Possessed to Knit

Wollmeise Hat for Al

Here is the hat I knitted for Al.  I managed to snag a Gemischt (mixed) bag of Wollmeise during one of Claudia's daytime updates which included a skein of 100% merino in the Merlot colorway.  Cream Fortissima sock yarn is the contrasting yarn.  It has 25% nylon and is a bit fuzzier than the Wollmeise.

I started with a provision crochet cast-on of 88 sts using a size F hook and a 3.5 mm 16" circular needle.  I knitted 4 rounds then picked up the provisional sts every other stitch creating a k1, p1 rib on size 2.25 mm 16" circular needles.  I worked the k1, p1 rib for an inch and switched to 2.75 mm 16" Addi Lace needles following the Lusekofte Cap pattern from Hats On! by Charlene Schurch with 2 additional pattern repeats for a total of 176 sts.  I also added some plain rounds to the upper and lower Fair Isle bands, but I could have left them out as the hat is just a little bit longer than I wanted it to be.  The pattern stitches were coming out too tight with my knitting thimble.  I achieved much better results with the Wollmeise in my right hand and the Fortissima in my left hand.  I divided the hat into 11 sixteen stitch sections, decreasing every other round down to 11 sts for the crown.  The gauge is about 8.5 sts and 9 rows to the inch.

Ethan's Fair Isle Hat

Our neighbors' son, Ethan, recently celebrated his third birthday and I offered to knit him a new hat.  It turns out that he had outgrown the hat I made for him last year.  I was a little puzzled by this as my nephews are 4 & 6 and their hats still fit them (I think) and I made them the same medium sized hats from Charlene Schurch's Hats On!  book.  

I measured Ethan's head and found it is 19.5 inches in circumference.  I could either go up a needle size and knit another medium hat or I could just knit a hat in the large size.  I decided to go with knitting the large size hat and I'm glad I did.  My gauge for this pattern is about 6.5 sts and 7.5 rows to the inch instead of 6 sts and 7.25 rows to the inch as required by the pattern.  I completed his hat before our winter weather arrived and it fits him very nicely.

I used Knit Picks Swish Worsted in the Deep Ocean & White colorways and size 6 Addi Turbo needles (16" for most of the hat and 32" to work the Magic Loop on the crown).  I knitted the hat with my knitting thimble, carrying the blue (background) color in the right loop and the white yarn in the left loop.  The "jog" starts in the middle of the hat.  I minimized it by starting the design in the best place to hide the jog and by moving the beginning of each round 1 stitch to the left then tweaking the stitches accordingly.

Dahlia Hat

I started the Dahlia hat from Alice Starmore's Hat Trick kit for my mother.  It came with ten colors of Hebridean 2-ply yarn which feels a bit softer than the Jamieson & Smith 2-ply jumper weight yarn.  I'm almost through the corrugated ribbing using 3.00 mm Addi Lace 16" circular needles.  I will work the rest of the hat with 3.50 mm Addi Lace 16" needles, using a 40" Addi Lace needle and the Magic Loop to complete the crown. 

I'm keeping the knitting yarn in my right hand and the purling yarn in my left hand as I knit this k2, p2 rib.  I will use my knitting thimble for the rest of the hat and will see how it works for the Magic Loop.  I prefer to use dpns for Fair Isle socks and gloves when I use my knitting thimble as my tension looks more even.  I'm not sure what I will do about the jog.  This hat is a bit dark so it might not be too noticeable on these small needles.

Hat Trick Kit

I received my Hat Trick Kit from Alice & Jade Starmore's Virtual Yarns.  There are three patterns included in the kit and are shown on the website here.  The top hat is Hebe, the middle hat is Dahlia, and the bottom hat is Snowdrop.  Alice found the inspiration for these designs from her garden.  The ten shades of her Herbridean 2-ply wool are enough to knit all three hats.  My mother will have first pick as the King Harald hat I sent her is not very soft, though it is warm.  These yarns are a bit softer than the Jamieson & Smith 2-ply and the gauge is a little looser at 7 sts per inch vs. 8 sts per inch for King Harald.  I will have to do a little needle research as I am loath to do a gauge square for knitting in the round.  I'm not convinced it will work for me and breaking the yarn at the end of each row (to imitate knitting in the round) is a waste of this precious yarn.  The pattern calls for 2.75 mm & 3.25 mm needles and I am tempted just to give 3.00 mm and 3.50 mm needles a try as I usually need to go up a needle size. 

Selbu Modern Hat

I completed this Selbu Modern hat for my friend, Denise.  She will be attending the Tartan Parade to celebrate her birthday, and I thought this hat would be fun for her to wear.  This pattern is free on Ravely by the talented and generous designer Kate Gagnon.  I used Knit Picks Palette yarn in Blush and Ivy with 2.25 mm and 3.00 mm Knit Picks 16" circular needles and a 32" size 3.00 mm circular for the crown with the Magic Loop.  The gauge came out a little on the small side (8 sts and 9.5 rows per inch instead the recommended gauge of 7.5 sts and 9 rows per inch).  I did not do my usual "jogless" join method as I could not figure out how to handle the crown decreases.  The jog is at the 6 o'clock position and not too noticeable.  This was a fun project to knit and I look forward to knitting more of Kate's patterns. 

Blue Streak Hat

I selected this toque hat from Anna Zilboorg's 45 Fine and Fanciful Hats to Knit book for my spindlespun Blue Streak Art Club batt.  The other yarn is a 2-ply spindlespun hand-dyed silk cap that I purchased from Ellen's 1/2 Pint Farm at the 2007 MSWF.  The thickness of the silk cap yarn varies quite a lot as found the silk cap a challenge to spin.  I like the look of the knitted braid at the edge and crown, it just takes a little getting used to as the yarns get twisted in one round and then untwisted in the next round.  The needles are size 7 Addi Turbo 16" circulars.  When the crown gets too small for them, I will switch to my 32" needles and use the Magic Loop method to complete this fun little hat project. 

Aguona Laptop Bag Completed

I have completed (St.)Lawrence's Aguona Laptop bag and it should arrive tomorrow.  This was a fun and challenging Fair Isle project.  I used 3.25 mm Addi Lace (24") needles instead of the recommended 3.5 mm needles as I wanted a tighter gauge.  The front gauge was about 8 sts and 8 rows to the inch.  The back gauge was 7.5 sts and 8 rows to the inch.  I read on Ravelry that one person had run out of Poppy (the brighter red yarn above and below the middle Tangelo stripe).  I did not have much Poppy left, but I did not run out of it.  I even had an entire ball of Drift leftover.  I used 3.0 mm Addi Turbo needles to knit the zipper bands and would have preferred to cut the zipper from the bottom instead of the top, something I will keep in mind for a future laptop bag.

Steek Cutting

Here is a picture I took as I cut the steek on Lawrence's Aguona laptop bag.  I used my sewing machine to sew one stitch away on each side of where I am cutting the steek.  This point is where I started and ended all of my new colors of yarn, so there were lots of loose yarn ends here.  Sewing down the left side of the steek, I was able to keep the yarns out of the way.  Sewing down the right side, I was not as successful and some of the strands got caught in the stitching further on down in my sewing.  In the future, perhaps pinning the ends out of the way would help.  I could just sew on the wrong side, but I do like to sew one stitch away from the cutting which I can only see on the right side.  After cutting the steek, I machine sewed double fold bias tape over each cut edge to protect these raw edges from wear and tear.  I have the zipper installed and I am putting the finishing touches on Lawrence's Aguona laptop bag.

Aguona Laptop Bag Progress

I have completed most of the knitting on the Aguona Laptop bag for my friend, Lawrence.  One of the pillows he made for me a few years ago is helping to prop up the laptop bag.  I use these lovely pillows to support my back while I spin.  I did not bind off the top as per the instructions.  I plan on doing a three-needle bind off  for the top and bottom seams.  First I have to sew and cut the steek on the right side of the bag, the stripes on the left side will remain intact.  I have some double fold bias tape to sew on the raw edges after I cut the bag.  Then I pick up stitches on the front and knit an edging and repeat this on the back.  The zipper installation is next followed by invisibly tacking the the bias tape to the inside of the bag.  I washed the bag and attempted to block it on some pvc piping I have from a drying rack I made.  I ended up just putting it in a towel with Al's laptop on it overnight.  I certainly appreciate Lawrence's patience and I am now in the homestretch of this project.   

Aguona Laptop Bag Progress

I have reached the half-way point on the knitting part of the Aguona laptop bag for my extremely patient friend, Lawrence.  I love how it is turning out and I have been studying the steek and zipper installation instructions.  After steeking Justin's raglan cardigan, I understand why they recommend a hand-sewn steek.  It was a challenge to feed the sweater under the foot of the machine and the fabric did get distorted quite a bit.  This Fair Isle fabric is much stronger and I think it would withstand the sewing machine stitching better, so I will give the machine stitching a try.  Lucy Neatby and Elizabeth Zimmerman say to use small stitches with reduced tension, which I did on Justin's sweater.

The Oscars are on tonight and I still have the Independent Spirit Awards that I taped to watch.  I will be knitting my Felici sock as I need to pay close attention when I work on Lawrence's Aguona laptop bag.  I hope I get to see Anne Hathaway win the Best Actress award for Rachel Getting Married.