A lament for my sore shoulder. While on the phone with my mom, I asked her, innocently enough, what she wanted for her birthday. She said she thought I was making her a hat and scarf; I was figuring more on Christmas. Not wanting to invite any observations such as "you've already made a hat for your father," I sallied forth to the yarn store for a little agonizing.

I settled on some Malabrigo kettle-dyed pure merino from Uruguay, 3 100-gram skeins of "Pagoda." It's a lovely yarn with rustic apperance from its 1-ply construction. The color variations are subtle and pleasant, without a stripey appearance. The hand is extremely soft and plush, with a springy resiliency. Something about it tells me that it's just itching to felt, so I'll have to thoroughly explain it's care (I'm remembering what used to be my favorite sweater, felted to a miniature size by careless washing). It comes in hanks, which need to be wound into balls. Without a ball-winder I was forced to improvise a nøstepinne from a paper towel tube, which is really not the tool for the job. A computer chair isn't really the greatest swift, either, but it's better than a chair that doesn't spin.

For the scarf, since I'm feeling too pressed for time to design something myself, I'm using this pattern for an "Irish Hiking Scarf." It's got some pleasant, yet untaxing cables and a garter-stitch border. It lays flat and the pattern is very easy to memorize: perfect for working while reading or watching tv. My guage is working out to be a bit larger than the pattern, but that's not about to stop me.

Now, the hat is another story. I want to make something complementary which means I'll have to get creative. I don't know if I want to work the cables as a band or into the body of the hat. I think it would be nice to have an interplay of ribs and cables to make it extra thick and plush. Definately no pompoms. Ever.

I'll post some pictures upon completion... the deadline is Oct. 19.