FO, new WIP

Here's my promised FO--a Fair Isle hat for friend A. The finish time of a month includes at least ten days where it was actually done but awaiting tails woven in, so it's a very fast knit, even for me!

And a new WIP:


These days when I finish one project, I'm starting another that has been waiting in the wings for awhile. I bought the Artyarns Supermerino and Regal Silk yarns for this one last year on a business trip and had the yarn shop people wind it for me because I thought I'd work on it while I was on the trip. I cast on (or chained up, since it's crochet) right away but the pattern never clicked. I've never understood the architecture of crochet stitches in the same way that I get knitting, so after several failed tries, I set it aside. But I decided when organizing my stash a few weeks ago I'd better start working on those projects that have been wound before diving into others. Since I don't have a lot of stitching time these days, I'm going to knock off those that can be done quickly first, and keep them running alongside the seemingly eternal alpaca muffler. I figured this one would work up fast (only having twelve rows and all), and I'm already on the last row. However, the last row is worked in the fiddly Regal Silk and is a fringe made of 16-chain/single crochet tentacles, so it might take as long to do that one bit as the whole other 11 rows. I don't like the colorway as much as the shop sample, which I think was done in blue, but it's nice to be working with such fine fiber.


A closeup of the first three rows, with the offending Regal Silk at top.