Currently crazy for cables

Still in Vermont. There is a frost advisory tonight for the Northeast Kingdom. Yes, that's right: a frost advisory in August. I know I'm up north, where it's supposed to be a bit colder than the Mid-Atlantic. But even the locals I've talked to tell me that this cold spell is abnormal. It's definitely putting a damper on taking dips in the lake, but there is something nice about putting on layers of warm clothing after months of how-close-to-naked-can-you-get-without-breaking-the-law heat and humidity.

It goes without saying that my trip preparations included putting together some knitting to bring with me. It took me about an hour to choose and pack clothing for three people for two weeks. It took me about three days to choose and pack three knitting projects to work on.

One project is a square for the charity afghan that my local knitting group is working on. I haven't started on this yet, so there's no real news on this front.

The second project is Saartje's Noro hat. It looks like a multicolored beehive in this yarn--what fun! I'm using bright red Lamb's Pride worsted, though, so I guess what I'm actually knitting is a Not-Quite-Noro hat. This is my in-the-car project, since it takes very little brain power and is easy to put down if Sylvia gets fussy and needs attention. I knit about thirty or so rounds on this on the drive up to Vermont, and it's sitting in the glove box waiting for our trip home.

Here is my current project. This is my first foray into the wonderful world of cables...and I am hooked. (And yes, I totally meant that pun. So there.) The Irish Hiking Scarf is a great introduction to cables because it's fairly uncomplicated, it's easy to remember, and the results are stunning. Click on the link at the beginning of this paragraph to see what the scarf looks like. Then imagine it in a lovely fern-green worsted yarn, which is what I'm using. I love this pattern! I want to knit Irish hiking scarves for everyone I know!