Overlapping Stripes Baby Hat

To get the actual pattern (pdf), please click here to download it from Ravelry

Overlapping Stripes Baby Hat

A simple striped baby beanie with a slight twist.

Craft Type

Knitting

Skills

Knitting and purling, decreasing, switching colors

Sizing

12.5 in (31.8 cm) around unstreached at brim, 5.5 in (14 cm) tall
Fits head sizes between 12 – 16 in (30.5 – 40.6 cm) around

Gauge

24 stitches and 41 rows per 4 in (10 cm) in stockinette stitch

Yarn and Yardage

Color A: 1 skein of Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino (Sport, 137 yards per skein) in Citrus
Color B: 1 skein of Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino (Sport, 137 yards per skein) in Duck.
Or two different colors, about 35 yards each, of a comparable yarn.

Needles and Hooks

US 2.5 (3.0 mm) 40 in. circular needle or DPNs

Happy knitting!

The Good Kind of Remake

In the wirlwind of projects, both craft-related and not, that I've have to complete or are completing for others, I did manage to re-visit an old project of mine.  I got better yarn and knit a new version of my Reversible Eyelet Hat.

To be fair, I guess it wasn't 100% for me, though this version is better than my old one (which I still have and used). The person in my knit group who's responsible for the KALs (which work a bit differently in our group than the more traditional method) decided to focus on hats again, and out of the long list of hat patterns for it decided to list both of my hat patterns.

When she told me this, my first thought is 'dang, I wonder if the first one is good enough for that?'  The Reversible Eyelet Hat was my first knitting pattern, and it was designed on the fly in one size.  As well, I had already seen from those who did it on Ravelry that it ran big.  I also found that after the first year, my original one has stretched out as well and was big for me as well, and I prefer looser hats. So I decided to take my own pattern and re-knit it using nicer yarn, a different gauge, and less stitches.

The good news is that I found that the pattern is 99% correct.  The CO amount with the needle size it gives you will make a big hat if you have around a standard-sized women's head, but the instructions themselves are perfectly fine.  The only correction I would make is that unless you need a large hat (think around 28"), you're better off COing around 92 or 88 stitches, even 84 depending on things like the yarn and needles you're using.  I did 92 stitches using smaller needles for the re-make, but I also decided to use a wool/silk blend that had it's own stretching tendencies (this was probably not the best decision with a hat pattern that also has a tendency to stretch out, but it worked).  The good thing about that pattern is that it is super adjustable, and any multiple of 4 will work with the instructions as written (so I guess I wasn't as much of a dumbass with my first pattern as I thought).  Also, dropping down doesn't affect it as much as you would think, given the lacy and ribbed nature of the hat.  The pattern itself has a tendency to stretch, so you need to counteract that a bit.

So I didn't bother rewriting the pattern (though I will change the CO amount).  But be assured that it is doubled checked now.  Now if only I could take better pictures.

Emergency Baby Sweater

I used to have an extra baby sweater lying around, a couple of years ago, until I decided to gift it to my previous downstairs neighbors who had just had a kid.

I should have made one to replace it.  I wasn't expecting to be told a relative of mine was having a kid only two months before being due to have said kid (communication?  Why would there be communication?). However, I decided to try, and managed to pull off making a baby sweater within a month.

The pattern is Preppy Cardigan from 60 Quick Baby Knits, the yarn Cascade Yarns Pacific (which is one of my favorite acrylic/wool blends now; it worked up wonderfully and you can throw it in the washer and dryer no problem.  This is after I washed and dried it, by the way).

And because of that, there's a happy ending to this story.  I managed to mail out the sweater to have it arrive just in time for the baby to be born (as in, the relative I mailed it to took it to the hospital with her to give to the new parents). So I have that going for me.

As well, this is on top of the other relative I've known was pregnant for longer, which luckily is due in March and therefore that project is on the back burner, because holidays are coming up fast and I had to start making presents. I've already made at least two of my presents already and am working on a third:

I based this off of a pattern on Ravelry called Squishy Soft Cowl, but I cast-ed on a lot more stitches. And accidentally twisted the cast on, so it's now a mobius cowl. Oh well.

Pattern is Brain Waves, also on Ravelry.

Yeah, I've got the socks done.  And a baby sweater.  And a cowl. And part of a hat.  Wow, that's a lot given that I've had no time recently (going to grad school on top of everything can do that to you.  Oh, and getting this fur-ball doesn't help either:

This is Murphy.  This is Murphy sleeping on the bag my project is in that I brought over to knit on because he was trying to sleep next to me on the couch. Instead, he immediately sat on the bag and fell asleep.

). At least I still have my commuting time to work on things.

Of course, the one thing I did sacrifice this year was making a Halloween costume, so I did forgo something. Can't have it all.

Seed Stitch Lattice Hat

See, I told you I'd release another free pattern.

To get the actual pattern (pdf), please click here to download it from Ravelry

Seed Stitch Lattice Hat

A beret style hat that's way easier than it looks. The lattice effect is created using a contrasting color in a slightly lighter yarn than the main color and working seed stitch throughout.

Craft Type

Knitting

Skills

Knitting and purling, decreasing, working in the round, basic stranded colorwork
 

Sizing

17.5" (21") circumference at band, unstretched and blocked.  Fits around at 18 - 20" (21 - 23") head.

Gauge

22st and 32 rows per 4" [10cm] in dual color seed stitch [the body pattern]

Yarn and Yardage

MC: 1 skein of Madelinetosh Tosh DK [225 yds/205 m]
or around 130 yds of a comparable yarn. Sample used
suggested yarn in colorway Dirty Panther.

CC: 1 skein of Madelinetosh Tosh Sport [270 yds/247 m]
or around 100 yds of a comparable yarn. Sample used
suggested yarn in colorway Baltic.

Needles and Hooks

US 5 [3.75mm] 16” circular
US 8 [5.00mm] 16” circular
US 8 [5.00mm] 40” circular for Magic Loop or equivalent
sized set of DPNs

Happy knitting!

For What it's Worth

While, given it's a week into February, that my hopes for getting a new pattern out around New Year's are dashed, I am working on one.  Here's a hint:

One of the reasons I have no pattern still is simply because I keep changing my mind.  I keep changing my mind partly because I keep trying things out and they don't work.  Or I don't like them.  Or it's too small, too big, wrong yarn, etc, etc. It isn't helping that I only did one swatch, and it was small.

This is what happens when you think you can knock out a 'simple' item of your own design without doing much pre-planning, out of scrap yarn.  I should have known it doesn't work that way. Now, it doesn't help that I haven't had much time for knitting recently, let alone calculating things officially in a spreadsheet.  Spreadsheets require hours in front of the computer working on them.  I can knit on the subway,  the bus, and wherever I may be at the moment. Might have contributed to my throw-it-to-the-wind half-ass planning, that did.

Anyway, it seems to be working now.  Hopefully.  Though I can't promise when it'll be written up and out, or if I'll be more than one size,  I can promise that I'll release it for free.

I actually thought about that for a bit, even though this pattern is pretty simple and in the end I decided that it'd only be worth between $0.50 and a dollar, which means it doesn't pay to get it tech edited.  And I won't sell a pattern that hasn't been tech edited, because that's not respectful of my users.  If it's free, well, I try to make sure there's no errors, but that's the trade off for getting a free pattern.

However, it does have a different aspect to it, which is why I paused at first.  Even something as simple as this takes a good amount of planning and some time investment.  This is something I have very little of at the moment.  And since my last pattern was put for sale, there's the aspect of going legit on top of it.  Where's the line between free and not?  Should I give my efforts away like that, after I've said they're worth something?

But then I realize, who am I kidding, I ain't a professional in this nor do I want to be.  So, free pattern. At some point.

I did also get this done:

Pattern is Flame Hat by Irina Dmitrieva.  I did the beret version.

Yay, shiny cable hat.  It's a little big, but it stays on my head, covers my ears, and is warm enough. Now what to do with the other skein of that yarn...

The Only Thing I've Accomplished

I may have gotten little accomplished otherwise, but in the past week I've seemed to have gotten a lot of knitting done while everything went to shit. Well, ok, I also got my car back to street legal in the same time period, but the knitting didn't cost me $670 either.

You know what...I take my surprise back.  As I worked furiously on this hat:

Pattern here

and this cowl:

I start with this pattern, but I always add 20 stitches.  Honestly, there's a bunch of similar patters on Ravelry...it's basic seed stitch in-the-round.

and this hat:

My own pattern...may write it up quick and dirty and release it as a free one...we'll see.

and started these things:

and messing around trying to plan a slightly more complicated pattern, I wondered to myself why I suddenly got more productive.  How did I finish a double layer color-work hat in four days, and a single layer one in the same amount of time (and the single layer one took that long only because that was my third attempt and I made up the pattern)?  Ok, sure, I did take two hour long trips on a bus and have to wait an hour dealing with my car, but that's not the complete story.

The complete story is that because things hit a iffy point elsewhere, I got more productive.  You see, yarn crafting is my crutch.  It's the one thing that, even when I want to throw it across the room, I'm still more successful in than anything else.  Because when I can't move forward and Murphy's Law is in play, I can usually still successfully make a hat.  A color-work hat (thanks to my knitting group for turning me onto that obsession at the moment...the first hat was one of our KAL choices).  A double-sided color-work hat with humping reindeer on the inside:

In which I can sub DK weight in for worsted and only screw up the math (because where was I when I thought 32 went into 112?) , and aggressively block it because it's still small and...it fits.  Mostly. And if I really do screw up, it's just yarn, and you can just rip it out. It won't screw me over irreparably or have legal ramifications. It can be annoying but not as annoying as some other things I have to deal with.

Sometimes, that makes all the difference.

P.S.: My mom's sweater, while still damp when I took it with me, did survive the trip and was dry enough to give her that night. My sister's socks fit her, and she was so busy talking about how she loved socks that my mom had to remind her why this was her first knitted pair.  I think I may be able to get away with sock weight yarn next time...

Sometimes the Mistakes Work in My Favor

First, it's time for a beer because in this whole post, most of it works out in the end (or maybe it was time, thought I guess it's always time because it's always beer'o'clock somewhere):

In the interest of explaining that I'm not an alcoholic, I took this picture weeks ago.  It is really too late for a beer right now.

 Anyway...a couple of weeks ago, I started the actual knitting process for the tank I'm designing.  And started it.  And started it.  But after that, I finally got past the first five rows and managed to make some progress on the garment.

I then did the absolutely correct thing and after getting a bit into it, I steam-blocked it and re-took my gauge measurements. It turns out that, of course, the gauge swatch I made, and even took measurements on just like the class I took told me to (take a bunch and average), is a lying liar that lies.  My gauge in the project is about 0.5 stitches more per inch than I used for my calculations, and 1.5 rows less.

My first thought was 'oh, great, I got to rip it out AGAIN.'  But first, I went back to my spreadsheet and changed the gauge listed there.  I looked at the new results of my calculations.  Looked back at the garment.  It didn't seem right.  If I were to cast on the number of stitches my spreadsheet now produced with the new stitch gauge, it would be too big for me.  To test this, I tried on the little bottom strip I had.  It fit as is. 

So, screw it, I'm keeping my calculations as my original stitch gauge.  This yarn has some sort of weird gauge warping ability, as this isn't the first time something's come out bigger than it should in this yarn (remember my first tank attempt?).  I should note that this is after I calculated a -1 negative ease into my calculations because I was worried about the cotton stretching too much. Oye. But that part worked out.

However, that leaves me with the row gauge being off.  Now, I had already started on the waist shaping, so changing the row gauge would mean changing the whole frequency of the shaping.  This meant I may have to rip it out, at least part way, anyway.  So, steeling myself for the inevitable, I went back to my huge spreadsheet and stuck in the new row gauge.

I then looked at the column for my custom size and went 'huh?'  It had barely changed.  All the standard size ones had changed, but my size didn't.  It didn't make any sense.  So, I kept studying it and tracing back my calculations...only to find that I had pointed to the wrong cell for a couple of the length calculations, and it was calculating a length about half of what it should be.  The waist decreases were wrong in the first place, let alone the row gauge being off.

This is where I would have thrown up my hands and walked away, except that when I fixed the calculations, the frequency of decreases it returned not only made more sense, it worked with what I had already done!  My other mistake had literally saved me from having to re-do the waist shaping already completed.

So, sometimes, they work in my favor.  If only I could say the same thing for a couple of other things I've done recently, like get a hot iron too close to an acrylic baby sweater (no, a piece of scrap linen does not work in substitute for a pillowcase), or cutting fabric (me? Cut or sew straight?  Never.  This is why I like yarn craft, you build the fabric, not cut it and attach the pieces into shapes).

And before it's asked, no, I didn't completely ruin the baby sweater with that bit of stupidity.  It's just a bit shiny and slightly different color green (yes, it looks blue in the photo.  It's not; it's green) in the front (because I was trying to get the bands to lay flat, despite the fact that that is why you knit them, but that's another post):

At least my first attempt at colorwork was successful:

So...I can still knit?  Yay!

Plans, Classes, and Decisions

In the black hole of my disappearing act, of which only part of it had to do with knitting, I've been trying to design a tank.

It is not the same tank I started with in the last post, no.  That was the tank I did my usual 'throw planning to the wind, swatch once, and start' act on, and it failed miserably.  I was so certain I would start from the bottom, but I kept ending up with too many stitches.  Several tweaks later, I decided to start at the band.  I calculated how many repeats I would need based on a similarly designed swatch, and went at it.  It started looking a bit big, but no matter, the cables will close it up.  It kept looking a bit big until I ended the chart, held it up to me, and...oops, did about seven too many repeats. 

I checked my gauge, found it wanting, so I looked at my half-assed calculations, which were changing with every whim I hit.  It was all wrong.  I ripped out the last ball I joined, looked at it, and...decided that this was the wrong yarn to use.  Too bulky, too big, didn't work.

Oye.

So I started hunting down more suitable yarn.  I actually went and bought a skein of one 'okay it may work' yarn and wound it up.  Then I decided to work on other things that didn't require as much thought (and need to get done as well):

Also, I'm still not done with the baby sweater and my Mom finished the blanket already.  That never happens!

Well, ok, maybe a little.  I had to rip out a few things in that sweater too. 

Anyway, while I was putzing about on where I would get the yarn for this tank I want to make, I also kept thinking about what to do with the yarn I had originally bought.  It was just sitting there because I didn't bother putting them up, of course.

Then I got a better idea.  Another tank, but one that would work with this yarn.  Simple, easy...

 ...and, it turns out, a pain in the butt to calculate everything. Of course it is.

I know this because I swore I would do this properly this time.  I would not quickly calculate how many to cast on for my size and go.  I would swatch properly, calculate everything out, then adapt to my size and go.  It helps that I got a 'up to 75% off your first class' coupon from Craftsy (because I signed up and only took free courses, then forgot about it) and I used it for this class.  Because, hey, ten bucks for instructions on the crap I keep doing wrong; it's a good deal, right?

Well, I haven't finished the class, but while it was worth the 10 bucks for the sparks I needed to figure out how to organize this stuff into a set of competent calculations, there are parts I've either 1) got so bored because it was below my skill level (computer skills, actually, not knitting.  She explains in minute detail how to use a spreadsheet.  I get why, but some of us have, you know, even programmed macros before) or 2) didn't get the reasoning behind it.  I'm at a part that is supposed to help me, but her setup wasn't working out for my tank.  I don't know why, because there's some magic numbers in her calculations and even when someone asked her in the comments to explain it, she didn't.  But thanks to the comments, I remembered I bought this book:

It was a random, get free shipping on Amazon buy.  I half-forgot about it, thinking a lot of it wasn't so relevant.  However, a comment in the class pointed me in the right direction, and I found that it contains a much simpler way of doing the same thing.  That worked.  Translate it into a spreadsheet to auto-calculate and...ta da.  Another thing half done.

Because desipte having spent...I don't know, three weeks doing this, I'm still not done.

Ok, part of it is my life intruding.  But most of it is because I keep going off on one tangent, deciding against it or running into a brick wall, and going off again.  That part of the class I got confused on?  Was about calculating slope.  Which I first tried to do using inches and the slope of a line formula, and couldn't quite even out the slope to go where I wanted it to in stitches.  That's when I watched that segment of the class.  So I've done that part about three times now.

At this point I could technically cast on.  I have the stitch count where I need it, I just need to adjust for my size directly (I've been using standard measurements so I have a constant).  However, since my efforts have been all over the place, I'm not sure if I have everything to at least easily calculate where to proceed.  And I'm still not done with the class.  Decisions, decisions. The problem with designing is there is no base and way too many decisions.

So, I'll probably continue on to the end of the class, then do a quick look at what I have and start writing/knitting  But it's taking all my effort not to get frustrated at all the wasted planning and just cast on already.  However, we know where that goes.  It goes like this:

Badly.

Too Many Frogs 'Round Here

This past month, I can't count how many times I've frogged or otherwise had to undo some work due to a mistake I made.

For the Dwindling Cables Hat, I ripped out the base band three times, attempted to pick up the stitches twice, and then had to frog most of it after I screwed up all the cable crossings.  At least after that I didn't screw up majorly again (some minor issues here and there, but nothing that couldn't be hacked easily) after that.

For the Work Cardigan (almost done; debrief will be next post), I once again didn't read the pattern closely enough and missed that I needed to increase my stitch count up the sleeve to account for the subtracted bell shape.  I figured this out after I got to the top of the sleeve cap and was wondering why I had so few stitches.  A week's work frogged out.  How long have I've been working on this again?  Almost two months now?

I then spent my last Sunday sewing in and ripping out one of the sleeves to said cardigan as I learned how to sew in a set-in sleeve.

Now I'm working on the first of a set of fingerless gloves:

So far, I've had to drop down the stitches of one of the cables to re-cross a miss-cross, and had to rip out the start of the thumb gusset (about 5 rows) since it looked like crap.  It still looks kind of shitty, but since I stopped using the stitch markers, it's been better:

Oh, and I've decided to try another way of purling at the same time.  Which took me a couple of rows to get, and it's not so natural for me yet.  I don't know if I'll keep doing it this way or not (but that's another post).

Luckily, this is a pretty fast, easy pattern.  Yes, even with all the cables.  It's pretty logical and easy to memorize.  Despite my inability to do anything right at the moment, I love patterns like that.

Now my sweater just needs to dry again so I can finish it, oye.

Things That Are Gray and Things That Are White

Oh, look, I've finally got something done:

This should have not taken me a month to do, but it did.  Mainly because I was too busy working on the work sweater at the same time.  However, it didn't help that I frogged parts of this hat multiple times either.

It came out a little big, I have to say that.  Having worn it a couple of times already, I wish that I had made the band a little tighter (though that would have screwed me up on picking up the right stitch count even more, so maybe that isn't the best idea).  It stays on, but if I dart around it sometimes slips foward, and otherwise doesn't always stay where I put it.  Nothing that can't be fixed with a snap clip or two, though.

I love the way it looks, which is always a bonus.  However, I had to switch back to my heavy duty hats today due to the lovely nor'easter that's coming through my area as I type:

That's what it looks like outside my window a couple of hours ago from this post.  Well, if you subtract the fact that my camera turned the scene yellow tinted....

Supposedly its name is Nemo, which I can't hear without getting this song stuck in my head, so I'm going to ignore the Weather Channel's attempt at giving cute names to nor'easters and just call it a snow storm.  Despite everyone freaking about about it here in NYC, it's not supposed to be as bad here.  But that's NYC mentality for you...it's going to be an event enough to cause minor disruption?  Everybody panic!  Meanwhile, back in 2010:

Three feet of snow, whoo hoo.

So forgive me if I'm not currently impressed at the moment (however, those of you northeast of us that are dealing with the snow amounts in the second pic...I feel for you).  The snow falling this morning was pretty, though.  It was the right weather to have light big snowflakes and not be crazy cold outside.  I actually didn't mind walking in it this morning.  Then again, I like snow and don't mind colder weather.  I just don't like crappy slush and shoveling things and the type of cold that is bitter and biting.

Another positive thing about it was that I got to do this:

Finished the last sleeve on the subway today, and managed to get to the post office before it closed to pick up the package that contained those nice new blocking pads (one bad thing about apartment living in the city; getting packages delivered is a pain in the ass.  Especially when they decide not to bother ringing your doorbell before leaving the slip that says 'we missed you, now you have to go to the post office that's only open during your working hours most of the time!' Ug).

In other news, yes, I finally broke down and bought blocking pads.  T-pins don't really hold when your using towels on a hardwood floor, and while I can work around it for small things, this needed to be pinned out sturdily. 

I'm not done, though.  I still have to sew it up and do the back of the neck (it's a bit of an odd construction).  Hopefully I can get it done within the week, though.  Then I'll have both my over-a-month long projects done.

Then I'll start something else...woops:

I kind of already did.

P.S.: For anyone dealing with the snow, stay safe and warm, and don't try to curse it too much.

P.P.S.: Oh, and we're in a severe French Toast Alert, ya'll (the site is Mass. based, I believe, so it's even more applicable). Have fun!

Such a Good Start

So, we're half a month into the new year and I haven't written a post yet.  Good job, me.

To be fair, I've been rather busy.  Not with projects, unfortunately.  Not with pattern writing, though I should have that done by this weekend (something something too lazy to do math something).  No, just life.  Holidays and the traveling that entails, work, family hanging around, that kind of stuff.

I guess what I'm saying is I got nothing. 

Well, ok, I got something.  I got a three-year-old store bought work sweater that needs to be replaced, because this lovely thing popped up a month ago, and it's gotten bigger:

And, no, I'm not just wearing it for the picture.  I've been wearing it to work too (though, to be fair, I didn't notice the hole wasn't dime-sized anymore until this week.  Then I folded up the sleeves until said hole was covered).  That's because its replacement, which I've planned for...I don't know, almost a year now...looks like this:

I would blame the holidays and being busy, but its not just that (though that delayed my start.  Then again, I wasn't planning for my other one to get a hole).  I like this pattern and I love this yarn, don't get me wrong, but it is a sport-weight full cardigan, worked back and forth of course.  Purling every other row slows me down; I just don't purl as fast as I knit.  With that, on top of having a charted cable and US5 needles, means I'm not going as fast as I could.  But I guess that's every project I do.  I think I'll get it done in a couple of weeks, but in reality it takes me a month or two (or five, or a year...).

Oh, and working on this thing doesn't help either:

I'm justifying it as my travel project.

In other news, I was reminded recently that VogueKnitting Live is next weekend.  I had forgotten about it in the rush of other things.  Of course, I would have remembered when my name card came in the mail this week:

I can't wait to see what horrifying fashions are being show this year, which is what this event is good for. I mean, it's not like I need any yarn and if it's like last year, I'm not going to find much in the way of yarn anyway as bright, summery colors are not in my color palate.  Which is a good thing; I currently have too much yarn acquired from Rhinebeck and the Manhattan Smiley's sale.  Well, I guess it's also good for the lecture I signed up for.  We'll see.

At least I used and am using what I bought there last year, of which one thing was the book the replacement work cardigan is in.  The yarn I'm using I bought at Rhinebeck this year.  Woot, knitting events.

Mistake Rib Baby Hat

 

Mistake Rib Baby Hat

Errata: 
10-30-2018:  fixed 6-12 month decrease section to align with written stitch count.

Craft Type:

Knitting

Skill Level:

Easy

Sizing:

For sizes 0-3 months (3-6 months, 6-12 months), 12” (13”, 15”) round largest part of hat, unstretched, and 6” (7”, 7.5”) to i-cord tie.

Gauge:

23 stitches and 35 rows = 4” in stockinette stitch

Materials:

• A lot less than 1 skein of Bernat Softee Baby in Gray Marl (for reference, I managed to to a small baby cardigan and two of these hats out of one skein). If you have about 100-150 yards of another DK weight yarn around, you could use that (and if you don't like acrylic, you won't want to use the yarn I used anyway. It's standard acrylic).
• US 4 (or whatever you get gauge on), 40” circular needle or longer (for magic looping) or a set of US 4 (or whatever you get gauge on) DPNs (if this is your preferred way of working in the round).
• Darning Needle

Abbreviations (US terms are used):

CO – Cast On

YO – Yarn Over

K – Knit

P – Purl

K2tog – Knit two together

Notes:

This is done using a 1x1 mistake rib, so it's not reversible.

Instructions surrounded by * symbols indicates repeat sequence until the end of the round. Instructions where there is a number followed by numbers in parenthesizes indicates different numbers or steps for the different sizes. If you only see one number or step, it's for all sizes. If there are different instructions for the brim up or brim down versions, they appear under brackets stating what version in the order 'Brim Down/Brim Up'. If the instructions apply to both, they are started with a set of brackets as such. To note, the main difference is the brim pattern and where to measure the hat from for the body. After that, it's the same.

Instructions:

[Both]:

CO 66 (70, 86) stitches. If using DPNs, spread out stitches evenly across all your needles. If magic looping, split evenly.

Brim:

[Brim Down]:

Round 1: *K, P*

Round 2: *K*

Repeat 1-2 until ribbing is an 1” long.

[Brim Up]:

Round 1: *K, P*

Round 2: *P*

Repeat 1-2 until ribbing is 1.5” long.

Body:

[Both]:

Round 1: For 0-3 month and 6-12 month sizes, K2tog first two stitches, then K to end of round.  For 3-6 month size, just K whole round.

[Brim Down]:

Work in stockinette stitch until hat measures 4.5” (5.5”, 6”) long from CO edge.

[Brim Up]:

Work in stockinette stitch until hat measures 4.5” (5.5”, 6”) long from the start of the stockinette part.

Decrease Rounds:

[Both]:

(For 6-12 month size, start here)

Round 1: *K15, K2tog*

Round 2: *K*

Round 3: *K14, K2tog*
Round 4: *K*

Round 5: *K13, K2tog*
Round 6: *K*

(For 3-6 month size, start here)

Round 7: *K12, K2tog*

Round 8: *K*

(For 0-6 month size, start here)

Round 9: *K11, K2tog*

Round 10: *K*

Round 11: *K10, K2tog*

Round 12: *K*

Round 13: *K9, K2tog*

Round 14: *K*

Round 15: *K8, K2tog*

Round 16: *K*

Round 17: *K7, K2tog*

Round 18: *K*

This should leave you 40 stitches on the needle. If you don't have this amount, please adjust accordingly until you do.

Hat Closure and Poof Top:

[Both]:

Round 1: *K2, YO, K2tog*

Round 2: *K, P*

Round 3: *K*

Repeat 2-3 until ribbing is ½” long. Cast off on round 2 in pattern. Weave in ends.

I-Cord Closure:

[Both]:

Knit a three-stitch, 8” i-cord. If you want more decorative loops, you can make it longer. (If you don't know how to make an i-cord, click here). You can use the same needles as the project, or go down a size or two if you want a skinnier i-cord. Do NOT weave the ends of the yarn into the cord, and make sure at least one end is on the longer side.

Weave the i-cord in and out of the YOs, making sure that both the ends of the i-cord are outside of the hat at the end and are the same length (you may find that putting a darning needle on one of the loose ends makes this a lot easier). Pull tight to shut hat.

Cross the two ends and wrap them around the top of the hat (level with the skinniest part of the poof). Tie ends into a knot on the other side (like the first step of tying a shoe. It doesn't need to be secure, just together.).

Determine which piece of yarn on the ends of your i-cord are longer. Take the shorter one and weave into the i-cord like normal, then tuck the end of the i-cord under the knot, making a small loop on one side. Thread a darning needle on the other piece of yarn, and use it to tuck in the other end of the i-cord under the loop like above. To do this, draw the needle through to the inside of the hat under the knot, making sure to go through the other end of the i-cord already tucked under there, and pull. Then, thread the yarn in and out from inside the hat through the ends of the i-cord and the knot to secure the i-cord and it's ends to the hat. End with yarn inside the hat and weave in the end like a cast off. This should leave tiny loops above and below the i-cord where the knot was placed.

Happy knitting!

* * *

If you find any errors in this project, please e-mail: CompileYarn[at]gmail[dot]com, or leave a comment  here or on Raverly.  Copyright (c) invisican/CompileYarn(). .

I Seem to Plan These Things at the Last Minute

So, in true me fashion, I found out last week that Vogue Knitting Live was being held this weekend in Manhattan, and therefore made last minute plans to go.  Which I can do, since I now don't just live close to the city, but now live close enough where attending was just a matter of hopping on the subway.

Unfortunately, having just moved (as well as had some other unforeseen cost sinks) meant I couldn't afford to take any classes, not that there was a good selection the last week of registration anyway. I ended up doing the 'I Heart NY' package, since paying for that cost just as much as paying for two day marketplace pass, and got you a lecture on top of it.  It ended up working out, as I not only went Saturday to attend the lecture as I had planned to in the beginning, but went Sunday to attend one of the free panels as well.  Though, being in the marketplace for two days didn't help my budget much.  But let me start from the beginning here.

In General
At first, I wasn't too sure about this event.  I walked around the marketplace first, saw projects I liked, but not a lot of yarn caught my eye.  Contrasting that to Rhinebeck where I saw tons of yarn I liked, it was a little disheartening at first.  I'm thinking that part of the reason was that I was trying to be more cautious with my money and space (in contrast to Rhinebeck, where I didn't have a budget or space constraints), and therefore only glanced at all the nice cashmere and silk yarns that are at these events.  The other was that the projects I've been thinking of doing were more warmer weather projects, and a lot of the yarn was cold weather stuff (on top of that, none of my project ideas were solid 'I'm doing X' things, which didn't help). The third is that this seems more geared towards the fashion-forward crowd, whereas I'm picky about what I like and it usually isn't popular (for example, I really didn't see any colors I like that wasn't some brand name yarn I can get elsewhere for the same price if I want it).  Also, I was hoping I'd find buttons for my baby sweater, but there were very few button sellers.  I don't think it helped that I've been in a weird mood for unrelated reasons. 

However, there were some interesting thing there.  As I said, I did see a couple of projects on display that I loved as a project, though I wasn't interested in the yarn used.  One of the vendors had a nice shrug with a stockinette body and cabled collar, with mid-length sleeves.  I fell in love with it the first time I saw it.  However, the yarn used was some weird yak/wool blend which wouldn't have worked for when I needed the shrug (I have a event in June that I was thinking of making a shrug for), the color choices didn't thrill me, and the yarn wasn't cheap either.  As far as I could tell, the pattern itself wasn't on sale.  The other projects I saw was just displays of patterns from magazines, and the last thing I need is a magazine subscription.  Something to think about, but nothing to do.  At first this bugged me, but now it doesn't.  I have food for thought, at least.

The Lecture
I scheduled myself to go to the 'Passionate Knitter Takes the Next Step' by Jo Packham, mainly because the time worked for me.  However, having played with this blog and the idea of trying to design more complicated patterns, I was thinking it may be helpful.

Now, don't get me wrong, the talk was interesting and Packham was funny and entertaining.  However, the talk was geared more towards those really trying to break into the industry as writers and entrepreneurs, and so a lot of the advice wasn't useful to me.  I was thinking I would get more advice on blogging, designing, and other quirks in the knitting world as a means to itself, not as a tool to market a brand so one can freelance as a creative person. I blog, design, and otherwise knit because I enjoy it and want to share, not because I'm looking to make it my job or use it to break into another job.  Hell, I think there's one person who actually knows who I am, who also knows I blog about this stuff.  I know there's very few people who know how much I truly lurk in the knitting world (and I mainly lurk.  That's what needs to change first, I think).  I guess if the lecture did anything, it showed me that I'm a lot more out of the knitting world than I was thinking, and that's ok with me.

Fashion Shows and the Panel
I found the fashion shows by accident; I just happen to be walking by when one was going on, and decided to watch.  I didn't think I'd be interested, but it ended up being one of the better things about this event.  I say that despite the fact that I am horrified at the trends coming up in the knitting world.  Maybe that's why I did enjoy it.  Because I'm horrified.

I first caught part of the Trendsetter fashion show.  I've never heard of them before this event, and their line of yarns seem to consist of, what's it called, specialty yarns?  Ribbon yarns, sparkly yarns, bobble yarns, all sorts of demented not-yarn yarns.  I was under the impression that specialty yarns were what they tried to spring on new knitters (I know that my learn-to-knit book had more than enough projects made out of Fun Fur.  Why certain people think fun fur and the like is appropriate for beginners is beyond me).  That they're the yarns big box stores sell to one in a blue moon hobby knitters.  But here they all, bobbles, sparkles, and all that jazz, in projects that models are wearing down the runway at a major knitting event.  I don't think I need to tell you that I've never liked such yarns or styles.  I wasn't happy that they seem to be picking up again, despite the fact that I shouldn't be surprised.  After all, when did those ugly fir vests, boots, and hats start selling in department stores? Last year?

Anyway, I decided to stick around and watch the next show (despite the fact that, at this point, I was tired and hungry).  This show was for Skacel, which is another company I've never heard of.  The good thing is that they didn't overdo the specialty yarns.  The bad thing is it seems like the next knitting trend is modular knitting, at least according to this company.  I'm not a huge fan of the 'bunch of squares put together' look outside of some afghans; it was one of the reasons I've gotten into knitting over crochet for such things.  They didn't change my opinion.  Another trend they used was weird garment shaping.  Now, I'm not automatically against unique shaping, but not like this.  These garments had bat wings, sweaters that looked like bags with cuffs, weird cowls attached to the garment, that kind of thing.  Yes, I like knitting rectangles too, but I rather deal with garment shaping than wear a rectangle.  Again, some of the stuff here was just reflecting store trends that I hate.  Oye.  However, there were a couple of things I didn't mind, and I have to say that swing dress is pretty neat, though I'd probably never wear such a thing if I knit it.

After this show I left to get food and go home.  That would have been the end of my Vogue Knitting Live trip, except I guess I enjoyed see all the bad fashions more than I thought, as I found myself looking at the Sunday schedule and going: 'Oh, I could go see the Vogue Knitting show at 2.'  So, I came back on Sunday in the afternoon to see the what Vogue Knitting was offering.

I have to say, while there was maybe one thing I would actually want to really wear (maybe two, if I modified the second a bit), they were a lot saner than the other shows.  There were several garments I was going: 'Oh, that looks really interesting, I wouldn't mind knitting something like that.' or even 'Hm, I wouldn't do that but that's an interesting idea.'  Of course, there were a couple of things where I went 'What the hell?', mainly a long, weirdly shaped cardigan with a long twisted attached cowl in the front (at least the other garments with cowls in this collection were not attached).  Also, cowls in the summer?  Summer ponchos?  I don't get these trends.

After this was a panel on knitting as a career, which was the second reason I went back on Sunday.  As I thought, it was interesting and amusing to hear the stories of people, some whom I've read their blogs, or just names we all have heard around the knitting world, tell their stories on how they ended up doing it for a living. 

Purchases
Despite wondering around the marketplace for hours on Saturday because nothing really caught my eye, I did end up buying some yarn (of course):

This will be for a baby sweater for that baby I've been making the other things for (which, I should mention, one good thing about this event was all the knitting time I had during and between shows and events.  I got the baby hat done. Also, being surrounded by people knitting during shows was great).  I picked this yarn because it's 1) cotton and 2) wasn't in the classical pastel blue/pink colors and 3) I've never seen a colorway like that red/orange one, and I thought it'll be interesting, especially since I still don't know the baby's gender, and while I'd have no issue putting pink or flair-y things on a boy or blue on a girl, my relatives would.  So, I thought the red/orange combo would be gender neutral enough, in a short-sleeve cardigan with stripes (or maybe with sleeves, not sure yet).

When I went back on Sunday, I had plans to not buy anything else.  Not only did that not work, I also manage to make an ass out of myself.  Here's what happened:

1) As I was walking around the marketplace right before it was set to close, I passed the Knitty City booth. At the Knitty City booth were two knitwear designers with books out, both which I've heard of but never owned their books.  One happens to be a known designer who I: 1) have favorited patterns on Raverly for but never got around to making, 2) have read their blog since they were featured in Brave New Knits, and 3) just released a book I was just looking at on Amazon as something I may be interested in. 
2) I go up to the known designer's table and say 'oh, I was just looking at this book on Amazon', hereby throwing all proper social introductions out the window.  I pick up the book and start looking through it.
3) After some niceties about the book with a Knitty City staffer, I get told that the author of said book is sitting at the table (which I knew).  I go 'Oh, yes, *mumble, mumble, looking at book not people*, I know, I hang around the Internet.'  At this point I then realize that I: 1) failed to maintain proper social etiquette from the get go, 2) didn't make much sense to anyone else but myself, and 3) now sound like some deranged stalker.  Author has smiled at me, but not said anything but hello.  Unsure what to do, I just keep looking at book.
4) Knowing that there was no graceful way out now, I ask how much book is.  Another mistake.  Knitty City employee flips over book and reads price off of back (duh).
5) I ask to buy book, hand book I'm holding to author.  I still haven't bother explaining myself about the internet comment, or saying anything like 'Oh, I've read your blog' or anything to that nature because I'm afraid of sounding more like a crazy idiot.
6) At this point, another person reads my name tag and asks about where I live.  I tell her that I just moved.  Turns out, she lives in the same 'hood and informs me that there are a lot of knitters there and they meet up.  I mention that I 'didn't know that because I didn't find it on the Internet' (why did I say that?), and I live on the other side of the 'hood from the place she was pointing out they meet.  She did at least tell me a Raverly group for knitters in the area. I make mental note to check it out.
7) Author hands book back.  I say thank you at least two times.  Author thanks me.  I look around and bow away from table to pay for book.

So, the end result is that I bought something completely unplanned, and there's a well known designer who may think I'm a complete idiot. Oye.  But, hey, I have a signed knitting book, and the note is very nice despite my, um, behavor.  And there are a couple of patterns in there I would love to do once I get the time and money.


Conclusion
I had fun, believe it or not.  Even it was the 'hey, let's see what absurd thing we can see today' kind of fun.  It also made me think about what I'm doing as a knitter, and where I want to go with my hobby.  That's something I'm still thinking about, though it did lead me to do yesterday's post.  Because, honestly, I know I'm talking to myself right now.  I don't really participate in the knitting world.  I just lurk, and think that's enough.  What this event let me see is that it's not enough.  Even if I sound like an idiot at first, I need to participate more, talk more, share more.  Because, after all, one of the things that attracted me was that there is a 'knitting community'.  That's impressive in its own right.  And I don't have to make it my job to participate, though I have to keep in mind that I am a budding intermediate knitter/crocheter and not a designer, despite the fact that I have two designs on this blog.  They're basic; I haven't done anything yet.  However, the other fact is that I can learn to be a hobby designer, but I can't rush the process or do it alone.  My goal, therefore, is to get to a point where I do have some better designs, and to not get frustrated when my fantastical ideas that I have right now don't work at first.  To sit down and do, instead of dream, and to do for the knitting community.

Also, I hope that for next year, I can afford a class or two.  Because I think one of the better things about this event is the classes, and honestly, they would have helped me a lot more.  But that is life.

Oh, and I do have pictures from the event, but they're on my phone, and I'm not sure if I'm allowed to share them, as most of them are of one of the shows.  Sorry.

I Know, I Know...

I actually had a whole post planned revolving my completion of the Bucket and Brims hat remake, since I realized that it would be a perfect segway into my one major mistake when I was learning to knit, but then life got in the way.  I'll still get around to that post, but it's not going to happen any time soon.  Sorry about that.

Quick updates: I did get all the hats I needed to done for the holidays, and the recipients liked them, so that's a good thing.  I'm currently finishing up my first baby sweater for this other baby on the bus right now (sorry, don't have a picture).  I should be done tomorrow (minus the buttons...which will have to wait because I have a ban on myself from buying any craft stuff right now).  I did change the sleeve length to short sleeves since this is supposed to be a late spring baby in an area of the country that gets pretty hot. 

Then I'll have nothing to do on the bus for the rest of the week.  Then I won't need it.  That's all I'm going to say for now.  I'll try to get back to really posting when my life settles down. 

A belated happy holidays to everyone, and have a happy new year.

Hats, Hats, and More Hats

I've gotten back into my pre-winter hat kick.  Yep, I know winter's coming when I start wanting to make hats.  I did this last year too, so I guess it's going to be a thing with me.  Winter's coming, time to make hats.

Last year, it was motivated by the fact that I had one slightly-too-big hat and scarf set, and another scarf.  I needed more hats and scarves so I didn't freeze my...um, head off when I started walking part of my commute.  This year, it's been quick presents.  Well, mostly.

I first blame my mother.  She wanted an alpaca hat for Hanukkah.  She sprung it on me a couple of months ago, so I was able to plan, get the yarn, and make the hat.  It also helped that she choose a really quick knit:

The pattern is the ever popular Thorpe, using Cascade Yarns Baby Alpaca Chunky, in a size large...which ended up being a little too big when I washed the hat.  Should have dropped down a needle size and/or done the medium so it wouldn't end up so floppy and loose.  Didn't think about the fact that I made it with alpaca, not wool.  It still works and fits well enough, though.

So, of course, that got me thinking and motivated, which is dangerous when you're making a KnitPicks order and you need to spend some more money to get free shipping.  You start thinking things like: 'Hey,  I can make a hat in less than a week...hey, why don't I make one for another relative I have no clue what I'm going to get for him, and oh, how about one for myself. ' I therefore present hat number one (the present):

...And hat number two (mine, still got to finish it):

Hat number one is Lorne's Hat, from the ever-amusing Stephanie Pearl-McPhee.  Simple, straightfoward, nice hat pattern, if it wasn't for the 12in of ribbing in sports weight yarn it requires.  Good thing I like the look of the hat.  All that ribbing got tedious after awhile.  The yarn is KnitPicks Andean Treasure, which I have never used before nor read any reviews before getting.  It's not a bad yarn, but it's KnitPicks, so it's not the highest quality.  It sheds a bit when you're working with it.  However, it is also soft and pet-able, so it has that going for it.  Haven't introduced it to water yet, so I dunno what happens there (I also didn't swatch, so I'll have to make a swatch to test that bit out, he he).

Hat number two is a Bucket and Brims Hat.  I made this hat last year (you can see it here), and screwed it up a bit.  Not only was I still twisting all my knit stitches at the time, but I misinterpreted the pattern.  Which you need to do, since it's not the most straightforward pattern out there.  Doable, but not very clearly written.  It didn't stop me from wearing the first one, but I decided to try my hand at it again and see if I could make a better one.  The yarn is KnitPicks Wool of the Andes Bulky, which I decided to try just to see how the Wool of the Andes line is (the first one was made out of KnitPicks Swish Bulky, but they upped the price on that line and I was trying not to spend too much money).  Not overly impressed with the wool, but it's not bad.  It's not soft, but it's hearty and swishy...it's hard to explain.

This would have been the end of the KnitPicks yarn buying and hat making, except that I ran out of yarn for hat one before I was done (this is what happens when you pick the pattern out after you buy the yarn and don't look at the yardage required).  That's actually the only reason the second hat got started; I needed another project to take on the bus while I was waiting for the extra skein of yarn to be delivered.  But that also led to this:

More yarn for another hat.  This will be for my brother, though he doesn't know he's getting it, so it's another surprise knit.  The colors are intentional (can you guess what it represents?); but that also lead to me buying a skein of KnitPicks Swish Worsted for the yellow (the main color) skein, and Wool of the Andes Worsted for the other two colors (which will be accent stripes, so the fact that the yarn feels a lot rougher shouldn't be an issue).  I'm planning to use this pattern here.  Hopefully, it doesn't take me as long as the last present hat, and hopefully I won't need another skein of the yellow yarn.  That would suck.  I already had accepted the fact that I had to pay shipping for this order, since there was no way I was hitting $50 on my second order of the month.  Oye.

At least Hanukkah starts December 20th this year.  It would of sucked if it started, say, now.  Or maybe it wouldn't have, since I would have already had a present for said brother, and so wouldn't have had this zany scheme, and since the other present hat is a Christmas present, it would have still worked out.  Or something like that.

And after this?  Baby knitting.  Can't do any more hats or scarves, though I would like to make another short scarf for myself at some point...and a cardigan...and a sweater...and I have way too many projects I want to do...

The Milk Maiden Write-and-Dash

Since I can't seem to actually sit down and write something when I have time on the weekends, here's the promised notes from my experience with making the Milk Maiden pullover, plus some other observations.

The Sweater
Well, it was an interesting knit.  It came out nicely, but I ended up winging a lot of little changes, despite the fact that I actually took the time to sit down and plan out how I was going to shorten this sweater.  This is because it has an odd construction in the sleeve area and is shaped.  I don't have much of an issue with shaping.  I was worried about screwing up the sleeve construction, having never done something like it before (it involves doing half the sleeve, and then attaching the sleeve to the sweater by decreases, which creates the sleeve cap.  It also means that the sleeve width is the height of the sleeve, something I figured out a tad too late).  However, I did manage to get the sleeves on mostly right.  Yay me.

Oh, and while I was stupid and didn't write every change I made down, I did get a good chunk of them onto my Raverly for this project (the details may be a little lacking, but heh).  But since I'm being lazy, I'm not linking.  My profile link's on the side bar if you're really interested.

The Yarn Used
Madelinetosh yarn....oh, I love your colors, I love the way the color looks in this sweater, but you bleed, and bleed, and bleed!  I set you in vinegar three times, I put so much into the water that it had to be half vinegar, but every time I took you out of the vinegar, you still bled!  How do I set your pretty colors?  How?  Three times I've had to block projects made out of you, and all three times I couldn't stop the yarn from bleeding. Oye.

Other Observations
1) I actually saw someone knitting on the subway a week or so ago.  I've never actually seen someone else knit in public, and here was this woman sitting on the crowded subway, merrily knitting away.  I tried taking a sneaky picture (yeah, I know, it's a little creepy), but the camera in my phone sucks and the subway was too crowded.  (I should note that I don't knit on the subway since I have a very short ride on it).

2) I then finished a hat (it is a present) and a short scarf (probably will be a present) with the alpaca from Rhinebeck.  I now have another hat to do (another present), maybe another project that will also be a present, and a bunch of baby stuff since I now have another relative that's expecting.  I would usually be 'yay' happy about the baby stuff, but I was kind of hoping to start on a cardigan for myself.  You know, so I stop wearing the same store-bought one to work every day.  Oh well.  It'll give me a chance to clear out some of the baby yarn in my stash, given that I'm not over-estimating my knitting abilities again (Which I am.  Can I really do two sweaters after a hat and [retracted] before buying some nicer yarn to make a nicer baby sweater?).

3) I really want to know where the phrase 'sharpen your knitting needles' came from.  My mom said it to me when announcing the baby news.  I've never heard that before, and I've never heard of being able to sharpen your needles.  Probably because I use metal ones.  A web search for another day.