Living in the now

As a nod to the New Year, I am going to pause in my catch-up of the stuff I've been doing in the past few months, and show you the stuff I've been working on lately.

Firstly, I started making myself a balaclava. I need one because, although my winter coat this year has a hood that does up very snugly to block most of the wind from reaching my (terribly sensitive and wussy) ears, an extra lining of protection for my ears would be a smart thing to have. Also, the collar of the coat comes up only to about my chin, so I need something to cover up my nose and mouth, too. This hasn't been a big deal so far because the winter hasn't been very serious so far, but, as it always does, it will get very cold and windy over the next few months and I want to be comfortable on the (inevitable) days when my commuter train is delayed.

Nikol Lohr's From Russia, with Love pattern will take care of both these requirements very nicely. I'm using some of the pinkish-red Angora Extra in my stash, doubled up. It's looking really good:

As you can see, the cable is coming out very nicely, and it feels bee-yew-tifully soft. Unfortunately, I am struggling working with the angora, as it keeps shedding as I knit, flying up into my nose and my mouth. This does not bode well for having it as a nose- and mouth- warmer! So I'm not sure how successfully this project will turn out.

However, it's been put on the back-burner temporarily, as I am now concentrating on making Anna Dalvi's Ironwrought Scarf. This is a beautiful pattern that I think could be written more clearly, but it's still quite comprehensible. I got off to a very good start right after Christmas:

And I'm now chugging along on the main pattern:

The yarn is Meilenweit 50 Seta/Cashmere from Lana Grossa from my stash, which is a really nice 65% merino/15% silk/16% nylon/4% cashmere blend.

The scarf is going to be for my grandmother, who turns 95 soon, and we are having a party for her this weekend. I'm adjusting the pattern slightly so that it's a bit wider and a bit shorter. (The finished length given in the pattern is 80". My grandmother is probably around 4 foot 9. No woman of that height needs an 80"-long scarf! I'm aiming for somewhere in the neighbourhood of 50-55 inches instead.)

Shouldn't be a problem having the whole thing done for the weekend. I hope not, anyway!