over the river and through the woods...

Paul and I made the trek to Minnesota for Thanksgiving. It was unseasonably warm and sunny, which was a delight. We managed to squeeze in visits with family and friends, a baby shower, a trip to the Happy Gnome in St. Paul (great selection of microbrews from the Midwest), and a walk along the mighty Mississippi in St. Paul. So pretty despite the lack of foliage!

view from Mississippi River Blvd. in St. Paul

Plus we stopped at State St. Brats in Madison for a Spotted Cow and cheese curds. That's a lot to do in just a few short days! All that time in the Jeep was good for my knitting mojo, although my leg muscles feel as if they've atrophied from too much sitting.

Pattern: Upside-Down Daisy, by Susan B. Anderson (rav)
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran (pink), less than 1 ball
oddments of Lion Brand Cashmere Blend (cream) and Cashmerino DK (green)
Size: 6 months
Needles: US 6 needles for the hat
US 5 for the green stem (I used a DK weight yarn to make it less bulky)
US 7 for the cream-colored petals

Notes:
This little hat reminds me of flower fairies! The hat itself is very quick to knit, and the pattern's very clear but rather fiddly. Only 5 petals fit on the hat (rather than the 6 specified in the pattern), and applying them is a pain in the neck. I made each of the petals a few rows longer, a fairly common mod on Ravelry. The finished product is darling, and I'm looking forward to giving it to my friends' new baby girl next Sunday.
Babies are popping up everywhere, by the way. My friends are reproducing at an alarming rate, and I'm hard-pressed to keep up with the baby knits!

I had sworn off knitting baby blankets a while back. They take too long, they use so much yarn, they get pretty boring... you know the drill. Well, apparently I fell off the wagon, as I'm almost done with one:

I'm using Jennifer Braico's Hip to Be Square pattern (rav) and (many, many) balls of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Chunky. It's soft, squishy, and nice to knit, but most balls have a knot or two, plus the yardage is pretty skimpy. All that's left is the applied i-cord edging and weaving in a million ends.

One more photo from Minnesota:

Minnehaha Falls, Minneapolis