Blue Honey

I should be ashamed to have started something new when there are so many unfinished projects in the house, but the lure of a new project is always difficult to resist!  Daughter #2 asked for an infinity scarf the same night a fellow knitter showed off her finished project.  Honey Cowl Free Pattern

The pattern calls for 2 skeins of Madelinetosh tosh dk, and while I am often very willing to substitute yarns for a pattern, especially in something where gauge is mostly irrelevant like a scarf, I wanted to knit with the Madelinetosh yarn.  D2 was sent to the Madelinetosh website to give me a list of colors she had in mind.

As I toured some of my favorite twin cities yarn shops, I discovered that Madelinetosh yarn is in great demand, and short supply! Near the end of the day, (with both Daughter #1 and my Husband in tow) I found a big supply at Bella Lana.  I had never been there before, but it is near the condo my daughter is renting and is a very nice shop.  My visit was concentrated on the Madelinetosh (and concerned about my non-knitting companions waiting in the car), but the shop was light, bright and tidy.  It is definitely worth a second and more prolonged visit.

Picking a color proved more difficult than I anticipated.  While Bella Lana had about 20 color choices, none were one of the five D2 had chosen from the Madelinetosh website.  So I snapped some pictures and texted them to her.  NONE OF THE PICTURES ACCURATELY PORTRAYED THE COLOR.  It was very frustrating.  And, of course, she rejected the eight I sent her.  (I had sent 1 or 2 earlier in the day from other shops with similar results.)  But I was determined.  I wanted this yarn, there were lots of colors to choose from.  The five she had chosen from the Madelinetosh website may not be accurate reflections of the colors either and given the short supply I found at retail shops, mail order may have been out too.  I narrowed it down to two, called D1 in from the car and we picked Mourning Dove.  The 'shop girl' offered to wind the skeins for me, but knowing my companions were waiting, I declined.

a couple of inches into the Honeycomb pattern

I wound one ball and cast on while we chatted at D1's place before we went out for dinner.  I chose to do a knitting-on cast on so I didn't have to guess at a tail length.  The first few rows of stockinette create a rolled edge, so just join (being careful not to twist) and go.  If you join on the first row, it seems as if the 'right' side of the cast on will get pushed to the wrong side of the work, BUT, because the edge rolls, I think that is the better choice.

The pattern includes 4 size alternatives; I cast on 220 stitches for the long 2 skein version.  The pattern suggests using a longer needle for the 220 stitch version, but I am using my trusty 24" circular.  The stitches are pretty squished.  About 3 rows in, I got a little nervous about the 'join being careful not to twist,' so I grabbed a second size 8 circular needle and knitted about half the stitches onto it.  This allowed me to slide the stitches apart on the needles to see there was no twist. I breathed a sigh of relief, kept knitting and moved all the stitches back to one needle.

The Slip Stitch Honeycomb pattern is very simple and pretty quick:
Round 1: *P1, slip one purlwise* repeat
Round 2, 4: Knit around
Round 3: *slip 1 purlwise, P1* repeat

D2 will be home for a visit in two weeks and I think I can have it done by then.  Then again, I still have to go to work and we are hosting a handful of friends for a Super Bowl party, so she might have to wait a bit!