What to make next?

Yesterday I was talking with Barb and Shawn on Skype and I told them how I'd just finished my Dickens Vest out of Berroco Blackstone Tweed Chunky. It was such an easy knit and I really like the way it turned out. I can't remember the last time I knit something for myself that I actually love as much as this!

This vest is warm and flattering with a little bit of shaping in the body. The collar is nice and cozy. It's been downright frigid here in Europe, so it's the perfect addition to my wardrobe.

The only thing I'd change is the armholes. They are pretty much unfinished and roll inward, and I'm not loving that. I haven't blocked the whole vest yet, just the armholes, and it didn't really do much to help. I may try it again this weekend, and who knows, I may work a couple rounds of single crochet around each armhole to see if I can make it more to my liking.

I was telling Barb and Shawn how even though I have a bunch of yarn here and patterns all ready to knit up (and some to finish) I was having a hard time finding motivation to jump into any ONE of them. What to make next...

Then they told me that a number of customers in the shop keep asking how my Pagewood Farm Plumes scarf was going... I ordered this yarn for the shop when I was in Vermont after Christmas, and it was shipped so quickly that I was able to bring a skein back to Finland with me.

It's SO different than anything we've ever carried. Plumes is a thick and thin wool that has gorgeous feathers hand felted onto it. Obviously this yarn screamed "feather boa" to me, and so last night I balled it up and got knitting.

From a distance, it looked like a gigantic tarantula. And my cats were MORE than a little interested - just one glance at any feather starts them hyperventilating.

I had planned to grab some HUGE double pointed needles and work some sort of an I-cord but in this tiny 1000 sq foot apartment, my dpns are MIA. So I pulled out the Denise size 15's, cast on 7 stitches, and started knitting.

I know... SUPER HARD pattern, right? Well, with this kind of yarn, you don't need anything difficult. I worked on it for about an hour last night and then finished it up with my coffee this morning. 

It's perfect! It measures 2.5" wide by 60" long. And because it's loosely knit and garter stitch, it will stretch lengthwise which is good. I like to to fold it in half and then wrap the ends through the fold. 

Helen modeling the boa

So for all of you who were waiting to see what magic I worked on the Plumes yarn, I hope you're not disappointed!

Now...what to make next?