Norah, FO

This past weekend was far busier than I expected. Although I'd hoped to finish a hat, wind a warp, piece a quilt back and begin quilting said quilt. Instead, I:

1. Advanced from white to yellow belt and broke a board. I study at the Mid-Michigan Academy of Martial Arts, which is a mixed martial arts school. I love it. And for a beginner, I'm pretty decent.
2. Finished Norah!
   
   I cast-off Norah with angst. It looked too tall, the tick/lice patterning was bumply and it looked distinctly homemade. Indeed, the hat could stand to be about an inch shorter, but it fits and is warm (I wore it to work today). Blocking smoothed out a lot of the bumps and frumps. I like the hat. In time, it may just replace my beloved Kittiwake. Full details on Ravelry.
3. I did manage to piece the quilt back. Two cuts and one seam. Easy. A little more challenging with a toddler helping, but it got done. Said toddler also wanted to help with making the quilt sandwich, but since she couldn't help but walk all over the quilt, well, that was not about to happen.
4. No warping, but I did pull together the necessary materials, including the pattern and the yarn, both of which had been marinating in the stash for several years.

Norah Hat, Redux

Fair Isle knitting. Well. It has long daunted me and I can't quite explain why. Not that it is easy - but it is not hard. And not that my little Norah Hat is perfect. My first attempt was way too tight - a 16" circumference hat rather than 20". My second attempt is, perhaps, too loose but blocking fixes many sins and it may just help the two colors meld together better than they currently do.

I knit with both colors in my left hand. I tried briefly to hold one in my right and failed completely. It just didn't work for me. Ravelry to the rescue with a techniques video (which I can't seem to find just now)... in any case, two colors, one hand and away we go.

It's given me confidence to look a little more honestly at the the Endpaper Mitts. I have 2 skeins of Louet Gems Fingering Weight in a pale blue and a gift certificate to Threadbear... might have to swing over there for some contrasting cream or white!

Norah

Well, Tuesday certainly got away from me, didn't it? Nary a peep from this knitter.

Norah arrived safely last Wednesday and I cast on as soon as time permitted - i.e., Saturday. The first bit is cotton, which gets folded up and hemmed to the inside. Makes wearing the hat less itchy. And indeed, that's all I had time to complete. So imagine a ring of stockinette, 2 1/2 inches, in navy blue. Thrilling, no?

About that color - navy. Yeah, the blue is a bit more navy that I generally like, but it will still contrast nicely with the eggshell white. The end hat - if knit properly - will still be stunning. Plus, if all goes well, this will be just the first of many color-work projects.

In mourning...

for the hole that has emerged in my dear, beloved Kittiwake.

Of all the hats in the world, this hat - my first Starmore project - was perfect. It was warm, not too scratchy and fit over any number of hair styles. I will miss this hat. True, I could darn the hole - though it emerged right on the edge of a cable. Instead, I decided to follow Teresa's example and knit a  hat as one of my first colorwork knitting projects. Late Saturday night (after a most satisfying round of Mario Galaxy), I ordered Norah from Bea Ellis:

Colors 0010 (white) and 5473 (deep teal). I am *so* excited. I do hope the kit arrives before I leave for MN - I really want to get started right away!