Monthly Archives: April 2021

FO Friday: Purple Worsted Hat

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Happy Glorious Friday! Spring is really starting to bloom in full force here and I have a FO to share today. My Purple Worsted Hat is done, washed, blocked and photographed!

Pattern: None – a basic 80 stitch toque/beanie with 2×2 rib brim

Yarn: Shepherd’s Mill 3 ply worsted

Needles: US 8s

Mods: None really as I made this up as I went

I went with an 8 point decrease on this hat for no other reason than it divided nicely into the 80 stitch count. I even leveled up my knitting skill and I worked these hat decreases with DPNs while doing an outdoor walk. And I didn’t even fall!!

This hat probably won’t fit the hugest head but will fit an average adult or large child. The fabric did end up very robust and dense so this will be a very warm hat. This has been tucked away in the cedar chest for whenever I need a gift. I didn’t knit this one with a recipient in mind.

And even after four or five hats I am still scheming my next hat cast on, lol. Happy Knitting!!

Ripping Back

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My Double Vanilla Socks having been sitting in timeout for….awhile. The foot just kept looking super skinny compared to what my normal socks come out to. So I pulled a finished sock from my drawer and held them up together. And my instincts were correct….this sock is too skinny. So to the frog pond it went.

I didn’t go crazy, I only ripped back to the toe. I think I am going to only add 4 stitches to the total sock. That equates to two more increase rows before proceeding with the foot again. I think I will just be happier with a bigger sock.

My interest in this project has been rejuvenated since I made the decision to make them bigger. Sometimes my sub conscious is better at knitting than I am, lol.

Happy Knitting!!

More Hat Decreases

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My Purple Worsted Hat is growing nicely. I popped my hat onto my mannequin head to see where I was to determine if crown decreases were necessary.

This yarn is custom milled here in Kansas at the Shepherds Mill in Phillipsburg KS. It’s a nice round three ply. I think this would be what knitting with handspun would be like? I noticed some thick and thin changes in the plies for this yarn as I work. I’m not knocking it but its certainly different than working with a mainstream commercial yarn.

After consulting the mannequin head and getting the hubby’s opinion, I think I am ready to start the decreases. And maybe I can have a FO this week?

Happy Knitting!!

More Worsted Yarn Followed Me Home

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My hat mojo seems to be outstripping my worsted weight yarn stash. So of course more yarn had to follow me home!

This yarn is dyed by someone I met in the Wet Coast Wools zoom knit night. She is Kelsey of K-Zip Knits and is a Canadian indie dyer. She had a 20% moving sale last month and I jumped on it.

I picked up a silver skein called Sterling, a purple skein called Black Light and a brown skein called Cocoa. These for sure are headed for my hat bin but for right now they are marinating in my stash until it is their turn.

Happy Stashing!!

Cast On: Purple Worsted Hat

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Now that my arbitrary knitting rules are satisfied with finishing my Toxic Oreo Vanilla Socks I let myself cast on my next worsted beanie.

I snuggled into my bed with my knitting and zoom knit night friends. I plugged away and got the ribbing complete. This yarn is quite a bit thicker than my last worsted skein. It is the 3ply worsted from Shepherds Mill I got on my accidental yarn crawl. So I only cast on 80 stitches to keep the hat coming out oversixed.

This thicker and rounder yarn is creating a much denser fabric than previous hats. This will for SURE be a wind proof hat, lol. But the world needs all kinds of hats so I’m just going with it.

Happy Knitting!!

FO Friday: Toxic Oreo Vanilla Socks

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I held true to my arbitrary knitting rules and finished my Toxic Oreo Vanilla Socks!

Pattern: my own 68 stitch toe up vanilla sock “recipe”

Yarn: Lemonade Shop Sturdy Sock in Toxic Oreo

Needles: US 1

Mods: none really except for a few increases in the leg region to account my calves

The speckling turns out more pronounced in one sock versus the other. But this happens with indie hand dyed yarn and I’m happy with the individuality. The fit is pretty good with some negative ease without being too tight.

The toe up gusset heel from Wendy Johnson turns out to be a really good fit for my foot and instep. They stay well on my foot during wearing them without stretching out or slouching. I ended using 315 yards of yarn or 68 grams of the 100 gram skein of yarn. So there is a decent skein of yarn leftover for scrap projects.

Now I need to scheme/brainstorm for my next pair of vanilla socks! Happy Knitting!!

Progressing To Green

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Arbitrary knitting rules be damned…I can’t quit my latest In The Light shawl.

The first color section is done and the first fade transition. I’m now in the second full section where I am holding C1 and C2. This was going to be my most pronounced transition but I’m happy with how well its actually blending.

I think I have a couple row more of this section before I start the second fade. After this second fade then I will be ready for a solid green middle chunk. This project is very squishy and warm.

I can tell this simple version is using less yarn than the fringed version, which is okay. I’ll have scraps for my scrappy project. And I shouldn’t be surprised as I’m knitting less stitches because there is no border. This project would work well for smaller put-ups or partial leftover skeins.

I will put this on pause to try and finish my Toxic Oreo Socks if I can ignore the “just one more row” urge. Happy Knitting!!

Almost Complete Toxic Oreos

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My Toxic Oreo Vanilla Socks have been living in my purse and see slow but steady process. I have reached the cuff of the final sock.

I think last I showed you guys, the second sock was at the heel where I have the project keeper clipped in. I did my best to match the leg increase of the first sock until I got to the total stitch count I needed for the cuff.

If I sit down I could probably knock these out in maybe an hour? And then I would have some new socks to add to my drawer. But knitting heart only wants to work on hats right now. I might have to implement an arbitrary knitting rule and say no more hat knitting until these are finished, lol.

Do you have any arbitrary knitting rules?

Throwback Potholders

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About 30 years ago I wove my mother some cotton pot holders. And for the most part they are all still in service but are showing their age. My mother asked if she could have some more because she really likes how much better they work than store bought one.

So I enlisted Jellybean and pulled out our bags of cotton loops to make some presents for Grandma. I did most of the weaving while Jellybean was in charge of color placement.

We managed one potholder with 30 year old loops (top right) and it was a BEAST because the loops were not as elastic anymore. Next up Jellybean devised a patterned one (bottom right). The colors aren’t my jab but I was proud of his 6 year old patterning ability. And finally we used newer loops to make a random one (left).

We wrapped a ribbon around the lot and sent off to Grandma to replace her kitchen collection. I thought Jellybean would be more into this project but after three he seems to be content and not really interested in making more. Maybe we will put the supplies away for a few months and try again this summer?

Happy Crafting!!

Cast On: In The Light

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I was so thrilled with my Into The Light both for how much yarn it used up and how beautifully it turned out that I pulled yarn to make at least two more. And it was now that I realized I was using the wrong name for the project….its actually In The Light, lol.

@atangledyarn84

This version is going to be a green version. I pulled two skeins of Cloudlover Fiber sock yarn that I bought literally before Jellybean was born, so six years ago! They are the Mag Mell and Mojito colorways are going to be my beginning and end colors. To pull this project together I chose a golden skein of One Twisted Tree sock yarn in the Forest Floor colorway. One Twisted Tree is no longer dying so this is a special skein for me.

For this go around with the pattern I am going to do the plain version instead of the fringed version I did the first time. I am chugging through the first color section. Holding these highly variegated yarn double really smooths the colors out and makes a nicely evenly colored fabric.

I’m pretty excited to get to the next color to see how things blend! Happy Knitting!!