FO: Gray Cinchy Hat (#20)

Pattern: Cinchy Hat by Cathy Carron, from the Fall 2007 Knitscene
Yarn:
(a) Plymouth Galway Highland Heather, 100% wool, #702 (light gray); 1 skein
(b) Cascade 220, 100% wool, #8400 (medium gray); 1 skein
(c) Universal Yarns Deluxe Worsted, 100% wool, #1900 (black); 1 skein
Needles: US #7 (4.5mm) 16" circulars
Finished size: 22" (large)
Modifications: I left off two rows of knitting before the garter section at the end.


For some reason this one ended up a little big bigger than the last one, but that's okay. If I knit it again, I'll leave off one stripe to make it a little shorter. The Deluxe Worsted is a little bit thinner than the other two yarns, but I don't think it really affected the gauge.


Mike and I took a trip up to the Baltimore Conservatory today. The city is trying to make it difficult to get in now--they're doing construction on the roads around the conservatory and the zoo, and it looks like you can't get into the conservatory, especially since they ripped up the driveway that goes in front of it so you have to walk across 40 feet of mud to get to the building now.


Mike's favorite room is the orchid room (of course), and that was my favorite orchid. They have some crazy ones in there. The bromeliad is from the tropical room. We couldn't figure out what the plant is that's growing inside the bromeliad. The third picture is from a plant called Queen Emma, which is a gigantic plant with the biggest flower spike I've ever seen. The stem itself is probably 3" in diameter and at least 5 feet long.


The desert room is really nice right now as well because most everything is blooming. I forgot to get a picture of the label for this type of cactus. Oops. The middle picture is a succulent called echeveria, and all of them are blooming at the moment (this one had a gigantic flower spike). The pitcher plants are from the tropical room and are actually growing in the pond. They're a new addition since the last time we visited.

If you get a chance, you should definitely check out the conservatory.