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New Year, New Beginnings…

Look, I’ll be honest. I’m pretty proud that I managed to get five days into the New Year before the urge to cast on my first project of 2020 got the better of me. I realize that I cast on two new projects in the final weeks of 2019 and neither of those is done, but this is one I started thinking about doing ages ago. So, it really doesn’t count as new exactly. Just like, new on the needles. And it’s not the Fireworks shawl, so I haven’t broken my resolution.

I started some pulse/ankle warmers using the Nightingale patterns by Vintage Purls. AwesomeE bought me the pattern last year from my Ravelry wish list. Someday I’d love to make something like the cardigan jettshin made with the pattern, but I also realized last year that I love how the dark purple Hedgehog Fibres sock yarn in Hurricane looks like the Dreams in Color orange and pink BFL sock yarn I used for my sweater top look together:

A fluffy black and white cat is sprawled on a birch table top with a small piece of purple and orange/pink stranded knitting on DPNs on top of her. A basket is behind her head with the cakes of yarn.

I think I’ve got enough yarn for ankle warmers using the purple for the birds and flowers (slightly less of this yarn leftover) against the orange/pink background. I’ll just need to check the amount left periodically to make sure I stop before I’ve used up half of each. I think they’ll look really striking against black leggings or tights. I have lots of black basics in my wardrobe precisely so that I can layer obnoxious cheery colors on top*.

I’ve also made some really good progress on my cowl (see? meeting the spirit as well as the letter of my resolutions). I’m almost done the middle section and in a couple more rows will start the brioche back up again:

A cowl being knit on circular needles with brioche, cables and large knit and purle sections of white handspun and tweed yarn in long color sections of blue, pink and green.

I am generally really happy with how it’s progressing. There’s always the irritation of changing colors and the bumps on the purl side, but since I want this to be reversible there’s really no way to eliminate it altogether so I went for equal amounts of bumps on each side.

I really think I can have the cowl wrapped up by the end of this week, and that will make my first completed project of 2020.

How are your projects coming along in the New Year?

*not in fact so that I can show of the cat fur my clothing collects.