Another Stranded Hat

I had sooo much fun with my first stranded knitting project I began another right away.  It was as much fun, but I ran into issues.

The good news?  My tension improved.  Yes, the stitches were larger than straight knitting, but they were consistently big.

The not so good news?  I cast on way too many stitches.  This bad boy could have fit Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

See what I mean?  Humongous!  Pattern is cute, but good grief it was big!

I used my 'go to' cure for all my wonky knitting issues.... felt it!  It shrunk considerably but was still very, very large.   While it was still damp, my sister-in-law popped it in the dryer.  That helped a little more.  Still big, for me anyway, but no longer unwearable.

And the end result?

What?  You thought it was going to look like every other hat walking down the street?  Nooo.   My sister-in-law asked for tassels, and there you go.  Tassels.  Adds a certain whimsy, don't you think?

Pretty darn cute, if I do say so.  And found a new home with my sister-in law in Alaska.  She was a huge help in salvaging this project. 

Learned a BIG lesson on double checking one's math before casting on. 

Finished - Stranded Knitting Hat!

This project was a great deal of fun and I learned a ton about stranded knitting!

1. It was not as hard as it looked.  Following the pattern is a lot like counted cross stitch.  If you can count to 20 and keep track of which line you're on in the pattern, you are in great shape.
2. Find a way to hold the yarn that works for you.  There are a number of great videos on YouTube showing different ways to hold the different colors.  I settled on Continental, holding the yarn in one hand, a different color around two different fingers to better tension control.  There was a fair amount of trial and error involved.
3. Felting the project at the end solved a world of issues (see item 2, above)... Like puckering and inconsistent stitch lengths.  It also made the fabric more dense and warm.

I think it turned out to be pretty cute.  Much cuter on my niece (but what isn't cute on a twenty somethings), but she wasn't available for the photo shoot.

This project was so much fun that I have completed another project, have one underway, and just purchased yarn for a third!

New Project - Stranded Knitting

Things were a bit busy at work the last couple of months but have returned to something resembling normal recently.  For a while there was travel, travel, travel.  Fun, but very nice to be home again. 

I'm not a huge fan of being a girl and limiting myself to girl products that fit in a one quart zip lock bag, if ya know what I mean.  That part of travel rather cramps my style.  And you can only bring along sooo many shoes in a carry-on bag.  Kinda limits one's options. 

I did get a chance to work on a new project while I was away.  I decided to tackle stranded knitting.  You know, those lovely pieces using intricate patterns and two or more colors?  

Between YouTube and a great pattern book, I was on my way.  As an aside... I love YouTube.  It's not all stupid people tricks and revolutions.  I'm waiting for a video series on brain surgery.   That could be fun. Well, perhaps not. 

I found a book with great patterns at the library:  Poetry in Stitches by Solveig Hisdal.  I liked it so much that the Sweetie tracked down a copy for me.  So small task as it had been out of print for awhile.  Thank you, Sweetie.

I was in love with several patterns in the book.  But the idea of taking on something as large as a sweater when I had no idea what I was doing seemed a bit daunting.  And what if I hated this technique?  I would have another UFO laying around, nagging at me.

I started smaller.  And cobbled together a pattern for a scarf from the Child' Cardigan and Cap pattern on page 112. 

Of course I needed more yarn.  Not really, but I went and purchased some anyway... some Classic Elite MountainTop Vail in a light gray and cream.  Hey, I don't name these.  It's a blend of 70% alpaca and 30% bamboo.  It is a fingering weight yarn, which is more fine than I had used to date, but it is so soft I just had to have it.  The purple is Plymouth Baby Alpaca Lace.  Again, super soft.

I was off to the races.  I had a pattern, yarn, a new circular needle, and time to kill in airports.  I am more patient and tolerant traveler when I have a knitting or crochet project with me.  Which is good for everyone.  Just sayin'

In my next installment (not two months from now, I promise) I'll fill you in on how my project progressed.

Yup! Another Gnome Hat

I can't just help myself.  I just love making these. 

This is hat #3.

They are quick. 

I don't have to think very hard. 

I can work on these at o'dark hundred on the bus to work, and on the ride back home.  I only have about a half hour with a lot of jostling, so my projects can't be overly complex or too big. 

These goofy little hats are just perfect!

And they make me smile

I used my favorite yarn - alpaca.  With a little felting, this hat became yummlisicous softness (just made that up).

Thank you for indulging me.

Finished! First Ever Sweater

Ahh!  Sunday morning.  Bloggy time.  Coffee, an Unusually Helpful Helper sleeping next to me.  Still dark.  Life is good.

I finished this awhile ago but just wasn't able to take a picture I liked.  I usually have no need to wear an object to show what it looks like, but in this instance flat and hanging images looked awful.

I have one that's OK, but considering I've worn it a couple of times and it fits!!! I felt I should wrap this up. 

See?   Not the best picture.  Certainly not very arty.  But it shows the color correctly and you can see the sweater details.

I really like the shell button.  It's nearly 2 inches across and has a great pearly shimmer.

I'm going to call this sweater Big Daddy 2.  Big daddy one was a commercially produced sweater that I and moths wore to rags.  I loved that sweater because it was super warm.  Unless its 75 degrees outside, I am freezing.  This new sweater is super yummy warm.  I'm loving it.  It will be in heavy rotation as the weather gets cooler.

I used Cascade Yarns 128 Superwash.  The pattern, Nimbus, was free on the Berroco yarn site.  It was easy to modify the body and sleeve length.

Finished! Gerbera Daisy Pin

HI.  I finished a couple of projects last weekend.  Here is a little pin I made between other projects.

Here's the back.  I think it looks more finished with a little piece of felt to hide the threads.

I had to go to the bead store to finish this little project.  Bad, bad idea.  Because I walked out of there with more than needed.  Shocking!

But that's a post for another day.

Fall

Fall has arrived.  Last Saturday it was in the upper 70's and Sunday it was in the 60's. I wore jeans and a sweater.  It may really be time to put away the Capri pants and flip flops.

The front garden still looks like summer.  But soon the leaves will turn and the flowers will need to be cut back.  Our summer really began in September and we had a lovely 3 week stretch.

The days in the Northwest become very short in the fall and winter.  It's dark still in the morning when I head to work.  When the time change occurs it will be dark when I head home from work.  In the winter it seems like the only time I see daylight is on the weekends.

This is not a complaint.  Well, it probably will be come February when we are tired of the cold and dark and rain.  But right now, instead of bounding out of bed to work in the garden on the weekend, I am still in my jammies, with a cup of coffee, my feet up on an ottoman with a lap quilt wrapped around me working on my blog.

Hello blog.  It seems like it's been awhile.  Perhaps now that it's dark and we will be spending more time indoors we will have a chance to catch up.  And spend time on projects. 

I can't wait.  See you soon!