Knitting With Dinosaurs

I did some knitting in the wild this week. Our local zoo has a special exhibit this spring and its DINOSAURS. I’m talking life sized animatronic dinosaurs and cool displays all over the campus.

Jellybean and PB ran their butts off and wore themselves out. So I got to walk (run) behind them with my Christmas Musselburgh hat. I haven’t measured in awhile but surely I have to be getting close to the decreases.

This project works out great, it serves as its own travel bag! I tucked my ball of yarn inside the work so I could walk around without lugging a bunch of stuff, lol. I did raise a few eyebrows taking this photo but I like to confuse the muggles!

Happy Knitting!!

FO Friday: Variegated Musselburgh

My Variegated Musselburgh is ALL DONE. I was even a good blogger and this FO is washed and blocked!

Pattern: Musselburgh by Ysolda Teague

Yarn: Lemonade Shop Might Sock in Only Strippers Shave Above the Knees colorway

Needles: US 2

I made the Adult XL size using sock weight yarn.

This really blocked out to a nice sized hat! I used 87 grams of a 100 gram skein or about 402 yards of sock yarn. It fits both as a slouchy and a folded bring hat. The variagated yarn really played nicely with this pattern is not over pooly or flashy.

I am not sure who’s hat this will end up. I just enjoyed the super zen of stockinette and no decisioning required! Happy Knitting!!

Slowly And Surely

Slowly at a snails pace, my Christmas Musselburgh is growing. I think am around 11 or 12 inches of hat body.

This project lives in my work bag and the hat itself is serving as a project bag. I am tucking the yarn cake inside the hat to make it portable. I have been knitting while I walk on my lunches and a little bit in the evenings when I can stay awake to watch a show or YouTube podcast.

It’s busy season at work so my knitting and blogging mojo has taken a hit. I am counting the days to May 31 for sure!

Happy Knitting!!

Hat For Dayzzzzz

I am SOOOOO close to starting the deceases on my Variegated Musselburgh hat!

My hat is almost 18 inches and I still have a good sized yarn cake left to knit. So I am fairly certain that I can knit to the full 20 inches before the decreases. I might be measuring more often that is necessary for the speed at which I knit.

My family really commented that they love the micro stripes that seem to be appearing in the body of this hat. That is really the fun of variegated yarn, you can really get some cool effects depending on your gauge.

Now…off to the knitting! Happy Knitting!!

A Tale Of Two Musselburghs

I seem to have fallen off the knitting world for a bit. I wish I could tell you why but it was all just a bit much. So I took some time and space to do nothing. It was glorious

I really haven’t had much crafting mojo at all. I did manage a little knitting on my pair of Musselburgh hats. The Variegated one is definitely getting more love. I am at around 12/13 inches of stockinette. I need to get to 20/21 depending on how my yarn hold up.

My Christmas Musselburgh has languished a bit more. It has a couple inches added but not that much measurable progress. It is pretty and sparkly though.

I have a feeling at this point, the variegated one will get all the love since it is closer to being done. I just feel like that’s how my brain is going to work. Either way, I will eventually have two finished hats!

Happy Knitting!

WIP Wednesday: Variegated Musselburgh

I have been plodding along with my Variegated Musselburgh. The yarn is really playing well with this pattern. I am getting nice color dispersion and very little pooling or flashing.

I still have like a bazillion inches to knit of course. But this project feels nice just to have around when I need. A unexpected bonus are the blips of black speckles that show up occasionally. I do think this will end up in the gift pile.

Sometimes you just need a fun knit with no plan. Happy Knitting!!

Christmas Musselburgh Flashing

My Christmas Musselburgh is growing here and there. I managed to get fully past the increases and into the body of the hat. It’s great autopilot knitting but also not super exciting now that Christmas has long passed.

I am using hand dyed yarn from Moonstone Dyeworks. And is with all hand dyed yarn, you run the risk of pooling and flashing. I noticed one chunk of some flashing just as I was finishing the increases. Once I got into the body, it all worked itself out.

No telling if it will happen again, I guess I’ll have to keep knitting. Note, it doesn’t bother me. I just find it a fascinating part of how hand dyed yarn, stitch count and gauge all work together to make unique objects, lol.

Happy Knitting!!

Cast On: Variegated Musselburgh

Why cast on just one Musselburgh when you can have two going at once?? I had skein of Lemonade Shop Mighty sock just sitting on my work from home desk and I decided to cake it up.

For no reason other than curiousity, I am working this version on a US 3 needle instead of size 2 which I used on my first one and the Christmas version I have in my WIPs. I was a dutiful knitter and measured my gauge and following that directions for the Adult XL for that gauge.

I just finished the increases and this hat is also ready for inches and inches of stockinette. This highly variegated skein is a mix of pinks, reds, and blues with some dark speckles mixed in. The name also gives me much joy as its called “Only Strippers Shave Above the Knees”.

This has been my “my brain has too many tabs open after work” knitting. I am using some wooden needles that catch once in awhile when I skootch my work around. I forgot how annoying that can be!

Happy Knitting!!

Cast On: Christmas Musselburgh

My hat needles told me they were chilly after getting my first Musselburgh off of them. So I couldn’t let them get cold so I got a second hat cast on right away!

I went digging in my stash and found another skein of Moonstone Dyeworks kicking around. This time it is her Stellina Sock base in Christmas on Mars colorway. It’s a nice muted Christmas color with a TON of sparkle to it. I don’t get the sparkle to show up on camera very well.

I am making an adult large again, this time without the extra increases. I’m curious to see how this one differs from my first one. If its too small, then it can go in the gift pile or kid pile. I just finished the increase and its just stockinette for many many inches.

Happy Knitting!!

FO Friday: Musselburgh

Y’all, I made a beautiful thing! I am so happy with this hat that I can’t stop looking at it and petting it. My first Musselburgh is done, washed and photographed!

Pattern: Musselburgh by Ysolda Teague (rav link)

Yarn: Yak Sock in Hectate color by Moonstone Dyeworks

Needles: US 2s

I know I was working the instructions for the adult large but I do think I added like 10 extra increases to the stich count. That means I should have gone up a needle size. The fabric leans to the firmer side. But it’s a lovely super warm hat. And the subtle tonality of the browns and greys is gorgeous.

This hat isn’t necessarily long enough to cuff up but it fits just fine as a standard beanie. This is a keeper for my woolen drawer. Mother Nature here in Kansas is wildly swinging from negative temps to the high forties. So my need for a warm hat is variable, lol.

Happy Knitting!!