And we’re off to the Olympics! The blog will be silent for at least the next week while we’re in Paris and the country near Bordeaux without internet access, but hopefully I’ll be able to drop in from a friend’s computer in Milan next week. Look for the enormous purple trapper hat in the stands if you happen to be watching the men’s Super G or the final qualifiers for the women’s aerials on television! And when it isn’t so arctic out, I’ll be sporting this little number:

(The hat, not the crazy dragon shirt my friend Travis brought me from Hong Kong.) I got a generous gift certificate from someone who’s occasionally made my life pretty miserable, so I decided to go all out with it and treat myself to 100% cashmere – A. L. de Sauveterre’s handpainted Mont Blanc cashmere, no less. I eyeballed and fondled the skeins at The Point for a couple of weeks, and this peculiar colorway grew on me to the extent that I finally brought it home. It’s called “Crocus”, which couldn’t be more appropriate. It really does remind me of those bright, plucky little spring-announcers, with their audacious tones of royal gold and purple. At home, they signify the light at the end of the dark, damp winter, and I miss them. So I whipped up this soft, soft beret to remind me of spring. I’ll make the pattern available here at some point when I return. I intended to wear it in the traditional beret style, but I found that I like it pulled back on my head and cuddling the nape of my neck. Mmmm, cashmere. It’s the first I’ve ever bought. Fortunately my budget won’t allow an addiction!

Okay, it’s off to take the kitty to the kennel (sob!) and check my packing one more time. A bientot, mes amis!

Veronique was kind enough to snap these photos of me showing off my new scarf last Friday:

I had forgotten how satisfying it is to work up a fast project on enormous needles. This is, more or less, the Purl scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, with more stitches and less mohair. Seriously, it’s just 24 stitches of 1 x 1 rib on US #13 needles (the largest I own), done with a strand of Manos del Uruguay and a strand of Rowan Kidsilk Haze held together. Easy peasy. And fast. And fluffy. And soft. And warm. Bring on the slopes above Torino. Bring on the chill and rainy streets of Paris. And it’s brightly festive, too, so bring on Carnevale in Venice. The scarf is ready.

In what may be a knitting speed record for me, I already have an FO from the new winter VK. I give you the Trapper Hat:

The new Vogue came to my mailbox on Thursday evening. I bought the yarn on Friday, popped in a couple of episodes of the Forsyte Saga, wound up a few center-pull balls, and I was off to the races. I took Jaywalker #2 out to Brooklyn for my day with Lisa on Saturday, so I didn’t work on the hat, but I finished it up Sunday morning, just in time for the perfect test-run weather. It was a chilly winter day, made violently cold by wind gusts up to 50 mph. So I bundled up and went to the park to try out both the hat and the spiffy new camera, an Olympus E500 SLR that’s our belated wedding and Christmas present to each other. It’s hardly at its best when you’re taking pictures of yourself wearing woolen mittens, but I’m still impressed with the improvement over our trusty little point-and-shoot.

The hat performed pretty well, too. For really arctic conditions, especially with high winds, you’d want a fine-gauge underlayer. The bulky Blue Sky Alpaca does leave holes for the wind to come through. But it’s very cozy inside this enormous hat. With the back flap down, it reminds me of some of the helmets in the Asian section of the Hall of Armor at the Met (Adam’s favorite wing). I think it will be just the thing for our big trip to Torino next month! Yes, we’re on our way to France and Italy to visit friends and relations and to catch the winter Olympics. Next up: a nice fluffy scarf. Oh, and some more socks:

I was no longer able to resist the siren song of Sweet Georgia’s beautiful hand dyes. Once I saw Steph’s pretty blue lace leaf socks and squeeeeeezed that luscious ball of sock yarn, I had to have some of my own. The colorways you see here are Firefly (Jaaaaaaaaaayne…the man they call Jaaaaaaaayne…) and Willow. Of course I intend to finish the Topless Jaywalkers first. There’s been another glitch, and half of sock #2 had to go to the frog pond. I could have sworn I decreased down to 64 stitches…but apparently not. It solves the mystery of the stripes not coming out the same, anyway.

It was a weekend for knitted gifts.

Here’s baby Alex, quite well grown for his three-and-a-half months, sporting his new footwear. I’m calling these moonbooties for their decided resemblance to ’70s moonboots. But they stay on beautifully, and they’ll fit the little fellow for at least another month or two. Apparently even the doctors remarked on his large feet when he was born!

And here’s Marika in her clapotis:

May it keep her warm through many hours of studying at the barbarously air-conditioned NYU library!