Leaf Headband

I was so sure that the next knitting project I'd be posting about here would be the wool cap I'm making Paul. I made a lot of progress on it over the cool rainy weekend in Wells. However, Lilly, the inlaws kitty stayed true to the form of her kind, and could not resist getting into the yarn and chewing it up.

So, so true...

I was forced to start hiding the half-done hat in a cupboard, so she couldn't get her fix. Subsequently, I forgot about the hat, and left it up there. Luckily, Paul's mom found it before they left for MA, so I'll get it back sooner than I thought I would.

I couldn't let my hands stay idle though, so I took on another quickie project. I finished this in about 3 days. I liked the idea of making like a 1920's hair piece, with an ornate lace stitch and an eye-catching bauble of some sort on it.

I got the instructions for the leaf stitch here. I made this without a pattern (first time ever), and I think I did a pretty good job eyeballing it. I started by casting on 5 stitches, gradually increasing the body to 17 stitches, at which point I started the fancy stitch. I repeated that until it was the circumference of my head, and then I decreased the stitched back to 5 to cast off. I also did a 6 stitch wide button hole on the end.

I might remove the button and re-attach it farther back, as it is a little loose on me. I'm really excited to try some more fancy stitches like this one. It was easier than I expected it to be. The open work comes from wrapping the yarn around the needle without stitching it, so on the next row, it kind of unfurls into a decorative gap. I think this stitch was really ideal for somebody trying lace for the first time, as it didn't utilize any terribly difficult techniques.