Pom Pom Project: Denver, Colorado

I live in Denver, Colorado, so I put a pom pom there.

At first glance, there's not much to this story, but there's actually more to it than meets the eye.

This is an international pom pom.  

I made it in France, then took it to Las Vegas with the intention of hanging it there, then ended up leaving it on a tree in Denver.

Justin's Mini Herringbone Scarf

Two Christmases ago, I intended to give my fiancé the fanciest scarf I had ever made: Purl Soho's Men's Mini Herringbone Scarf using Pro Lana Baby Alpaca Yarn in green, his favorite color.  This was the first time I had tried the herringbone stitch, and it ended up being a little too fancy for the time I had allotted myself, and just like that, the Christmas present turned into a Valentine's Day present. 

Now that Valentine's day is coming up again, I took a moment to photograph it, because it really is quite the scarf.

Herringbone stitch is the craziest thing.  You're using larger needles than the yarn calls for, so it seems like the knitting should go quickly, but that isn't the case at all.  Every stitch gets worked twice, and all the crisscrossing makes a shockingly tight, double-thick finished product that is as warm as it is beautiful.

It was totally worth the work.

Pom Pom Project: Oahu, Hawaii

Hooray for summertime and beaches and pom poms!

Our family went to Hawaii a few weeks ago and I couldn't help but leave a pom pom behind.

Here it is pictured with the famous statue of Duke Kahanamoku at Waikiki Beach. (It's on the torch just behind the statue on the right. See it?) I thought it would be fun to hang the pom pom from one of Duke's fingers so he'd be holding it along with the leis that he's always holding, but as you can see based on the height of the stray toddler who's photobombing my picture, Duke's hands are really high and I couldn't reach them.

I didn't leave the pom pom on that working torch for obvious reasons (fire hazard!) so I took the pom pom with me to a second location. 

5 Awesome Warm Weather Knitting Patterns

Now that the weather has warmed up and I'm finally finishing my last cold weather knitting project (more on that in an upcoming post), I've been developing a lot of crushes on warm weather knitting patterns that I can't wait to buy and try.

Move aside chunky wool; I want to be elbow deep in cotton and linen and bamboo asap!

So here's a list of my top 5 picks so far.

1. Agyness Top from Wool and the Gang.

Like most of Wool and the Gang's designs, this pattern comes in a knit kit along with their Shiny Happy Cotton yarn and optional needles. I would absolutely love to whip this up in their "coral crush" color and wear it over a bikini top at the beach this summer.

Pom Pom Project: Amiens, France

I left a second pom pom in Amiens, France.

It's on a little bridge in the middle of a beautiful park with a canal and weeping willows and joggers everywhere.

This was the first town we visited after leaving Paris, and this park setting was especially peaceful after the hustle and bustle of the big city.

I made this pom pom out of cotton yarn, and while I think the sunshine-yellow color looks fabulous in nature, I learned that cotton yarn doesn't make the best pom poms.  This one is definitely not as full and fluffy as the pom pom I made out of acrylic yarn in Paris.

I have a feeling I'll be forming strong pom pom yarn preferences as the pom pom project progresses...