Seasons Hat <– ravelry project page
Pattern: Seasons Hat by Jared Flood
Yarn: A bunch of unknown brown yarns that were gifted to me. 100% alpaca, or majority alpaca blends, mostly sport/dk weight. The darkest brown was heavy lace/light fingering held double.
Needles: I’m not sure… US 4 and 6, I think? (3.5 & 4 mm)
Notes: I pretty much just grabbed the colorwork chart from the seasons hat, and plugged in my own numbers, since the gauge was different. As with last time I knit this pattern, I had to do a bunch of swatches to see what color sequence I wanted. As with last time, I’m very pleased with the final outcome.
I wasn’t sure which color I wanted at the very edge of the brim, so I did a crochet cast-on and knit the body of the hat first, then unraveled the crochet and knit down the brim. Which took forrreeevvvveeerrr. But I knew I wanted a long 1×1 rib, and my cousin Sara was around for some of it, and would work a few rows when I was feeling done with 1×1 ribbing. Knitting down the brim also allowed me to do a sewn tubular bind off, which I *very much* prefer to a tubular cast-on. I couldn’t tell you exactly why, it just feels so much less finicky.
This hat was finished in 2014, and the pictures were taken in the foothills around Ojo Caliente in December. When I look outside right now, there’s something like 35 inches of snow on the ground.
Chunkeanie <– ravelry project page.
Pattern: Chunkeanie
Yarn: Brown Sheep Nature Spun and a bit of leftover Manos del Uruguay
Needles: I’m keeping very poor track of what needles I use recently… That’s not great. Probably US 6 & 8? (4 & 5 mm)
Notes: My friend Craig lost the last hat I made for him, so he was resorting to wearing store bought non wool hats. I think all knitters will understand how that is a PROBLEM. The solution of which is to make him a new hat, of course. I had a bit of yarn left from the last hat I made him, so I paired it with another yarn and made him a striped reversible hat. I’m not sure there’s much more to say on the subject!
Incidentally both of these hats were made for youtubers. So I think maybe we ought to do a little video show and tell?
The seasons hat was made for Rob Scallon, who is a talented musician. His style ranges allll over the place, but here’s a lovely meditative piece that he shot in the same warehouse that we have used as a location in PoPS (Damon’s warehouse, for the curious):
Check out his channel here: Rob Scallon
Craig is Wheezy Waiter on youtube, and his style tends more towards humor, but last September was his 1,000th video, and it’s something a little more special:
Oh, man, I’m such a softie… It makes me misty eyed every time. Craig’s channel is here: Wheezy Water.
FO: Geode Hat <– Ravelry Project Page
Pattern: Diode Hat by Erica-knits
Yarn: Mirasol Yarn Nuna in Purple, about 1.5 skeins just under 300 yards.
Needles: US size 2, 2.75mm
Mods: None!
I love these bobbles! I really like knitting bobbles, and I find them fun fun fun, but admittedly, sometimes they can be a little overpowering or silly looking on knits for adults. So I love that Erica made it more about a small, all over texture, both by using a less bulky yarn (sport weight) and bringing down the size by reducing stitches. It ends up feeling classic and ladylike! Erica’s original version in navy looks especially classic to me.
This is also the first time I’ve knit a double thick brim. I’ve seen it around the knitting world, and contemplated how nice it must be in the dead of winter, but never actually tried it myself!
As a knit, this is a good on-the-go knit. Once you’ve got the hang of the bobbles, it’s a fairly meditative knit that fits well in a (large) purse. But I assume knitters really only carry large purses. The yarn is a silk, wool, bamboo blend, and it is really delightfully soft. It should satisfy any friends with wool-uncertainties in terms of softness. The silk really contributed to the slouch factor here. I’m kind of tempted to knit it again in a more robust wool for the kind of lovely cheeky wintry height that it seems very capable of.
did i not promise you a cute child? look at those cheeks! can you stand it? i finished the hat quite early in january, but i wanted to wait to post it as an FO until i had pics of this handsome chap wearing his new chapeau.
FO: pom pom kid <– ravelry project page
pattern: none. my own. this was the inspiration. i’m not 100% certain, but i think i cast on 80 stitches, and knit 2×2 ribbing for an inch or so, then single row stripes, decreasing by 8 every other row when i’d reached a good length.
yarn: berroco ultra alpaca for the blue, elitespun fingering in charcoal held double, and some worsted oatmeal yarn, maybe patons?
needles: size 4 for the ribbing, size 6 for the body of the hat.
i made the pom pom with the assistance of a pom pom making tool, because my natural abilities don’t extend to full fluffy pom poms without a little help.
as is inevitable when you’re dealing with a toddler, this happened:
hopefully i’ve made it big enough, it should fit him for several years to come! the place we met was really cute, a pie shop in evanston, though there’s a chicago location as well.
colorblock rikke, bitsy & bobbsy (II), mistake rib hat
21 finished objects: 13 hats, 2 sweaters, 2 scarves, 1 cowl, 1 pair of mitts, 1 pair of socks, 1 toy. a slightly ridiculous amount of hats. an unprecedented amount of sweaters. 1,561 yards, though that is a very approximate conjecture. as opposed to last years 16 finished objects: 4 cowls, 4 hats, 2 mitts, 1 pair of socks, 1 pair of slippers, 1 pair of legwarmers, 1 camisole, 1 sweater, 1 baby blanket. so less diversity than last year, but more FO’s.
rosy fingered dawn, honey block hat, belafonte
goals for 2012:
publish one pattern
knit one sweater (doesn’t have to be for me!)
finish 20 knits
knit for pleasure
knit selfish
go back to spinning. maybe 6 skeins?
with an olive, winter is coming, bough
welp. i failed at a few of those. no patterns published, as i never could choose one to start pursuing! and i didn’t spin 6 skeins, though i did actually start making headway on that goal! i think i got 2 skeins spun up? but the balance on my spinning wheel got a little wonky, and i still need to get that looked at.
what the frack-tal, reduced circumstances, pops hat
but i accomplished more goals than not! 21 FO’s, one more than i hoped for! 2 sweaters! knitting for pleasure and knitting selfishly. this was kind of a big deal for me. in 2012 i experienced a bit of… knitting malaise. primarily due to taking on projects i did not have enough interest in. so i tried to be more careful about the projects i took on this year. i tried to make sure that even when i was knitting for others, that i was making choices consistent with what i wanted to be making. and it worked out! i’m still knitting a little less than i used to. but my peak was when i spent a minimum of 10 hours on a train every week. i don’t commute by train anymore. and now that i’m more active in the producing of PoPS, i don’t know that i can expect my output to equal those heights. and that’s okay. it’s just an adjustment.
stripey magee, tinker bell mitts, el pescador
this next year:
– de-stash. i want to have a stash that inspires me, not weighs me down. i don’t mind how i de-stash. it doesn’t all need to be knit up, i can donate, gift away, whatever. right now my ravelry stash claims i have 93 yarns in my stash. let’s aim for… 85 by next year? i would also like it all to fit in the closet i have allocated for it.
– try a new technique. i made a toy for the first time this year! one of the things i love love love about having knitting as my favorite hobby is that there are always new ways to challenge yourself, to learn more. if there’s a ceiling to what you can know about knitting, i’ve never glimpsed it! that said, i certainly can get sucked into remaining in my comfort zone. so this year, i want to make sure there’s at least one adventure! maybe brioche stitch? i’ve never done that. or stranded colorwork with more than 2 colors per row? maybe it’s time to get over my intarsia aversion?
– work from some new designers. while i was doing the round up, i realized how many designers i admire but haven’t knit from! so i’d like to try at least one design by joji and alicia. i’ve admired both of their styles for quite a long time now, but never made anything they’ve designed!
once upon a midnight dreary, ne me quitte pas, sloe berries
and i’m keeping the following:
– knit 20 objects. this is just a goal, not a resolution. i’d be happy with less, if they were a little larger in scope this next year.
– keep spinning. i was really loving getting back to it before i got interrupted.
slow news day, turn a square, clean slate cowl
i think that’s plenty to accomplish, honestly! i wouldn’t mind publishing another pattern, but i’m still not sure which one to pursue, so i’m not going to toss it on the official list. what did you knit this year? which was your favorite project? are you making any goals for the new year?
FO: turn a square <–ravelry project page
pattern: turn a square
yarn: paton’s classic wool, moss heather, leftover from slow news day, and some manos del uruguay de-stashed from a friend.
needles: US size 6 (4.0mm) and US size 8 (5.0mm)
this was a quick and mindless knit that i cast on for to have some movie theater knitting when we went to go see catching fire (sooooo good! i had low expectations based on the first movies and my love of the books, but i really really loved this movie. are any of you hunger games fans? anyone else see catching fire?). it served the purpose beautifully, used up some partial skeins, and jake got a new hat to boot!
FO: mistake rib hat
pattern: of my own devising
yarn: various. berroco ultra alpaca, and ultra alpaca fine, and some unknown worsted & aran weight orangey-reds.
needles: US size 6 and 8
another scrap busting project! i brought my crate of scrap yarn when we went to the family farm for thanksgiving, and this is what i worked on. i made it up as i went along. i cast on 88 stitches, knit a 1 by 1 rib for as long as i could stand it, because i knew i wanted a brim long enough to fold back. i switched to larger needles and mistake rib (row 1: *k1, p3*, row 2: *k2, p1, k1*). i am totally enamored of my decreases… so tidy! i had to rip back quite a few times, trying to get the color transitions just right. i really like what i ended up with.
and…. the last knit of 2013! finished on the last day of the year!
FO: bough
pattern: bough
yarn: takhi yarns sedona in dark olive, leftover from jake’s big bear beast (which, by the way, i just finished some alterations on, so probably a post about that quite soon!)
needles: US size 4 (3.5mm) and US size 6 (4.0mm)
there’s not as much to say about this one. i picked the pattern for a friend, thought this yarn would suit his style! this is a fun knit, though the twisted rib did seem to drag on and on for much longer than i would’ve thought. i made no changes. i like the single column of alternating knits and purls on either side of the ‘bough’ pattern, it adds a texture that i like and never would have thought of. and you know how i appreciate a tidy decreasing in a hat (see above!).
there is at least one knit that i very nearly finished this year, but it still needs some finishing touches. i anticipate it will be the first knit of the new year!
how was your new years eve? we spent ours very quietly. i just finished listening to the harry potter audiobooks, so now we’re working our way through all of the movies! we paused order of the phoenix at midnight, and cheers the new years in with our glasses of wine. i hope you guys had lovely new years eves.
cheers to the new year!
it was inevitable. i love knitting hats. this has somehow become the year of hats. i certainly didn’t intend for it to happen that way. but last year, i knit more cowls than anything else, and this year, i knit more hats!
horafrost (€3.90) a fantastically simple but not boring hat. great for the guy who wants ‘a plain black hat’, but stepped up just a notch!
dreiecke ($4.95USD) i obviously like the dreiecke, i made one myself! but it isn’t as stunning as this one! the yarn really elevates this project, and while i like mine, i feel like it’s a bit on the feminine side. and svipser’s really illustrates the masculine friendly aspects of this pattern.
upper east side ($4.00USD) this hat is fantastic. i just love this inky yarn and the unusual scalloped patterning. as grumpy as hearing ‘just make me a black hat’ can make me, there is definitely something to be said for it’s near universal quality, as this one beautifully exemplifies.
scrollwork ($6.50) is a nice variant from the expected cabled hat.
garfunkel hat (free). a hat round up could never be complete in my eyes until it featured colorwork. this is a nice basic overall pattern, with room for more intricacy if you want it (check out this excellent three colored version).
need more options? go check out last years hat round up! or the year before’s round up!
if you want more cabled options, check out hipster sister (free), or knotted pine ($2.00USD) for a paneled, asymetrical hat. i can’t deny that brooklyntweed totally has my number when it comes to cabled hats, so you should probably peak at bough and bray (both $6.50USD).
need more colorwork options? i’ve been sighing over fethaland ($5.00USD) lately, and muckle toque is practically perfect in every way as well. or if you want something a little more of the season, go for the bemidji ($5.00USD) and knit yourself some reindeer! i’m sorely tempted to!
want some more feminine options? the morning glory tam ($3.90) is very pretty. if you want bang for your buck, go buy two glasses on pink zin ($6.50USD) and get two patterns in one fell swoop, one cabled, one slightly lacy. or instead of two separate hats, you could go for a two in one deal with mrs jekyll & little hyde (€4.20), striped on one side, lacy on the other.
what are your last minute go to patterns for hats? did you try any new patterns this year as gifts and love them? do tell!
FO: once upon a midnight dreary <–ravelry project page
pattern: orchids & fairy lights
yarn: tanis fiber arts green label aran weight in colorway stormy
needles: US 6 for the brim and US 8 for the body
mods: i used smaller needles to knit the brim
you remember how i waxed poetic about the cheater cables in aidez? well, i put some of that to good use! all the little branches (or stems, depending on how you think of it) are wee little cables in this hat. and rather than pull out my double pointed needle (which is my weapon of choice for cabling) every other row, i used some of the cheater methods from the aidez cardigans cables.
this was my second time working with tanis fiber arts green label, and all of the things that impressed me about it the first time were still very much present. it’s a dense yarn with great stitch definition, surprisingly soft, with amazing colors and saturation. that said, i was worried about how the bobbles would turn out, being knit up with a dense plyed yarn. they turned out just fine, but i do think that bobbles would be better served with a fluffier single ply yarn that fluffs up even more with blocking.
i wanted to knit this pattern for a long long time before i finally got around to it, and this won’t be my last time! so next time, maybe single ply!
thrifted hat, blazer, pink jeans, woven flats – hand knit cowl – target cardigan
found these pictures hanging out from a couple of weeks ago! i’d brought my proper camera (the nikon) only to turn it on and find that the battery was completely dead. d’oh! so jill took some pictures with my phone.
does the pattern on this guy look familiar?
a bit like this?
i was test knitting the pattern for the incomparable chronographia!
FO: what the frack-tal? <–ravelry project page
pattern: sierpinski’s beanie
yarn: berroco ultra alpaca light in fennel colorway and king cole merino blend dk
needles: US size 4 (3.5mm)
i love a good colorwork hat! and i’ve always loved blue-green paired with yellow-green. so pleasing! this is a fairly easy knit. the most challenging aspect is the extra long floats that occur on certain rows (like the widest part of the big blue triangles). since i used lower contrast colors, i could wind them periodically on the really long floats. it’s something to think about though, if you opt to use higher contrasting colors, like the original, where that little wind would probably peep through. if you use a nice woolly yarn, especially a fluffier/halo-y yarn, winding will be unnecessary, as they will grab onto each other and felt almost immediately. the other aspect of the long floats that can be challenging is simply keeping the float loose enough to maintain the correct tension. my very first attempts at colorwork, years and years ago, were puckered little messes until i learned to loosen my floats. so it’s good practice, but it might be challenging if you haven’t dealt with longer floats in colorwork before.
this pattern would be good for any math nerds you might know. because who doesn’t love clever and attractive nods to their passion displayed in their clothing? i know i do!
it snowed a couple days ago, when i took these pictures. first snow of the year! it was gone within 48 hours. thank goodness, as i don’t think i’m quite prepared for real snowfall. is it snowing where you are?
thrifted hat, shoes – handknit swallowtail – j. crew teal cardigan
forever21 dress – target belt – topshop tights
this shawl is one of my more frequently worn knits. it’s really hard for me to know in advance which knits are going to get a lot of wear and which aren’t. logically, i can look back at this and say ‘ah, yes, it is a quiet and flexible neutral that compliments much of my wardrobe’, but i can’t seem to look forward and think that way.
also, you can probably tell, but i looove these shoes.
what’s going on with you today? got any insatiable crushes on new purchases?
ifandany 