It’s Furious Balancing

From time to time, I become besotted with certain yarn.  Sometimes it’s the brand and sometimes it’s the color.  I remember being captivated by a bright orange/pink/gold hank of Alchemy Silk Purse.

I was browsing Ravelry (which is always a dangerous occupation) looking for a lace scarf or shawl pattern, when I saw a project done with Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light in a colorway called Calligraphy.  It hit my Vintage, Victorian and Retro buttons, so I ordered two hanks of it right away from The Loopy Ewe.

I was not disappointed.

The first thought that came to my mind was “Miss Havisham.” I usually think of her when the autumn rolls around.  A faded bridal bouquet.  The rustle of moldering silk.  Genteel decay.  Shadows.

I’m going to try the Deep Peace shawl/scarf with it.   Try is the operative word.  I know my knitting skills are up to it, but I don’t know about my ability to focus.  Another thing that comes around with the cooler weather is a bad case of Startitis.

Okay, then.  Have I thrown out enough distractions?  Bored the non-knitters to tears?  Maybe I should toss in another photograph, or a bit of poetry…. Whatever it takes to keep the readership down to the knitters and allows me to get to the raison d’etre of this particular post: hand-knit Christmas gifts.

If you’re one of my sisters-in-law (on Teh Husband’s side of the family), stop reading now.

Really.

We mean it.

Click here to continue reading and see the pretty pictures, unless you’re one of my sisters-in-law.  You don’t want this cat to go medieval on your butt now, do you?

It started with the fall catalogs.  I could tell that that this Long, Hot, Miserable, Satan’s Arsehole of a Summer would soon be gone.  Then came the fall knitting magazines, both in print and online.  Sweaters!  Mittens!  Wool!  Cozy stuff!  As soon as I finished the ESTJ Socks, I cast on a lightweight beret for myself.

Pattern: Anthera from Twist Collective.  For a mere $6.00, you get a pattern for a beret, cowl, and cuffs.  Instructions are charted, not written out.  Twist Collective has great charts in terms of legibility and ease of use, so don’t wimp out if you’re chart-phobic.  If you can knit, purl, yarn over, ssk, and k2tog, you can make this beret.  I can’t believe that I’m the only person on Ravelry who has made this beret thus far.

Yarn: Louisa Harding Kimono Angora Pure (70% angora, 25% wool, 5% nylon) in Color No. 6, Teal.  I say it’s Turquoise.  Approx. 90 yards.

Size: One size.

Needles: US size 4 and 5 (3.5 mm  and 3.75 mm, respectively) both Brittany Birch DPN’s and Addi Natura 16″ circular

Mods: None, other than the absence of a dorky i-cord macaroni thingy on top.  I’m not fond of dorky i-cord macaroni thingies, so I just left it out.

Comments: This needed Aggressive Blocking to get it to the point where I thought it had enough slouch to be called a beret.   Aggressive Blocking translates to a full 30-minute soak in Soak and a 10½ inch dinner plate.   The lace pattern really opened up.  If you like a lot of slouch in your berets, I think you could do an additional repeat of Rows 1-12 from Chart A and add about 1½ to 2 inches to the depth of the hat.

This is perfect for fall.  I plan on wearing it with my brown leather jacket and Norovirus Scarf v. 2.0