In Which a Scarf and Hat are Knit, and New Projects Begin

We had a lovely holiday here, and enjoyed spending time with our friends and family.  There was delicious food, good conversation, and lots of fun.  Also, I finally got around to finishing a few things.

McGregor's Garden Scarf (aka Misty Garden by Jo Sharp), knit in Fleece Artist Peter Rabbit (colour: glacier).

It was lovely to work with the yarn, even if it did make me sneeze now and again (luckily it's not for me, so I don't have to worry about the sneezing part). It’s very soft, and I love the colours.  I picked this up now and again, not being in a huge hurry to finish it, then, when I realized the other day that I only had a few inches to go to complete the scarf, I ignored other projects, and put in an hour or so to get it done.

Spry by Stacey Trock



This was fun and quick, except for the weighing and re-splicing all the yarn after I misread the instructions, having split the two skeins into six balls rather than the required four. Luckily, in the gift-grab game on Christmas (you know, the one where everyone brings a gift, puts it in a pile, then everyone gets to take turns picking from the pile or stealing gifts) I managed to nab a digital scale.  I spent a good hour or two weighing, splicing, re-weighing and re-organizing the six balls into four, and hoping I found the right places to splice them together. 



I'm happy with my fun and colourful hat.  It’s almost a bit too snug on my 22” head (I won’t be needing the suggested elastic myself), but I could always try stretching it a bit more.

As a treat to start off the New Year, I'll be knitting a shawl for myself.  It took me a very long time to wind all the yarn (lace-weight silk; more on the shawl and yarn soon), but I'm finally ready to get started.  Over the next while, I'm planning to alternate between the shawl and mittens for a friend (just finished swatching some soft and fuzzy alpaca for these).

Oh, and I haven't forgotten my husband's socks; I've turned the heel, and just need to work the foot and toe now.  I think I'll have these in my purse for a portable project.  Starting any new crafty projects for the New Year?  I promise it's much more fun than worrying about resolutions, and easier to stick to as well!