Hats Off to the New Year!

Happy New Year!  

I had a very nice time ringing in the New Year last night by going dancing.  The kind of dance event was what we call around here, a couples dance.  If you are not familiar, that means an evening with a variety of dances, like waltz, two-step, swing, hambo & schottich (lovely Scandinavian dances), and others.  The common element is that you must have a partner for these dances, hence the "couples dance" label.  

There was live music for the 2 hours from 8:30 - 10:30:  a piano & violin (Sandra Wong - she is amazing!!!).  The musicians were excellent!  They also played quite a few Argentine tangos, which is my passionate favorite!  (although it was not really a milonga (Argentine tango) evening)  And, because we have such a vibrant, active & varied dance community here, there were a few Greek folk dances to spice things up too!  One of the great things about this area is that, on any night of the week, you can choose among multiple kinds of dances to attend! (folk dance, couples dances, Scandinavian dance, swing, Latin, Argentine tango, etc.)

On the knitting front, my year, as did last year, has begun with finished hats.  There has been no conscious plan to make new hats on New Year's days, but it has turned out so by chance.  Last year I finished up my Gemma beret on New Year's day.  This year, I have finished up two more hats.

First, is the Purl Beret.  It is made with one skein of Koigu wool, my first time using this yarn.  Very nice yarn, and the colors play tricks according to the lighting.  While I was knitting it, this looked mostly olive color, with some subtle hints of light & dark rose color.  Then, when I wet it to block it, suddenly it looked mostly light & dark rose, with some spots of brown.  Hmmmm.  Nice yarn though!  

Pattern:  Purl Beret

Yarn:  Koigu KPPPM, color P319

Needles:  size 3

Then, I finished up my Rose Red.  I had started this about a month ago, and ran out of yarn.  What to do?  A friend gave me some bamboo yarn that matched the colors really well.  I was bummed that I had to use another color to finish up, but now, I actually like it better.  I think the darker green band really sets off the hat nicely!  And it is the same color as the strand of Kidsilk Haze that I was holding together with the silk yarn.  I love the result!

Pattern:  Rose Red, by Ysolda Teague

Yarn:  Lambspun silk, Rowan Kidsilk Haze, & unknown bamboo

Needles:  size 6

Now that more hats are off the needles, I am looking around for something new as an on-the-side small project to work on along with my Sylvi.  Hmmmmm...........(Do you doubt that I will find something????)