My book club held a belated Halloween meeting. We read Remarkably Bright Creatures that resulted in a robust discussion of the book. Pretty much everyone loved it!
I also took my bag of gift hats and let everyone pick one. My knitter heart was happy when everyone found something that tickled their fancy. They even obliged me and took a group photo. It brings me joy to share these things with people who I know appreciate it!
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! 🙂
This Bluestem Pattern might be my new fixation for hats. I can use up DK scraps and finally put that Mohair I have stashed to good use. Let’s face it, I am never going to wear a mohair sweater…..cowls and hats are where it’s at.
Yarn: Apothefaery Fabrications Delightful DK in Glimmer and Stranded Dyeworks Mohair Silk in Gloom
Mods: Added one repeat of hat patterning
I love this marriage of yarns held double. The grey mohair really mutes the DK yarn. It’s not quite as soft as my first one. But that one had alpaca content…..
And bonus, the mohair really ups the yardage count for this project for more points in the DCS 2024 Pigskin Party KAL. This project ended up being 95 grams and 319 yards. This hat is going into the gift pile and I have plenty enough left of the mohair skein to make another hat. I just need to find the DK!
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!!
I completed my annual mammogram and check with my physician. Not my favorite thing to do but very important. So I decided to bundle a necessary thing with a fun thing….habit bundling!
I stopped at the The Studio yarn store in KC after my scan and I treated myself to some yarn. I grabbed a gold skein of Malabrigo Rios, two skeins of Potion Yarns cashmere DK and two skeins of Nordic Yarn eco cashmere for more hats. It was a wonderful wind down for that day. I also picked up a felt glasses cash to keep my sunglasses safe in my car and purse.
And the bonus? I mentioned to the yarn shop ladies why I was shopping and I had done my mammogram and they included some shop swag to celebrate! I received a pen, phone stand, tape measure and cup.
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.
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!
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.
This Bluestem Beanie was addicting. The regular repeats of the pattern really helped me mark and notice progress and it was hard to put down.
Pattern: Bluestem Beanie by Rebekah Lil (Rav Link)
Needles: US 7s and 8s
Yarn: Hat kit from Amber Waves Dye studio with their Alpaca Cloud DK and Kid Silk Fluff
The finished project is heavenly soft, that alpaca really helps the underlying softness with the fluffy mohair. The finished hat weighs 67 grams but feels like air. I think the finished yardage worked out to roughly 229 yards of yarn. I did add one extra repeat of the patterning to make my hat taller before starting decreases.
This yarn and pattern combo is so well done. I love how the colors worked out in the finished piece. The dyer did a great job! I think I will make this pattern again with other yarns in my stash to see how it works up with other bases mixed with mohair.
I have been so concentrated on my new cast ons that I almost forgot to share my recent FOs! First up is the Musselburgh in Blues!
Pattern: Musselburgh by Ysolda Teague
Needle: US 8s
Yarn: Six different worsted weight scraps (Rav Link)
The first “half” of the hat looks certainly more purposeful and color blocked than that last half. I used up 6 bits of worsted weight scraps to finish this hat. It weighs 98 grams and came out to 209 yards total.
The hat isn’t for everyone but the double layer is cozy and I feel quite accomplished by using up every last bit of this wonderful yarn!