This Elizabeth Morrison pattern is featured in the Summer '06 edition of Knitty and it was a joy to knit. I'll definitely try some of Morrison's other designs. As this hat will go to a child (age unknown), I went down a needle size to a U.S. 8 and plucked a different yarn, Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran, from my stash to make a warm hat that's also quite soft. I had this in three colors I thought worked well together--hemlock, quartz, and batik (the two less-than-helpful monikers in there courtesy of some marketing monkey)--so I simply knit the two solid bands in the third color. I also departed from the instructions for the top band, which I created by knitting two ridges of garter stitch, rather than simply purling two rounds and calling it good.

The Silkroad Aran was lovely to knit with, soft and fluid. I generally don't care for the sound and sensation of knitting with Addi Turbos, but they were ideal for this yarn. Can't say the same for my usual needles of preference, Bryspuns, which were too pointed and sticky for this blend.

I like the pattern and the resulting hat so well that I think I'll use the leftover yarn to create a fraternal twin, this time using the magic loop method so I can avoid the necessity of using the Bryspun dpns for the crown.

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