One Down

It’s cozy here today, a day for the computer and catching up.  I was out yesterday for a bike rally function, came home late, and it was -20 out,  and I’ve spent most of today drinking tea, snuggling under a blanket on the couch, and trying to get warm while doing laundry with the power of my mind.  (No luck yet, will keep you posted.)  Though winter was late arriving in Toronto, it’s here for sure now, settling into real cold and flurries, and an inside day was just perfect.  It is a very good day to think about wool. I’ve got a laceweight shawl on the needles, and all day I’ve been looking at it and thinking it’s not right. Not defence enough for what’s out there, and I’m thinking that (even though I have a date to finish it in mind) that I should have big wool on the needles. Something bulky and fierce to knit along with my hot tea. I’ll make up my mind a little later when I sit down to knit, but for now, wanna see a hat?

peacocktam 2016-01-18

It’s the Peacock Tam, available as a kit from Mrs Knitter, though I’m pretty sure I bought it at a shop somewhere in my travels. The kit was the perfect thing for a project like this, one that takes only a little bit of lots of colours of yarn – a lot cheaper than buying full skeins of the Jaggerspun Maine Line 2/8 that it calls for.  I had a lot leftover after knitting it too – maybe even enough to knit another, though it feels a bit risky to try.

peacocktam2 2016-01-18

I knit it while we were on holiday, mostly when I was sitting still, rather than bumping along on crazy roads while trying to juggle a chart and multiple wee balls of yarn. It was the perfect project to have with me – the blue was like the ocean, the green like the trees – it’s a silly thing to enjoy matching a project to your surroundings, but it amused me to no end.

I finished it up when I got home (those ends! I felt like I was weaving ends in forever) and blocked it over a dinner plate, plunked down near a heating vent in the living room. (It is a constant source of joy to me that Joe no longer inquires about scenes like that. A plate with a hat on it in the living room, and he doesn’t say a word.)  I’m really happy with it, and the best part, is that it’s January 18th, and I’ve just finished the first Christmas present for this year. Shazam.  One down, so many to go, but at least it’s a proper start. I told you, this year is going to be different.