Little Red Goes Pumpkin Picking

Someone is going as red riding hood for Halloween this year, which meant, of course, that I had to make the requisite red cape. Since I had a couple hanks of Neighborhood Fiber Company's Studio Worsted in a delicious semi-solid red colorway (Old Town -- named after the home of my favorite Dublin-Style Chipper and beloved, though not oft visited these days LYS), it was only appropriate that I knit said cape.

I didn't just have the perfect yarn for the job. I also had the perfect pattern -- Capuchon, by Tagil Perlmutter. It's a wonderfully simple design with just a bit of texture around the border and at the hem, and it works up quickly with two strands of heavy worsted weight yarn.

It took me just a couple of days to churn out the one-year size, and I mostly love the finished result. The one thing that will force me to frog this sweet cape (once Halloween is over, because once I realized the error I had made, I knew frogging would put me dangerously close to not finishing on time) is my apparent inability to work a provisional cast-on. I admit, this is a technique I almost never use. I prefer the crochet method or the method that requires knitting a couple of rows of waste yarn before switching to the working yarn. My lack of experience with this cast-on, and my inability to see my mistake until I removed the waste yarn, resulted in a far from invisible seam at the nape of the neck.
We ventured out for Addie's first costumed Halloween activity last weekend - a visit to a local pumpkin sale. Barring interference from Hurricane Sandy, she'll be sporting her red riding hood ensemble this weekend and on Halloween night. Then I can set to the task of correcting my mistake. In the meantime, I think she looks pretty cute, visible cape seam and all.