Magnum opus.

I've finally finished my first super bulky project, and it's a two-fer: the Wisteria Scarf and the Aspen Hat, both designs by Wenlan Chia.

I totally adore this scarf. My fellow knitpistol Audrey made it for her mother, and I loved how long she made it (although I didn't realize it at the time that she simply used up all her Twinkle). I used Cascade Magnum, which has more yardage per skein, so I had plenty leftover to play with. While I felt a little cartoonish working with size 35 needles, it was certainly a quick knit between the superbulky yarn, humongeous needles, and lace pattern. Before I knew it, I'd added another 20 inches to the length, which turned out to be enough length that I could wrap it around my neck and still have it hang down to my thighs, adding more warmth to my black leather coat. The feel of this yarnporn is FABULOUS, the lace pattern somehow braidlike and delicate, and the color deep and rich.

Realizing I was going to have a fair bit leftover, I decided a matching hat would be a nice addition. So, before I finished off the scarf, I started from the other end of the skein and made a matching Aspen Hat from the same designer. This turned out to be a challenge in and of itself, because it took a couple false starts to get going in the right direction. Once I got my game on (meaning after I frogged my first attempt, added 6 stitches in the rows, discovered it was way too big, frogged the second attempt and went back to the pattern), this went fairly easy. Some notes by other knitters said that the hat isn't tall/deep enough, which led me to make the following two mods on the crown:

1. One round all knit before starting decreases (call it Row 1.5). This is to add to the height without messing with the decreases.
2. Added one last decrease round at the top between the last two rounds of knit (this would make it Row 11.5) to decrease the number of stitches left from 16 to 12:

k4, skp, k5, s2kp, k1

3. No changes were made to the brim.

I'm really happy with the way this hat turned out. It's beautiful, and the fit is lovely. Of course, I might stretch some and then I'll be bummed; guess we'll see. Nonetheless, I believe this is going to become a favorite hat, and one I'd make again in a heartbeat.

Once I finally got the hat out of the way, I could turn my attention back to the scarf. I cut all the fringe to length first, then finished the scarf with the remainder. Finally attached the fringe to both ends, and voila! Two projects completed in a veritable blink of an eye. I plan on wearing both the Aspen and the Wysteria out for my anniversary on New Year's Eve (yes, tonight).

Beautiful patterns, and beautiful yarn. I think I'm now a pushover for these super bulky wools.