Airplane Projects

I finished Amy's ear flap hat that I started on the way down to CA while I was there, in the evenings. It was a really quick knit because I had only an hour or two at night to work on it and I still got it all done except the finishing. I had her try it on last night and it is too big. So I'm going to rip back and do it again. I may go all the way to the cast on because I don't like the hole at the top. I know I can close it up with a needle, but I'm thinking of using the same Magic-Cast On I use for toe-up socks.



On the way to the airport in Burbank from Oxnard where I was working, I stopped at two yarn stores. The first one was Stitch Cafe. They had some merino wool yarn with sterling silver in it that I almost bought but at $24 a skein, I decided it was just a little to pricey, especially since I didn't know what I would do with it.

The other store I stopped at was Unwind on Hollywood Way literally 5 minutes from the airport. Stephenie has a nice sized store with lots of great yarns. I just enjoyed walking around the store and looking at everything. I asked Stephanie about an easy one skein project I could knit on the plane. She showed me a couple of scarfs but they would have required me to think more then I had wanted to on the plane.

So she showed me a project called Beech Wood, a neck warmer, that takes two skeins of Manos Silk Blend . She gave me the pattern (which is no longer available on the Ilga Leja site directly but is available, without pictures, on the web archive site here) and a stitch marker.

She also let me use her ball winder. Here it is after it was wound. Stephanie showed me a trick on how to undo the knots/wraps on the Manos skeins so that you don't lose any yarn.



This is a really lovely yarn. The colors are great and I love the sheen that the silk gives the wool. It knits up pretty too.

I started the neckwarmer in the store on size 5 needles and it was way too small. So I traded in those neeedles for a size 8. I think it is a better size but they are 16" length (I meant to get the 24"... but this will be better for hats) and I can't really tell. I may move it onto my Denise needles so I can get a better look at it.

I got about 3/4th through the first repeat which is a 32 row pattern stitch while waiting in the terminal and on the plane.



Now, I've got 5 WIPs (a first for me I think!) and I need to get back to my Mr. Greenjean for my sweater along too!