Tag Archives: myrtle

FO: seaman’s cap.

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fo seaman cap 1

This pattern was made for handspun. And for boys. This is a simple hat with a serious fold-over brim. What do you think about this particular hat for a (grown-up) boy? Are the reds too rosy and not enough burgundy? It was rainy and overcast yesterday, so these pictures were taken in less than ideal circumstances. Here’s a true-to-color picture (which also illuminates the challenges of taking a picture of the hat on your own head):

seaman dark fo 2

I made the large size, and it is roomy without being ridiculously too big on me. This might be terrific for not totally crushing my hair when I am running late, my hair is still damp, and I’m heading to campus for something that requires me to look nice. I guess what I’m saying is, this is a traditionally sized men’s hat, which is good to know.

seaman fo side 3

Details: Seaman’s Cap, by Brenda Zuk

Size: large

Needles: US 6 for ribbing, 7 for body of hat

Yarn: Spunky Eclectic Spunky Club dark bfl in Myrtle, 3-ply, light worsted.

Now that I have the kitchen scale, I should really be more precise about this, but my houseguest is still sleeping, and I need to turn the lights on to read the screen on my digital kitchen scale. I have a small ball of yarn leftover, maybe 30 yards or so? That would mean that the large size of this hat used up about 150 yards, give or take, which is perfect for single skeins of handspun.

It is possible that I will cast on another seaman’s cap very soon. Time to wake up my visitor and head to the farmer’s market!

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last night, and the night before last.

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(I’ll not say which ni-i-ight.) A seaman friend of mine…

I can’t help it. Whenever I sit down to work on my handspun seaman’s cap, I hear Billy Bragg and Wilco singing “Walt Whitman’s Niece,” the first track on the first Mermaid Avenue album (the project sets Woody Guthrie’s words to music).

seaman's cap prog

Late (very late) last night, I finally finished the ribbing, and switched to size 7 needles to continue in stockinette.

Off to pour my first cup of coffee and prepare for the day!

jowly.

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Yep, that’s a word. In fact, it is the perfect word to describe this dog.

bohfloppylips furtherback

bohtwofloppylips1

Let’s look at that face from the other side, shall we?

boh2floppylips2

Boh is actually using his paws to support all those wrinkles on his face. Being jowly is tough. It’s a wonder he’s able to get through the day.

seaman's hat myrtle1

I started another handspun hat last night. This is the seaman’s cap, and I am using my first 3-ply handspun: dark bfl from the Spunky Club in the myrtle colorway.

seaman's hat myrtle2

I’m starting to think that it might be more accurate to name this month “hat-tober” over here at Chez Rooster…

bohfloppylip1

I have a busy day ahead of me, but Boh will likely be doing more of this.

FO: botanic hat.

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botanic fo side

botanic fo1

botanic fo inside1

LOVE. This is the botanic hat, by Stephen West. I rarely buy hat patterns, but as more and more botanic hat projects began showing up on ravelry, I decided that I needed to knit this, and I justified my purchase by telling myself that this pattern would be great for gift knitting. I can’t say enough about this pattern or the finished product: the instructions are very clear, and the hat is truly reversible — the two sides are quite different. I will be checking out more of Stephen West’s hat and shawl patterns!

Details:

Hello Yarn handspun in Five Plum Pie (MC) and purpley Cascade 220 (CC).

US size 6 needles (did not go up to 7s after ribbing).

Followed instructions for the regular hat, and the result is a generously sized (covers the tops of my ears) snug hat.

botanic fo on blurry

As I was knitting, I was thinking that these colors are perfect for a dear friend of mine, but now that the hat is finished, it might be very difficult to remove it from my head. We’ll see. I’ll definitely be making more of these!

morehandspuncakes

I wound up two skeins of handspun last night with more hats in mind. This is Spunky Club dark bfl in myrtle, and AVFKW falklands in the silent undergrowth colorway. I’m going to cast on for a seaman’s cap with the myrtle today (after I grade another paper or two) to see how this yarn knits up.

In conclusion, hooray for handspun hats!

skeined.

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myrtleskein

Spunky Club Dark BFL in colorway myrtle, 4 oz.

183 yards of 3-ply, dk to light worsted (says my eye).

wpi: soon.

I caved and acquired a tool to measure this on etsy. I hope it will be here when I return from my parents’ house on Wednesday.

darkbflmyrtleFOcloseup

Yay! I’m thrilled with this. Now, what to do with it?

Meanwhile, back at the ranch:

targheeinprog

I couldn’t help but put something on my empty, forlorn-looking wheel. This is targhee from the Woolly Wonders Fiber Club at AVFKW. It is so smooth and shiney that even now, this photo is distracting me from my attempts at description. This is 3 oz of deep melon-y beauitfulness in the It’s a lovely day colorway. Although the Lendrum does fold and travel, I’m going to leave it here to await my return, mostly because I might ignore my family in order to keep spinning, and that would be poor form.

One more WIP today:

thujaturnedheel2

I turned the heel of the second thuja sock for my uncle last night, and am planning to work on it a bit more before Boh and I hop into the car. I will get these done in time to deliver them, I will get these done in time to deliver them, I will get these done in time to deliver them…

3-ply and peonies.

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peonies in kitchen

I have been anxiously waiting for what I think are peonies to bloom along the driveway. (Correct me, dear readers, if these are not peonies.) They began to open this week, and I noticed that some of these blossoms were getting too heavy to hold up their own heads. I figured I could help with that, and gathered the droopy ones to enjoy indoors. I think I cut 6 or 7 blossoms, which I am now inhaling in every room of my tiny apartment. I miss the desert, but this is something I could never do there: take my scissors outside and cut a few fragrant flowers to lift my spirits while I work.

I heard some great live music with a friend last night, so I was out late. (I’ve mentioned Eilen Jewell here before, and my recommendation stands — she and her band have a new album out that has a bit of a rockabilly feel to it. I really appreciate that she both writes her own hauntingly sorrowful music AND reclaims old-school country-western and rock — covering Loretta Lynn, Charlie Rich, Them, etc. But I digress.) Boh and I slept in, made coffee, and I sat down to my first attempt at a 3-ply yarn.

3plymyrtle1

3plymyrtle2

This was a whole lot of fun to ply — there’s something about watching the twist move through 3 strands of yarn that is absolutely captivating. I have no idea what weight or yardage this is going to turn out to be, but I’m excited to find out. I’m quite pleased with the amount of twist I put into these singles, and I’m considering this yarn a step in the direction of handspun sock yarn.

What about that stripey sweater, you ask?

sleeve progress1

I’m knitting away on the sleeves and loving it. Boh and I are heading home tomorrow to spend a few days with my parents, and I’m planning to bring this with me. I’m hoping to finish up my uncle’s socks today, and perhaps get this 3-ply washed, dried, and skeined up.

Also, in case the degree to which I am addicted to spinning was unclear, this is what is sitting next to my computer:
pileohandspun

A great big pile o’ handspun. Yum. Happy Sunday!