Knits

I’ve actually finished this hat three times! Go me! The first time it came out very pointy. The second time, it came out slightly pointy. And the third time, it was just right. How very Goldilocks…

The hat is knit in two parts - the band which is knit flat and then seamed together, hopefully invisibily, and then picking up stitches, you knit the crown in the round. I had a couple problems with techniques used in this pattern. First, I had never done a provisional cast-on and as I was a bit eager to get this going and done pretty fast, I had a couple goes at the provisional cast-on and it was just too wobbley so I cast on as normal and would unravel / cut the waste yarn when it came to joining the two ends of the band together. I know that’s not an elegant solution, but it mostly worked for me. I say mostly as I expect that even if I had done the provisional cast on, I would’ve had the same problem with recovering the live stitches as I had with my method - I find it only a little difficult since that first row is not just knit, but in pattern stitch which includes yarn overs.

Second, the edges of the band are done with an Annie Modesitt technique where you k1 sl1 w/ yarn in front, k1 (on the right side). I can’t remember what name this has actually been given, but it’s been given a name! Anyway, for some reason this worked just fine on the right column (w/ right side facing), but the left side ended up really loose. I tried tightening it up and it just didn’t want to.

Third, a common theme in my knitting, my gauge must’ve ended up way off because I had to pick up fourteen more stitches than in the pattern meaning I knit a whole repeat extra. I think my stitch gauge was right, but my row gauge off. Anyway, it looks fine in the end although the crown does seem short. Looking at the sample picture, it’s the same there and I don’t know how much I really like it. It looked okay in the picture, but in person, I just don’t know!

I’ll post this to my sister tomorrow - hopefully she’ll like it and get use out of it. I feel a bit guilty that the two patterns she chose, I haven’t actually knit yet - the Amelia Earhart cap and Shedir. I just can’t get the Amelia cap to work. I need to practice wrapping for one, but I don’t know what it is w/ that pattern. And Shedir, well I still haven’t bought the replacement Rowan Calmer I need - I did try the other day, but they were out of stock.

And just a note on Bad Penny. I got through the raglan increases and a couple rows into the main body and had already used up two of the four balls of the main colour! Once I finished the third ball, I measured how much body that got me and discovered I would need a fifth ball. Well, I bought this yarn a year ago so I didn’t want to start on the fourth ball until I knew if I would be able to get a fifth ball in the same dyelot. Luckily the place I ordered it from still had some from the same dyelot! Phew. In doing a bit of googling, I found that others ended up short on yarn too. And I’m knitting the smallest size! While I was waiting to hear if they had the same dyelot, I started on the contrasting colour on the sleeves. That yarn is very hard to work with! 100% microfibre. I did a few rounds and decided I didn’t like how it looked where it joined the main colour so I ripped it out - I’ll knit that first round and then start in the 1×1 ribbing. I’ll also knit in the round versus flat - I’m not sure why it says to knit these flat - the less seaming the better! I’m nearly done with the fourth ball so then I can go back to doing the sleeves and collar while I wait for the fifth ball.

I’ll add pattern details about the hat later as I need to get going right now! I’ve decided that with each finished object, I’ll make a page about it so I can include all the details there and notes. I may retroactively do the other items, but for now, here’s the info on a touch of whimsy hat

I need to stop looking at Jillian’s blog. She always posts links to patterns that I want! She’s done it again - sort of. She’s pointed to a new cardigan design and along the left are some other patterns available. And now I must knit the Sizzle top. It is even boyfriend approved: “You need more plunge tops,” he said. The problem is the yarn it calls for - doubtful I’d find it in the UK, but I’m not thrilled by any of the colours anyway. I’ve had a slightly quick look for substitutes and many are too light (weight-wise) and when I find something suitable, the colours are dull dull dull!

So I wandered over to KnitPicks. I’ve never used their wool and of course they won’t ship direct to me, but that’s not a problem - I have connections! I am considering using their Andean Silk & Andean Silk Twist in one of the shades of green. Have any of you used this yarn? What do you think? I’m looking at either Lettuce or Leaf. What about another substitute for the yarn called for - Silk Bijou/Shizuku by Olympus. It’s not like the UK is extremely hot, but I imagine a yarn that is 75% wool is going to be quite warm - especially if I want to take said top on holiday to a sunny clime where I might get to bare my arms! I think I’d end up baring more than my arms should I wear that top in the Mediterranean in the summer! Other options: Rowan’s Summer Tweed (lots of nice colours, but the tweedy affect might be too weird), Rowan RYC Luxury cotton (none of the colours really thrill me), or Debbie Bliss Cotton cashmere (I’ve knit with this before and it’s nice and has nice colours). Thoughts?

Anyway, you really came here to see some pictures…

Here it is - another terrible photo, but it is the completed Cinnabar scarf. I am rubbish at blocking. I did it, but I was rubbish at it. And I didn’t actually have anywhere to put it to dry so I had to sandwich it between two towels to keep the cats off it. It didn’t work. They thought I’d laid out some sort of luxury bed for them! They were fighting over who got to lay on it!

Details:

Pattern: Cinnabar scarf from December 2006 MagKnits (by Angela Hahn)
Needles: Boye interchangeable circulars US 4 (used them as straights ’cause it’s easir to carry circs)
Yarn: Rowan RYC Wool cotton in Limestone - 4 balls (slightly less)
Gauge: ??
Finished measurements: just shy of 6′ x 5.25″ (it grew a whole foot after blocking!)

Modifications: None intentional… I just found myself missing parts of repeats so I incorporated that into my version as, you know, design features. I did nine repeats of the cable pattern and a single repeat of the seafoam pattern between each of the cable patterns with the exception of the space between cable repeats one and two and eight and nine where I did was the pattern read!

And I also started on the Touch of whimsy hat for my sister. I’m using the same wool as in the Cinnabar scarf, but in a dark green. It is moving along surprisingly fast. In fact, if I hadn’t been busy both last night and tonight, I’m sure I would’ve finished the hat. Grrr. I would’ve liked to have finished it and put it in the post before I head off to Prague tomorrow!

So I’ll see you all next week! I need to go figure out what knitting I’m packing - forget about the clothes!