Tag Archives: hat

sheepy slouch.

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sheepy-slouch

The spring semester starts Monday, and there are certainly productive things I could be doing (like brushing up on my skills in a certain language so that I can pass a translation test whenever my department decides they’ve found someone to administer it), but instead, I’m knitting a hat. Boh ate my favorite squishy malabrigo cabley slouchy hat (see previous post), but instead of replacing it with a malabrigo look-alike, I’m craving something a bit sheepier, if you will. Enter my second le slouch. This one will be slouchier than the first, and a bit tweedy in appearance. I’m knitting it out of a Romney-Corriedale blend purchased as part of last winter’s snowshoe adventure at a farmland trust in Southern Vermont. I modified the cast on # slightly in order to accomodate my desire to knit the hat on 7s — in part because my 8s are in use, and in part because I want a denser fabric. Hoping to have this warming my ears soon!

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I finished these thank you-dishcloths yesterday, which means I’ll have no excuse if they aren’t in Tuesday’s mail. You heard it here first! Also, we were invited for dinner at a friend’s house a few nights ago, and bread was requested, but it was too late in the day to start my go-to no-knead bread. I opened Mark Bittman’s big yellow book, and found a recipe for a lighter whole wheat bread using baking soda, yogurt and honey, and ta-da:

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A hearty, wheaty quick bread that has been great with morning omelettes. I’ll be making this again.

Rather than take advantage of the free time to get ahead on reading, thinking, language study, etc. this weekend, I’m planning to knit and spindle away the afternoon before a planned evening of hunkering. There will be calzone-making, movie-watching and wine-drinking here at Chez Rooster — the dough is steadily rising!

turn a spindle, turn a square

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And here’s what I was working on while skein number 1 was hanging to dry. This is the first half of 4 oz of Finn in colorway Equilibrium, the November installment of the AVFKW Woolly Wonders Fiber Club. Here’s the beginning of the second half:

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This is more of a complex chestnut brown than it looks. Silly me for photographing it on a brown chair. I clearly took this picture before my morning coffee. I’m planning to attempt plying on my spindle when I finish spinning this up. I think these colors look lovely together, and “Equilibrium” suits them perfectly.

I’ve also been working on turning another square:

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I had to have one for myself — I’m hoping that the decrease seams will become more slouchy with a good blocking. (Apologies for the blurriness on this shot — all I can say is that my arm is a bit tired from all of the spindling!) Details: Grey Cascade 220 and Araucania Nature Wool Chunky leftovers, size 6 and 7 needles, as directed. Also, even though I’m using the notes to get the stripes to line up, it doesn’t look quite right. I ran the tails of both colors up the seam to fill in a few gaps that formed during color switches. Maybe I need to pull the yarn tighter as I’m carrying the strands along inside.

Totally unrelated, but I found myself wearing my malabrigo cowl on my head. And I like it.

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Still thinking about my knitting plans for 2009…

still knitting…

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First off, the boy seemed quite pleased with the socks and mittens. He tried everything on immediately on Friday night, and was showing off the mittens at the Saturday farmers’ market. He’s a bit camera shy, so I have no modeled pictures to share. Onto holiday knitting:

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There’s a wireless signal in my bedroom at my parents’ house. I’m not sure if this is good or bad for my holiday knitting. Either way, it is good for blogging. Today, about twenty minutes before my brother arrived, I finished Turn A Square, and to echo everyone who has already made one (or twenty), I love this pattern. I want one, and I will definitely be making a bunch more. What a nice hat to add to the knits-for-boys arsenal. Take a look:

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Also, I started another pair of Cruiser mittens for my mom, in Blue Sky Alpacas Organic Cotton. (My mom has a wool sensitivity/allergy, which makes knitting for her tough.) I’m giving her a Namaste bag for Christmas, but I wanted to tuck something warm and handknit inside, so I’m hoping I can squeak two mittens out of one skein…

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I’m making the smallest size, because this yarn is a bit thicker than the Malabrigo I used on the first pair, and because it is cotton, and I want the cuff to be snug.

I’ll leave you with a winter shot of a cardinal at the feeder in my parents’ yard. I’ll be back when I have more progress to report!

cardinal

distraction.

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Oops…I may have accidentally knit a beret — Le Slouch, by Wendy Bernard, to be exact. How did that happen?

I wanted something simple and soft to work on…and even though spring weather is definitely here, early desert mornings remain cold enough for beautiful headgear all through the summer.

I didn’t want a full-on beret, but rather a comfy hat that wouldn’t flatten my curly hair in the morning. I followed Wendy’s instructions for the stockinette version, using US 8 and 9 DPNs, and began the decreases at just under 5 inches. The yarn is Malabrigo in colorway verdeazul, and while the pattern called for roughly 200 yards, I’m wondering if I can get another full hat out of what is left — looks like I used just over half the skein.

I also managed to cast on for the Lace Ribbon Scarf. I can see how folks get into a rhythm with this pattern, as I sat down to get started and looked up 10 rows later. This Yarn Pirate booty is tough to photograph, as the tencel in the yarn seems to make it super shiny to my camera. In real life, it has a subtle sheen that I think will really add to the beauty of the scarf.

Also, more evidence that my dog is absurd:


swap.

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No, not the fun kind. I’m talking about a modem swap. More time on the phone with my ISP this weekend. The good news: swapping modems is free, whereas the initial solution would run me about 300 bucks. The bad news: the modem won’t arrive until the end of the week. You know the drill: all nonessential email will remain unanswered until I can surf the web in my PJs from the privacy of my home.

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More good news: an FO to share. I finished the blue purl scarf. I wrapped it around myself in celebration, and I must say, the idea of keeping it did scamper through my innermost thoughts. Luckily, it kept on scampering, as this scarf is intended for my very best friend. I’ll see her in a few weeks, and the weather on the East Coast should make this scarf wearable immediately. I’ll be bringing mine as well, just in case the temptation to wrap myself in one of these wonderfully long scarves becomes unshakable on my flights East.

Here are a few blurry shots of me modeling the scarf. (Dog is still working on “stay”. He can’t take pictures yet.)

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A few more, to tide you over during my internet blackout:

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Also…I found myself without a mindless knitting project today, so I cast on for another garter brim hat from LMKG. I wear the pom-pommed version I made for myself all the time. Not sure if this will be a gift or if it will jump into my knitted accessory rotation.

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Also, Cosy over at Cosy Makes nominated me for a You Make Me Smile award here — yay! Thanks, Cosy! I cannot hide my blog-norance (blog+ignorance?) — I don’t know how to add a button to a blog entry. Help, please.

Be aggressive. B-E aggressive.

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You know the rest. Right? (B-E-A-G-G-R-E-S-S-I-V-E, be aggressive!) Where am I going with this? Why, pom-poms, of course!

In anticipation of the giant yarn purchase that will be arriving this week, I’ve been feeling guilty about my WIPs, because I know the pile is about to double in size. I do not have a pom-pom maker (who knew such a thing existed!) and I’ve been putting off making my own out of scrap cardboard because I am lazy. I really have no other reason. Internet to the rescue: I found this tutorial for making pom-pom’s without a tool- Thank you, SkaMama! This was super easy and actually, quite a bit of fun. My pom poms are not entirely spherical, but there is an organic aspect to them that I really like. Ta-da! FOs abound. (Okay, there are two of them.) First up, the garter brim hat. I think I’m keeping this one.

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This next photo was taken from above. I can’t believe my arms are long enough to make this work.

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Here’s a side view, on top of the bowls and piles that currently cover my bright yellow 1960s table.

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This hat is made out of one skein of Noro Kureyon, and I have to say, my fingers didn’t really enjoy this yarn as much as I was expecting them to. The colors are stunning, but the fabric is stiff. It is possible that I knit this too tightly (I think I used 9s) and that the yarn would’ve behaved a bit differently if I had used larger needles. Don’t worry, I’m not giving up on Kureyon yet. I made this over the summer, and it belongs to a friend who fell in love with it, and even offered to make her own pom-pom. I’m hoping she’s forgotten so that it will be a lovely surprise when it arrives in her mailbox.

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Hooray for pom poms (and FOs) – Happy Monday!