The Noanet Peak set knits up quickly, is cozy warm, and has kicky stripes to keep you interested…

…while being easy enough to knit when you’ve got other things on your mind.

All pieces are constructed in the round, and offer a great way to use up small amounts of very special yarn. It’s also part of the “Back Roads & Brownstones” series, a collaboration with Kirsten Kapur of “Through the Loops”. I always enjoy working with Kirsten; not only is she a wonderful person, but her design sensibilities are utterly fantastic and it’s awe-inspiring to trade ideas with her.

Back Roads & Brownstones is a fun play on where we both live; she’s in NYC, and I’m just outside of Boston. But despite my current urban zip code, I grew up in rural Maine and have been a die-hard outdoorsy type my whole life. My second installment in this series is this incredibly practical, unisex set that I’m likely to wear 6 or 7 months out of the year. (What can I say, we keep our homes cold up here in the north!)

The hat and mitts are both intended to be just a little slouchy, just a little broken-in in feeling. They should give you a hug, rather than stretch sleekly over your skin. I wanted the fingerless mitts, in particular, to feel like legwarmers, but for your arms - so they’re shaped, with a long, slightly-slouched length.

I can’t say enough lovely things about the yarn. The Alpaca Elegance is soft, and ever-so-slightly fuzzy, and comes in a wonderful palette of colors. I highly recommend it for this project.