Finished Object – Hermione Hat for Angela

Another long break between posts and many personal excuses. Here’s not the place nor the time. However I will be going on a 160km (100 mile) charity walk with my brother and dog. My Just Giving page can be found under this link.

I’m now on my holidays in the UK, so I’ve been getting a bit of knitting done, and my roomie, Angela, asked for a hat for this winter.

I let her choose the pattern from my Ravelry queue thinking I’d use up some odd acrylic in my mum’s stash. But I didn’t filter the queue and unluckily for us she chose a 4ply pattern. I didn’t really mind, what’s another ball, so I agreed and went off to my mum’s. The first weekend here, while camping in Derbyshire, I cast this on. A week later it was finished and my brother took this awesome photos. The pattern is called Hermione’s Cable & Lace Hat and can be found on Ravelry here. It’s published on another blog but is free. There’s a wide variety of projects and much insperation for this on Raverly. I stuck with the original cream/white colour in the film this was based on, but not everyone did.

The yarn I used was from Hobby Craft, it cost £3 and it’s the Women’s Institute Premium Acrylic, I don’t dislike but I wouldn’t use it again. It made me think of Smoothie, by Patons, which is a DK weight, but the balls are very fragile and fall apart, this was 4ply, fell apart and got very, very tangled, texture wise, once knitted it was lovely. As a ball it was a pain in the ass. I did only use half of it though.

So what did I change in the pattern? Well, I cast on extra stitches because she said it might be small, I also worked an extra repeat to make it more slouchy because Angela prefers her hats like that. And I improvised the decreases because I wasn’t working from the pattern. These cables are good for a beginner who’s got the hang of decreasing and yarn overs. I do love it, and would probably do it again.

Finished! Proserpine Shawl in Lang Mille Colori

I did mention this quickly in another post, my lovely sock yarn that was too pretty for socks and the scarf I made from it. This took me about a month to make along side my other projects. The yarn is by Lang Yarns, and is called Mille Colori Socks and Lace, you can find it here from Loveknitting for a reasonable price, in several colour ways. It’s a 4ply weight yarn made from 75% wool and 25% polyamide with 400m for a 100g ball.

Lang Mille Colori in shade 0090

It was a real joy to knit with. I worked the entire shawl on 4.5mm straight bamboo needles, at the end there were nearly 300 stitches, but because it was a 4ply weight this was still possible. The yarn was very soft and the colour changes amusing, slow but not too slow to lose interest with. It was always surprising which colour came next, because the orange and bright blue do kind of clash but at the same time blend in perfectly.

The shawl worn front ways as a scarf.

This shade, 0090 actually looks like a toned down, natural rainbow when my shawl is laid flat. And the great variation in colours means it’s very easy to integrate into my outfits. Denim jacket, it works, formal black trench coat, looks great, biker jacket, still looks nice.

I had one minor disaster with the yarn where it snapped because I had a bit of fluff around it and I pulled too hard, but it just felted back together with little to no effort. I didn’t find any breaks or joins either. I’d really love to use this yarn again for more shawls, jackets, baby wear, it’s just it’s too nice for socks.

Folded and laid flat you can see the lovely stripes

I loved the way this yarn striped on my shawl pattern, it’s a triangle, but knitted from the neck down and blocked into the right shape afterwards. The pattern is called Proserpine and I got it from an issue of Knit Now, you can buy it from Ravelry here, It takes 600m or 150g of 4ply yarn and 4.5mm needles. I only had one ball so just went for it and I cast off before the end, I did about 3/4 of it. It’s two lace patterns with stocking stitch in between. The lace patterns are simple enough but elegant.

A quick photo of it as a short shawl

I took this quickly before blocking with my Pink Floyd shirt, good choice no?

And an inside view

The stocking stitch is even loose enough to let a fair amount of light through, it’s a beautiful pattern and this yarn really compliments it. If I had another two balls I’m sure I’d be tempted to do it again.

And all that was left

So that’s it for my shawl, I’m hoping to get some good photos as the weather is getting better. They’ll be in another post.

Scandiwegia Revisited

Vanity.

You may remember when I was doing handmade gifts for everyone for Christmas. I made this beautiful hat. I wished I could have kept it. I did write about it here, if you want to read my blog on it.

I promised myself I’d remake it once I had a chance. I was considering what I could change about it, and how to make it more interesting, and then I had the idea of doing it was a rainbow. One day I probably will.

The thing is, I’m not a fan of beanies. However I love berets. So that’s what I did, I tweaked the pattern to make a beret, by doubling the stitches and then following the instructions.

There is a possibility that I’m selling this too. While I was knitting it a friend came up to me and started complimenting it, asking if I’d be willing to sell it. I need money but at the same time I don’t. The real thing is though if I do sell or give away something as simple as a hat I can remake it, I did remake this. And it’s interesting to do a pattern again.

The big rib against the fair isle. I love this.

I love how the grey sets a nice subtle background against the brighter colours. All the yarns are acrylic DK. I used a King Cole Baby Comfort for the grey and the other three were remnants of Phildar Charly, in red, orange and yellow. I used all of the yellow, orange and grey, but still have some red.

I made the rib longer because it was a beret, other wise I followed the pattern almost as printed. When I ran out of grey I used the colours in five row stripes and then finished in red for the decreasing.

The pattern is free from Ravelry, and I really recommend it if you’re looking for a new project. These always come out pretty. It’s here if you’re interested.

I’ve not really got anything else to say, if I’ve forgotton anything it’ll be in my notes. Otherwise you can ask in a comment. Thanks for reading. Enjoy the photos below.

Here you can see the stripes and the top.

And here it was really taking shape.

And an early photo of the fair isle.

Valentine Hat

Valentines day really isn’t my thing. Love should be for every day. Hah, I just don’t see the point of having a special day devoted to tat with hearts and stuff on it, so I made myself a hat, with hearts. That after tomorrow will go away until next winter. Maybe. Nobody seems to associate it with Valentines day, which is awesome. So I’m free to wear it as I please apparently. I’ve been wearing it all week.

So this is that hat, with the hearts, and a pompom.

I used a purple acrylic as a maincolour, I think it’s King Cole Big Value but I can’t be sure. To be honest most acrylics are pretty much the same. And for the hearts I used King Cole Baby Comfort, in the purple colours, it has white, a dark purple and a light purple. Both yarns are acrylic DK weight.

I have a light weight scarf that goes really well with this. The thing behind.

I used to wear this colour a lot which is why I wanted it. The pattern was free from Ravelry, and can be found here, it’s called From Norway With Love. The whole thing is worked on 4mm needles, but I actually worked the main bit in 4.5mm needles because I find sometimes my fair isle is a bit tight. It’s quite a popular patten too, there’s over 1400 projects! Although very few have pompoms, that’s just me being weird again.

I shared this on Facebook and got a very positive response, people really seemed to like it.

And this is my only in progress photo of it. It was a really basic fair isle pattern. If you’re looking to get into colour work and can already knit in the round this would be a good start. I’m tempted to do another one, but I doubt I’d wear it. I’m really not a fan of beanies, and I’ve been forcing myself to wear this a bit to try and get into liking them.

This is my fourth hat of 2015!

And if you want to see my Ravelry notes, they can be found here! I didn’t finish it as quickly as I’d have liked, but three days isn’t bad with work/classes/social life.

Christmas 2014 – Scandiwegian Star

I didn’t blog this at the time because I was busy with packing to leave for my mum’s, and I only finished it the day before I gave it away. It was the last gift I finished, and it was a bit rushed. So here it is, my Scandiwegian Star. I don’t even know how many gifts I finished in the end. 5? 6? Meh. I did some.

A fair isle star beanie with a pompom. I made it a bit longer than I should have.

Again I was using odds and sods, the black was Charly by Phildar, a cheap but nice acrylic, so was the electric blue. The purple was Robin Double Knit, left over from my Tabitha hat, and the other blue was a Hema cheap thing that I bought for some unknown reason. I love the way these colours work together, the black does seem a bit bold and I’d like to do something similar with a cream, or a white or pale background to see if that’ll bring the colours out more.

The fair isle pattern in progress.

It knitted up very quickly and I wanted to keep it. But then I wanted to keep all the presents I made this year, and I’ve queued them to make myself too.

I didn’t get many photos of me wearing it, but here’s a good shot of the hat with the pompom, pulled down over my face to show the length.

I didn’t really take the time to get brilliant photos of this hat, as it was very rushed and I just wanted to get it finished and get rid of it, but I did it. I made one more Christmas gift and bought a bit of happiness to one more person.

This lovely pattern is also free from Ravelry and can be found here. The projects are beautiful and I really want to make another one. I liked the chart, it was really easy to follow. I recommend having a flick through the projects, there’s some awesome stuff on there. And as always my notes are here.

Christmas 2014 Gift #4

Christmas hat #4. Probably the most beautiful thing I have ever made. Maybe even better than my Heliopath vest.

This may not look like much, and it may have been made in a cheap acrylic yarn, but it is so amazing. I used Robin Acrylic, which you can get for around £1.50 a 100g ball if you’re lucky. However now I know that this pattern works, and I completely improvised it. I think after Christmas I may make another one for myself in a cotton based yarn. But we’ll see.

And yes, I know I’ve jumped straight from gift #2 to gift #4. #3 is currently being knitted, but I got carried away.

A while back I got a bit obsessed with doilies. You know, like your grandma will have. Or my mum had in disposable paper. I added about two pages to my Ravelry queue. And I have a friend who has an afro, so her hats need to be pretty big, doilies can get big on 2mm needles, so if I do the same thing on 4mm needles, I’m really onto something here!

And then I had insomnia. It happens sometimes, something bugs me and I can’t sleep. I was looking through my queue thinking that I’d get the third hat finished that night when I stumbled across this pattern, that was the one I wanted to make. So without questioning (I’d come downstairs with a bag full of wool in case I wanted to start a new thing or finished the current one) I cast on. I got to round 25, I messed up. I ripped back, I cast on, I started again. Two days later it was finished.

A better view of the lace

My instructions and project notes can be found here, but I’ll also include them in this post for those of you without Ravelry. The pattern is published online at this blog, you don’t need to log in and it’s free.

So I just cast on 8 stitches and went for it, although there is a fancy crochet cast on there. I then worked the doily on 9dpns. (yup…) until round 54. You could stop anywhere listed though for a shorter hat. I put the work onto a 3.5mm circular needle and just knitted in stocking stitch for 6cm. If you want a slouchier hat this is where you add the length. For one round I did knit one knit two together, putting the count from 180 stitches down to 120. I then did 3-4cm of knit one purl one rib, and finished with 5 rounds of stocking stitch to give it a rolled edge before casting off with a super stretchy cast off. Simple once you’ve done the doily.

And from the front. This is such a beautiful photo, apart from the spot. Damn hormones.

Yes, I would make this again, but not in the acrylic yarn, cotton, wool, anything of high quality with a good stitch definition. I’d even be tempted to try it in sock wool. It is so pretty! It’s had a few compliments while in progress. The best one being “How the hell are you doing that?!” as well as the typical pretty ones.

Making a doily into a hat is challenging, but at the end of the day all knitting comes down to mathematics, and that does make it much easier to think like that. Yes, I am crazy.

This was actually very quick to finish, even though it was too big to put in my handbag, I think the attractiveness of it really boosted me on.

I mean, look, if you were knitting this would you be able to stop yourself?

Yeah, towards the end with 180 stitches it was more difficult, but to begin with it grew so quickly, and I think that’s what pushed me to do it so much. And when it was transportable on the circular needles most of the work was already done. I just had a few more cm to do. Although I got a couple of weird looks in the train, but nobody really knits in France.

Striped hat with chevrons

A new slouchy hat

I made another new thing! A little slouchy hat for a friend. Sadly I didn’t think too much about getting photos of it, I just made it and gave it away a few days later.
At church loads of people have bought me lunch or given me things, and I’ve not really got enough money to return the favour, so I’m knitting gifts which is one thing I can do for almost cheap. The yarn is actually left over from my rainbow elf hat, did I even blog that? And I’ve still got some more so they’ll be at least one more gift out of that!

I used Phildar Charly, Iliade and Partner 3,5, it’s a French yarn, but I think you can get them from Deramores. By far Iliade is my favourite, Charly is a good all round acryilc though, but Partner 3,5 isn’t that impressive to me, it was the best shade of green I could find in the shop.

And a preview of the stitch pattern of chevron stripes.

I used this pattern from Ravelry, Zig Zag Chevron Hat by Ashlee Schleicher, it’s a free pattern but I found it a little weird to follow, although I did manage it. I also did it in three colours instead of two. I did like the pattern, but probably won’t be making another one.

And in the end I did add a pompom, I just haven’t got a photo of it. It was a mix of the three colours and finished it off nicely.

I finished my socks!

My finished socks!

I made my second sock! No, I never finished my acrylic demo pair of booties, they were too small for Alexandros so I left it. But I did make a pair this time!

I used Sirdar Heart & Sole in shade Super Trooper which my mum bought me 200g (two balls) from Deramores for around £6 each in an offer. This is a 4ply sock yarn, made from 75% wool and 25% nylon in Turkey.

The pattern I used as a base was from a book called ‘knits for fab feet and cosy Toes’ by Anna Tillman. The pattern is on page 120 and is called footlets.

I actually used 3mm needles and made the smallest size to the right length of my feet. I also, deliberately, didn’t bother to match up the stripes.

The stripes are misaligned, I did it especially to make them more unique.

Which created some really nice photography I feel. But my plan is to make another two so I’ll have some mix and match pairs. I got this pair from around half a ball. I’m also planning on doing the pattern that came on the reverse of the ball band with the second ball.

And while I was knitting them I kept trying them on. It was a lot of fun.

I kept trying them on while I was knitting them, and they were a lot of fun to knit. I found socks the right level of challenging to stop me getting bored. Turning the heel was fun and fairly easy. Socks are actually very simple, if you can knit on double-pointed needles, pick up stitches and knit and purl two together, you can knit socks.

And wearing them? It was amazing, it was a cold day but I was wearing a miniskirt anyway. Normally I get cold feet, or cold legs. This time I didn’t! I could feel the stitches in my toes, but it was really comfortable like they were massaging my feet. It was so comfortable.

 

So this is one project from my yarn haul down, and I’ve almost finished Sandy’s reach for the stars jumper. Next I can move onto the yarn I brough back from my mum’s. Surprisingly, it’s more socks. She also wants two pairs.

 

Softness

Before washing this yarn was a bit hard. After a quick handwash they were lovely and soft.

Enjoyment of knitting with

Very high, not perfect, not one of the best, but it was very good to knit with

Washing

I like the fact these can pass on the tumble dryer on low, and in the machine. I just prefer hand washing if possible.

Price

Full price this costs £7.99, it’s a midrange price for a sock yarn, the cheaper ones are about £6, the more expensive upwards of £15. I feel for the price it is good value for money. I’ll see how they’re holding up in a few months before I make a final comment though.

Colour

There are some really good colours! I had a hard time choosing so went for the blue, green and gray of Super Trooper. However there are others I want to try too. The only thing that’s slightly disappointing is the two blues are almost the same shade.

Would use again

YES!! Just need to finish up my stash before I can buy more yarn. My next colour will probably be move to the groove.