dichroic | What Sinterklaas brought (Reply)

I’m writing this on Saturday December 3, because I wouldn’t wait to talk about it, but I have this post set to publish on Wednesday night, after my knitting group’s Sinterklaas gift exchange.

This year I was determined to do a bit better with my Sinterklaas gift, after the amazing rowing-machine-package Hanneke made for me last year (complete with yarn she dyed herself, a project bag she’d sewed, and a tape measure masquerading as the erg cable). The problem was I drew a recipient I’d only just met the day of the drawing. All I knew about her is that she’s a Swedish student here to work on a PhD in chemistry and an accomplished knitter (grafted sock toes while chatting at the last knit night, and has some nice colorwork mittens on her Ravelry page). And there’s a 10 euro limit. I chose to spend my money all on supplies for the packaging; my stash of sock yarn was plenty big enough to furnish the presents. She got a ball of Crazy Zauberball in Submarine and I made this cowl from yarn left over from some socks I knitted a few years ago (this may be my favorite sock yarn ever, so it was good to be able to use the leftovers):

The colorway makes me think of sunset light.

For the packaging I went with the chemistry theme. Here is the mandatory accompanying poem:

Sinterklaas needs some assistance,
But this time, the Piets put up resistance
Chemicals scare them;
They really can’t bear them
And so they maintained their insistance.

So who could help Sinterklaas here?
Clearly, someone without fear.
He searched high and low
Wherever he’d go –
He almost gave up on this year.

Hope finally came to the seeker
Just when things had never seemed bleaker.
So the Sint grabbed
This star in the lab –
No stranger to chemistry – Beaker!

The cowl is rolled up and forms the stuffing for his head, while the yarn is in his lab table. (That’s a Bunsen burner next to him, if it isn’t obvious.)