favourite new thing

i have been striving to match my stash to hat patterns to start my new crop for winter 09-10.

here is the first newcomer of the season!

Green & Twisty
#04 Cabled Beret
designed by Debbie Bliss
published in Debbie Bliss Magazine #01

knit in approx. 3 skeins of Elsebeth Lavold Angora (60% angora, 20% wool, 20% nylon color "lime") on size US 5 and US 7 needles.

started: 08.06.09
finished: 08.08.09

i bought this magazine for this pattern, and i bought this yarn to make this hat. that was last fall, and somehow it never exactly made it to the finish line last hat season. i corrected that after i cleaned and sorted my stash bins and realized my oversight!

this may be the perfect finished hat. it combines most of my favorite things... green, cables, bunny fiber, and a beret shape. if it smelled like coffee and made me look thinner, i would never take it off.

like most Debbie Bliss hats, this one is written to be knitted on two straight needles. i dropped 2 stitches from the cast on and knit it in the round because i am lazy and i admire Elizabeth Zimmerman. i also decided to knit the ribbing in 1x1 rather than 2x2 because berets in a 2x2 rib always seem to stretch out too much for my taste. finally, i knit one or two fewer rows of ribbing to ensure that i not run out of yarn.

i had plenty of yarn, and i realize now that there was no need to work fewer rows because when i dropped the 2 extra "sewing-up" stitches, i worked 124 fewer stitches in the body of my hat than the original. it seems silly, but when i thought about that, it sort of blew me away. working the hat in the round saved me having to sew the seam and saved me knitting 124 more stitches. when i see that in writing, it looks like a lot.

now i need to take more pictures of my newest finished projects!

knitting for rW

rW has it really good. i am relatively clean. i can cook. and bake. and i knit for him. here are the latest goodies....

(note: he would take exception if i did not mention that the mutton chops seen in some of these photos were a temporary involuntary facial hair style. they are no longer with us.)

brownie
aka "men's rustic scarf"
designed by Joelle Hoverson
published in Last Minute Knitted Gifts

knit in Cascade 128 Tweed (7625 "camel", 7617 "grey", 7623 "coffee", 7622 "olive" 90% Peruvian Wool, 10% Donegal) purchased at K+S=B on size US 10.5 needles.

started: January 10, 2009.
finished: January 20, 2009.

i knit a black and grey version of this scarf for rW and gave it to him on our 6 month anniversary. it was the first cold day in DC. he loves that scarf and is trying really hard to wear it to death. so i made him another. this one is in colors to wear with his 1960s vintage camel dress coat and his 1970s brown leather/sheepskin mobster coat.

i like both scarves very much, but i think this one is going t hold up better for the long haul. the alpaca gets stretched out, and the wool is nicely bouncy with plenty of memory.

obnoxious new wave hat
aka "tychus"
designed by Brooke T. Higgins
published at knitty.com

knit in 1 ball Karabella Merino Superwash (winter white, 100% merino wool) and 2.3 balls of ACA Supreme Pure Angora (black, 100% angora) on size US 8 needles.

started: january 23, 2009.
finished: a few hours later.

rW loves to wear a hat. he owns many caps, but he only has a few knit hats, and i think that number has dwindled since he was given his first hand knit hat. i think i am spoiling him in this regard.

after i made my angora toque, rW wanted a black and white angora sweater. i told him how crazy that idea was and he agreed a hat was a better choice. his requirements: must be black and white. must be obnoxious.

i think this fits the bill.

the hat gets fuzzier the more he wears it, and when he is out in public people often have to take a good long look at the hat. mission accomplished.


manly muffler
aka "envy"
designed by John Brinegar
published at yarn ball boogie

knit in 2/3 of a skein of Lamb's Pride Burly Spun (BS-06 "deep charcoal", 100% wool) purchased at A Tangled Skein on size US 11 needles.

started: february 14, 2009.
finished: february 15, 2009.

another scarf.
i was making cowls, and rW really liked them, but i needed a more manly pattern to make him something cowl-like. i think that this works well in the deep grey and the bone buttons.

rW helped me pick the buttons, and i think they are one of my favourite parts of the project. they look rustic and old. this neck warmer looks particularly good with rW's motorcycle jacket.

"neck" is a funny word

there are some words that the more you say them, the funnier they sound and the more they seem to lose meaning as a word and just become a sound. rW and i were saying one of these words over and over again yesterday--'pointy'.

'neck' is one of this words.

obviously our shopping trip went poorly yesterday if the thing i am reporting is funny words we said, not gifts bought. gah!

SO!
things that go on necks.....

Serenade Cowl
designed by kittything
offered as a free pattern with yarn purchase at K+S=B.

knit in 2 skeins of Artful Yarns 'Serenade' (#6011 "Against All Odds" 70% pima cotton, 30% angora) on size US 7 needles.

started: october 22, 2008.
finished: october 24, 2008.

i whipped this up for the shop as a store model. we started carrying this odd cotton/angora yarn for scarves and needed something to show it. turns out, it is not that great as a scarf yarn
and it is mostly used as a very basic sweater yarn.

so i made a simple cowl. i like to think it as a scarf one cannot lose. pretty.

after i knit the cowl for the shop, i wanted one for myself.

Spiral Cowl
designed by Keri McKiernan
published at Knitty Gritty Thoughts

knit in 1.5 skeins of Malabrigo Silky Merino (#430 "smoke" 50% merino wool, 50% silk) purchased at Now and Then in Takoma Park, Md and knit on size US 5 circular needles.

started: december 1, 2008.
finished: december 5, 2008.

i started and then had to entirely rip out this project on the ride home from thanksgiving. i twisted the join and would have had a yucky mobius.

after i overcame the initial stumbling block, it went fairly well. i knit it at a first read for a play and then on the metro when rW had to borrow my car for a few days. i think it is excellent train (or bus, or tv) knitting.

were i to knit this again, i wold cast on fewer stitches because i think it is a little larger than i would like for keeping warm. i will say it works very well with a brooch or stick pin holding the extra fabric in place. and it looks nice!

the best things: the yarn and the edging. this is the extra yarn i did not use to knit the cabled tam. i loved it for the tam and i still love it for this. also, the edges are very pretty. i used sewn down picot "hemmed" edges. this was my first go at this technique and i think ti is very pretty, but i want more practice.

and finally, a scarf.

Go Diagonal! Scarf
designed by Sophia Kessinger.
published at Yarn-over Manhattan.

knit in 3 skeins of Plymouth Expression (#3326, 55% wool, 45% acrylic) purchased at K+S=B and knit on size US 11 needles.

started: december 2, 2008.
finished: december 6, 2008.

i am not a big fan of scarf knitting, but every so often, i will turn one out. this one is for rW's mother. i decided that she needed something happy and colorful for christmas, and i think this just about fits that bill.

this yarn knits up very fast and reminds me a lot of Berroco Foliage, which has been discontinued.


more holiday gifts revealed after the big day. i can't believe how quickly it is coming!