nest

Omelette anyone?

The Vital Statistics Pattern: Bird's Nest Pin Cushion by Hannah Fettig from the book Closely Knit: handmade gifts for the ones you love.
Size: the size that it came out at in the yarn that I knit it with! I did make five eggs.
Yarn: Jo Sharp Soho Summer DK Cotton in Cloudless and Rowan Purelife British Sheep Breeds DK.
Needles: 3.75mm bamboo dpns for the eggs and 3.25mm Addi Lace for the nest.
Start to finish: 24 April to 28 April 2010.
Recycle/stash content: All of it - hooray!! And the eggs are tightly stuffed with a bit of felted woollen sweater that I had floating around.

Comments: This was one of those projects that as soon as I saw it I knew that I had to make it and would hanker to do so. I love the way that you can use pretty much any yarn that you want to and the contrast between the eggs in a smooth blue cotton and the nest in a rustic wool. This Purelife stuff - when I blocked the little nest to make a bit more space the wet wool, the smell! Very rustic.

The eggs are a bit of a tricky knit - they start with a provisional cast on of 12 stitches and you knit to one end, then go back to those stitches and knit to the other. At first I thought this more trouble than it was worth but when I tried to cast on four stitches on dpns with cotton yarn I changed my mind. Just be sure to leave a long tail when you cast on with which to knit the other half of the egg. Less ends. The nest is knit in a basketweave stitch which I enjoyed and the effect is great.

Verdict: One of those projects where I am thinking that I could make another one in the white cotton and a larger version of the nest with some heavier yarn and .... I really enjoyed making this nest, I think that the effect is wonderful - both whimsical and practical. I especially take pleasure in the slightly absurd act of sticking pins into eggs.