Calorimetry: Hot Knit, Warm Ears

Buttoned Up

After spotting Calorimetry at kiwichickknits the other day, I've taken to it with avengence (or at least like a person who doesn't have several unfinished items on needles).

I hate having cold ears. And I hate having to pull a hat down over top of my hair clip. Now I have a solution! This buttoned head scarf is a quick knit, and does exactly what I need it to. So, I've made three!

The first one served to further reduce the ball of Ashford Tekapo that I used for Maddy's jumper (and so stained my hands). I knit this on 3.75 mm needles, and finished it off with a funky oblong button I bought for some unknown reason a while back. It's a little looser than it might be (even on my big head) but is still comfortable.

Second attempt is knit from a Cleckheaton Country Naturals wool, a rich cream with browny flecks. The same size needles were used, but this 8ply knit up smaller over the same number of stitches (and a couple less rows), and is a snug fit, and pretty much perfect.

Tweedy

And the third? Well, rather than completing a pair of socks in the same yarn, I decided to use the unallocated third ball of Vero Tweed. I'm a bit disappointed that I didn't get an of the fuschia in the finished headwarmer (I have enough to try again), but the green, blue and purple does look rather funky. This yarn is a heavier weight, and I reduced the number of stitches to about 90 from 120 (no, I didn't get a final count), and used 4 mm needles for another suitably snug fit.

So, yay for warm heads! And woo for projects that don't require much thought (especially if you're a short-row fiend like this sock knitter); like my blanket, these are perfect for taking places like Knit Rangers (which was fabulous, and much more productive for me this fortnight than last) where I spend as much time (if not more) talking as knitting!

Other knitting news? Well, I stumbled across this event, which isn't too far away, and conveniently on my day off in a couple of weeks. And, I'm starting to have sock knitting withdrawal... since the friend I was hoping to celebrate my birthday with is either dead or ignoring me, tomorrow may be a sock knitting evening for me.