Hats, Revisited

The weather has cooled off enough for me to start wearing my hats on a regular basis. And, in between sweaters, I plan on making more. They are a nice, quick knit, adding style and flair to an otherwise boring jacket.

During my walk in the park, I decided to take a few self portraits showing off some old favorites.

Ice Dragon (Snapdragon by Ysolda Teague)

Rose Red Redux (Rose Red by Ysolda Teague)

The Sanity Hat (Meret Beret by Wooly Wormhead)

Breiwick (Breiwick by Gudrun Johnson

And this old chestnut, which had been relegated to the back of my closet:

Odessa (Odessa by Grumperina)

There are a couple more hats I'd like to re-shoot, and one I'd like to remake completely. Verity, another winner by Ysolda Teague, has always been a bit too big. But now, with the new hair, I resemble the Pillsbury Dough Boy!

And of course there will be new hats to make and wear. This new hair is VERY hat friendly!

An Ode to Ysolda

or Who I Spent Summer with...

If you are on Ravelry, you can't NOT know who Ysolda Teague is. But in case you aren't, or don't, let me tell you. Ysolda is a 20 something designer of the first rate. Her designs have appeared in the on-line knit 'zine Twist Collective as well as several print magazines. She has just self published her second booklet, Whimsical Little Knits 2, and has many other designs available on her site. Though I have yet to meet her personally, I did spend my summer with her in the most enjoyable way. By knitting her designs, one after the other.

In August I showed you some of Ysolda's hats I was making, though I never got around to showing you the final pic of Rose Red Redux:

And my first post back was all about Ishbel. Here are some of the other things I didn't blog about this summer:

Ice Dragon

Pattern: Snapdragon Tam

Yarn: Madeline Tosh Worsted

Fiber: wool, merino

Colorway: Iceberg

How Much: 1 hank

Needles: KP Options 4 mm and 4.5 mm

Ice Dragon Flippity-Tips

Pattern: Snapdragon flip-tops

Yarn: Madeline Tosh Worsted

Fiber: wool, merino

Colorway: Iceberg

How Much: 1 hank

Needles: KP Options 4 mm

Damson

Pattern: Damson

Yarn: Sundara Fingering Silky Merino

Fiber: 50% silk, 50% merino

Colorway: Secrets Kept

How Much: .8 hanks (400 yds)

Needles: KP Options 4 mm

Oh My, What a Lovely Cape you Have

Pattern: Emily capelet

Yarn: Madeline Tosh Worsted

Colorway: Duchess

How Much: 2 hanks

Needles: KP Options 5.5 mm

(This has been finished and blocked. I just need a good photo, so you'll be seeing this again!)

But wait, there's more. Because I still plan on making... to be continued

Little Lessons

During my recent knit-free time, I managed to finally sit down and star reading Clara Parke's must have reference book, The Knitters Book of Yarn. While I've had the book a good long while, I'd never done more than glance through the sections. That afternoon I made it through all of Section 1: Fiber Foundations and most of Section 2: Making Yarn. I can't wait to get to Section 3: Ply Me a River to better understand all the ply business. I do know that after making a cardigan that was pilling before I ever bound off that Single Plies are not for me, except maybe in an accessory here or there.

Back in Section 1, I learned all about the properties of the yarns we knit with: protein, cellulose, cellulosic and synthetic. What's light weight but warm, all about scales and staple. And I learned, once and for all, that Mohair is from Angora goats and Angora is from Angora rabbits. An important distinction!

Which brings us full circle in the hats department. Ysolda Teague hats, that is. My first Ysolda hat sets the gold standard of all hats. Gretel is my best fitting, most flattering hat I happily wore almost all winter. It was also my first experience Berroco's Ultra Alpaca (50% alpaca, 50% merino) and I can't wait to use it again. For a pair of Almera gloves, perhaps another Gretel, and yes, even a sweater!

Gretel by Ysolda Teague
Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca
Needles: KP Options, 4.0 & 5.0 mm


I then moved on to Rose Red (or as I called my project, Petal Pink). If you remember, I was trying to behave myself and knit from the stash. The pattern called for an Angora blend but all I had was some Teddy Mohair I'd brought back from Israel. Yes, it had the fuzz factor, but it also was partly synthetic and it just never grabbed me.

But when I found 100% Angora on sale at Knitting Nation I just HAD to grab it so I could try again. Rose Red Redux is working out beautifully! Yes, it sheds a bit and is a pain to work with in this heat. That's probably the main reason the hat isn't done yet. I do a few rounds and my hands are sweating and full of magenta fluff.

But this thing is so incredibly soft! And the color! It's so worth it! And I'm hoping once it's done and just sitting on my head that the flying fluff will cease.

Rose Red by Ysolda Teague
Yarn: Valeria di Roma Angora in Magenta
Needles: KP Options, 4.0 mm


My third Ysolda hat, Verity, was finished before the 9 Days but took FOREVER to dry.

As anyone who has made this will tell you, the hat flies off the needles, and then when all you have left is the band you learn that IT takes as long as the hat to finish. But it is so worth it. Look at that lovely Linen Stitch texture.

Finding the perfect button is always a challenge. But one that I enjoy. Once again, after rummaging through almost all of Sheila's fabulous buttons, I finally found this one.

Perfection!
Verity by Ysolda Teague
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk Aran (80% alpaca, 20% silk; 100 soft squishy goodness!)
Needles: KP Options, 4.5 mm


I'm thinking of making another Verity as well. With Knit Picks Andean Silk in Grass, to match my Backyard Leaves. Remember, I'm all about the matched sets these days!

I'll Take Mine to Go

Due to very unreliable Internet service the last couple of days, I'm going to make this short and sweet.

Purim was amazing! And exhausting! And didn't leave much time for knitting! But I made some very good progress on my Rose Red (or as I call it on my Ravelry page, Petal Pink). Still, I have some niggling doubts. Like will I wear this once it's done? It's been a long time since Acrylic and I have been in conversation. I worry that I'll finish this and decide that I just can't do it. And cast on AGAIN, a third time, with some yarn I will have to BUY? Is this rational? Am I truly a yarn snob? Or am I nuts? What do you think?

Rose Red by Ysolda Teague

from the inside

I've knit even more since I took these pictures this evening. All that remains is the band!

Pretty in Pink

I love Gretel. I love how it looks, how it feels. I loved how easy, yet never boring, it was to knit. And I love all the compliments I have gotten on it! I just had to have another Ysolda hat and work with the Ultra Alpaca again. Oh, and it had to be pink. So off I went to Stix-n-Stiches and picked up some of the gorgeous pink, enough for a hat and mittens or gloves. (After reading the this Yarn Harlot post a few weeks ago - see Excuse 7 - I've felt an overwhelming need for matched sets!) I may have also picked up some more New England Shetland in Garnet so I could have a hat to go with my Druid Mittens. Have I shown you those yet?

But I digress. I bought the pink. I have a large head (go on ask my mom, she'll say it's big. I prefer large.) I have A LOT of curly hair. Hat patterns tend to be small. So if there isn't room in the pattern to add an extra repeat I go up a needle size. Like I did with Gretel. I chose Rose Red this time and cast on for a medium size since the wool is slightly heavier wool (the pattern calls for DK) and knit on faithfully knowing all would be ok. And it was. It was a beautiful hat.

And then I tried it on.

It covers my nose People. Thanks for all the compliments, but it covers my nose!

Now the original pattern calls for Angora. I don't love fuzzy, and I don't have Angora. But we are in recession. Right? So I couldn't justify buying even more yarn for this. Not with the perfectly beautiful Ultra Alpaca sitting there mocking me. And with some stealth Sundara on the way... So I went shopping in the stash and found this:

Teddy's Wool Lady Mohair Rich. From Israel. Sitting in an abandoned suitcase for over 1.5 years. And yes, there is acrylic. A lot of acrylic. And it's Mohair, not Angora. But I cast on anyway.

I went with the large this time. Not taking any chances. That's the problem with top-down hats. You really don't know if it's going to fit until you've gone ahead and done all the work.

It's still pink. And the lace work shows through. I'm hoping I fall in love with it. But as I said before, it's not going to make itself in two days!

And look. There's more pink.

My first time using yarn from Colourmart. Cashmere. On the cone. Lace weight. Hmmm, a secret project that I've been thinking about a long, long time.

Isn't it pretty?

A Series of Unfortunate Events

A week of physical pain followed by another of the worst flu ever has left me with little to show for myself. And don't be fooled into thinking I got a lot of knitting in from my sick bed. Though I admit I did try. Everything I touched turned to straw. Seriously! From my progress on the Endpaper Mitts to my work on Longbourn. From my Charlotte's Web (ugh!) to my comfort knit of a new hat. Nada. All gone ribbiting away to the big Frog Pond.

You want to see how bad things have gotten? Well, this is how far I got on the Endpaper Mitt before I realized I had done something very wrong. Again.

Look at that seem. Same mistake I made with the first mitt. Could I have paid any less attention to what I was doing?

Longbourn. Yes, I got through the leg and I think it looks rather nice. But the heel. The heel.

I've already said the short-row wasn't working for me. This was just the last stitch and the re-attachment to the sock. So I decided to go with a heel flap and gusset. No problem. I made one and reattached, only to learn I had made the flap in the wrong place! Upon working the gusset I saw that I had shifted the entire pattern. So I ripped that out and started again. I'm only a few rows into the new flap and I think I'm going to hold off. When I feel back to normal, I'm going to go for the short-row heel after all.

Charlotte's Web. I have admitted defeat. The color combo I want isn't going to happen until Tina releases or relreleases the elusive colors I need. In the meantime, I have swatched some other combos and think I may have a FEW winners. I'll keep you posted.

And the biggest disaster of all. My comfort knitting project. The one I chose to take me away from all my failures. My flop.


Red Rose by Ysolda Teaugue in just the WRONG weight yarn. Fear not. I did some stash diving and have come upon a replacement. I won't kick it out in a day or two but I think it will work.

But let's end on a happy note. I am feeling better and my knitting mojo is returning. Tomorrow will be all about successes!