11.23.2008

Pattern: Thorpe
For: Ashton
Yarn: ~86 yds Muench Black Forest Naturwolle in Hawaii for the top; ~49 yds Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Bulky in Blue Blood Red for the rest
Needles: US 9 KP Options
Hook: Size H
Timeline: started 11.19.2008; finished 11.21.2008

This is a cute, simple pattern. I didn't think it was really my style, but I could see myself making one for really, really cold days. I actually like the feel of the ear flaps. If I do make it again, I'll probably go down a needle size on the garter stitch section. I was a bit worried that it was going to be too small and my gauge seemed a bit tighter than it should have been, so I ended up doing 2 extra rounds of increases. In all honestly, I probably would have been fine with it as written, or maybe with just one extra round of increases.

I bought this Naturwolle a while ago and didn't have any luck with finding a pattern for it, but finally found a good match in this pattern. I really like how this colorway looks knitted up. I knew I was going to run out of the Naturwolle before finishing, but I was luckily at my LYS (Loopy Yarns) and grabbed a skein Lamb's Pride Bulky that matched the red perfectly. Just wonderful.

Oh, and I actually managed to figure out how to do a decent half double crochet. I'm rather impressed with myself. I did go up a hook size because I tend to be stupidly tense when I crochet.