Done!

Since my last post, Sprite chose her prizes:  a $20 gift card to Amazon and a skein of purple sock yarn.  I have a few skeins of purple, so I sent her a 'collectible' skein - the October 2009 Mean Girls Yarn Club color, Shellfish Bitch.  I of course never took a picture of it, but Turtlegirl has a good picture of it here on Ravelry.

A month or so ago, I mentioned that I was working on Peaks Island Hood for my co-worker, Kelly.  I finished it, Ravelry says, on January 16.  I have to say that this was a somewhat frustrating knit.  I am a great pattern-follower -- I suspect that's because I'm not original enough to come up with patterns of my own -- but this one really was unclear in places.  "Work in pattern" only means something once the pattern is established, and this is especially true when there's more than one pattern going on.  I generally love Ysolda's patterns, so I'm not sure why this one is problematic.  However, once I figured out what was going on, it moved quickly - I always forget that bulky yarn and big needles do that!

Anyway -- it's done.  I didn't get a picture of Kelly wearing it yet, and the close-up pictures I have don't do it justice.  They all make it look like the colorway has a lot of blue in it, but it doesn't really.  It's much more browns/black/golds.  Nevertheless, if you embiggen this picture, you can see the shell detail right there above the stitch marker.

Details:
Pattern:  Peaks Island Hood by Ysolda Teague
Yarn: Manos del Uruguay Maxima in M8881 (Beehive)
Needles:  giant US 9s!
Mods:  As written, this scarf is designed to have one end much longer than the other. The long end wraps around the neck and has buttons on it, while the short end has button holes to hold it all in place.  Kelly and I both thought that two long ends, and no buttons, would work better.  Although I bought extra yarn, I really could have used another skein.  After splicing together every little piece I could find, the second end is about three inches shorter than the first.  However, I'm not sure anyone will notice it while she's wearing it!

In the nine days since I finished Kelly's hood, I also finished my Pea Vines small shawl, which I love, love, love, and started a coordinating pair of Sidecar Mittens.  More on them next time!