FO Friday: Another Royal Hat

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I completely got bewitched by my WIPs and forgot to share that I finished my Another Royal Hat. I had this almost done with decreases like a week and a half ago and I finished it in like 30 minutes.

Pattern: My own beanie “recipe” with 88 sts on worsted yarn

Needles: US 8s

Yarn: TreasureGoddess Yarns Warmth Worsted in the Swimming with Fishes colorway

I was super happy with this one. The end result fabric was just the right feet, the spiraling decreases are gorgeous and it fits like a dream. True to my past performance, I used about 75% of the skein or 175 yards of yarn. I just have a deep love for these rich and saturated blue hues.

I think I have enough scraps now I need to think about another Frankenstein Hat!

Happy Knitting!!

Uptown Decreases

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It’s now leggings and fire pit season! Fall has arrived even though we get a few hot flashes that make us feel second summer. I managed some toasty toes and hat knitting outdoors.

I have my Uptown Hat all the way to the decreases. I should have like 30/40 minutes of knitting left. I am finding this acrylic is easier to knit with grabbier wooden needles than the smooth metal. Probably should have figured that out sooner, but we still got here.

I find myself looking at the stitch definition on this and marveling. There is zero halo and all the little Vs just march right along. It looks and feels very orderly. And I think I am getting better at keeping gauge as I pick up and put down. I notice I get looser when I get sleepy or tired.

Does your gauge move around on you?

Leading Men Fiber Arts Birthday Party

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Back in September Leading Men Fiber Arts held their annual birthday day sale with a decent discount code. I have been all about hats in 2024 so I added their Box Office worsted base to my collection.

Their site is easy to use and they offer winding service! So from left to right I picked up Chocolate Mousse, Sweet Corn, Poison Apple, Oh Christmas Tree, and Orange You Jealous.

I think the red and yellow will be a Chiefs themed hat or two for Jellybean and maybe my dad? The orange could be a nice cap for my hunting inclined friends or my runner friend who needs to be visible. And I just like the chocolate and green so they came along for the single skein ride.

Happy Stashing!!

Knitting In The Park

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I borrowed Dad’s golf cart and took the hooligans to run out their sillies last night as we feel the last dregs of warm fall. My Uptown Hat came along for the ride.

In between “mom watch this” and “mom, come start my swing” I managed to get the brim finished, folded and attached. It was a little trickier picking up this dark yarn. I was happy for the daylight!

This acrylic is not wool but the fabric is still nice. Trying not to get so tight that there is zero air flow. I tend to pull acrylic harder. This will for sure go in our donation or “safe to take to school” bin for the kids. No harm or foul if it doesn’t come back, lol.

Happy Knitting!!

Thanks, I Hate It

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I should have listened to my gut. Turns out I HATED how my LSP hat was knitting up. The fabric was dense and not forgiving at all. It was so stiff that it was barely curling. So to the frog pond it went!

The yarn is back to it’s natural state. I was using US 8 needles and I think I would be better suited to go up to US 10s and then reduce down in stitch count. Rough math makes me think I could go down to 80 instead of 88. The hat is basically a swatch so I think I will start with that and see what happens. I can always rip out again!

Happy Knitting!!

FO Sunday: Sea Slug Hat

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Seeing so much progress with Sea Slug Hat and then the cast-on-itis guild for starting another new hat. I was compelled to keep working until Sea Slug hat was done. I really only needed like another hour/hour and a half. What is wrong with me sometimes, lol?

Pattern: My own beanie “recipe” in sport weight. For this lighter weight I cast on 112 stitches to achieve the gauge I wanted

Needles: US 5s

Yarn: Malabrigo Arroyo in the Sea Slug colorway

I ended up using about 200 yards of yarn or 60 grams. This hat will have some slouch in it depending on who is wearing it. It has my go-to stockinette folded brim for ear warmth. PB modeled for me and it was a bit loose on her but it’s snug on my big noggin.

They do take longer but my fingers enjoyed the break of big needles and worsted yarn. I think it is good for me to mix it up once in awhile to avoid RSI. I will have to do some shopping for more sport or DK for hats?

Happy Knitting!!

Cast On: Uptown Hat

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My rosewood circulars were bare after finishing the Classy Cashmere hat and in complete disregard to all my other WIPs, I started a new hat. I am calling this one (super creatively) my Uptown Hat.

During my summer stash re-org, I found this partially used skein of acrylic worsted and added to my hat stash. It’s really not enough for a baby knit and I wanted it gone from my pile. It is very soft for acrylic and the deep navy is very rich.

And as I am on repeat, this is another one of my hats by “recipe” of 88 sts on a US 8 needle. I am a broken record. But all this hat knitting is just scratching some part of my brain and creating dopamine so I am LEANING in. I haven’t had mojo like this in a long time!

Happy Knitting!!

FO Friday: Sally Hat

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My crafting fervor has been growing as the temperatures are dropping. I swear I started this Sally Hat and then looked down and it was done!

Pattern: My own 88 stitch beanie “recipe”

Needles: US 8s

Yarn: Geektastic Fibers Star Worsted in the Sally colorway

I really don’t measure these hats anymore. I just eyeball the height or slip it on my head to see how far down it comes past my ears. And then I start the decreases. I am getting fairly predictable where I use 75% of the skein. This one was 76 grams or 145 yards.

I did use a folded brim. But with the self-striping yarn, it’s hard to see. And these stripes were fascinating as they were definitely micro stripes. The colors were always changing and maybe that is why this knit so fast?

Let’s talk about this pom pom. The ladies vending Geektastic at SSK really upsold me on this. I didn’t really look to buy it but it looks GREAT with this hat. It adds whimsy to the chaos. It just ties in with strings so I can remove as necessary very easily.

As for this new to me yarn, I would 10 out of 10 knit with again! Happy Knitting!!

Knitting After Dark

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I am WOEFULLY behind on my KnitGirllls podcast, like months. So I camped out on the couch and stayed up way to late binging YouTube. The silver lining? My Sea Slug hat got quite a lot of knitting done on it.

This is a Malabrigo sport weight yarn. And while it does take more stitches and longer to knit, it sure does make a nice fabric. And in this color the speckles are spacing out quite nicely. They are random but even and that makes my brain happy.

I think only a couple more inches and I can crank out the decreases! Happy Knitting!!

Pooling Decreases

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Another Royal Hat is ready for decreases. And I noticed something about this hand dyed skein. At my gauge it is spiral pooling around the circumference of the hat.

There are some spots of this yarn where the dye didn’t fully penetrate and it has white spots. Those light and dark spaces are circling the hat. If this was a garment, I would definitely alternate skeins. For a hat, that doesn’t matter much to me. Most muggles would never notice anyway.

Happy Knitting!!