Sisterly Love

Happy holidays everyone!

It's been absolute chaos here in NYC. We were graced with approximately two feet of snow and an uncaring mayor who neglected to send snow plowers to clear our streets. It's not like we have anything to do, like go to work, school, errands etc. But 'tis the season not to bitch, so let's turn this into a positive: Pristine snow is beautiful to experience, and all the better to break out our handknits.

I was pleasantly surprised when my sister, looking at my kicky red beret I knit, requested one for herself. So I whipped one up as soon as time could permit.

And the details are: :drumroll:

Early Mornings Beret by Hannah Fettig
Needle: US 7
Yarn: Lion Brand Lion Cashmere Blend, wine
Skeins: ~2

Overall this was a quick and nifty pattern. I followed the well-written pattern in its entirety and decided that it was a bit too slouchy, so I modified the crown decreases. Rather than decrease 1 stitch per section (i.e. 11 stitches decreased total), I decreased by K2TOG, knitting until two stitches before the marker and then SSK per section (22 stitches decreased). I think this version suits me better.



I like the star effect.

 I was pleasantly surprised with the yarn. I haven't been a huge fan of Lionbrand yarns (Funfur, anyone?), but recently they've been trying to create natural, hard-wearing fibers that are quite nice. Anyway, the cashmere blend was soft to work with and has beautiful stitch definition. It is on the expensive side but Michael's coupons take care of that. Let's hope that it doesn't felt or fuzz something fierce.

I chose this color because my sister works at a serious business corporation and thought that it's a nice semi-neutral. Visually interesting but not inappropriate.

Christmas has come and gone but it's never too late to gift handknit items, no?