Musselburgh hat and Sophie scarf, finished

After a big garment project like Nicholas' Towns Sweater, I love working on smaller projects that require less mental fortitude. (Knitting a sweater for him wasn't difficult, but since he and I are both picky about fit, it required lots of tweaking as we went, and thus required more concentration).

I cast-on a little scarf for my grandma, choosing the Sophie Scarf pattern by PetiteKnit, since the construction looked fun and the finished scarf is wearable and cute. And after knitting this up over the course of a few days, I found so enjoyable. I particularly love the icord edging. I used some sock-weight yarn in the lightest pink. More details can be found on my Ravelry page.

A second project utilized some yarn I picked up in the spring from my local yarn shop (LYS). I've been wanting to knit a marled grey hat for awhile, and since I already had the Musselburgh hat pattern in my library and it has a wide range of suitable gauges, the pattern and yarn were a good fit. The yarn is a 50/50 alpaca/wool blend, and it is a tiny bit itchy, but it is incredibly warm and I've already worn it several times. I highly recommend this pattern–it's miles of stockinette stitch, but I find that meditative these days. More details about this project are linked in my Ravelry project page.

I have a few other smaller projects on the needles that I'm hoping to finish up soon. I would love to head into advent (and especially the new year) with minimal projects, for a fresh start. This time of year is normally hectic for me, making-wise, since I opt for so many deadline knits. If I can clear off the needles at least somewhat in the weeks leading up to Christmas, I would greatly enjoy having a "fun" Christmas-themed project, or the like. We shall see!