You'll Never Guess

My young friend E turns 15 today--happy birthday! We were talking on the phone a week or so ago. I told E she would never guess what her gift from me might be. Let me fill in the picture: amongst other things E and I share a slightly twisted sense of humour and a love of science. E loves the crime/forensics shows that are so popular these days--I'm too squeamish for the actual crimes, and cynical of some of the so-called science, but then again, I'm just a tad older than 15!

When I saw this yarn on my friend Charly's stand some months ago, I immediately thought of E. Yep, it's smooshy handspun reddish wool embellished with needle felted blood-shot eyeballs.
Out of respect for the rest of the family, I gave E's mum a quick call on my mobile while I held the skein in my hand, congratulating Charly and grinning with delight. I won't even try to describe the response on the other end of the phone as I tried to explain what I was holding. Let's just say it was dramatic enough that I was convinced of my judgement and positive enough that I thought I could get away with it. That was quite a few months ago now and I've been impatiently waiting for the actual day to arrive. Now it's here! I couldn't decide on the best way to make the most of those incredibly detailed eyeball features, so I've waited for E to decide its destiny. She would like an eyeball hat. The other options were a scarf or --my personal favourite--a fringe for a cheeky little skirt. So, an eyeball hat it will be. But first the skein has to go to school with her, for the enjoyment of her friends and teachers--she's at a science specialist school, so the crazy thing is that they'll get it.