Final FOs of 2011

The year is almost out the door and I've managed to get a couple more projects off the needles before it left.

First up - 198 yards of HeavenAs I mentioned - this one is for my coworker - but after seeing how well it goes with my coat, it's really hard to give up.

I had one skein of Tosh Merino left over from my Tea Leaves Cardigan and this was the perfect use for it.
I love single-ply yarns, but they do have a tendency to pill badly under pressure. A low-traffic garment like a shawl is the ideal use, and I'd really like to knit one of these in Aristocat.Since I had 210 yards, plus a small part ball, I bumped my needle size up to 6.5 to coax every inch out of this one. I still only ended up using 199 yards, and the finished size is 41" wide by 19" deep - a decent size to wear as a scarf.

That said, if you have the yarn, it's pretty easy to adjust the pattern to make it larger - and I may just do that someday... and add some beads!

My other FO is also for my coworker
Yep - I finally finished her Christmas socks last night. Dave went to bed early, and I watched the first few episodes of the second season of Rome and got them off the needles.

Since my coworker is a knit-sock virgin, I chose Barn Cat for the yarn. Sturdy but soft, and 100% washable!
The colour is Grapelicious, and the pattern is Nutkin. As mentioned, I modified the pattern by mirroring the charts (which I always do with Nutkin) and this time I added a rest row between the patterns rows, which draws the final motif out longer - I quite like the effect. This is my third time knitting Nutkin, and mods like this keep me from getting bored.

So - now I can fully turn my attention towards my Surmount goals. After I clean the house of course - when are these cats going to learn to sweep up their own cat fur?