I’ve given two of my recent “secret projects”, so, details:

The first secret project was pretty much a carbon copy of the Chickadee Cowl I made for myself with the Yarn Bee Mosaic Twist– same color, even.  (That’s the two of them together in the photo above.)

That pattern is such a joy to knit.  So simple!  So fast!  So much fun to watch the colors interact!  I recommend it highly for even a new knitter.  Once you get over any fear you may have of knitting in the round, you’re ready to go.

I’m calling this the Froot Loop Cowl because of the name of the yarn’s colorway–
“Fruity”– and the fact that a cowl is basically a big loop of fabric.  (Froot Loops… I wish I were a skinny little kid again and could eat sugary cereals with no repercussions.)

Even the “wrong” side of the linen stitch is pretty, so it’s reversible, if you like:

I’ve seen some very covet-able linen stitch scarves knit from odds and ends of yarn– a good potential use for all these shorter “leftover” lengths of bulky yarn I’m accumulating.

The second secret project was another cowl/neckwarmer, but I was out of appropriate yarn for Chickadee Cowls, so I decided to try my hand at cables.

The Quick Cabled Cowl uses bulky/super bulky yarn, so it’s another project that works up very quickly– perfect for gift-making.  I think the pattern has a sophisticated, modern look.

I made the buttons from polymer clay (and a little mica powder and liquid polymer clay), since I didn’t have any of the right size/color on hand.  

The cowls/neckwarmers were part of a thank-you gift for Mom and Kimberly (I made two
different neckwarmers and left it for them to choose) for checking in
our dogs while we went to Atlanta a couple of times to take care of
Donald’s citizenship test/ceremony.  (He is officially an American citizen now!  It still hasn’t really sunken in for me, though.)

On the drive to/from Atlanta, I spent a little time knitting.  Still not much time, but some.  I’d lined up a special super-easy project just for the occasion– the “Wham Bam Thank You Lamb” neckwarmer.  However, since I used an acrylic/alpaca mix yarn, it’s more like “Wham Bam, Thank You Alpaca… and Whoever Invented Acrylic Yarn”.  ;o)

The yarn is Yarn Bee’s Andes Alpaca.  I’ll admit, it was an impulse (and coupon-inspired) purchase.  The yarn was so pretty and soft that I gave in to temptation, even though I wasn’t sure what I’d make with it.  I figured the right pattern would present itself.  Even though it’s thinner than the yarn recommended for the Wham Bam neckwarmer, I think it works– assuming you don’t require a large, heavy-duty neckwarmer. (Down here, I’ll probably get more use out of a slightly lighter neckwarmer, anyway.)

I’m not sure how I feel about my seam, which is anything but invisible.  I might possibly crochet some flowers in finer gauge yarn to cover the seam.  The again, maybe not.

Andes Alpaca has mixed reviews on Ravelry.  I didn’t have any problems with it– no big knots… still silky soft even after knitted.  It did shed a little during knitting, and it may shed more when worn, but you know what?  I share my home with an American Eskimo Dog; I’m used to long, white hairs on ev.er.y.thing.   So a few loose alpaca hairs aren’t a big deal, as far as I’m concerned.  If you do freak out over a stray white hair or two on your clothes, this might not be a good yarn for you, though.