Resistance Hats......

 There are multiple patterns for the red hats that are a sign of the protest that needs to be happening now.   

I asked Fritz if he wanted one....and he did...with a challenging tweak.   I looked at all the patterns and chose the Melt the Ice Toque as I thought the crown shaping was the neatest of all of the patterns.

My tweak for the pattern was changing the ribbing.   One of the many YouTube videos I watched recommended a way to force the fold to stay tidy.  I liked the idea.  My execution...needs work so I will do that differently if I do it again.  I chose to insert three rows...purl row, knit row, purl row....to make the fold.  If I do this again I believe that doing a knit row, followed by a purl row, followed by a knit row will look better.   I may try that on on a Christmas ornament before I do it on a hat.   Yes..it worked...but I wanted it to work better.

Fritz gave me an Old Norse word written in runes for the front of the hat...to be done in white.  On the back of the hat the word "resist" was going to be done in blue.   The chart was pretty easy to set up.

My first try was using ladderback jacquard all through the charts.  Not great.  I took it out.  My second try was ladderback jacquard to carry both the white and blue through the red sections and doing regular stranded knitting through the charted parts.  That worked...well enough.  Steam blocking is our friend.

My yarn of choice was Knitpicks Palette. Not only is this yarn a pleasure to knit but it is also cost effective and available in a wide range of colors.   The white yarn was....a no brainer.   I chose Pimento for the red.  I auditioned three blues - Abyss Heather, Delta, and one other - can't remember which - for the blue. Fritz chose the Delta...which is the brightest of the three.

The hat turned out well...Fritz likes it which is the most important thing.

I really liked the way the crown shaping worked...it was neat.  It doesn't really show in these pictures.  

The pattern was clearly written...and with the colorwork...a great challenge.

Rabea Scarf

 Watching YouTube.....what a great way to find exciting things!

Rabea appeared on one of the knitting podcasts I like to watch.  My friend Simran ....I knew immediately she would love this.   The bonus is that, once I read the pattern, I realized it would be a fun challenge...in an actual fun but not forced march to the death way.

My ideas for color covered a pretty narrow spectrum.  There was no match in the massive stash which was not a huge surprise.   Referring to the pattern, I looked up the yarn combinations that were suggested.

My favorite, and most cost effective, choice was available at Wool and Company.   The color I had in mind was available in both of the yarns I needed.    The cashmere strand is Pascuali Cashmere 6/28 in Ruby.   The silk mohair is Ito Sensai Enji in a red that is a wonderful match for the cashmere.

I got a nice fabric, close to gauge but not right on gauge, using a US Size 3.   The swatch did not stretch a lot when I washed it but did soften up beautifully.

Taking the time to read project notes from other knitters Ravelry postings, I noted that one person had added an extra section in the middle...and kept that in mind as I worked through this.  I did do that and am happy with the additional length.

Steam blocking was essential for this project to turn out the way that I wanted it to look.

This project did remind me how much I do not enjoy counting rows in garter stitch...but that is so minor.

This is a lovely gift knit that comes together quickly.

Sometimes yarn and a pattern is a marriage made....in hell....

 Sometimes.....yarn and pattern combinations that, in theory, should work, don't.   One can try...but the combination just is not a happy one.

I was given a skein of Barnyard Knits DK in a subtly beautiful color called Summer Skies.   The soft blue had tiny accents of a greeny brown and reminded me of a delicate illustration of a bird's egg.  I did a swatch...and I washed the swatch as superwash wool needs that.

What pattern?   I looked at many and thought about it.    Jenn Loves Yarn talked about a new design from Brienne Moody - the Ash and Timber Hat.  The hat looked interesting so I bought the pattern.   I swatched again.    I adjusted my needle size so that I would have the right gauge when the hat was washed.  I started.

The brim of this hat is not folded up here....so the rib pattern does not show here.  It does look great folded up.

The body of the hat is a simple repeat that works up quickly.

The crown shaping of the hat is interesting and required attention to make it work correctly.   While I did have multiple moments (okay, WTF moments) while knitting the crown, it did work....until it was obvious I would not have enough yarn....though I should have (knitter problem not pattern problem.)

I gleefully ripped the the hat out and rewound the ball.   

Is this a failure?  Not really as I learned from it. 

I did order some of the Purls and Pines DK the hat was designed for to compare it to the Barnyard Knits.   I want to have a better idea of why the combination did not work.   

I will try the pattern again with different yarn....eventually.

Adventures in Hat Knitting.....

 Temu is Amazon with better prices.   The dicey part with Temu these days is actually getting the goods ordered delivered.   Yarn on Temu is....interesting.   A few skeins got dropped in a donation bag immediately as I knew the yarn was not something I would knit with.  Ever.    Every once in awhile something great comes along.

Die Sinne Verstricken from Opal is one of those fabulous finds.    What a great gamble!   My option was a bag of six balls with a small range of color choice.   My choice was the navy blue with gold...

This yarn has a nice hand.   I think it is a blown yarn.  It is light..and airy....and requires caution when knitting.

The yarn has a tendency to split.  I don't know if that would change if I switched the needles I was using and did not want to be bothered -- lazy but valid -- to find out.

My gauge on US 5 needles was 7 rows to the inch and 7 stitches to the inch measured over 2 x 2 inch ribbing.

After casting on 120 stitches, I worked 2 x 2 ribbing for 6 1/4 inches.  On the last row, I placed markers every 20 stitches to make the crown decreasing as mindless as possible.

To decrease for the crown, I worked to two stitches before each marker.   I had originally planned to just do a K2tog decrease, but switched to doing the K2tog through the back loop.  While this worked....I am not as pleased as I could be.    

As I have more yarn, I want to do this hat again.   What will I change?

1. I am going to do the first couple inches on a smaller needle to cinch in that ribbing a bit.   Have not yet decided whether to go down one size or two sizes.
2. Different decrease.   I do not like the way that K2tog TBL looks.    Not sure if I will do an SSK or a plan K2tog......

This hat does look good...and I will give it way.

We will finish no project before its time.....

 

These socks....I finished them last night.   Started them?   I do not remember but suspect it is at least four years ago.   

My apartment is infested with unfinished pairs of socks.   One of my promises to myself is that I will slowly work on them...finish them...and wear them or give them away.   

How do these projects achieve "I will finish it.....someday" status?   Various reasons.....something became annoying about the project, some new and shinier project appeared, a gift project popped up...none are good.  It is easy to push something into the stash and walk away.  Eventually the unfinished projects become a stash in and of themselves.

This is really okay.  If a project that is not on a gift or other deadline becomes a chore, it is best to put it aside instead of knitting resentment into the stitches.   The project will be finished in its time.