So Snaggy

Thanks to a trip to the theaters and Moana 2, my Cherub hat has a brim! Great movie by the way, I will totally watch again when it streams.

My yarn is some really deep/old stash of Cascade Cherub Aran leftover from a baby sweater 10 years ago. I had forgotten how splitty and fussy this yarn was. I have to mind the plies very carefully.

The yarn is incredibly soft and feels great on the skin as it is a nylon and acrylic blend. I could have done to go down a needle size to US 7s as the fabric is a little loose and see through when not doubled over. But there is no going back now! This will likely end up as a charity hat or gift hat. I like my wool and wool blend hats!

Happy Knitting!!

Casting On Two More Hats

I am filling up my empty needles early this morning before work. I have a tote bag full of the hat yarn I intend to use and I did random dip to pull my next two projects.

On the right is a Bluestem Beanie that I cast on with some Potions Yarn Dryad DK in Fairy Tale and more of the Stranded Dyeworks Mohair silk in the Patisserie colorway. This one starts on US 7s and I’ll move to 8s after the brim.

On the left is just a basic worsted beanie in the last skein of worsted acrylic I have kicking around in my stash. I made a HS friend a Baby Sophisticate out of this back in 2017 and I had almost a full skein left after. This will be another vanilla hat as the yarn is slippery and I just wanted to crank it out and get it used up.

Happy Knitting!!

Uptown Decreases

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?

Knitting In The Park

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!!

Cast On: Uptown Hat

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: Bits and Bobs Blanket

Thanks to my project monogamy during Christmas vlogs, I have a finished crochet blanket! The Bits and Bobs Blanket is done, washed and ready to ship to my GG.

Pattern: None, its just a 65 stitch blanket worked with my own version of half double crochet

Yarn: Assorted Loops and Threads Charisma, Premier Serenity Chunky and some mystery acylic with no tag

Hook: US N or 10MM

The red yarn did end up bleeding on the white yarn making it slightly pink. I should have known but I figured commercial yarn was dyed better than that usually. I don’t think my GG will care because it is still warm. I need to dig out a shipping box. I think I will wrap the blanket in Christmas paper and then put inside the box with a note that says “do not open until Christmas” on it.

Happy Crafting!!

Bits and Bobs Progress

My Bits and Bobs Blanket is now over half way done. My current “go to” evening is crochet on this blanket by the Christmas lights while I watch all the YouTube knitting vlogs. I have to make sure I stay caught up on The Corner of Craft, Chelsea Yarns and Stranded blogs. They are a sweet treat to cap off long days.

This blanket is working up nicely and I actually like how the colors look together. I am now at the point I need to work back through the color sequence: black, red, grey and then border the whole thing in tan. I want to get this done and washed so that I can mail it to my GG. She has already decided that she is not attending any Christmas gatherings so I want her to have a special treat under her tree.

Happy Crafting!!

Casting On: Bits and Bobs Blanket

Next up on my blanket train is a blanket lot of bulky acrylic in vaguely Christmas-ish colors.

The black skein is a partial skein so I think I will split it equally in half and put between the red and purple. But I’m feeling good about this lineup. I think this is just enough yarn to make a nice car sized lap blanket for my grandmother.

I do have white on one side and grey on the other but I think it will make it quirky blanket. I plan on using my trusty 10mm or US N hook and just working my self taught kind of weird half double crochet. It goes quickly and really busts through my stash! I seem to have all the blanket mojo right now, lol.

Happy Crafting!!

FO Friday: Crocheted Rainbow

My Crocheted Rainbow is complete and I’m both elated and sad. Happy to have such a beautiful blanket but sad I don’t have this project to look forward to each evening.

Pattern: My own made up nonsense of a half double crochet over roughly 180 to 200 stitches (I can’t remember”

Yarn: A mix of Loops and Threads Charisma and Premier Chunky Solids

Hook: 10MM or N

This blanket was a fantastic stashbuster. All told I used up eleven skeins of yarns that date back to at least 2013. My blanket weighs 1,100 grams and used roughly 1,199 yards of bulky yarn. This project cleaned out half a drawer of yarn from my stash that I really didn’t have a plan for.

Bonus, I really learned a lot about hook placement in working on this project. I learned how to catch both legs of the stitch and eliminate lines in my fabric (or how to create line when I want them)!

I’m already planning my next stashbusting crochet blanket project. This time I’ll hold off until after 9/25 so I can count all the yards for the 2020 Pigskin Party KAL.

Happ Knitting!!

Cast On: Crocheted Rainbow

After my disappointing turn with PB’s crochet blanket I decided to work on one that I know will be more successful. Thanks to my tossing of the stash I found that I had almost a perfect rainbow in bulky acrylic yarn. This yarn is DEEP stash from 2013-ish consisting of some Premier Chunky Solids and Loops and Threads Charisma. Both are an 100% acrylic 2-ply yarn with roughly 100 yards per skein.

I did cheat and buy the yellow and sage green from Micheal’s to fill out my rainbow that I was missing from stash. Thank you curbside pickup! My only disappointment was that there was no orange available in my stash or in the store. But this is a stash busting project so I’m plowing ahead!

I pulled my N or 10 MM hook and a tote bag from Chelsea yarns and kitted up this project. I really finding that I enjoy the really large scale crochet. It is really easy to see where my hook needs to go and the projects go SUPER fast. So I get that quick win of a finished object. And this project will clear roughly 1,100 yards of deep stash from my bins.

Happy Crochet!