Yarn Along #1

I figured it was high time I jump on the Yarn Along bandwagon.  I've actually done quite a lot knitting this winter (a lot, at least, given my current responsibilities), but I haven't documented most of it.  I'm hoping doing Yarn Alongs will motivate me to keep knitting into the summertime, when historically I tend to forget about warm, woolly projects.

Anyway, here's my latest project - I just finished it this past weekend.  Technically the second time I'd made it - I knit the whole hat over my Thanksgiving vacation (a couple of days), then tried it on and found it was a little bit too big.  I tried to rip it out from the bottom to take an inch off, but found that it's nearly impossible to rip cables out from the bottom up.  It was such a mess that I had to unravel the entire thing and start over... live and learn, I guess.  I did cast it back on (with smaller needles) and knit a couple of rows immediately, but I just didn't have the heart to go any further for awhile.  So I finished a hat and gloves for my cousin, hat and gloves for my husband, hat for my brother-in-law, and then finally picked this back up three weeks ago.

I used the "Tuppence's Aran Cloche" pattern by Danny Ouellette, found here on Ravelry.   The pattern directions were pretty easy to follow (I loved that there was both a cabling chart, and written instructions).  The yarn is Paton's Classic Merino in (I think - I can't find my yarn wrapper at the moment) Jade Heather.

Here's a closeup of the cabling pattern:

I'm such a sucker for cables.  I love all things Celtic, and Celtic knotwork is no exception.  When I was 16, I made a whole sweater out of these sorts of cables - it took me nearly a year - and like the hat, turned out just a bit too big for me.  I didn't have the heart to unravel that project, so my Mom got a nice new sweater.  You'd think I'd have learned my lesson about needing to do a gauge sample, but no... I still can't be bothered.

A gratuitous pic or two of my little hat model (it's sized for me, so definitely too big for her, but cute nonetheless)

As for what I'm currently reading: I've been switching around a lot, but A Gift From the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh is what I'm primarily reaching for, with Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy (by Rumer Godden) falling a close second. 

Find more Yarn Alongs over at Small Things.

Have a great day everyone!  May you be blessed with ample time to knit and read!

Hat and Gloves for faraway cousin

One other project that I can share about pre-Christmas, since a) she already knows about it, and b) being in China, she can't read my blog anyway (that whole non-freedom of the press thing, not a lack of Internet access).  The other day I had an email from my cousin, who is spending a year in China.  She's in a pretty remote village, in a house without indoor heat (although they do have a space heater, unlike many others in the village), so when I somewhat jokingly offered to mail her some coffee for Christmas, she quite seriously replied back that what she could use most would be a wool hat and some fingerless gloves.  She's doing music therapy there, so she needs her fingers free for flute/guitar/etc, but these would keep her hands warm at the same time.

Since I just so happened to have some extra yarn on hand, I did a quick Ravelry search (if you're a knitter or crocheter and aren't familiar with Ravelry, you must look into it, and sign up!  It is the best for finding great patterns for free or low cost), and found the perfect pattern for what I was looking for.  It's called "Treads" and can be found at the blog RainDrops.

On size five needles, and with worsted weight (Bartlett's Classic Merino, I believe, in a heathery cream/taupe) yarn, this was a really quick and surprisingly easy knit.  I've done toed socks before, so I was familiar with how to make fingers, but I did get to learn how to do a horizontal braid (easy and very cool).

Here's the project on needles (you could do it on a small circular needle, but I hate circulars.  Give me DPs any day):

Completed fingerless glove:

I like that there is an extra layer of warmth at the wrist and across the knuckles (and it doesn't look as bulky in person); it's nice for those of us with joints that don't like the cold.  I also like the ample wrist length, making it easy to leave it up for extra warmth, or roll it instead.

Here's my helper testing the fit (a bit big on her, but should be perfect for my cousin, I hope):

I also had a hat that I'd made and intended for my brother-in-law, but that I was concerned might be a bit too small.  Since I'd made it in the matching yarn to the gloves, I decided to throw that in as well.  I used The Boyfriend Hat pattern from the blog Stephanie Likes to Knit.  Again, this was a quick and easy knit - a simple knit three, purl two rib, with some neat decreases that maintain the ribs all the way to the top of the hat.  The sizing problem was my own fault; I misread the needle size and knit in a size 5 instead of the suggested 8.  It's very stretchy, so the width would be no problem on most people's heads even with the size 5 but it was just the right length for me, so maybe not quite right on an adult male head.

Having some soft, plush polar fleece in the back of my closet that I'd intended to make pocket diapers with (remember the cloth diaper making fiasco from earlier this year?), I decided to take a stab at making a headband liner inside the hat for a little extra warmth and the extra snugness that it would provide (this is my insurance against the hat being a little too short).  It actually came out pretty well, for my first try at such a thing: I don't usually sew with stretchy fabrics, so I was pleased to find that the zigzag stitch allowed ample stretch, and it all went in just fine:

(The inside of the hat)

(And the outside)

You can see the stitching a little bit, which I guess is unavoidable since it doesn't have a rolled brim.  But I don't think it detracts, overall.  Plus, fleece lined wool: what's going to keep her warmer than that?

The finished gift, ready to be shipped to the other side of the world:

And me enjoying the warmth... I mean, wearing just for photographic documentation purposes:

More project stories to come in a few weeks, along with hopefully other sorts of posts!