Short Row Hat & Entrelac Scarf

Two finished objects to show you today!!

D, while working, was taken hostage as the model of my photoshoot

Let's start with the hat... a bit of a surprise, actually. One of those sudden urge knits. After finishing the scarf, I had about a ball and a half of the Mille Colori left so I thought I'd try the Short Row Hat by Veronik Avery, which had been on my to-knit list for a while, and...

Excuse the unwoven end poking out the top

Wow. The pattern is sooooo interesting. Awesome. Super addictive to knit. I literally couldn't put it down because I was so intrigued by how the colours were coming together and the way the hat was shaping itself. Although it looks like entrelac, the diamonds are actually cleverly done with short rows. And, the hat is neither knit top down or bottom up; it's sectional. Sooo cool. This must have been such a pain in the butt to design, but what a great pattern!

Hat Pattern: Short Row Hat by Veronik Avery

Scarf pattern: Entrelac Scarf by Allison LoCicero
Yarn: Lang Mille Colori, 3.5 skeins for scarf, 1.5 skein for hat
Needles: US8 circulars and dpns

This wins as the fastest project I have ever knit - I started on Friday afternoon and finished on Saturday evening, and I'm guessing it took about 7 hours from start to finish. Measured in other terms, this hat equaled 8 episodes of the first season of the West Wing.

Trying to photograph the top of the hat on myself.
Clearly, not such a successful idea.

I am really excited about wearing these now that the weather's getting chillier. I know they're not meant to be a set, but I kind of like them in combination, although it is a whole lotta squares. What do you think? Hat and scarf together are a little too much?

Entrelac, Socks and Mohair

Though it may not seem it, I've actually been knitting... from left to right:

1) Mohair Portrait Scarf by Veronik Avery in Kidsilk Haze (which, I confess, is some of the most expensive yarn I have ever splurged on...) I got a good chunk of the scarf done en route to Zarafa's wedding.
2) Entrelac Scarf by Allison LoCicero in Lang Mille Colori, which I bought THREE years ago in Chicago. Wow, that was a long time ago. I am loving knitting entrelac. I don't even know what that word means, but it's lovely. This thing is addictive to knit. It's hard to put it down.
3) Socks for Veronik by Mona Schmidt, from the Interweave Holiday Knits 2007 issue. I'm using some weird string-like variegated blue sock yarn I bought on sale a few years ago...can't wait to be done with it.

It feels like forever since I finished a knitted project! I've got all sorts of things piled up in corners around the house and I've been lazy about finishing them. Urgh. I wouldn't say I'm in a crafting rut, b/c I've always got lots of ideas for things I want to make, but I'm definitely in a 'get it done' kind of rut. To up our motivation, Devon convinced me that we should both post our progress shots every day we craft; accountability should theoretically result in some increase in productivity.

Well, this is totally not the craft I intended on doing today, but what the heck. Sewing can wait. I blocked the partly knitted entrelac to see how big it got, and boy did it grow in the water. It's a big one! I think I can bind off now...