FO: Father Cables

A couple of things: I'm working on updating pictures and Ravelry information for projects from last year so bear with me, it's a slow process. I'm also working on moving over to a wordpress site that has a lot more functionality than blogger but that too is a slow process. On to knitting!

This hat hails from December when I knit it as a gift but decided to keep it for myself. It's seen some abuse since I keep it in my tote bag for whenever I need a hat; often right now as it's been super blustery and cold lately. 

I can't say enough good things about this yarn - YOTH Father in the Caviar color. It's 100% domestic Rambouillet in a worsted weight and is lovely to knit with and cozy to wear. And look at that stitch definition! Amazing stuff. Father is currently available in the 12 Raw palette colors and comes in 220 yd skeins. I knit this hat with one skein and had a bit left over - I'm considering adding a pompom. 

Pattern: Father Cables by Veronica Jobe (free)

Yarn: YOTH Father in Caviar

Needles: US #5 (3.75mm) and US #7 (4.5mm) needles

Mods: None. I knit the size small and it fits great with a teeny bit of slouch.

FO: Fandangle

I finished this project waaaaay back around Christmas and due to my lack of pompom-making expertise it sat in my mostly-finished-but-not-quite stack of knitting projects. With the help of a friend who lent me her pompom maker I finally put the finishing touch on my Fandangle hat. 

I'm finally coming around to pompoms on hats. This one is GIANT.

Apparently this project got me going on a colorwork kick since pretty much all the projects I have OTN have some kind of stranding or striping. It's not a bad place to be, though.

 

I'm very excited to have used new-ish stash from Knit Fit! in November and some older stash of reclaimed angora/wool yarn that sat around for several years. It's a dreamy combination and toasty warm to boot. 

Pattern: Fandangle by Andi Satterlund

Yarn: Spincycle Dyed in the Wool in Devilish Grin and reclaimed angora/wool.

Needles: US #5 (3.75 mm) Clover Circular Needles

Mods: None! I knit the medium size and followed the pattern with zero mods.

WIP: Sock Hat

I have yet another project on the needles! This past week brought some sample work so my regular projects are on hold until I get it done. I cast on a hat for knit night last week so I would have something simple to knit. 

This yarn was a gift from a friend and has languished in my stash for several years. 

The yarn is Sleep Season Goods Sock Yarn in the color Sassafras and is 100% wool. Initially, this yarn was destined for socks but the lack of nylon and the light variegation changed my mind. Hat it is! This is a great project for knitting on the go and I'm happy to use some older stash!

WIP: Sock Hat

I'm taking a brief break from some slightly complicated knitting I have going on to knit  a nice simple sock hat. I grabbed a US #3 (3.25 mm) and three coordinating balls of leftover sock yarn and cast on. 

 The yellow is Lichen in Hazel Knits Piquant Lite, the variegated is Leading Men Fiber Arts Show Stealer in Anne's Story, and the lavender is BMFA STR Light in Bleck.

This is a great project for resting my brain from complicated projects and wonderful for social knitting. 

I chose a random stripe sequence to break up the variegated yarn and I really like how it's turning out. My color palette reads fall and that's probably a direct reflection of the warm weather we're having in Seattle at the moment; in the 80s most days. Fall is my favorite time of year and summer always seems to linger longer and longer just to spite my love of crisp, frosty mornings and my ability to wear wool sweaters again. This is definitely a wishful thinking kind of project.

FO: Tolt Hat

 I'm finally feeling the pressure of Christmas knitting. I thought I was doing alright on my knitting and then I actually looked at the calendar - not as much time left as I thought! I needed a quick pick me up gift so I went to my pattern library.

 I found the perfect pattern in my library and even had the right yarn for it in my stash.

Pattern: Tolt Hat by Andrea Rangel

Yarn: Imperial Stock Ranch Columbia in Quail and Cactus Blossom

Needles: US #8 Addi Turbo

Mods: None. I knit the size medium and it's a tad loose on me so I think it will fit the gift recipient perfectly. The pattern also includes instructions for  a pair of mitts but I don't have enough of the magenta yarn to knit them and I don't want to run out and get another skein. This hat took about one long even to complete and it would work handsomely for men in a different color combination. This would also be an excellent project for trying out colorwork.

FO: Bandwidth

 I continue to be obsessed with using up my partial balls of yarn. This obsession is leading to some pretty kickass finished objects.

Pattern: Bandwidth by Stephen West (from West Knits Book 2)

Yarn: Malabrigo Rios in Azul Profundo (the brim) MadTosh Vintage in Tern (the crown)

Needles: US #8 (5mm) 16" Clover Circular Needles

Mods: None. The brim is slightly tight which could be my slightly smaller gauge yarn (Rios is a dk/lt worsted) or that I should have knit a few more rows before sewing it together and picking up stitches for the brim. It's easy to use up partial balls of yarn for this project since the yardage needed for each piece of the hat - the brim and the crown - is listed in the pattern. The brim is knit as a headband piece and shaped with increases and decreases to be wide at the front and narrow in the back. After sewing the brim together you pick up stitches around one edge of the brim and knit the crown up. This is a fun knit!

FO: Kenzie Tayberry Hat

Pattern: Kenzie Tayberry Hat by Cirilia Rose (free)

Yarn: Kenzie in Beetroot (#1004) and Bayberry (#1005) one skein of each

Needles: US #6 (4.0 mm) & US #7 (4.5 mm) Clover Bamboo Circulars

Mods: I stopped the pattern section early by about an inch or so, did a three needle bind off, and then stitched the corners together to make kind of a folded top. Hard to explain but easy to do. I'm not sure if the pattern is written this way since I didn't have it with me when I finished the hat and haven't gone back to check (sorry!) since I'm kind of a lazy knitter that way. Kenzie is an amazing yarn to work with; the blend of New Zealand merino, alpaca, nylon, and angora are soft on the hands and make for an amazingly soft and warm knitted piece. The yarn is also heathered, with nice little blips of lighter, brighter, or contrasting colors of noils which lend a nice depth to the color and interest for the knitter. It really does deserve a nice soak to let the texture and drape of the yarn shine through - I tried to give it a steam and pretty much nothing happened to the fibers - so I highly recommend a yarn bath to get ultimate softness and drape out of the your finished project.

FO: Excess

Pattern: Excess by Anat Rodan (free on Ravelry)

Yarn: Dream in Color Smooshy with Cashmere

Needles: US #5 Clover 16" circular needles

Mods: This hat calls for a provisional cast and then unzipping the scrap yarn and using a spare circular to knit the cast on edge together with the live stitches. Instead, I just cast on the required number of stitches, knit the proper length for the brim and then picked up a stitch from the cast on and knit it together with a live stitch all the way around. I'm lazy that way. I also hate unpicking the scrap yarn from the provisional cast on. I ran out of my little ball of sock yarn part way through the crown decreases and picked up another, vaguely similar, partial ball of sock yarn and finished her up. This is a fantastic pattern for using up a little oddball of sock yarn kicking around in your stash.

Pillsbury

Photos by the wonderful QuixoticPixels.

 

Pillsbury is a beanie style hat with cables and purls on a stockinette background.  The pattern is written for worsted weight yarn on US #6 and US #7 needles and includes both written instructions and charted instructions. Best yet, it's available for free!

download now

My wonderful models are my good friends Jessica and Cara. I think they did a great job!

FO: Little Zig Zag

I'm committed to using up a certain yarn this year. Yarn that I purchased in 2007. Yarn that never seems to go away no matter how often I knit with it. Focusing on this yarn is a little painful just because it's been around for soooo long. 

 

This is my first completed item from Project Palette Stashdown - a little zig zag hat. 

Pattern: Little Zig Zag - improvised from my own noggin

Yarn: Knit Picks Palette - approx. 130 yards

Needles:  US #1 and US #3 Clover 16" circular and dpns

 

How'd I do it? Cast on with one color and change to another color for the 1x1 ribbing. Throw in some zig zaggy stripes so your kidlet's head looks like an Easter egg and do some decreases to finish it off. Oh yeah, this is stranded colorwork so you have to know that, too. Easy peasy and this one is a bit snug so I have plans for a second larger size (and maybe a freebie pattern release, too).

FO: Giving Comfort

This week is seeing some serious Spring Cleaning at chez ErinB. Last weekend I performed the onerous task of sorting and purging Little A's dresser and closet and now I have piles of knitwear to wash, dry, put away, and give away. I've moved on to my own closet and even my stash! Buried under sweaters that need fixing and bags containing items for charity I rediscovered my bag of scrap yarn. It's a big bag. I dragged it out to my favorite knitting spot and dug out two partial skeins of chunky yarn from the depths of the bag. After an evening of knitting I have a hat!

Pattern: Giving Comfort by Alicia Landi

Yarn: Malabrigo Chunky in Verdes and Oceanos

Needle: US #10 Addi Turbo and Clover Bamboo DPNs

Mods: I omitted the texture pattern and knit stripes - four rows of green and three rows of blue. I have the teeniest bit of blue left over.

FO: Pressed Leaves

I admit it. I almost forgot that I knit this hat until I was browsing through my flickr photos for something to blog about (my sweater still has my full attention and will be finished this weekend).

Pattern: Pressed Leaves by Alana Dakos from her wonderful new book, Botanical Knits

Yarn: Tosh DK in Moorland (discontinued color)

Needles: US #6 and US #7 Addi Turbo and Addi Turbo Lace

Mods: None! The pattern is both written and charted so you can choose your poison. I loved working my way through the chart as the whole hat is one large chart. No repeating lines x through z; just one work-through and there you are - a hat! The FO is quite beautiful even though I chose a very literal color for the leaf design. I took it to knitting and gave it away to my friend, Karen, who wears it with the correct amount of panache. This hat was too pretty to languish unworn in my accessory wardrobe and that is what would have happened if I had kept it for myself. I advocate using a very pointy tipped needle for the body of the hat since the twisted stitches are much easier to do with sharp needles.