Swatchless

I’m looking forward to wrapping up some of my recent knitting, but decided to take some pictures of things first.

The first is the Lotus Hat knit from a bamboo cotton blend.  I LOVE the turquoise colour, and how the lace pattern works out, particularly at the crown of the hat.  The stitch definition of the bamboo cotton blend is lovely, but next time I knit this hat I will knit it on circulars.  The yarn is slippery, and when the lace pattern falls off the needles it was often tricky to get all of the slipped stitches back on properly.  I absolutely love the pattern though, and it looks much more complicated than it really is.  I lengthened the hat a little because this is intended to be a chemo cap, so the extra bit of length can cover the entire head comfortably.  I’m not sure how the bamboo/cotton blend will last–it is not elastic like wool, so it might stretch with wear.  It is easy to care for though, machine wash and dry.

The second project, fresh off the needles tonight is a pair of mittens.  These are the Spruce Mittens, from the Fox and Geese and Fences pattern book by Robin Hansen.  These particular mittens are knit in a dark brown and lighter brown wool (Georga wool, which is surprisingly soft and silky despite being 100% wool).  The cuff is seed stitch because I do not like to do a lot of ribbing.  I’m not sure who these mittens will be for–I took an informal poll at work today to see if they would suit both men and women, and the results were mixed.  What do you think?

If not clear from the picture, I’ve been busy with some baking and cookie decorating too!