Jean's Chicabean

I've had another quick diversion away from all the mainstream WIPs - this time to make a thankyou present for Jean after she gave us a lot of lovely pyrex cookware. It's been hiding until now, but they've been handed over to their new owner so I can show you the pics.

I used 4 balls of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran in cream and 5mm needles to make the Chicabean hat and scarf by Kelly-Green Rogue. The yarn is really lovely, and I'm pleased with the results. So much so, I think I'm actually going to get back on ebay and buy some more to make a set for myself while it's still on sale!

Hat mods: an extra row of the 1x1rib, and one less pattern repeat before starting the decreases. Glad I did this because it's a good size as it is, I think it would have been too big with another repeat. I used just over 1 ball for the hat, and the rest went on the scarf.

Scarf mods: I did 2 lace sections rather than 3, and put the cables right on the edges rather than having a flat edge. I wanted to make the scarf look ok from the back too (who can wear a scarf and only show the 'front'??), so I made the cables reversible by doing them over 8st in a 1x1rib. So all in all I cast on 8+5+8+5+8=34st. I was a bit worried that it would be too thin, but the blocking sorted that out and it was a fairly standard scarf width in the end.

Oh, and here's ANOTHER WIP. This one's a bit of an emergency, because it's for my mum's birthday which is on 12th March. I've finished the first two charts and am just about to make a start on the section with the peacock eyes. Argh! All those little stitches and lace patterns! I bought some Addi circular needles especially designed for lace knitting (sharp and pointy!), and they're really making a big difference. It's so much easier to get in and manipulate the stitches. Hopefully I'll be able to show you some nice pics of completed peacock eyes by the end of the weekend...