Finished Object #1 for 2006

I know I put a picture of this on the sidebar, but I've been meaning to tell you all about it over here, too: My fabulous Green Hat! The pattern is from KnitPicks, as is the yarn. The pattern is called Checks and Charms, and it's really fun to make. If you've never done any stranding or colorwork before, it's an ambitious and really fun project to learn with. It's my first second* stranded project, but it was really great for me to learn with, because I loved the look of the finished product SO much. Keeping such an awesome finished product in mind really kept me going. I definitely recommend it. Here's another shot: It looks a little crooked there, but it's not. I'm probably the crooked one, trying to take a picture of the top of my head. The yarn I used was the recommended yarn for the project, KnitPicks Merino Style, and it's fantastic. Really really soft, and it's pretty darn inexpensive, too. The only gripe I have is that the strawberry color seems thinner than the rest of the yarns. It didn't turn out to be a big issue, but I was worried for a while. Also, the "coal" yarn I used was Wool of the Andes, which is worsted weight... but there's more a more noticable difference in the "strawberry" and the rest of the yarns than there is between the "coal" and the Merino Style yarns. Don't know what happened there. I'm still using it, so it can't be that bad, though. All in all, fantastic yarn, fantastic project, and I've started a mitten to match already!