Knitting bits

In the spring, I made a gorgeous Sweet Eleanor cabled hat and donated it to the auction for The Thacher School, which my friend Kelli's daughter attends. Kelli attended the auction and bid on the hat, but did not win it. I decided that I would knit a hat from the same pattern for Kelli's birthday in October.

I chose Manos del Uruguay Silk Blend and my oh my, the 70% Merino and 30% silk blend feels fabulous. Kelli likes earth tones and I think the colorway integrated beautifully many different earthy colors:


Here is a close-up of the crown, which has an interesting pattern that almost resembles a flower, or a star:


Kelli received the hat the day before her birthday and sent me a happy thank you text message. She lives in South Carolina, so it may be a while before she has the need for a hat.

This week I finished a quick little knit for me. I bought the yarn and pattern at the Old Forge Hardware and it was my first time to knit with Noro Silk Garden. Honestly, I was not impressed. It seemed very rough for yarn that is 45% silk (along with 45% Mohair and 10% wool) but it did soften a bit after it was soaked in Eucalan. It is more a decorative scarf, as in I will wear it indoors as an accessory rather than to keep warm outside:

I like the scarf just fine, but I definitely have the need to knit Noro out of my system.

Note: I used my neighbor Cindy's fence to photograph it - thank you, Cindy!