Copperhead/Copper Dragon

I’ve been something of a slacker with my knitting since the mad Christmas rush is over. I don’t know. Without the mind numbing terror of not finishing on time sense of urgency of a holiday deadline, I seem to be knitting slower.

Anyway. I had gotten this hat pattern before Christmas, thinking if I finished Christmas knitting in time, I would make it for myself. Ha! At least I’m half right.

Made it for me.

(Although, that doesn’t mean M won’t abscond with it at some point. Jeez! I literally just found my black sweater, which she swears she didn’t have but that mysteriously appeared a few days after her cleaning out her closet. I realize that’s all circumstantial evidence, but Perry Mason isn’t here, am I right? I know what happened to my favorite black sweater, even if there is no definitive proof.)

So this is the Knotty Beret, by Ninja Eema. Called so, I believe, because of the knot on the top. (Although, if you just say it out loud, it sounds like Naughty Beret, and that could be quite interesting, indeed!) Ninja Eema recommends Wool-Ease or Vanna’s Choice, and of course I have that. This is Vanna’s Choice (Which, btw, is a very nice yarn and unless you are the most devout of yarn snobs, I’m sure you will be happy with it. And a vast array of colors. You know I am notorious for shutting scarves in car doors or dropping hats and gloves in parking lots, so this is perfect because it is washable.) The color is Tangerine Mist, but I think it’s a little more coppery. Hence my renaming of the hat. I used a little less than one skein. Used #5 circs, which is to pattern... unusual for me.

I also loved the bumpy pattern of the Dragon Scale Keyhole Scarf, by Holly Klein. She used a handpainted yarn and I may do another with some blue/green yarn I picked up at the Hoosier Hills Yarn Festival this summer, but this time, I just couldn’t resist the play on words!

So this is my Copper Dragon Scarf, with the same Tangerine Copper yarn as the scarf. Took three full skeins and the bit that was left over from the hat. I adjusted this pattern a bit, since I didn’t really want a scarf as wide as the original. I’ve cast on fewer stitches, without altering the pattern much. The pattern called for #7s, and I used #6s.

I like this little slit, which will allow me to snug the scarf up against my neck because you know what a wimp I am when it comes to the cold. But I won’t have to deal with that big wad of scarf you get when you knot it or wrap it around your neck multiple times.

These are finished in a timely manner, since it is effin’ cold here!