FO Friday: Mom’s Bonus Christmas Hat

Posted on by
3

Mom’s Bonus Hat is done and dusted! I crushed this project with only inches of yarn leftover!! (Picture me doing enthusiastic fist pumps in the air.) And perhaps by coincidence or fate….today is her birthday. So happy birthday Mom!!

Pattern: My own 88 stitch basic beanie with a flat/seamed crown

Needles: US 7

Yarn: Shepherd’s Mill 2 ply DK in the Berry Gradient colorway

Mods: None really I was just creating on the fly for this project.

This hat used up almost every last bit of the 51 grams or 141 yards of the remaining gradient I had leftover from my Mom’s first Christmas gift hat. I am SUPER pleased with how my idea for the boxed crown came out. An my Kitchener skills aren’t too shabby either, lol.

I think I will plan on wrapping up the first hat I knit and give to her for her birthday with a bottle of wine. And then this recent hat will sit until Christmas time where everyone I know will be getting hand knit hats, lol.

Now I just need to scheme my next hat cast on! Happy knitting!!

A Purple Rain Heel

Posted on by
4

Purse knitting for the win! I have reached the heel on my first Purple Rain Vanilla Sock

This yarn is turning out less gradient and more color blocky. But I am considering that a pleasant surprise. I am still struggling to make sure I don’t split the plies on this yarn but as long as I pay attention, its not horrible. My plan is to just knit up the leg until I get the last color block and then add the cuff. And I will make the cuff until I run out of yarn!

My one bummer is that in one of the darker purple sections had a ply break. And that run away play wound it backwards on to the previous yarn. So now I have a line. The dark line is where I have three plies of yarn that is immediately followed by a lighter section of just one ply. This could potentially be a week section of the sock. For this reason I won’t gift these socks. I figure if something goes wrong then I can always mend or patch what blows out.

But it has been good for my knitting mojo to have this project showing such good progress. It makes me feel accomplished even though I can’t seem to find big blocks of time for knitting!

Happy Knitting!!

Out Of Hibernation

Posted on by
1

Well, I decided to move this project out of Hibernation and into FO status. These were intended to be my Knee High Christmas socks. But in the end I just couldn’t get past how much brain space and purling it would take to make my original vision. So I wasn’t even picking this project up…..at all.

So I am just going to finish them as they are. I have already added a very small cuff to each sock and I finished the toe decreases on the second tube. This was a Lolodidit Hippo for Christmas skein I had cranked into a sock snake/sock tube.

Basically at this point all I have left to do is add heels and then these can move into my sock drawer. They will be pretty tall but won’t be knee highs. I do have some concern that they won’t fit my full calves but if that happens these can just be socks for my sister. Win win.

It feel liberating to finally make a decision on this project and get it out of my WIP box. Happy Knitting!!

Racing To The Finish

Posted on by
1

Mom’s Bonus hat is racing to the finish. My yarn ball is getting scary small!

I have solidified my decision to make this hat a box top. I need every bit of this yarn to make a hat that will be big enough for an adult head. Which means I will knit until I have a yard or two of yarn left and then I will close the hat with Kitchener stitch. This means my hat will have “ears” but I don’t think my mom will mind.

I really don’t have much choice as I don’t have any coordinating yarn in DK in a similar fiber content to add in. Literally nothing…..so here I am. It is kinda nice to think about finishing this project with zero leftovers. I just wish I wasn’t cutting it so close, lol.

Happy Knitting!!

Cast On: Volcano Trail

Posted on by
1

Summer had me itching for a new project aka new cast on. So Iet myself cast on my Volcano Trail that I had been wishfully knitting.

I am just barely past the cast on, lol. But this first chunk will be a stockinette section folded over and seamed to itself for the top edge. So I am holding the first color double with itself. I am excited for the colors I have picked for this project, they are quite eclectic.

First up is some Shibui Knits Staccato in the Raspberry color and next I will add some Spunky Eclectic Spunky Socks in the Wild Child color. My third color is a mystery skein of greenish sock yarn that I got in a mystery box purchase. And I will round out this project with a skein of Mrs Crosby’s Hat Box in the Pansy colorway.

So if those yarn names mean nothing to you, basically the cowl will move from pinks to greens and back to purple thanks to marling. This project promises minimal purling so that is a bonus for this garter loving girl!

Happy Knitting!!

FO Friday: Scrappy Marl #2

Posted on by
4

Despite my hesitations about this project I did manage to finish my second scrappy marl hat. My second Scrappy Marl is done, blocked and photographed. In the end, I’m okay with this project but still largely “meh” about it.

Pattern: Scrappy Marl by Beata Jezek (Ravelry link)

Needles: US 6s and 8s

Yarn: A whole bunch of tiny sock yarn scraps with no real scheme

Mods: I upped the needle sizes by 2 in order to get a bigger hat than my first one.

This hat ended up using just over 300 yards of sock yarn. I think I used up all but four of my tiny balls of sock. I consider it “tiny” when its under 5 grams. So this was a great stash buster for me.

Just as in my first one I used a spit splice to join all my ends so I didn’t have 1,000 ends to weave in ends. My kiddos laughed at me because I legit used a balloon to block this hat. I inflated the balloon inside this hat and set out to dry. They couldn’t wait for it to dry so they could have the balloon, lol.

This FO is definitely going into the donate pile. It is a fine hat but I just don’t love the chaos of colors. But it is still a functioning hat and will keep a head warm. The yarn is all superwash so I would feel comfortable donating this to a local shelter or other charity.

Happy Knitting!!

Knitting Pays Off

Posted on by
2

All spring I have been knitting the daylights out of the In The Light pattern, I finished one here, here and here. I was inspired to knit this project thanks to Chevas of the Chevyrell’s stuff podcast. Not only did I learn about the In The Light pattern from her but she was hosting a #YarnCoitusMAL this spring. The only requirement was to use two or more indie dyed yarns in one project. Well I entered my first In The Light FO and I won one of the prizes!

In my prize package I got a really cool wine themed project bag, a skein of hand dyed laceweight from Happy Hands Hand Dyed yarn, and an enamel pin and vinyl sticker from the Chevyrell’s Stuff podcast.

I have never used actual laceweight yarn before so I might need to find the right project for this special skein. But I have already put the pin on my knitting notions bag and the sticker is on my water bottle. So it just goes to show that sometimes knitting pays off in more ways than just the FO!

Happy Knitting!!

Unsure About The Chaos

Posted on by
1

I have some more colors added to my Scrappy Marl #2. I’m drifting a little more away from “ugly” but I’m not sure I would call this elegant by any means.

I have another inch to add and then I will be ready for the decreases. I only have about 5 small balls of scraps left in my bag. So that is thrilling to get odds and ends used up into something useful. I am determined to finish this project before I hold judgement on its final aesthetics.

I do love this pattern and its simple instruction. Ten out of ten I would make this again to use up scraps or mini skeins. Happy Knitting!!

Cast On: Mom’s Bonus Hat

Posted on by
3

I have 48 grams of my Shepherd’s Mill 2 ply DK yarn left from my Mom’s 2021 Christmas Hat. I decided to dive right back in and cast on a second hat for my mom. With the idea that I will use up this skein of yarn and give her both ends of the gradient.

I made a couple of tweaks to try and set myself up for success. First, I took the stitch count down to 88 total for the cast on. This will hopefully increase the height I can achieve given I have less yarn for the second. Second I think I am going to forgo standard/typical crown decreases. I am going to knit until I run out of yarn and the Kitchener the top closed in a “square”.

This could end in a fail or in a quirky project. I don’t think my mom will care as long as its warm and her ears don’t hurt when she takes her dogs outside in the winter, lol.

Happy Knitting!!

A Second Chaotic Marl

Posted on by
5

While my needles and project bag were still at hand I did cast on a second Scrappy Marl. I tried to group my tiny scraps into coordinating pairs to use when I hold them double. So far I am not convinced about this project….its reading a bit more “ugly” than “chaotic” to me.

My husband told me to put my OCD brain on hold and wait until I have added all the colors added in. He thinks it will all blend more when I get some other colors added in. He could be right but my sequential and orderly brain just rebels against this, lol.

For sure this hat will go into the gift/donation bin. While I am confident I can make this into a perfectly serviceable hat….I don’t see myself keeping or wearing this one. But I am jazzed about how many tiny balls of scraps are disappearing from my stash!

Happy Knitting!!