Mauve verity

It's a funny word 'mauve'. It sounds old fashioned and a bit of an in-betweeny colour. Not quite purple or rose, a bit pale and makes you think of a lavendar smell - little loveheart sachets in drawers or drawerliners. See? All old fashioned reminiscences. But the word mauve just doesn't have the same ring as Lavendar and it's been bugging me since I started labelling this 'the mauve beret' as the Rowan band calls this shade Mauve. It wasn't intended to be its name and sometimes names don't bother me at all but this does. It's as if I've given a child a really naf name they'll get teased about at school and it's all my fault! Sorry!

Anyway, this mauve beret is knitted up - as you have probably already surmised - in the Verity beret pattern by Ysolda. I'm losing count how many I've done and I think I may call it a day now. I've also found a new star beret pattern that has taken my fancy - sorry verity - and is a quick knit and ideal for christmas pressies. More to come as that pattern is a story in itself!

But this beret has turned out well despite my name and the wool twist in the yarn. This was a bit of a tester to see what a simple structured pattern would look like with a bit of texture. I think it does work but I'm not overwhelmed by the effect. It does give texture to the panels but it also gives a rougher edge to the flower shaping which looks better crisper. But saying that I think it does work, it's just a matter of preference.

I also changed the band for this one too. I kept the same textured stitch but instead of knitting it sideways with an overlap for the button, I just knitted it in the round with a loose cast off. Do you think it needs a decorative button anyway? Been considering it but it might look a bit stuck on rather than an integral part of the design.

Had to crochet the edge as the knit cast off was too tight. But that may be my knitting!! As I knew this would probably be my last verity I decided to try this band out. It could also have been motivated by a laziness as the band takes a long to do as the knitting of the hat!! And I am beginning to run out of time for all my ideas for christmas.

I have pretty much sorted out now what patterns I will be using - through trial and error - so now I can get started on the knitting mountain! More progress reports soon.......

* Just for the record, this beret was knitted watching a scary episode of Sanctuary and the end of the film 'Mr & Mrs Smith' with Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.*