Fiddling with a delicious brown.

About a year ago, my mind set itself on making some legwarmer-type spats to go with my brown heels.  I purchased a few skeins of Cashmerino Superbulky by Debbie Bliss in a particularly delicious & complementary shade of chocolate brown.  The project turned out to be quite a bit of FAIL.  Some things are not meant to be.

Undaunted, I ripped them out, bought some very complementary burgundy mohair as an accent, and knitted myself a set of Cleaves from Knitty.  Great pattern.  Great concept.  Great look.  Impossible to work with my personality & style.  I move too much, I swing my arms when I walk, I can't make the ribbed collar stop flipping up all the way around.  They made a wear & half at one Homecoming & were retired.

So they sat on a chair in my bedroom.  For over a year.  Now with my trip to Northern Europe, I'm looking to swell my collection of knitted woolen accessories.  The Cleaves created by a San Fransiscan resident were in no way reasonable for the trip.  The yarn, however...

Frogged for the second time, the Cashmerino yarn was held doubled with a single strand of the KidSilk and knit on size 13 needles in moss stitch with 11 stitches cast on until I ran out of both yarns.  Or so I thought.  I got a scarf 6 inches wide & seven feet long of what should prove to be exquisite warmth.  But I also ended up with a 5th skein of Cashmerino & no KidSilk to go with it.

After a bit of fiddling, I've decided to attempt for a hat made of unorthodox construction.  First, a strip of fabric going from crown to nape.  Then pick up stitches around either side & work a section of hat decreases on either side.  In theory, it should work, but we shall see how it turns out...