Oops, I made a hat!

Yesterday afternoon I stumbled on a cute pattern on Ravelry, and despite really needing to get on with my shawl knitting, I decided, what the hell, it's MY knitting, and cast on. And then proceeded to knit the whole hat in under three hours, or two episodes of Jeopardy (sans commercials, thank you tivo) plus A Life Less Ordinary (which you should see if you have not). Without further ado, I present my new alpaca hat:

Just to be clear, I don't actually smirk very often, even though I'm always smirking on the blog. The reason for this is that I'm trying to avoid having a double-chin, so I avoid actually smiling for most of my blog photos. Just so you all don't think I'm a smirker...

Project Stats: Alpaca Hat

Pattern: Robin's Egg Blue Hat

Yarn: Cascade Baby Alpaca Chunky, less than one skein, in ivory. Yarn purchased at Weaving Works, where I also got the button.

Needles: Size 10.5 bamboo straights and DPNs

Time to knit: March 14, 2008, about three hours

Impressions: Cute! Fun! Fast! Warm! This is a fun pattern, really simple and really quick to knit up. If I make another (Not unlikely - I have lots of potentially appropriate yarn in the stash. Many people might get one of these for Christmas next year.), I will make it a tad smaller, especially if it's for me. But it does fit, although I made it slightly too long. I have that problem with hats - either too short or too long, and always just a little bit either way so I don't bother to fix them. Alas, I like it anyway!

In other news, I have finished the first border chart of the shawl, and have mastered the nupps. I actually haven't had much difficulty negotiating the p5togs, but that's probably due to the spectacular Knit Picks needles with their lovely sharp tips. Now that I'm all into the lace and feeling confident that I might actually finish a lace project, I'm looking forward to what I want to knit next, and thinking that whatever it is I'll have to get more of these needle tips in whatever size I need, because they are great. I knit eight rows today and I think I have 25 left, although the last 15 don't have nupps and hopefully will go by quickly. I doubt I'll get much accomplished tomorrow because we're going skiing, but we'll see. If my eyes aren't tired when we get back I'll try.

The Carpathia Scarf/Hat

First FO of 2008! Here is the secret Carpathia Scarf and Hat, which I knit as a gift for Daisy. Not a Christmas gift, really, just a to-be-nice gift. I won this yarn in a blog contest, and although it's quite nice, it's really not my color. However, Daisy took one look at it and proclaimed that she loved it, being a fan of the chartruese. So, then and there (about 1.5 years ago now) I decided that I would knit her something with the yarn. It came with the pattern for the Carpathia Scarf, so I knit that, and because it was getting to be a good length with a lot of yarn left, I made a matching hat.
Project Stats: Carpathia Hat and Scarf
Pattern: Carpathia Scarf from Cider Moon. I improvised the hat based on the scarf pattern.
Yarn: One skein each of Cider Moon Champagne (mohair) and Glacier (superwash merino), colorway "Ruffled Feathers," held together throughout.
Needles: Size 11 bamboo straights, circular, and DPNs. This is why one needs so many needles!
Time to knit: Not long, a week maybe?
Impressions: These were lovely yarns to knit with, and I'm really happy with the finished scarf, although the hat came out a tad larger than I intended. Daisy seems to like it (or she is a convincing liar!), and it looks better on her than it did on Dave and I when we were testing it out during the knitting, which is good (notice there aren't any photos of us in the hat...). The stitch pattern is easy but results in a pretty cool pattern, as you can see in the close-up from yesterday's post. I didn't get a chance to block the scarf, but it's quite drapey and I'm not sure how well it would have held the blocked state. The scarf pattern called for one skein of each yarn, but I knit the scarf almost to the length in the pattern, with hardy fringe, using only slightly over half of the yarn, leaving me enough to knit the hat as well. If anyone is interested I can reconstruct how I made the hat - I wouldn't mind having one for myself, albeit a bit smaller in circumference.

Now for the juicy details of what I really learned knitting this project! First off, it is not wise to try to be efficient by winding two skeins of yarn together into one ball to save oneself the trouble of carrying around two balls, especially when one winds up knitting the entire project at home anyway. Ask me how I know this. Because this project entailed knitting with two strands of yarn throughout, I had the brilliant idea of winding them together with both skeins on the swift at the same time and a giant ball on the ballwinder. Well, in theory this was a good idea, but the first go at it I had one yarn going one direction and the other going the opposite way, which obviously didn't work. A little foresight could have prevented that. Also, a little foresight could have prevented me from putting the larger wool skein above the smaller mohair skein, such that it kept falling down around the mohair while I was winding the ball. Although annoying, that didn't result in any real difficulty. The problem I ran into was during the knitting itself. Anyone who has knit with mohair knows that it likes itself. Very much. So, while I was knitting (from the outside of my giant double-yarn ball), several rounds of adhered-to-itself mohair would peel off together, causing tangles and preventing the wool strand from coming off the ball. So, I spent a lot of time untangling yarn, removing it carefully, or, when all else failed (often), breaking the mohair, removing the mess, and tying it back together. Let me tell you, this was really irritating. If I was really careful I was able to prevent the yarn belching (not vomiting, as it was only one yarn of the two, and in smaller quantities than would have come out if I'd have been using the center-pull method), but more often than not, even with due diligence, it would happen. But, that's all water under the bridge now, right? And I've learned my lesson on this one...

In case you're keeping track, I'm doing pretty well with my January goals. I have accomplished #2 (soon to be gifted and then blogged), #5 (Carpathia Hat), and #8 (the gold shawl). #4, the hat for Rembrandt, is at the crown decreases (thank you Dave) and will be finished any day now, and I am almost finished with the sleeves of #3, the Drops swing cardigan. So, I consider that good progress being made, although looking at the sleeves I'm a bit skeptical about them going into the sleeve holes, but I'll have an answer on that pretty shortly, maybe even this evening...

David's Earflap Hat

David's Earflap Hat
Originally uploaded by Emily E.M.

Phew, another one! I whipped this hat up so quickly I didn't have time to mention I was making it! It's for David, the graduate student who is just finishing his rotation in my lab. We were at a Christmas gift/craft show at work a couple of weeks ago when he spied some clearly handknit Noro hats, and was really excited about them. I stopped him from an impulsive purchase and told him I'd be thrilled to make him a hat. I love knitting hats. So, we discussed color (He really wanted purple and green - hopefully this won't be too lavender.) and that he liked stripes and pom-poms, and off I went. Anne-Marie and I took a trip to Weaving Works yesterday morning for yarn and then I was off. I started knitting this mid-afternoon on Saturday and finished it tonight, which is probably a hat record for me. I'm really happy with the way it turned out - hopefully he'll like it too!

Project Stats: David's Earflap Hat

Pattern: Kim's Hats, from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts. Modified for smaller gauge yarn. See below for details.

Yarn: Noro Kureyon, Colorway 188. Purple and army green. The green is darker than the upper photo implies.

Needles: Size 7 circular and DPN.

Time to knit: December 8-9, 2007.

Impressions: I love it! I modified the pattern to compensate for using smaller yarn than the Manos called for in the pattern. I used 96 stitches at a gauge of ~5 stitches/inch. I also started the decreases at 6.5" instead of 8." Looking at the hat on Dave, I'd say that was a wise move. The pom-pom was a joint project for Dave and I, and was quite fun - it's a bit wonky but I like it and it will suit its recipient well. He asked for purple and green stripes and a giant pom-pom, and that's what I've conjured up for him! I'll try to get a photo of him wearing it, but no guarantees...

And no, the socks for my grandmother still aren't finished...nor have they been worked on. This was more pressing as David is leaving for Christmas this week.

Ana Hat!

Well, I guess perhaps knitalongs aren't for me. Usually I get so far behind that it's hardly worth saying I'm in a knitalong, but this time it was me who jumped ahead. As I mentioned last week, Anne-Marie and I decided to have a mini knitalong for the Ana Hat. I cast on last Wednesday night and, despite not knitting at all from Friday-Sunday, finished my hat this evening. I know I said I would try to take in-progress photos because this hat has pretty interesting construction, but it ended up coming together much more quickly and easily than I envisioned, and I forgot to pause for photos. Without further ado, here it is, the Ana Hat:

Project Stats: Ana Hat

Pattern: Ana, from Perl Grey

Yarn: Fleece Artist Woolie Silk 3 ply. Kit (yarn + pattern) purchased at Hilltop Yarn.

Needles: Size 7 bamboo straights, DPNs, and a long circular.

Time on the Needles: November 28-December 5, 2007. Not long at all.
Impressions: I'm pretty happy with this, and Dave assures me that it doesn't look silly, although I have my doubts. It looks better in reality than in the photos - apparently I'm not particularly photogenic today. This was a really quick knit, and ended up being much less confusing than I anticipated. Basically you knit a large rectangle (133 rows of stockinette). When you've finished the rectangle, which is essentially what wraps around your head, you pick up stitches along the cast-on edge and then along one side, which makes a curved rectangle with three sides on the needle. Confused yet? Then you create the puckered back using DPNs to do several short three-needle bind-offs, which pulls the fabric into pleats. I didn't really get it until I did it, if you know what I mean, but in the end it was pretty simple. I think I could've done a better job closing the final hole and getting the puckers even, but the hat is pretty slouchy anyway and I doubt anyone will notice. It can be worn stockinette side out or reverse stockinette side out, and I think I prefer the latter because I like the rolled-up brim. The Woolie Silk was a dream to knit with, and I'm trying to figure out what I can do with the remaining 71 meters. Sadly I doubt it will be enough for mitts, but I might try. And, of course, being turquoise I love the color :)

The "A" Projects

This post is brought to you by the letter A and the number 2, which is how many A projects I've got on the needles. I started the Anastasia Socks for my grandmother last weekend: I haven't done too much yet, but I'm plugging away. The pattern is simple but as usual I haven't bothered to memorize it. It really doesn't bother me to carry the chart around and keep track, plus I hate fixing things, and if I don't get all cocky about knowing the pattern I'm much less likely to screw it up. Dave was unhappy that I exploited Oliver for that photo, but I've seen much worse stuff on cats. Here's a close-up of the sock: The yarn is Socks that Rock Lightweight in Lucy, after Wendy's cat. The picture isn't the best, but the yarn color is pretty accurate.
As promised I also started the Ana Hat, from Perl Grey. I should take a photo of the diagram that came with the pattern - it's quite confusing, and just reading through the pattern makes me wish I'd taken some engineering classes. I'll try to take progress shots as I go so I can show you how this thing comes together. So far I'm knitting a giant rectangle. The yarn is quite nice to work with - it's Fleece Artist Woolie Silk, a 65/35 wool/silk blend. I love the colors (teal - go figure!). But what really should be mentioned here is the row counter, which is vital for this project. I'm one of those people who would rather keep track as I go instead of counting later, and I'd rather not have to carry around something to keep track with (pen and paper), and for this (131 rows) a counter is key. I have an identical one somewhere in the ether of my apartment, but I can't find it for the life of me. I even checked in the sweater-that-shall-not-be-named's bag, but it wasn't in there. So, and this is the good part, Dave offered to go buy me another one yesterday. Of his own free will. I should probably keep him.
Speaking of Dave, we're off to Portland for the weekend. The hat is coming along, as is the sock and the sleeves. I suspect the hat will receive the most attention. It looks like it's going to be cold/snowy/windy/rainy/miserable. I'm looking forward to it. Cyclocross is ALL ABOUT the suffering and bad weather!

A new hat...

Man, am I cranking out the knitting this year!!! This is the fifth FO of 2007, and it's only early February! I'm sure you're wondering what the others were, since you've only seen the Embossed Leaves socks and the woven scarf. I've also made these clogs for my mother's birthday, which were a great success.

This was my fourth (!) pair of felted clogs and I have to say that I'm about done with them although I'd really like to have some of my own...These were knit with Plymouth Galway, in the ever-excitingly-named colors 718 and 92. I got the yarn whilst home at Christmas (my last yarn purchase before the Great Fast of '07) and had to smuggle it home a) so my mother wouldn't see it, and b) so she wouldn't yell at me for acquiring more yarn.

I also finished a pesky little scarf I've been working on FOREVER, but I'll wait another day to show that off, since I have a slew of hat photos. Dave had some fun with this one...

First there's the lovely "from the side close-up for detail" shot:

Then many more followed, and finally the "please no more" shot:

My hair is getting really long...but I digress.

Project Stats: Rio hat

Yarn: Rio de la Plata Lana del Artista, color LA 89 (also a very inventive color name - how do they do it?). Purchased at Weaving Works sometime last year.

Pattern: I made it up, based on Kim's Hats pattern from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts.

Needles: Size 9, circular and DPNs.

Time to knit: Not long. Hours rather than days, especially if I'd have gotten it right the first time...

Impressions: Hehe. This is the hat I started, and finished at Madrona, only to discover that I had been a bit overzealous and knit about two inches too far before starting the crown decreases. So, last Saturday I dug into the suitcase of courage and ripped it out, which was much less traumatic than expected. This is some grabby yarn - the stitches just stood there and waited to be picked up, like tiny woolen hitchhikers. I really enjoyed working with this yarn, and I love my hat, so I kind of wish I could go buy more and make another, but I will behave myself. Now, you all know how I feel about Manos, but I have to say that this stuff is at least as nice and significantly softer. Not as soft as Malabrigo, but probably right in the middle. And no pooling. Great stuff. I had quite a bit left over, but probably not enough to do anything useful with. We'll see.

I'm at the toe decreases on my first Step sock, and I've stalled a bit to consider my options. Progress photos soon, I promise, and a finished So-Called Scarf!