A Tale of Two (Slouchy) Hats

There once was a spinner who made some great yarn.

That spinner had a great boyfriend who really loved said yarn and told her "I want you to make me something out of this."

The spinner (also a knitter) said "Okay, what do you want?"

The boyfriend said "I don't know, a hat?"

The spinner said "But that will take a long time and I spent a lot of time making the yarn so there was a lot of yardage so I could make something interesting!"

The boyfriend said "Pleeeeease?"

And so the spinner agreed, although they didn't agree on a time frame or anything. So, in secret she knit (And knit and knit!). Keeping it a secret was no mean feat! For the boyfriend and the spinner dwell in the same place. And when she finished the requested object she almost burst at the seams, for this was exactly perfect. She wanted to give it to her boyfriend immediately, but soon the green eyed monster reared its head.

Alas, being one to keep her promises, she wrapped the hat and put it under their tiny Christmas tree to be opened on Christmas and received with much glee! On Christmas morning the boyfriend was glad to have the hat that he requested not so long ago.

 He smiled and thanked the spinner, and in return she said, "Finally! Now I can make one for myself!" And she did. And they both were really happy. The end.

Pattern Specs:
Yarn: Hat 1- Handspun BFL Hat 2-Noro Silk Garden Sock (Seen also here)
Needles: Sizes 3 & 4 (Size 3 for the ribbing)
Pattern: Felicity by Wanett Clyde [Rav only], the sock yarn version [Rav only] Mods by Bluebutton
Mods: I knit about 2" of ribbing instead of a rolled brim. I used larger needles than the sock yarn version. I started the increases sooner, and I increased less with more rows inbetween the increases. 1st increase: *k12, m1*, to the last one which was *k18, m1*. I knit 4 or 5 rows inbetween increases. I also knit straight for a few rows before the decreases which I started out with at *k8, k2tog*.
Thoughts: I really like the end results! If I were to make another hat, I think I would start the increases sooner, as now it kind of just folds in the back instead of slouching. I would also do more rows inbetween the increases to make up for the length. I would maybe also try some less slouchy decreases, just for fun.

Ow!

The crochet bug bit me! I know, weird, right? After hanging out on a forum at Ravelry for a bit we were talking about crochet and I wanted to do a differed sort of creating for a bit! I made two projects in the past couple of days. One:

(Technically 2, if you count the flower as a separate project since it's a separate pattern)

Specs:

Pattern: Baby Flapper Hat by Melissa Wen [Ravel it!] And Little Double Blossom Crochet Flower[Rav only!] by Jane Dominguez
Yarn: Plymouth Cotton Fantasy Naturale Solid
Hook: 5.5mm
Mods:
-1 fewer round of dec
-crocheted to 5.5” before doing the border
-Did the shell stitch w/ dc instead of tc and only slip stitched/chained 3 instead of 4 to make up for the dc.
-Used a different flower! I used the little double blossom crochet flower.
Thoughts: Cute! Easy! Fun!

I didn't make this for anyone in particular. I bought that cotton for a separate reason (actually it was supposed to be the pink in my log cabin blanket but it's thicker than the Cotton Fleece I'm using so I didn't like the contrast) and it's been staring me in the face for a while (What in the heck else could I do with bright pink cotton than make a child/baby hat? It did actually end up toddler sized since I used a larger crochet hook.

My second project is this little basket! I had some handspun that I had no idea what to do with, since it wasn't very much. I knew it was thick enough to go with the 5.5mm hook and so I whipped this little basket up!


Little Basket!

Specs:
Yarn: Handspun wool/silk noils dk-heavy worsted, less than 2 oz
Hook: Size 5.5mm
Pattern: Little Basket! by Me. Ravel it! Not on Ravelry? Find it here.


This project took about an hour, and I'm pretty pleased with it. I basically used all of the stuff that I learned how to do making the hat. Crocheting is so much quicker than knitting! Although it does use up so much more yarn! I am not a converted crafter, but I do think that some things just lend themselves to crochet. I will not hesitate to pick up the hook again for a satisfying little project or maybe some pretty edging on a knitted projcet. =)

Handspun Swirl

This past Sunday I decided to do some selfish knitting. There are some bigger projects that I really want to start but I'm waiting to finish a couple of other things first. So I decided to have a little self love with some of my very own handspun and yet another Ysolda pattern.

Specs:
Yarn: My own handspun
Needles: Size 10.5
Pattern: Icing Swirl Hat [Ravel it!]by Ysolda Teagues
Mods: I used a larger needle size and I only did 4 rows of the brim because I ran out of yarn!
Thoughts: I absolutely love it!

Handspun Goodness

The last you saw of my first finished skein of handspun was rather unceremonious, so I'm going to give it some more attention now. I bought a Subtle Stripes Kit from Cosymakes for the BF. Ever since Cosy was here back in November, the BF had admired her SOAR hat. He loved the colors in it and wanted one for himself. I told him that she had spun the yarn herself and in order for me to make one for him, I'd have to learn to spin, at the time I couldn't.

So the stars aligned (Okay, well, I learned to spin and Cosy started making kits for her SOAR hat) and I purchased a kit. Basically the kit comes with one 2 oz braid of one type of roving, and four 1/2 oz bundles of different colors (explained better at Cosy's blog on the SOAR hat link). You spin the 2 oz on one bobbin (or cop, if it's a spindle), and the for 1/2 oz bundles onto another bobbin and then ply them together.

Cosy suggest either doing a sequence of 4 or 8 (diving the bundles in half).

Now, my wont was to spin the fiber a heavy worsted weight and evenly, with a hot to cold striping pattern. The BF was having none of this. He wanted his hat to be unique and funky, and I certainly think that was the result. I spun the singles thick and thin, the 2 oz color had a lot of slubs, while the striping portion had only a few.

For the colors I let the BF choose the sequence, ultimately he decided to split the green color in half and from top to bottom have it green-blue-green-red/orange-brown/yellow/white. I had a decent amount of the 2 oz left over after plying so I andean plied it and kept it in case I needed extra yarn to finish the hat.

The BF, just to be difficult, decided that he wanted to wear it with the purl side out. It does look pretty cool with the purl side out, the slubs stick out more.

I didn't use a pattern. I started this had top down so I didn't have to do a gauge swatch, although I did have to restart. I started knitting it on US size 10.5 needles, but the fabric was very dense and I wasn't going to have enough yarn to finish it at that gauge. So I switched to size 11 needles and went on my merry way.

I cast on 4 sts, and kfb the first row and I did spiral increases, *k1, m1* the first round, *k2, m1* the second, etc until it was the right size. I did switch back to 10.5 needles for the ribbing at the bottom of the hat, though.

I also did need the extra bit of yarn I made by plying the base back on itself. You can tell the bottom of the hat is a pretty silvery gray.

All in all I'm very pleased with the whole process, I think it took just over a week! Ahh, just in time for summer. ;-)

Original Photos?!

It's been quite a while since I've written an entry with original photos. I generally like to include photos because they are what I like in other people's blogs. So I figured out the reason for this in class on Thursday (it was a fairly boring day). I didn't enjoy anything I was knitting.

It's too cold to knit lace, so I hadn't made any progress on either of those scarves, and I don't like the Windowpane Coat. Really. I really like the stitch pattern and I really like the yarn, but the two of them together just wasn't up my alley. I kept trying to tell myself that I liked it, and that I would be glad to wear it when I was finished because it would be snuggly and warm. But I just wasn't enjoying it. I don't dislike it, but I don't love it either. What's the point of knitting something for yourself if you don't love it? So that's headed for the frog pond. Instead, I think the yarn will become Amused. I think I'll carry the cables down the front and make it a cardigan.

Also in my 'I don't want to knit anything I'm knitting' state, I purchased some Noro Silk Garden Sock that I'd been eyeing since it came in. The colorway is romantically named 'S84'. It's bright and colorful and I love it.

And it's becoming mittens. Well, convertible mittens. Meaning fingerless gloves/mitten tops that flip back. I'm kind of just making it up as I go along, so I may have a pattern when I'm finished. I'm going to rely on a free glove pattern for the fingers, so we'll see.


Ysolda released the pattern Ishbel (Ravlink) and I saw it and thought "I want that. Now." So I bought the Whimsical Little Knits Collection (Why not? I liked several of the patterns =]), and some Malabrigo lace that I almost bought with the Noro but didn't because I didn't have a pattern for it.

The colorway is 'Pearl Ten' it's a lovely purple/gray/brown and it's so soft. I know, I said it's too cold to knit lace, but this will be pretty warm when I'm finished with it. Plus it's soft and I love it. =P

Also, I have my first FO of 2009! It took long enough, didn't it? I finished the Ranger Hat for Mason and he really likes it. I'm really proud of it as well.


Ranger Hat (Ravlink)

Specs:
Yarn: Moda Dea Bamboo Wool
Pattern: Ranger Hat (Ravelry)
Mods: I changed the decreases and only did 1.5 of the diamond repeats.
Thoughts: I love the pattern and the yarn, I think it's a really good match and I love this hat! =)

FOs

Okay, so I said that I'd have the 'mystery' knitting done by like last night, and I coud have, but it was turning out way too big (something that I was ignoring blissfully while knitting it). I was knitting up Cosy's handspun into one of her hat patterns from Knit one, Embellish Too. I love the way this yarn is knitting up! Here are some pre-frogging pics:








It's all wavy because it was sitting on a bush






So, on to the real FOs:


Binary Cable Hat:





This is a Christmas gift for my dad

Specs:
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted, 'Frost Gray'
Pattern: Binary Cable Hat By Firefairy (ravelry links)
Mods: I hat to knit about 18 extra rows before the decreases to get the right length.
Thoughts: Great pattern, really easy. It worked out wonderfully in the Malabrigo, the cabling looks great. It's knit at a tight enough gauge that it will be really warm and a little wind resistant.

OSU Striped Hat:

I look like such a dork in that picture!

Go Bucks! We're playing our rivals this weekend and at work we hat a pot-luck tail gate party so I had to sport my OSU shirt.

This is a Christmas gift for my Step-Father.

Specs:

Yarn: Plymouth Encore Worsted, gray, and Lion Brand Wool-ease 'Ranch Red'

Pattern: Fibonacci Pea Hat by Lisa Bennett

Mods: I added another row of single color, because I wanted there to be less of the red because I thought it was a little obnoxious, also the fibonacci sequence goes: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, etc. I also didn't do the twisted rib because I'm not super fond of ktbl, I have to actually pay attention when I do that. Also my gauge was bigger so I had to account for that.

Thoughts: It was a nice pattern and I think it turned out really well! I even ended up liking the red, even thought I didn't think that I would.

'Yo Gabba Gabba' Monster:






Now, I haven't been able to share him with you because he was for a swap! Mariesa's son, Cade, got him and she has told me that he loves his Yo Gabba Gabba (that's a show on Nicelodeon) Monster. He even went to bed with Cade! =)

Specs:
Yarns: Lion-Brand Wool-ease 'Cranberry', held with Knit One Crochet Too Douceur et Soie (mohair for the fuzzyness!) 'Pimento'
Pattern: Furry Monster by Heather Rupe
Mods: Okay, so there were many because I wasn't using the same yarns. The pattern calls for fun-fur, but I didn't have any and I wasn't going to buy any. For the arms I cast on 6 sts and worked until a little smaller than the reccomended length, and I did an extra set of increases for the hands, since the arms were originally supposed to be just the fun fur and then the acrylic is added at the hands, to make up for the fact that my gauge didn't change. For the legs I cast on 8 sts and worked to shorter than the reccomended length, and I did extra increases, but only on one side to give his feet a more foot-like shape. Also for the head of the monster I didn't draw the yarn through like reccomended, I grafted the stitches together. This unintentionaly created the point at the top of his head. Since I thought he was cute enough with just the point, I didn't bother making the antenae.

Thoughts: Cute pattern! Quick to knit up (if you have the stuffing on hand when you start!). I'd make another. =)

So onto the swap, here is what I send my Spoilee, Mariesa(ravelry)!

I individually wrapped everything because I thought it would be more fun to open that way. =)

Box includes:

Flavored hot chocolate, mocha, caramel, and mint I think

Hot cider mixes

Sticky notes

Magnetic paper pad

'Peaceful views' calendar (I thought it would be good for a busy mom!)

Chocolates

Ginger snaps from Trader Joe's

A Trader Joe's reusable grocery bag

A skein of Malabrigo Silky

Print off of patterns to go with the Silky

Recipies

For Cade:

Monster

Hippo toy

Various Candies

I had fun finding out what she'd like and putting together her package! Now I'm waiting for mine (I check the mail EVERY DAY! lol).

Lace

So ever since I saw Knitted Lace of Estonia by Nancy Bush, I've been itching to knit some real lace. Well I guess what really sparked my desire to knit lace was the beautiful Muir, and then Waves of Grain (which I plan on knitting right after Christmas!) AND Knitty has a free Estonian Lace Scarf pattern by Nancy. Hurry and down load it because it will only be free until December 11th!



*sigh* But I've been knitting on Christmas gifts. Luckily I decided to make my Grandmother a lace scarf, so even though it's not estonian lace (no nupps! I really want to try to make some...), and it's not for me, it's still lace and enough to keep me satisfied and knitting for Christmas and not for me.



I've been very busy with school work, so I haven't had as much time for as knitting as I's like. I'm usually working/cleaning/cooking/homework-ing until about 9 PM and I'll knit for a while before bed, which is usually a good hour, hour and a half, but I'm tired and it's not getting me as far as I'd like on projects. I have a rough draft of a 7-8 p. research paper due Thursday and an analytical paper due Friday(A week from today), and an oral report to be working on for the same class that the paper is due in. After this week things should chill out a little, but I'll be glad to be at the end of this quarter.



Tonight is knitter's night out at Heavenly Creations and I'm looking forward to that. I'm also looking forward to meeting Cosy, of Cosy Knits (Literally). She is going to be in town for Tiny Canary, and I offered my pull-out bed so she could skip the hotel. I've been pretty quiet about it, but I'm excited. =) She's going to be coming to Heavenly Creations with me tonight fot the knitter's night out, so it should be extra fun.

Okay, so, FO pics. =)

Reversible Lace Ladders Scarf(rav):


(This is the actual color)




Close-up

Specs:
Yarn: Plymouth Baby Alpaca Worsted Glow
Needles: Size 8
Pattern: Reversible Lace Ladders (gift)
Mods: I c/o 12 less stitches to make it thinner
Thoughts: I liked the pattern, it was easy to memorize and kept me interested (especially since it went so fast.. 6 days!). I like the yarn, just a little bit of sparkle.



Robin's Egg Blue hat(rav):




(pretty button)

Specs:
Yarn: Plymouth Encore Mega
Needles: Size 15 circs
Pattern: Robin's Egg Blue Hat
Mods: I had to account for gauge, and I knitted the brim in garter stitch instead of seed stitch.
Thoughts: Easy pattern, cute results. This hat only took me like 2 hours to knit. The yarn is squooshy and I'd use it again.


Two Christmas presents crossed off the list.

I'm currently working on Branching out(rav) and the Binary Cable hat(rav).

Have a great weekend. =)

P.S. The new Twist Collective came out. I'm pretty excited. Check it out.

Fall's Here

Fall=School.

I started school last week. So far it's kicking my butt. See, this past summer when I was signing up for classes for this fall I decided it would be a good idea to take an extra class this quarter, because there's one quarter that I need to do that so I'm not taking one class for a quarter just so I can graduate. I signed up for 2 English classes, British lit and Critical Writing, a Theatre class that explores world censorship, and History 141 (East Asia).

After my first day of classes I learned that I was expected to read:
-A total of 3 novels plus supplemental readings and reading from the text book for British Lit
-1 novel, plus a sort-of text book for Critical Writing
-1 novel and 1 play for Theatre
-About 16 chapters of a text book and supplemental readings for History (11 pt font and almost no pictures in this text book [which I know sounds childish but it breaks up the monotony of the dry prose] and chock full of text.)

Along with that:
-2 3 page papers and a final paper for Critical Writing
-2 3 page papers, a final paper, and an oral presentation for British Lit
-A paper and an oral presentation for Theatre
-A paper for History

Yeah. That's 8 papers and 2 oral presentations. That's one per week of the quarter.

I was stressed out already.

No way am I going to be able to accomplish all of this and work to pay rent and remain a sane person (Not to mention I'd have next to no knitting time!).

So I dropped my History class. The 2 English classes were specifically required for my major and if I dropped Theatre (Also filled a requirement, but wasn't the specific class needed) I'd have to wait 2 hours for my History class to start after my 2nd English class.

It's still going to be a busy quarter, but at least now I don't feel like it'll be next to impossible.


Okay, now for something fun.

I finished my Wonderful Boyfriend's Hat (guess who named it). I wasn't sure about this hat in the beginning. The BF picked the pattern, and I liked it okay. You make the twists by ktbl of the 2nd st on the left needle and slipping the 1st purl wise. It wasn't exactly fun to make but it was interesting and it was what he wanted. I also wasn't sure about how the colors were stacking up. They were bunching in weird places, some spots had almost no blue and some had a lot (I liked the blue best so I judged it by the amount of blue).

But, the final product was well worth it.

(He thinks he looks crappy in this picture so I cropped the one that went on Ravelry, but I think it's a good one and he doesn't read my blog.)

I pretty much love him.

Anyhow, I love the pooling of the colors and the way the twists look and the way it spirals on top. I think this may be my favorite FO (Next to Unoriginal Hat-Mine).

The yarn is Malabrigo Worsted in Arrecife. It's lovely and wonderful. Mmm.

Heavenly Creations (My LYS of choice) got a big Malabrigo shipment in and I kind of splurged on it. I bought said yarn for said hat, also 2 skiens of Malabrigo Silky in Stone Chat (scroll to the bottom). It's delicious and has been cast on as a Clapotis scarf. It's delicious and I can't wait to wear it.

I also purchased Malabrigo Lace Weight in Verde Adrianna, a gorgeous green. It's going to become the Muir for my grandmother with one repeat to make a scarf instead of a wrap. I love this pattern and I might end up doing it again for myself.

In other news, I began the sleeve for Emerald. It took me forever to figure out how to cast on and work in the round with two circulars. I ended up trying out the magic loop. On my Denises.

All was fine and dandy, tra la la, until I decide to take a minute (after 5.5" or so of sleeve) to see how it looks.

Ladders. 2 of them. Bad. I'd been tightening the first stitch on the new needle every row. Why?! Why ladders?! Sigh. I've ripped it out and restarted, but I managed to get it on 2 circs and I think I'll be fine now.

Moral of the story? Don't ML with Denises.

TTFN

Fiber Festival!

Today I went with Wendy and Amy to the Fiber Festival in Yellow Spring, Ohio. We had such a blast!

We left the Yarn Shop (fortified with coffee and tea) around 10 AM.

Wendy was very exctied. That's a pinwheel blanket she's knitting with Lorna's Laces in Apple Hill. She very happily dubs it "Knitting Crack"

We arrived at said festival and got straight to work, with Wendy and Amy immediately buying some Malabrigo, both laceweight and worsted. Wendy bought like a million skiens (Okay.. like.. 7) of a happy pink color (Strawberry fields right at the top). At this vendor I got to fondle feel Blue Sky Alpaca Organic Cotton. It was so soft and yummy I had to have some. After some coaxing from Amy and Wendy I purchased 3 skiens.

The color is deeper in person. It's really awesome!

Yes, coaxed! It was the first time I was going to buy yarn without a specific purpose and I was nervous and indecisive. But it's lovely and I'm glad I got it. I'm fairly sure it's going to become some version of Liesel.


There were tons of yarns vendors (Which I didn't take photos of).

And some cuddly animals (which I did take pictures of):

(I bought some honey from this farm, yeah local products!)

He bleeted so pitifully during this demonstration... lol.

And (importantly [almost as important as yarny goodness]) ice cream:

Amy is eating cookie dough ice cream with hot fudge and whipped cream in a waffle bowl. I had peanut butter cup with hot fudge and peanutbutter topping. Wendy had cinnamon ice cream (with apple pie stuff in a waffle bowl) which I think I actually preferred to my peanutbuttery goodness.

This is Wendy after consuming said ice cream it was time to fondle our purchases (Note: All of those bags except the one on the far left are hers).


After icecreamy goodness, we went for a second round (Read: Wendy wanted to buy 2 more skiens of that pink Malabrigo ;] ).

On the way home, Der Dutchman and overstuffed ladies.


I spent a reasonable amount of money (Read: not too much over budget) and I got 2 Christmas presents out of it:

This will be a lace scarf for my grandmother.

This is a sock kit I found for $20. As soon as I saw it I knew I had to get it to make for my mother for Christmas. She loves lighthouses. I was so excited I came home and colored the charts (they were scary looking in just black and white with symbols). As I was matching up the colors of yarn to the list that I had, I noticed something. I HAVE A COLOR MISSING!! I noticed when I bought the kit there was a hole in the bag and I figured that someone was just trying to feel the yarn, but no. Somehow the red yarn for the rooves of the houses escaped (Unless it's sitting in Amy's car, because I couldn't wait until I got home to open it up).

I cast on anyway (as you can see in the pic) and discovered that the yarn was sort of hard to knit. I think it's because it's so thick and it's being knitted on size 4 needles.

The yarn is Peace Fleece. I haven't made up my mind about it yet.


I also bought a bottle of hand made hand lotion. The scent is Kimono. It's girly and delicious. If anyone is interested I'll post the wed address of the woman that makes it (It's downstairs and I am no otherwise I'd just post it now).

It was a good day.



Also, I finished my Hat Attack hat! It is on its way to my target as we speak.. Bwuahahahahaha!

It's blurry because my camera only focuses when it wants to.

Also, this pattern made me want to chew rocks. Mainly just because the gauge was 6/5 sts per inch. I didn't really like it when I started knitting (the yarn or the pattern) but it grew on my and I liked the finished product. I was almost sad to see it go (almost).

Also, I thought that I'd done the first row of a color incorrectly and so I ripped back like an inch of knitting to fix it. After knitting back to where I was I realized I didn't actually mess up (This may be why I was up until 1 o'clock Wednesday night to finish it). That also made me want to chew rocks. The reason I thought that I had made a mistake was because I wasn't realizing that the first row of the contrast color shows up as the MC, becuase you're knitting those color sts. So like I was knitting brown and then I switched to green and the knits and purls for the first row show up in the brown yarn. For some reason this didn't occur to me as I wasted about an hour trying to fix it, ripping it back out, and then re-knitting it. >.>

Bah.

Oh! I almost forgot, A dog herding ducks:






TTFN