Dance Weekend and FO: Honey for Hannah

I didn't get much of a break after midterm week and duty days ended before launching in to dance competition weekend!  It was a little hectic and stressful, but it was also a lot of fun to see all of my dances and dancers up on stage for the first time in full costume with hair, props, and the excitement of performing on their faces!

My dances did pretty well for a first competition- my little pirate girls even got a Judge's special award for their precise tapping!  I'm definitely more energized on the other side of the competition to really pick apart technique, performance, and details that will earn higher points next time around.  Our next competition, luckily, isn't until the end of April, so I have plenty of time to work with my dancers to clean everything up.
While at the competition, I did have time during awards to get some knitting done.  The only problem was I didn't want to work on presents for people that were at the competition, so I cast on for a hat that will match the mittens I made over Christmas break!

It's a pretty simple striped beanie hat using the same yarn I used for the mittens, so not only am I stash-busting a little bit, but for the first time ever, I'm knitting myself a matching hat & mitten set!
The pattern was perfect to work on- I could listen to the awards, chat with parents, and my hands were kept busy with stockinette stitch.
That doesn't mean I've been slacking on other projects- I finished the Honey for Hannah cowl yesterday, and it's pretty fantastic!

Pattern: Honey Cowl by Antonia Shankland
Yarn: Classic Elite Yarns Fresco in a bright red (I used a couple different filters on the pictures to try to get the in-person color- it's between the deeper and the brighter red).
Size: I made the medium, which is casting on 160 stitches and knitting through 2 skeins of the Fresco.

Timeframe: February 26 - March 17
Worst Part: How long it took me to finally make this pattern.  I guess I always assumed it was some weird stitch that would be time-consuming to make for a cowl, when in fact it's the exact opposite- quick knit, great pattern!
Best Part: Probably the yarn.  The color is our studio color, and it's heavenly to wear around the neck.  I'll have to store this somewhere I can't see it so I don't accidentally wear it...

Fresh off of Hannah's cowl, I cast on one more for my soloist, Taylor!

I'm making hers out of some lovely Plymouth Yarns baby llama wool, and even though it's going to be a little less wide (one skein is only 273 yards vs. the 2 skeins of  328 yards) it'll still be just as yummy.  It's also going to be great travel knitting when I head down to the cities tomorrow to hang out with friends over my spring break!  As a teacher, my break so far has been more of the lesson-planning and grading type- so basically a normal school day, minus teaching classes.  Visiting friends and family members for the latter half of the week will be a nice treat!
And I'm going to be churning out knitted goods like no tomorrow... :)