Avacado Star

Way back in March, I received a huge compliment that came with a wicked awesome box of free yarn! Lion Brand Yarns is without a doubt one of the main reasons I am such a crafty knitter today. I was very surprised and delighted to learn that not only are paying attention to what people are doing with their yarns, but they really appreciate their customers on a personal level as well. 

So what did they send me in this awesome swag box of yarn goodness? 

1. A congratulations card with a picture of knitter on it, which lives in my cubicle at work.
2. 2 Skeins of Woolease, Navy and Burgundy - my go to yarn for gifts and for washable knits.
3. 2 Skeins of Lion Organic Cotton, Vanilla and Cypress - I think  I'll make some luxe washcloths with these.... not dishtowels mind you! For the bathroom.
4. 2 Skeins of LB Collection Pure Wool. The Lion Brand team has noticed that I like to dye yarn and as soon as I decide on a color scheme (oh the endless choices) that is going to be a fun experiment.
5. 2 Skeins of LB Collection Organic Wool, Avocado and Toffee. Toffee is not one of my favorite colors, but I think it will be fun to try to over dye it with purple and let some of the brown show through. The Avocado is a gorgeous shade of green that isn't really anything like the refrigerator we had in the 80's. It's a bright, cheery shade that looks like it belongs on a tree at the end of summer. To date, this is the only skein I've knit with from the swag box, but I have plans for the rest!

So the hat.... It's a Marsan Watchcap. I had to knit it longer than the pattern called for because the super stretchy rib would pull a shallower hat right off my head. This yarn is perfectly suited for this pattern. It makes a nice squishy rib that is dense enough to keep the wind out. I made the man size and it stretches REALLY big to accommodate even the roundest bowling ball shaped head I can find. 


Also... that cowl.... that's Lion Brand Yarn too. It's Amazing. I modified it from, wait guess..... a Lion Brand pattern! It's the Port Chester Cowl but I made the entire thing in ribbing so it would be reversible. I also used and strand of Puno alpaca instead of 2 strands of Amazing. I switched back and forth between Grey or Blue alpaca held with either Wildflowers or Arcadia. It's a stripey 2x2 rib and it's long enough to wrap double around my neck or drape down loosely.  I like the amazing yarn... I keep thinking about what else I'd like to do with it. I think it looks great held double with a solid; it mutes the color changes even further.