Fluffy Decreases

Turns out that a full day of sitting in a cold ballroom is just the right motivation to get my Great Sweater Hat all the way to the decreases! And impress a few muggles along the way.

My extroverted introvert is now safely tucked into bed and I have the needles in for the decreases. I also have my complimentary glass of wine from the happy hour and I’m flat out exhausted. We have a half day tomorrow and I should be able to finish this one. Don’t worry, I’ll tuck a backup project in my bag for when I finish.

Happy Knitting!!

Bonus Mom Night

I am gearing up to run a conference this week and I checked into my hotel a night early to get settled. And I took all the hats that I cast on with me in a big ole bag. For the first day, I focused on the vanilla fuzzy hat that I am calling The Great Sweater Hat.

The sport yarn is Leading Men Fiber Arts callback base in the Great Sweater Debate color and I’m holding it with Stranded Dyeworks Mohair Silk in the Patisserie. I cruised through the brim and got it folded/attached. And now it’s stockinette cruising until I reach the decreases.

I am really loving this hotel/convention as I have a sitting area separate from the bed/sleeping area. This is the same place I stayed for Knitting In the Heartland 2024 and its amazing! I am excited to see what else I can crank out when I’m not bouncing between mom-life and work life.

Happy Knitting!!

Noir Brim

My Film Noir Hat is swimming along nicely. I am safely into the main body pattern repeats.

I can now confirm that the stockinette is softer than my previous 100% wool version of this. The mohair still has a tooth to it but the cashmere blend smooths that out. I am not sure I can tell any difference when it gets to the patterned section. I think the texture negates any softness you gain with the fiber content.

Happy Knitting!!

Cast On: Chiefs Hat #5

This weekend is all about the cast-on-itis and I used football game watching to start another hat brim. I managed to get the full brim knit over two games and get everything turned/connected.

I picked up a skein of Malabrigo Rios at the Studio in the colorway Sunset. I thought this gold/orange color would make a great compliment to my Chiefs Hat #4 colors. I have that one finished and will show you tomorrow all the glamour shots. I started with the Pearl Ten grey for the lining and then moved into the Sunset. I am just now adding the red/Sealing Wax color.

I am not sure how Chiefs-y this will turn out but I am too far to turn back. This will end up a functional hat no matter the colors. OH and I did make the brim wide enough to be able to have a decal added.

Happy Knitting!!

Cast On: Film Noir Hat

I decided to put that grey skein of Potions Yarn DK with cashmere to use. I just finished my Delightful DK hat and had enough mohair left to make more hats. I thought that grey would look great with this variegated grey.

I am doing another Bluestem Beanie and holding these yarns double. I am interested to see if I can feel the difference of the finished fabric when it has cashmere content. I don’t think it will be a soft and drapey as the alpaca but should be softer than the 100% wool DK from the last one.

I also realized that I am the only Raveler making this pattern right now. I am wondering if the designer is excited….or weirded out! 🙂

Happy Knitting!!

More Kiddo Christmas Tubes

Duke and I are working hard on Christmas gift knitting. I am really excited about making tube socks for Jellybean that will maybe have a longer shelf life with his growing feet.

I pulled out another sock snake and started installing some toes and cuffs. Amazing how fast those go without adding heels! The main yarn is unlabeled from my stash. But the contrast is some Knitted Witt Smarties mini skeins in Mighty Oak (green)

These tubes are exactly half of the sock snake. I did cheat a little and have Jellybean try them on to see if he balked at the feel. But he liked them! So I feel better about starting the second set of tubes, phew!

I may even go back to my pink sock snake and get those worked up too! I hope he is going to enjoy them. Happy Knitting!!

Another Bluestem Beanie

Over the weekend, I cast on another Bluestem Beanie and once again, couldn’t put it down.

I smashed through the brim and several repeats of the pattern repeat. For this version I chose to use some scraps of Apothefaery Fibers Delightful DK that was leftover from a baby sweater for PB. I paired it with some Stranded Dyeworks Mohair Silk in the Gloom colorway. The mohair is a light grey that dulls down the minty green of the DK.

I will note that this finished fabric is NOT as soft as the alpaca and mohair combo. Not in a bad way but it does feel more rustic with a less soft base yarn under the mohair. I’m interested in what people think of this one when its done.

Happy Knitting!!

Deer Hat Progress

My Oh Deer! Hat has been living in my car these days for car line knitting and appointments. Progress has been slow but I did finally turn the brim.

I am also reading Remarkably Bright Creatures for my book club. It has been just the right amount of story detail and family drama to fit in my brain space this fall. I was unloading my car this morning and noticed how well my knitting coordinated with my book, lol!

Happy Knitting!!

Cast On: Chiefs Hat #4

I am still working my projects for 2024 Pigskin Party KAL points so here is my fourth Chiefs Hat this season.

I decided to start with the Malabrigo Rios I recently stashed in the “non-traditional” colors in my basic beanie recipe. This is my 88 stitch basic beanie recipe. I did make the brim about 5 rows taller so I could fit the embroidery patch on. The ones I have left are pretty tall.

I also chose to have the red keep going after the fold. I like the edge it creates to the hat. And then I moved back to my smaller stripes in the body of the hat. I was disappointed that the grey skein had a knot in it and I had to splice the yarn. You can TOTALLY see my splice. I do plan to put the patch over this to hide it.

Happy Knitting!!

Pardon My Sneezes

I have been obsessed with my Bluestem Beanie and it has been my all consuming project. I have forgotten how much mohair fuzzes and creates floaties. I find myself with mohair on my clothes and tickling my nose/eyes. To the point my kids asked me why I was sneezing!

Since this weekend, I have knit the 6 inches of stockinette and started in with the patterning. I had to concentrate to set up the stitches but once I was established then I can knit it almost without looking.

I do have to be careful to catch both plies. I found a couple of stitches where I didn’t grab the mohair. And thus far I have been pleased with the mohair as far as staying tangle free and being able to pull back mistakes. And the feel of this finished fabric is DEVINE! I will definitely work this combo again.

Happy Knitting!!