Contemplating Koolhaas

My next knitting adventure will be Brooklytweed's Koolhaas, which I've downloaded from the Interweave Knitting website. My chief concern is needle size. I recently knit Foliage, and sized down .75 mm on the needle called for to account for my gauge, which is usually too loose. The hat was still too big, but not irreparably so, as my SIL has a bigger head than I do. I'm going to try a 1.25 mm downsize on the needles, and knit a gauge swatch for my Koolhaas. Normally I resist swatching for hats, but the Foliage experience has left me humbled.

I'm excited for Koolhaas, as I can learn two new skills. I'm going to teach myself how to cable without a cable needle, and how to swatch in the round. Grumperina has an excellent tutorial here about cabling without a needle. I expect I'll spend a fair bit of time staring at it tomorrow, scrolling up and down the page, swearing and sweating most likely!

Another task for tomorrow will be to take down the Christmas tree. I hate doing that, as the house always seems so bare afterwards. Apparently this is a familial malaise, as I was talking to my maman about it the other day and she too hates the bare look of the house after the tree has been dismantled. I'll share a picture of one of my favorite ornaments, although it is a bit dark. I was playing with my new camera, and I'll admit I haven't taken a successful low light shot with it yet.
Even less fun than the task of taking down the tree is that of organizing my desk. The new semester starts next week and I reckon I owe it to myself to start it in as organized a fashion as possible. It's just that the organizing is such a drag! Perhaps working on the Koolhaas will be my reward! I'm a firm believer in rewarding myself with yarn related tasks.