Cast On: Swiftie Hat #2

I need to get cracking on a re-do of my Swiftie Hat after my last one came out too large. I wound the yarn and started working on a doing in a size medium. (I knit a large last time.)

I have to switch up the colors because I used up so much in the last one. I think I can still make a super cute white version as I have the most of that. I did have to cast this on no less than three times. The first time I had the wrong size needles and I counted wrong. And the second time I had the wrong sized needles and I counted correctly. The third time I finally got the correct smaller needles and correct number of cast on stitches.

I am going for a folded ribbing looks so I knit about 3.5 inches of hat and then started the main body. I am pretty happy with the gauge thus far and this looks much more appropriate for an average women’s sized head. Next up is the colorwork!

Happy Knitting!!

Finished: Rhiannon’s Socks

I have finished the legs of Rhiannon’s Socks and they are ready for gifting.

Pattern: A basic 60 stitch toe up vanilla sock

Needles: US 1s

Yarn: Urth Uneek Sock in Zebra colorway

I am really happy with these socks. They worked up quickly once I actually knit on them. Turns out knitting for smaller feet does in fact go faster. The self stripe portions really was consistent across the two skeins. (This yarn comes caked up in two 50 gram skeins). And the finished fabric feels like it will wear super well. I did use less yarn than normal due to the size. I used 62 grams or 272 yards of yarn. I might have enough yarn for some small shorties? But likely this yarn will go into my scrap blankets.

Now the hard part is trying to schedule time with this friend so she can have her gift. World peace is easier than our schedules, lol. Happy Knitting!!

A Pair Of Zebra Heels

There are two turned heels on my Rhiannon’s Socks.

I had to dig out the pattern I have saved on my phone because the online pattern I used is on a website that doesn’t exist anymore. But it is a toe up gusset heel. And they pretty fast when you are only working 60 total stitches.

And bonus points to me that they slightly match! I didn’t try to manipulate it that way, just a happy accident.

Happy Knitting!!

Finished: 2025 Fall Hat

The 2025 Fall Hat is complete and ready to into the hat bin.

Pattern: My own basic beanie recipe with 112 stitches

Needles: US 5s

Yarn: Yarns Northwest Silk and Merino

The finished hat used 1.5 of the 50 gram skeins of the yarn. That’s about 185 yards of yarn With the silk, this will be a warm hat and I will likely never use this yarn for hats again. It shows EVERY mistake and it a little fuzzy being a single.

The hat came out blocked to an adult medium size or large child. I think I will let my teal loving PB have this hat for school use. I won’t be sad if this one gets lost along the way. It will have served its purpose 🙂

Happy Knitting!!

Snow Washing Shawls and Hats

Today is the snow wash day for all the shawls and cowls. It continues to stay very cold here so that is key to the success of this process.

This is a thing I did with my sweaters and blankets when it was actively snowing. For this round I had to kind of sprinkle and kick snow over the knits. I let these lay out for 4-5 ours and then dried in my basement. I did spritz them with some soak scented spray for extra goodness.

I am finding that the finished objects did relax (a little) like they do with a bloc. And they smelled better even before the spray. For more benefits and better explanation, I like this article by County Living. Basically is it’s like ancient dry cleaning.

Happy Winter!

Coffee And Decreases

I am fully caffeinated and ready to knit. I really want to finish this dang 2025 Fall Hat.

This singles yarn really shows ALL my mistakes or poor stitches. It is also really easy to split with the needles I chose. This will for sure be for the “school” pile or keep at home pile as it’s not the most polished piece of work.

I need like three more row and then I can start the decreases. I have 112 stitches total so I am thinking eight star decreases with 14 stitches each. And another cup of coffee….

Happy Knitting!!

Snow Washing

I’m channeling my inner Yarn Harlot or Norwegian ancestor. We had some SUPER cold temps and very dry fine snow. So I decided at 6 pm to snow wash some of my woolens.

I started with all the wool hand knit sweaters I could lay hands on. There is my Autumn Gold, Love Note, Round Yoke pullover, and Rainbow Radiate. And a few more not pictured 🙂

And with the kids (and dog) using the knit blankets more, I decided to snow wash the blankets as well. I left everything out for about 3 or 3.5 hours before I shook out and took inside. I splurged a little and pulled out that woolen spray from yesterday and gave everything a spritz of yummy scent.

I think next up will be my shawls…..they could use a wash.

Happy Winter!!

2025 Fall Hat Progress

I am really trying to finish this hat this month. And the Fall Conference Hat is still slow going. I got a decent inch added during a long work meeting.

I think I need another solid inch and I can start the decreases. This yarn is single and can get splitty. I am interested to see how well I can work the decreases without driving myself insane.

I am fully into the second ball of yarn. So there will be leftovers for my leftover pile. That pile got bigger when I did the annual stash toss and container consolidation. I need to come up with more ideas than worsted weight hats.

Happy Knitting!!

Zebra Heels

I think I am getting close to where I need to start the heels on Rhiannon’s socks.

She is a US 7 women’s foot so I am using the internet to help me gauge how long the foot needs to be based on averages. Negative ease can help me here along with the fact that wool stretches out. It should all be fine.

I need to dust off my turned heel instructions…..

Happy Knitting!!

A Couple of Toes

Rhiannon’s socks are coming along nicely. I think working socks in tandem is just how to trick my brain to work better.

This yarn is working up at least semi consistently across the two socks. One side is micro striping and the other side has some thicker black stripes. I haven’t decided which “side” is going to be the bottom of the foot and which will be the top.

I am also very torn about the kind of heel. I feel like a turned heel is the right choice but I feel nervous about knitting that kind for a person I have never met before. I just need to put my big kid pants on and just knuckle under I guess. They will fit someone if they don’t fit my intended recipient.

Happy Knitting!!