Finished: Touchdown Beanie Chiefs #2

Happy Friday and welcome to my next finish. My Chiefs Touchdown Beanie #2 is done!

Pattern: Touchdown Beanie by Katie Carlson (Rav link)

Yarns: Treasure Goddess Warmth Worsted in Ruby Daggers, White Sand Beaches, Poseidon’s Trident

Needles: US 4s and 5s

I am super glad that I shorted the ribbing on this hat. I JUST had enough red yarn to close up the crown without altering the decreases. I have a tiny ball of yellow and a lot of white left. This is the size medium and it does look a bit shorter and squatter than the previous one but still fits an adult sized head. On my head I can’t roll the brim but my kids can.

I should note that this pattern contains charts for other teams and one for Swifties, if that is your jam. This dyer’s worsted is on the skinnier side compared to something like Malabrigo Rios. I would be cautious and definitely check gauge if you substitute yarn. But it is an excellent pattern all around.

Happy Knitting!!

Weaving Or Darning?

Not much sleep has happened with all the coughing so I had a lot of time to finish not only the colorwork but also the crown of my second Chiefs Touchdown Beanie.

I also chose to block this hat a wee bit before weaving in my ends. I just wet it under the kitchen sink and let dry on my Styrofoam head overnight. And then when dry turned the thing inside out to attack my ends.

I wove the ends in for several stitches and then doubled back on itself to lock them in place. I was careful to look at the front side to make sure I liked how things were laying before locking them. Having the head on the inside made this feel a bit like darning, lol. I will have to remember this trick in the future!

Happy Knitting!!

Second Attempt At Colorwork

Duke and I snuggled in for this latest cold snap to start the colorwork on my second Chiefs Touchdown Beanie.

We’ve been hit with a bout of COVID in the house so I don’t have a lot of witty repartee to share today. I think some hot tea, re-run TV and knitting will do just fine.

Happy Knitting!!

Cast On: Touchdown Beanie Chiefs #2

I did in fact decide to cast on another Chiefs Touchdown Hat with my leftovers from the kit I purchased.

I did opt to make a medium size this time instead of large, so as not to tempt the yarn chicken gods. I had training all day today and I powered through ribbing and the second two color additions. Stopped short of starting the chart for the pattern as I need concentration.

I also hedged a tiny bit and worked 1/2 an inch less of ribbing to conserve my use of the red color. I am eager to start the colorwork again now that I have had some practice. I know what kind of tails I need to leave and where I tended to knit too tightly or made errors on the chart.

This should be a quick finish! (Famous last words…) Happy Knitting!!

Finished: Touchdown Beanie Chiefs

The Chiefs Touchdown Beanie is completed and fits my noggin!

Blocking in fact worked wonders. Off the needles the hat looked teeny but after relaxing in a bath, it fits my large head nicely. And the colorwork evened out and flattened beautifully. I did have a “fun” time weaving in the ends in a way that wouldn’t show on the outside. Still worth it.

Pattern: Touchdown Beanie by Katie Carlson (Rav Link)

Yarn: Treasure Goddess Yarns Warmth Worsted in Ruby Daggers, White Sand Beaches and Poseidan’s Trident

Needles: US 4s and US 5s

The total hat used 150 yards of yarn or 69 grams. It was almost half of the red skein that I had so 50 of the 69 grams are red and barely any grams from the other. I think I could possibly squeak out another hat in a smaller size.

It’s Colorwork!

I finished the colorwork on my Chiefs Touchdown Beanie!

I did make a couple of mistakes that I didn’t catch during the knitting of the letters. And I am still super proud of myself. The stitches are fairly even and I think would do for a good blocking. I need to weave the ends in carefully so they don’t show on the front of the work.

I am now progressing towards the crown decreases. I still feel like the hat is coming out small even though I am knitting the large size. Fingers crossed this works out!

Happy Knitting!!

Those Are Letters

Turns out colorwork is a little addicting. I worked on my Chiefs Touchdown Beanie until it was way too late and I was nestled in bed.

On the first round I tried to carry the red all the way around. And that proved problematic as I could not keep enough slack as I was catching the floats. So I am adjusting to the fact that I will have 1,000,000 ends to weave in later. I am leaving very long ends of the red as I start and stop each colorwork row and then using the gold all the way around.

I really hope this blocks out as it looks a wee bit small on the needles! Happy Knitting!!

Touchdown Beanie Progress

I have recently had the urger to clear out my WIP pile. So this means I need to get back to my Chiefs Touchdown Beanie. I slogged for what seems like forever on the 2×2 ribbing and I am now adding the other colors.

I made the decision to use the gold as the background for the red letter rather than the white. This means I will use basically nothing of the white and have a nice leftover. I just like how the gold and red play on each other.

I took a photo of those two yarns and changed it to black and white to make sure I had enough contrast for the letters to stand out. I am little nervous as I have not yet done proper colorwork with a chart and I am sure I will be fine.

Happy Knitting!!

Cozy Handspun Decreases And A Finish

My Handspun Hat is finished and oh so cozy!

Pattern: My own basic beanie “recipe” with 72 stiches

Yarn: My own bulky (thick and thin) handspun

Needles: US 10s

This hat weighs roughly 120 grams and round about 100 yards of yarn. It is sufficiently large enough for my noggin. This hat will not be going into the gift bin. This will be a Rachelle hat. I have a couple of yards of handspun left but not enough to really do anything with. I put it in my scrap bag just in case.

I need to see if I have any more skeins of handspun to make hats with! Or you know work on the sparkly handspun hat that has been languishing for AWHILE, lol.

Happy Knitting!!

The Perfect Morning

I hid from my children and adult responsibilities this morning. I couldn’t sleep in on my appointed day to sleep in. So I improvised. I grabbed a protein shake, homemade cinnamon roll I baked, HOT coffee and my latest project: Frankenstein Hat #3 and my book club book.

This book is SO ADDICTING. It took a minute to get used to this author and his chapters. And the characters are so spellbinding that I quite literally can’t put it down. Book club isn’t for two weeks and this book will be done well in advance of that.

I was so captivated that I only got a few rows on my hat. I did finish the increases and the whole thing is on a circular needle. So that feels like an accomplishment right?

Happy Knitting and Reading!!