Thanks for the helpful comments on my troublesome hat post! After sleeping on it, I decided I had to make an effort to re-knit the brim since I love the yarn so much. I frogged and got the stitches back on the needle without too much trouble, then knit a round and decreased six stitches, and knit a new brim with needles two sizes smaller than the body of the hat. And it worked!
I don’t love it, but I like it well enough, and I know it’s so much better than it was before. And this experience has taught me how to make pleats (me likey) and how to make hats from the top down (me no likey) so it wasn’t a waste of time. I’ll put it in my stash of things to sell this Saturday at the local craft show, and maybe someone will fall in love with it.
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I Have a Dilemma
I finished a hat this morning. I loved the pattern and I love the yarn and they go really well together. What’s the problem, you ask? Well. Somehow the brim ended up too big. It’s a little loose on my head, but then again, I have a slightly smaller head. Here, you look and see what you think.
This one’s not too bad. I like the pleats. That was a new technique for me, where you slip stitches onto DPNs and then knit them together with stitches on the circ, and keeping hold of three needles was tricky. But I did it and it’s cool.
See, those aren’t terrible. It looks okay when you’re wearing it, especially if it found a big-headed owner. But now, look at it by itself:
Poor stupid hat. The brim is just big, and I did Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy bind-off which seems to come out a little big and floppy anyway. So now what? I haven’t finished any tails. My choices as I see them: 1) frog the brim, decrease a few stitches, and bind off with a regular bind off. 2) Leave it and hope someone with a big head wants it. 3) The yarn is Tuhu, which is llama, merino and angora, so I could experiment with felting it a little bit.
Help me! What do I do??
FO Friday Part II: Red Valentine Hat
Thanks to decongestants, ibuprofen, and fluids, I’m feeling much better than I was this morning. Or maybe it was getting to make this hat that fixed me. Who knows?
Finished Object Friday: Slouchy Hat
This will be a short post today. I’m trying really hard not to get the cold that my son passed to my husband, and the sinus headache I have is telling me I’m losing. So I’m grumpy, and it doesn’t help that I have a To Do list that feels a mile long. See? I’m not fit for company right now, so I’ll just share my pretty hat pictures and go away until I can be nicer.
Fantastic one-skein hat pattern: Springtime Picholine Hat. Yarn is Cascade 128, and the adult large used every last bit of the skein.
Two Finished Knitted Cowls
I know I have neglected you, dear readers, but I have been busy making things to show you. Plus I have been busy with other non-yarn things. (I know, what’s wrong with me?) But yesterday was all about yarn, and I finished a project that’s been hanging over my head for months.
A few weeks ago, I posted about a lace cowl WIP that I had picked up again, and I had to frog it and start over. I tried really hard. I got around 10 rows done, set it aside to make a hat…and could never bring myself to get back to it. Apparently, I HATE fingering weight yarn with a passion. And fingering weight yarn with a lace pattern? That is my nightmare, clearly. I messaged the friend who’d requested it and asked if I could modify the pattern by holding the yarn double. She was chagrined that she’d asked for such a difficult pattern, but I assured her that was not the case. Really, the pattern itself is quite simple. There are many knitters out there who would love to make a long lace infinity scarf with 360 stitches in fingering weight yarn on size 4 needles. It was just a combination that I had no idea I would dislike so much. She gave me free rein on the cowl, and I had it DONE by the end of the day. Seriously. Started and finished in one day. Now, that’s mostly all I did yesterday, but in the previous incarnation, I *might* have gotten a third of the way through. Can I say it again? The cowl is DONE.
And I love it. I love how it turned out. I’d bought three skeins of Premier sock yarn in Hot Lime, so I held three strands together, took the Spring Lace Infinity Scarf pattern (which really is quite lovely) and cast on 108 stitches. Then I just knit in the lace pattern until it looked tall enough. It came out at 7 1/2″ tall, so I could have gone at least another repeat or two, but for a spring cowl I think it’ll work well. Whew! I’m so glad to have the done so I can send it off!
I also managed to whip out a cowl for another friend. I had one skein of Plymouth worsted alpaca in dark grey, so I used the Darkside Cowl pattern, and I made that in less than a day. It’s a fantastic pattern; I’ll definitely be making more.
It’s super cozy, the way it hugs the neck. Mmmm. I need to make myself one.
I enjoyed my little cowl-knitting break, but I think I’m ready to get back to hats. I’ve got a spring crochet scarf to finish up, but then I’m breaking out the circs. I sold a hat on Etsy (WHEE) so now I’m motivated to replace it and add more. And we have cold, snowy weather here today so the best thing to do is snuggle up with the puppy and the yarn.
Farewell, Seed Stitch Hat
Recently I posted about a seed stitch hat I was making with some HiKoo Simpliworsted in turquoise. I had a few issues with it from the beginning, but by the time I was ready for the decreases, I thought I’d worked them all out. I’d run out of yarn, though, so I ordered another skein and set it aside to wait. Well, the yarn came, and I immediately started the decreases. I had too many stitches. What? I kept going, thinking I could do more decreases per row than the pattern instructed. After I did that twice, it occurred to me to wonder WHY I had too many stitches. I went back and counted the stitches in the ribbed brim. I was supposed to have 94. Guess how many I had? 100! ARGH. Sure enough, I tried it on and it immediately slipped down my forehead. Stupid hat. I frogged it and couldn’t bring myself to start over. Now I have two lovely skeins of turquoise SimpliWorsted waiting for the right project.
Last night, I started a pink lacy slouchy hat. The yarn was bulky and the needles were big so it went fast, like halfway done in an hour. But I kept thinking it looked a little small. Finally, I decided I needed to check myself. I pulled it on. Yep. Too tight on my head, and I have a slightly small head. I’ve made this hat before so I went back and looked at my project notes on Ravelry, and realized I’d made the larger size last time. Oops. I could have kept going and made a large child size, since it’s just for sale and not for anyone in particular. But that’s not what I wanted so I frogged it this morning.
I guess the good news is that I finished two headbands this weekend and have one more halfway done, so my time wasn’t completely wasted. Today I’m going to make some more Wonder Woman tiara headbands, and maybe even do a set of her wristbands too. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll have some yarn pictures to share. But today you just get a funny puppy picture.
Yarn for Sale
In organizing my stash last weekend, I came across a few skeins of yarn that I know I will never get around to using, and I’d love them to find an appreciative owner. Descriptions and prices are below each photo, and I’ll ship them via Priority for $5. Just fill out the contact form at the bottom of the post, make sure to specify which skein(s) you’re interested in, and these little beauties can be yours!
SweetGeorgia tough love sock yarn Raspberry $20
Mystery sock(?) yarn in shades of purple and pink. Unsure on fiber. Soft, good elasticity. 4 oz $6 
Classic Elite Yarns Soft Linen in Tan. DK. 3 unopened balls. $20
Debbie Bliss wool/cotton in Dark Pink colour 125602. Sport. 2 balls 50g each, one unopened, one missing ball band but weight at 46g. $8
Ornaghi Filati Bamboo Fingering 137yds color 992 Purple $4
Mystery yarn but I’m pretty sure it’s Debbie Bliss Cathay. Has a lovely sheen. 50g $3
Tahki Yarns Willow linen/cotten Aran. 81yds/50g $4
Blue Sky Alpacas Alpaca Silk sport. Color I 16, the palest green. 50g $12
SweetGeorgia cashsilk lace 55g/400yds Raspberry $30
Sharing the Secret Hats
Finally! I can share some of the hats I had to keep a secret for SO LONG. I partnered with my aunt to make some hats for a special friend of hers, and we did a variety of patterns and colors to make her smile.
White cotton crochet cap. This was super fast and I think I have enough yarn left in the skein to make a second one. Pattern: Chemo Sleep Cap
Bulky Yellow Scalloped Hat. I loved making this one, especially the i-cord scallops. And since it was bulky yarn, it went quickly too. Pattern: Scalloped-Edge Hat
Shelbi Hat. Crochet, so quick to make, and a lovely design too. This one wasn’t free but I think it was worth it! Pattern: Shelbi Hat
Look! It’s Dumbo! I absolutely love this hat. When she asked for Dumbo, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to make one that looked good, but this little guy makes me smile, and I hope it does the same for her. This hat seemed to take forever: maybe an hour for the base hat, 2-3 hours for all the little pieces, maybe 2 hours for assembly? I’m not sure. It felt longer than that! Next time I should keep track. He was a mixture of patterns and improvisation, so you can check out my Ravelry notes here.
There are two more, but they have to stay secrets for now. Stay tuned!
Making friends with a crochet celebrity
Guys, the coolest thing happened yesterday! Who here is familiar with the Petals to Picots website? Yeah, like all of you, right? Well, yesterday I opened up Ravelry and found a message from Kara asking permission to use one of my photos on her pattern page. WHAAAT? Well, of course I said yes. I replied and thanked her, told her I was flattered because she rocks, and she replied to me and said “So do you!” Ha! How do you like them apples?? At least briefly, a yarny celebrity knew who I was. If you want to see it, look at her Santa Knit Gift Card holder pattern here. If she ever takes it off, I’ll be crushed.
Okay, so back to actual yarn usage. I began and finished TWO projects yesterday! I needed some instant gratification, so I got out my crochet hook and made a simple little baby brown bear hat. And once it was done I realized I need to make one in black for mouse ears.
In the afternoon, I cast on for a headband. I’ve got a little promotion deal I’m working out with another blogger. She’s a runner, and she’s going to test out my headband and if she likes it, maybe share some good things about it on her blog for other runners to see, plus do a giveaway contest! Pretty nifty, huh? So I’ve got those two made up and ready to ship off to her this morning. I’ll share more details when she’s ready to write her review.
I need to get a listing for these on Etsy so I’ll be ready to accept orders when they come flooding in (haha). And I need to do it quick, because this afternoon I’m going to the Kansas City Royals Fanfest! I’ll get to see some of the players, but I don’t know that I’ll stand in any autograph lines. Just going will be cool enough, I think. What about you? Anybody else have cool plans for this weekend?
Another Purple Hat Off the Needles
The other day, epicyarns shared a post of a beehive hat she’d made and it was just the kick in the butt I needed. I’d had the wurm hat in my Ravelry queue for ages, but it takes a lot of yarn, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to do the double-thick brim. The beehive hat looks very similar but had a simple ribbed fold-over brim. Well, I didn’t want to do that either, so instead of a 4″ brim I did about 1 1/2″ and moved on to the welt pattern. It knit up so quickly!
There are a lot of similar patterns, but I followed this one. I used Cascade 128 Superwash in Italian Plum and the recommended needles, but I cast on 80 instead of 88, and I’m glad I did. It’s plenty big enough.
After two purple hats in a row, I’m going to switch it up. I made a baby bear hat this morning and then I’ve got some pink Cascade waiting to become a lacy slouch hat. But first I get to do something completely different: I get to proofread a children’s book about a mischievous puppy! After several crazy-busy days, I should have a long stretch of peace and quiet today, and I’m looking forward to it.
bonnyknits 