FO: Chutes and Also Ladders

You guys will never guess what I finished in time to wear in our freakish weather.  That's right -- another hat!  I know, I have a serious addiction.  But for some reason when I knit a hat I cannot knit just one.  I have to knit like 12.  Currently I have no more on the needles, but we shall see how long that lasts.

This is Chutes, and Also Ladders by Alex Tinsley, which I knit for the first deadline in Stash and Burn's Use It or Lose It challenge.  The challenge is designed to help you fall back in love with your stash by picking a different stash yarn every challenge period to either use, frog an old project, or send off to a new home.  This  Aslan Trends Invernal is from my first ever Webs order in December 2009.  As far as I can tell the yarn from this order is the oldest yarn in my stash and is my most confusing "what the frak was I thinking" items.  Evidently I was just waiting for this pattern to come along.

The pattern is written for a luxury DK held double, so this lighter worsted worked well in substitution.  The alpaca gives it a nice drape and the added sparkle peaks out nicely from the pattern.  The hat itself was a very easy and fast knit.  The pattern is only charted rather than written line by line, but it was very easy to learn where the pattern was headed and follow the chart.  As with all of Alex's patterns, I highly recommend this if you have a fun yarn you have not been able to find a use for.  I do not think it would work well in a variegated yarn, but for the sparkly solids it is just about perfect.

To see more lovely FOs, check out the gang over at Tami's Amis by clicking on the image below.

FO: Petoncle

Last month I got the opportunity to do one of those things some knitters daydream about, but not all of us get to actually try -- I got to test knit.  I wore it to work the day after I finished and somehow telling my coworker that it was  a test knit for my favorite hat designer did not have quite the impact I would have thought.  But you guys understand, right?

The latest design from Alexandra Tinsley, Petoncle, is everything I have come to expect from Alex.  Straightforward and clear layout, with a pattern that is deceptively simple.  The pattern itself uses more colors than I did, but what I immediately loved about this pattern was its potential to use worsted leftovers.  For my version I used three colors.  The grey is Dragonfly Fibers Selkie, leftover from Shipwreck Cove; the white is Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool; and the purple is the end of my Yarn Love Anne Shirley that I used for a hat last year.

I volunteered to knit the size large because I know that I have a larger circumference head, but I probably could have done with the small no problem.  The reality of a size large that I did not consider is the fact that it is longer than the beanie style, which actually makes it even more fun.  Actually, I must admit that I have taken to sleeping in this hat.  It is just so comfortable!  And it is sometimes cold here but I refuse to turn up the heat.

Alright.  So there you have it.  A wonderfully customizable hat from the lovely Ms Tinsley.  If  you have never tried color work before, this may be the pattern for you.

In the meantime, check out the other wonderful finished objects over at Tami's Amis.