I had hoped to be able to show you today photos of Mum’s birthday present, completed and modeled, but that was predicated on having finished it. As it is, I am still knitting away, although she did gamely drape the unfinished shawl over herself Thursday night when I delivered it still on the needles. Last night I suggested that it was long enough to stay in place if I let her wear it with the circular needles attached and tied in a jaunty bow.

So, that project will be re-presented at Thanksgiving, when, hopefully, I will also have discovered a way to set the Blue Skies Alpaca Silk dye. Does anyone know if dunking it in a vinegar bath will ruin the silk? I’m going to poke around Ravelry to see if they have suggestions, as well, but figured it was worth putting it out there. How frustrating to spend money on supposedly high quality yarn and to come away from the experience with peacock fingers and a green shadow on the back of my ring finger where I carry the yarn for tensioning…

Instead, I will off you a photo of a green hat I finished back as a part of Single Skein September. I delivered it to Marshall (and Karen and Michael) over Columbus Day weekend, but forgot the camera, so you’ll just have to imagine how cute it looked on him based on how adorable it was on Barry:

This is Sprout, designed by Melissa Goodale and named for the little leafy lace design that decorates the body of the hat. It doesn’t show up as well on Barry’s head as it does on a baby’s because the dimensions are slightly different. Personally, my favorite bit is the little decoration just above the ribbing on the brim.

I bought the pattern as part of a kit from Hazel Knits at Sock Summit, specifically with Marshall (and Karen) in mind. I think the Hazel Knits Artisan Sock Yarn colorway is ShannyPants, although I’m not positive. I loved the yarn and would definitely work with it again. The semi-solid color just glowed, the yarn wasn’t splitty, and I felt like there wasn’t the halo that some of my knitting projects acquire from being stuffed back into my bag during commutes.

I knit the largest size, intended for the 6-12-month-sized head, which used up probably two-thirds to three-quarters of the 100-yard skein the kit included. Coming from a family of large-headed people, I figured it was better to size up, rather than hope the hat would fit what sized head the designer believed a 3-6-month old should possesses.