Dobby Socks Done

It is with much joy that I present to you a picture of this finished pair of Dobby Socks. It is unfortunate that there is still a month before I can send my Sockapalooza4 Pal her socks. She would surely have a couple of events to which she could wear them in July. Then again, she may be dressing as a hippogriff for a costume contest and these socks would be entirely inappropriate.

What a Week

With all that has happened, it seems like the last week must have had a few extra days. We had the good, the bad, and the ugly. I am doing my best to keep focus on the good, because there is little I can do about the other.

Friday, we had a wonderful, laid-back birthday celebration for my sweetheart. He thanks everyone for the birthday greetings. While the presents I purchased him did not arrive on time, most of them showed up the next day. The day was a busy and long one. It was so cute that he got excited about his birthday and could not sleep. That meant that he needed to sleep a bit during the day. This left me time to seek out medical attention for my ear infections. That is a story in itself. Add to this the fact that we kept the five-year-old nephew, and you see just how full the day was. Still, it was good.

I had packages arrive last week, too. One was expected, and one was a surprise. They both arrived on Thursday. I purchased some merino/mohair roving on eBay. I chose the purple, but they also included a small sample of a colorway they call mint julep. It is pretty stuff. My happy surprise was a package from my grandmother. She made it out to Estes with my aunt, and they picked out some cashmere, angora, pygora, alpaca/pygora blend, Regia Bamboo, and Crystal Palace Kid Merino. I am going to have a great time with this fiber and yarn. It should keep me busy for quite some time.

I've already given some of the mint julep a test spin. That was my first time working with merino or mohair, let alone, a blend. It went pretty well, but I just spun a few yards. I have some Corriedale singles ready to ply, and then I think I am ready to begin a spinning project. I think I want to have a planned project on one spindle, and I will use the other to try out different fibers. Of course, this may change. I have a couple of projects I would like to spin for now. Maybe that means I need another drop spindle. I am just kidding. I have so much, and I am thankful for it all.

Happy Birthday, Baby!

Happy Birthday to my dear, darling, wonderful husband! I hope to celebrate many more birthdays with you.

Feeling Special

Today started early with the arrival of wonderful children. We had a good time together, and their mom was back from her doctor's appointment before we knew it. I feel special and honored to know the brand of the baby in process. It is exciting, but I will not spill the beans. I was glad to be able to be a help to a friend. She is so very thoughtful that she gave me some yarn as a Thank You. She did not need to do that. Of course, I could not turn it down, because that would be rude and crazy. I now have this lovely pile of tweedy goodness, mohair magic, and quite a mound of Manos. I already have several ideas of what it might become. This is a good sign, as the other day I had to leave the Skanky Knitters early, and could barely pick up the needles.

When I had trouble knitting, but was able to get off the floor and move toward the fiber pile, I spun. I am trying out some Corriedale. I like it, but I like the BFL better. My husband thinks Blue Faced Leicester sounds like some sort of insult. He is funny. I hope that at least some of his birthday presents arrive on time. I know that some will arrive late, perhaps very late. I guess that will make the celebrations last longer.

Fun With Learning

I am still new to spinning. I have improved from when I began, but there is still much to learn. Friday night, I learned a lesson. It is not just about spinning. I learned to be sure that the yarn I use for ties on my skein need to be checked for colorfastness, especially if I am going to give the yarn a simmer bath. FYI, the bits of Magic Garden Cotton Candy DK that I tossed into the scrap drawer after I wove in all the ends from the last Shedir I knit, yeah, they are a poor choice for this process. I had spun and plied some Blue Faced Leicester. It is lovely fiber and a joy to spin. I liked what I had spun and thought that I would spin more just like this and knit a shawl. Well, this mini skein has some stained spots from the ties, and it is all lightly colored. I was disappointed, but it is not a big deal. I may knit a little swatch with my baby skein of lace. I just did a try at checking wpi, and I think it is about 38. It was my first time trying to check wpi, and I did not give it too much effort or attention. I think I have about 70 yards of the stuff. It should make a nice-sized swatch. I need only pick out a lovely, lacy, stitch pattern to try.

My learning experiences did not end with this stained skein. Some of the Skanky Knitters are taking a class to learn to spin on a spinning wheel. They are renting wheels to practice between classes. One ran out of fiber, so I volunteered to bring her some. She let me have a go on the Majacraft. It was my first time with a spinning wheel. I thought that I would fare decently because of my experiences with the drop spindle. I thought wrong. When I began on the drop spindle, there was some emphasis on the word "drop." How I managed to achieve this same effect with a spinning wheel is beyond me. The upside is that we were able to change the bobbin, as she had filled one, and did not know how to switch it out for an empty one. I did not do well with the wheel. Still, it was nice to try it out and it was even nicer to visit my friend. It was my first time to her home and it is lovely. She is doing pretty well with the wheel. Some of the fibers I brought for her to try out worked better for her than others. It was good that she got to sample a few varieties. Still, I wish that I had brought her more of the ones that spun more easily for her. I hope I brought enough to get her through until her next class on Tuesday. I can always bring more to her on Monday night if she needs it. I suppose it is just as well that I struggled with the wheel, because it will take awhile before I can buy one. I believe that I have decided on an Ashford Traveller. Before that happens, I think we may have to buy a new refrigerator, as ours might be dying. We are going to try and see if we can perhaps repair it. We shall see what happens. Being responsible feels boring compared to the fantasy of a spinning wheel. Everything in its time, eh? Until then, there is still much to do and learn. My lovely stash will keep me company and keep me entertained. I do have some projects I would like to begin.

Festivity Blocked

This started out to be a quick knit. Then the project and the knit intersected and progress ground to a halt. I needed to be able to accurately measure the garment for shaping, but we were on the go so much. I have nearly given up my bad habit of measuring gauge swatches and other knitting on my thigh, so Festive was set aside. When I picked it back up, my enthusiasm waned briefly, but then I was making good progress and I wanted my top done so that I could wear it. I went through several changes of water as it let loose some excess red dye. Now I wait for it to dry. All that remains then, is to seam, work the collar, and sew on the snaps and frog closures (once I buy them).

Throughout the knitting of this, progress photos would not be very interesting, nor is it a thriller as it dries on a towel on the living room floor, not to mention the fact that the red in this picture is way off. I decided to take this opportunity to share a shot of my most recent chemo cap. I used Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece and the pattern is the Vine Lace Baby Hat from Knitting Daily. The original pattern called for much smaller needles and fingering weight yarn. I think I could have gone down in needle size for this hat, and will probably do so for the next one I knit. This is a simple pattern and I think it makes a nice chemo cap. I think the combination of the heavier yarn and the openness of the lace will balance each other nicely.

Although I got the time wrong, tonight, I was still able to offer a little help to one of my Skanks who was conned into teaching a beginner’s knitting class. They said that they just needed her to walk around the kids and help if they had a problem while someone else taught. She thought she would sit in the back of the room with her current project and knit until someone dropped a stitch. Then a week before the class, she found a flyer listing her as the instructor. All of a sudden, she was on the spot, and asked the Skanky Knitters to help. Unfortunately, it did not work with most schedules. I had resisted signing up for a spinning class, or I would have been unable to assist. I was glad to be of some help.

From Socks to Sweaters

I do like my Tap Dancing yarn from Knit Picks. I am sad to say that it is discontinued. I brought this yarn out of the stash for the third round of Sock Madness. Apparently, it was not meant to become that pair of socks. After it rested amongst some other sock yarns, I retrieved it so that it might be redeemed. I knit one sock toe up through the heel turn, unsure of what patterning I would use on the leg. I began the foot of the other sock and knit on it on a Monday night. One Skank asked if it was a cast sock. You know, a sock meant to warm the toes of a foot encased in a cast. I felt a bit worried as I looked down and saw how huge it was. I had the same number of stitches as the other sock and it fit. I carried on and hoped for the best. Once the foot of the second sock was knit and the heel turned, I began the patterning on the leg. I had decreased six stitches in the ankle to accommodate the pattern. I chose Chevron from Charlene Schurch’s Sensational Knitted Socks. It draws in the fabric quite a bit. I knew this from past experience on a pair of socks that did not work out for me. These socks look a bit lousy off the needles, but they fit my feet. They are my illusion socks, and I love them.

Not wanting to end my time with this lovely yarn, I immediately cast on for a miniature sock to fit my keen new sock-blocker key chain. Brittany sent one for each Skank along with the Shedir she knit. I enjoyed handing them out last Monday. I did not begin on mine until after I had delivered them to the other Skanky Knitters. That just seemed fair. Anyway, is it not too cute for words? Brittany is so kind. This makes me even happier to announce that she is the winner of the Shedir contest! I will be packaging up her prizes and sending them out as soon as I can.

The Festive is nearly finished. I have most of one sleeve completed. I am making the sleeves a bit longer than they are written in the pattern. Then it is on to blocking, sewing, and frog closures. I looked at the closures at the store today, but I was unsure of which size I want to use. I will take the top to the store with me when I am done to make my final decision.

Seeing as I am so close to having a garment completed, I have left it in a pile and begun something else. I am working on the Baby Sweater on Two Needles; Practically Seamless, from Elizabehth Zimmermann’s Knitter’s Almanac. This is my first EZ pattern, and it is written a bit differently than others that I have knit. I have completed the garter-stitch yoke and have begun working the gull lace patterning. I am almost to the arms, and think I might try something different to make it seamless. EZ always encouraged us to be thinking knitters and to make our knitting our own, so it seems even more apt that I attempt to change this sweater. We shall see what happens. It may be a total wash, but that is okay. I am more than a wee bit shaky, and I think experimenting might be the best thing for me.

Wrapping Up the Round

Look what arrived in the mail the other day! Brittany knit this beautiful Shedir. I was going to wait to show it off when I could also show you the lovely gifties she sent to me and the other Skanky Knitters. Problem is, I haven't gotten to deliver the thoughtful gifts, and I do not want to spoil the surprise. Anyway, I did pretty well knitting chemo caps this round. We had two places to donate hats this time--one for children, and one for adults. Including Brittany's, I shipped sixteen hats. I guess that means it is about time to draw for the prizewinner amongst those who knit and donated a Shedir. I am excited. I also looked into sponsoring the next round and found a local cancer treatment center that would like to receive caps.

Speaking of contests, be helpful and get in on fabulous drawings over at Mandy's. She is preparing to participate in a Relay for Life event.

The smoke from the fires in Georgia and Florida made it this way. This has my head all stuffed up and my ears and throat irritated. It has also kept me inside a bit more than I would have hoped. It has kept me from getting outside and trying to capture wild animals. Each spring I try to catch, tame, and find homes for new kittens. I am rarely successful.

I am close to finishing Festive, but a picture of it would not be very exciting. I have the back, left front, and most of the right front (midway through armhole shaping) finished. I guess I need to decide whether I am going to make changes to the sleeves. It might be more trouble than it is worth. On a happier note, I believe I purchased more than a sufficient quantity of Cotlin to make this top. I may use the leftovers to knit a baby sweater. I am itching to try the baby sweater from EZ's Knitter's Almanac. There is a crop of new babies growing, and I think I might like to knit this for some of them.

And the Answer...

...is Dobby Socks! My mind was so focused on these that I was sure someone would have guessed. Here is the beginning of my Pal's socks. I want to finish and block these socks. Colorwork always looks better after blocking. Working the Golden Snitches was a bit fiddly, but I was through with them before I knew it. I hope the broomsticks turn out well. I hope to knit more of these socks. Maybe I will make a pair for myself to wear to the movie and book parties in July. Now I am wishing that the Sockapalooza4 mailing date could be July 2 instead of August 2.

Sockapalooza Yarn

The pattern has been chosen. The needles are ready and waiting. Now, all the yarn is gathered together and ready to jump on the needles. Do you know which pattern I'm using? I told some people Saturday at the yarn store. It was nice to let out the secret. I've never knit it before, and I am trying several new things with these socks. If they turn out the way I hope, these shall be spectacular.

Sale Day Adventures

A local yarn store has a sale each May for their anniversary. Sometimes I attend, but other times I do not. Several of the Skanky Knitters had planned an outing to the sale. They began at Starbucks and then proceeded to the store. I have had a hankering for some Starbucks. Friday night was not a good one, and sleep was difficult.

When I woke up Saturday morning and saw that I would miss meeting everyone for coffee I thought I would just stay home. I rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. It just was not going to happen. I went to the store with a budget and an idea of what I wanted. My plan was fiber (if it was included in the sale), Plymouth Dreambaby DK for Chemo Caps, and maybe some sock yarn. I was unsure if the fiber was on sale. Since it was, my fibery splurge was the Lorna’s Laces Combed Wool Top in Purple Club. I also picked up a bag of Blue Faced Leicester and one of Corriedale. I tried BFL for the first time on Friday night and fell in love. Since there was only one bag left, I grabbed it up at once. I do not have any Corriedale, but decided that this was a great time to pick some up to try. Then I made my way over to the Dreambaby. As it turns out, I chose the same three colors one of my fellow Skanky Knitters purchased. Of course, he will be using his for weaving, but I thought it was nifty that we picked out the same colors. Then I turned the corner to face the sock yarn. Aloud, I asked whether I really needed more sock yarn. JJ began the list of questions that either help to enable or curb a yarn purchase. One skein of Trekking XXL caught my eye immediately, and I picked it up. There was a similar ball of Trekking Pro Natura, but I put it back and got in line. We kept each other strong by continuing a conversation and turning our backs on the wall of Koigu. We paid, and I was off to the movies to see Shrek the Third with my sister and nephew. It was a good day.

Another Star on My Chart

I finally finished my latest Shedir. Whenever I knit this hat, there is a point where my progress seems to stall. I continue working on it, and the next thing I know, I am zooming on to the end. I used Magic Garden Cotton Candy Baby DK. This is from a bag of yarn given to me years ago by a friend who was cleaning out her stash in preparation for a move. This was my first time using this yarn. It is a machine washable, 70/30 cotton/wool blend. It is soft and was nice to knit with, and I think it is a great choice for this chemo cap. I was disappointed that several times they had knotted together ends to continue the ball of yarn. That is one of my yarn pet peeves. Still, it is not such a big deal in the scheme of things.

So, how is your Shedir coming along? I have it on good authority that there is one headed my way already. There is still time. I am getting ready to package together the prizes.

Speaking of prizes, I will be sending out a little something to Becky, who spotted the mystery knit under my Arwen. I am sad to say that no one was able to correctly identify what I was wearing as the Ballet Camisole that I swatched and blogged about last year. It was a bit of a bugger to finish. I had to rip out the beginning (not easy to do) because I messed up where I joined in the second ball of yarn. The top sat for months while I figured out how I would fix the unsightly mess. I carefully put in needles and frogged the first few inches and re-knit the bottom and ribbing. Weaving in the ends with this yarn is a major pain. It is hard to do so invisibly. I have been unable to get a decent picture of it. After that, crocheting around the neckline and armholes was a breeze. I might not ever buy this lovely, silky, cool, and wonderful yarn again. I know that I am not rushing to knit something with the leftovers.

Happy Mother's Day

I was finally able to give this to Mom. This may be too warm for her to ever wear. This is okay because she knows the love and dedication I put into this, and appreciates it and its beauty.

Home Alone

I have a greater appreciation for the quiet life we have. Our houseguest has moved on to the next leg of his journey, and now it is just the two of us. Still, we are glad to have had him down, especially since his health is not as we had expected. We had quite a time, and really enjoyed the wedding we all attended at Cheekwood Botanical Gardens in Nashville. No matter how wonderful a trip is, or how great a houseguest is, I am always relieved for things to return to the relative normal that is our life.

Before we headed off for Tennessee, I took a moment for myself to pick up a few knitting accessories. I experienced a happy surprise when I was able to purchase a new book at a nice discount. I love Sensational Knitted Socks, and More Sensational Knitted Socks might be even better. Ms. Schurch includes a chart of shoe sizes and widths with foot measurements in men's, women's, and children's sizes. She addresses issues of wide feet (the ball of my foot is quite wide), narrow heels, odd and even stitch counts on the heel and instep, and more. The stitchionary is great, too. This book is a wonderful resource. I know I will use it often as I knit socks. I hope it helps me to knit socks that fit even better. I will definitely be incorporating some of the things I have read in my latest pair of socks. It is another toe-up pair.

I am pretty sure that I have figured out what pattern I will use to knit for my Sockapalooza Pal. I am straying a bit from her two favorite colors. Instead, I am knitting socks which fit with one of her great loves. I am debating whether to show them here on the blog. I feel like they are such a great match with her, that if she were to see them here, she would know right away that they are for her.

So far, I have not received a single guess on the mystery tidbit from my last post. Maybe it is a bit more difficult to figure out than I had thought. I will give you all a bit more time to investigate. Since it might require a bit more work to find the answer, I have added more to the prizes. Speaking of prizes, I look forward to awarding them for the Shedir contest. You have until the end of the month.

Arwenagain

I have had some questions about how I changed the pattern to make my Arwen without a hood, and have received requests for extra photos. I am always happy to oblige, so I arranged another photo shoot. This time I braved the weather and went outside. A tiny token to whomever spots and identifies the bonus surprise.

First, however, I will tell you about my modification to make my Arwen without a hood. It was not a difficult modification. I was not sure just what I was going to do when it came time to shape the shoulder, so I followed along the directions and had my stitches for the center front in waiting on a holder. When I finished with all the other knitting of the sweater, I had decided upon an i-cord neckline. I went back and bound off the stitches on the holders. I sewed blocked and sewed everything together. After I had finished the shoulder seaming, I grabbed my dpns, and worked a three-stitch i-cord around the neckline, using a k2tog to attach as I knit. I confess that I grabbed the wrong size dpns and was nearly strangled when I tried it on the first time. It was no trouble to rip it out and work it with the correct needles. I like what I created here and the way it gave shape and structure to the neckline.

And now, to the pictures. First, we have a picture of Arwen without me. Then we have a close-up of the cabling, including a picture of some mystery cashmere/silk gift yarn. Did I ever mention that my Skanky Knitters are the best? Next, we have a couple of pictures of me wearing Arwen. These are better representations of the way Arwen looks on me. I like the way the cabling folds back naturally at the top. I do love this sweater. It is beautiful, comfortable, and an interesting knit. I enjoyed knitting it. It has inspired me to make more sweaters.

I am not getting nearly as much knitting done as I would like this week. We have a houseguest in from out-of-town. It has been an experience. Still, there have been some opportunities with the needles, and I have completed the back of my Festive and am nearly halfway through with the left front. I am considering making the sleeves a wee bit longer. The need to measure Festive makes it less suitable for on the go and in the car knitting. I need to get some socks on the needles. I have a couple of ideas of patterns and yarns to use. Whichever I choose, they are both suitable for relatively mindless knitting. I need that kind of knitting.

Speaking of socks, I have been stalking my Sockapalooza pal's blog to determine the right pattern for her. I am close to making a decision on yarn and colors. The introductions over on the Sockapalooza blog have been overwhelming. We have 1006 participants from 26 countries. I have clicked so many links, seen so many great things, and cannot remember where they all were.

While Sockapalooza has many participants, Sock Madness is down to the Final Four. The pattern will be released sometime today. This pattern sounds like it could be quite challenging. We have already been told that it is Fair Isle. It also seems like gauge could be deadly and difficult.

Timely Finish

It is nearly ninety degrees today. This means that I finished a wool sweater. It also means that you have to settle for this lousy indoor photo. Yes, I finished my Arwen. I knit this without the hood. Instead, I worked i-cord around the neckline. I like the way it turned out, but I was worried. The unique construction of the sweater made it difficult to see if I had knit the correct size for me until I had finished sewing it together. It will be a wonderful sweater to wear. However, it will be waiting quite some time to get much use. I enjoyed knitting this well enough that I could possibly knit another one some day. I knit this using Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in the color Hyacinth. I used my Knit Picks Options. The lovely points on those needles made cabling without a cable needle easy. I really do like this cardigan, and I might knit this again in a cooler fiber so that I can wear one in warmer weather, too.

Mad Prizes

SockMadnessPrizeYarn
Originally uploaded by sarahknits.

It was another wonderful day at the mailbox. My Sock Madness prize package arrived. Thank you so much, Hillary and Felicia! Everything was packaged so nicely. This 100% Blue Faced Leicester yarn is so beautiful and soft. The stitch markers are gorgeous. I brought the chocolate to a family gathering to share and we all loved it. I cannot say enough wonderful things about Sock Madness. It has been such a fun experience. I can't wait to see the remaining patterns. Round 5 begins on Friday. Best of luck to the Elite Eight!

A Case of Mad Cows

Check out these peachy keen Mad Cows I won! They fit me wonderfully and I love them. Thank you so much, Stephania! I don't recall which day they arrived, but I was so excited when they did.

You remember that achy back of last weekend? It got worse. I spent Monday evening at the ER and left loopier than I have ever been. They shot me in the behind and gave me an assortment of pills. The last week is a bit of a blur. I did not get much done, and should have attempted even less. My advice to everyone: Seam Sober! I somehow thought it was a good idea to sew my Arwen after taking those silly pills. Now I must undo those seams before I make another attempt to put my Arwen together. Anyway, I am way behind on everything. I'll get caught up eventually.

Long Weekend

The weekend seems to have dragged on forever, but I did not accomplish much of what I had hoped to do. I had hoped to finish knitting Arwen. It was not to be. I put in a good bit of time on it, but ripping out those twelve rows set me back more than a bit. I have made it to the point where I am just knitting back and forth on the long sleeve rows. Then it is the complementing set of short-rows, and I am nearly through. I am not knitting the hood on this because I do not want one. I have also lengthened the cardigan a bit. I was not sure how much longer I would make it when I finished the back. I did not bind-off the back in case I need to knit more or rip back some. I will probably knit on Arwen after I finish writing this.

Completion of my cardigan is not the only thing I was unable to do this weekend. I missed a birthday celebration of one of the Skanky Knitters on Saturday. Weather was lousy. The wind blew, the rain poured down, and the thunder rumbled. We did not even turn on the computer until Saturday evening. It would have been a good time to knit furiously on Sock Madness socks, but I would have been rattled to not be able to obsessively check the competitors' progress. In this way, it was a relief to have been knocked out of play. Still, the weather was not all that stopped me from participating in the festivities. What has given me the biggest grief this weekend has been my back. It has not been as bad as other times, but it has seemed that at any moment I could be in big trouble. I spent much of the weekend brewing herbal tea to help warm me while I applied cold packs to my back. Once or twice, I was able to stretch my back using my stability ball. If I had felt a bit stronger, I would have done a gentle, beginner yoga dvd. However, I could tell that I was not up to it, so as I worked to achieve the proper balance of not sitting, lying, or standing for too long, I knit. After I had done as much Arwen as I could stand, I knit a new chemo cap.

I used a stitch pattern from Charlene Schurch's Sensational Knitted Socks. I knit this hat using Plymouth Dreambaby DK. I love this hat. It is soft and stretchy. I think it will be a good fit for just about anyone. I can see myself knitting more of these. I am unsure of my next hat pattern. Maybe I will choose another stitch pattern from this book.

I have been flipping through many sock patterns lately. I am in search of inspiration. I will be engaging in some super-secret knitting soon. I have joined Sockapalooza 4. This is my first time participating in Sockapalooza. I hope to do well and not be a Sockapaloozer. We will get our matches soon. Then I will do more research, and begin knitting. I want to complete these well ahead of the deadline just in case life happens later. I also have some more super-secret knitting to begin. It is unlikely that the intended recipients read this blog, but I will not show you until much later, just in case.

Because I am preparing to knit so much for others, I must definitely have some things on the needles for myself. I have Arwen near the finish line. It will be a race to see if I can finish her before the weather turns so blazingly hot that I cannot wear her. For warmer weather wearing, I have Festive on the needles. I am knitting this top in Cotlin in the Moroccan Red color. It seems that many people are interested in this yarn. I want to finish this shirt and wear it so I can share more of my experiences with this yarn with all of you. So far, I give this yarn a positive score. I liked knitting with it when I used it last month to knit an Odessa. It held up well to the abuse of the beads. There is not much point in taking a picture of the knit at this point. I am working my way up the back. I have worked the waist decreases and am now increasing again. The fronts will be interesting to knit. If I follow the pattern as written, I will be knitting the seed stitch bands using smaller needles at the same time as I knit the stockinette portions on larger needles. I think my Balene II dpns will work perfectly for this. I may knit the sleeves a wee bit longer than what is written in the pattern. My greatest worry for this shirt is that I did not choose the right size. It will not be such an ordeal if I need to rip the whole thing out and knit it again, but I would rather get it right the first time.

Share a Shedir

Shedir is the most beautiful chemo cap I have knit. I would knit this pattern for a loved one. I think it is very special, and I love including it in the rotation of patterns I knit for Caps for a Cure. In fact, here are some pictures of my latest that I neglected to include in my last post. I knit this one using Sinfonia. It is a 100% mercerized cotton yarn. I liked using it, and love that it is a readily-available, economical option.

I could go on and on about the ways I adore this hat, but instead I will get to the point of this post. I would like to challenge you to knit a Shedir to be donated to Caps for a Cure. Knitting this hat makes you feel like a Knitter with a capital K. It is a bit more complex than other hats I have knit, but the pattern has clear, well-written instructions. In conjunction with the challenge, I am offering prize-y goodness. I have been compiling goodies for this, and I think you will be pleased. Not only can you have the good feelings from knitting a challenging pattern and donating it to a worthy cause, you could be a winner. So, go ahead and knit a Shedir. You can send it to me or directly to the sponsored center. This round goes until the end of May. Just email me when you finish knitting your Shedir, and I will send you the details.