2014 FO#19: Rikke Hat

Australia is headed into the hottest part of the year and it has been estimated that this particular summer is going to be a scorcher. What better time, then, but to finish a 100% woollen hat?

The pattern is the Rikke Hat from Happy Knits. It is a simple slouchy garter stitch hat knit in the round. 

This is technically Rikke Number 2, as I did knit the hat using 104 stitches as specified in the pattern. That hat was a bit big, so I reknitted it on 96 stitches and now it fits perfectly.

The yarn is Mirasol Hacho, bought six or seven years ago. It's lovely to work with and the hat is gorgeous and soft.

I suspect it's going to be super warm and useful in the winter...

..I guess I'll know in six months time when I finally need to wear it!

FO Friday: Here's something I prepared earlier (2014 FO #11)

Ever year, on the 1 June I get a bit sad. It's the first day of winter and a fairly predictable indicator that at least the next three months will be cold, grey and wet. To cheer myself up, I cast on a pair of woollen socks for me in the brightest wool in my stash.

The yarn is Stitchjones Supersock 100% Superwash Merino in Casual Friday. The colours are lovely and bright. The yarn itself is a little bit thinner than what I'm used to working with but still nice and soft.

I did a slip stitch heel because I hoped that would work well with the variation of the hand-dyed yarn.

They are comfy and warm and they really did brighten my day. Plus, I only used 60g to make these socks, so with a contrast colour for heel and toe, I should have enough yarn to make another pair. I love it when I use all of the yarn in a skein!

Of course it wouldn't be a photoshoot if Lucy didn't try to get in on the action. She also hates winter and (apparently) also loves brightly coloured socks.

Cast on Mania Days 5, 6 & 7: Two shawls and a hat

I am pleased to announce that this blog's regular scheduling has been interrupted. Instead, I present you with:

Every day this week I will be starting a new project. Every project is to be made with yarn from the stash and all of them need to be finished in two months or less.  It'll be fun!  Clearly crazy, but mostly fun.

Cast-on Mania ground to a screeching halt last week when I realised that, even though I like blogging and sharing my ideas and new projects, I don't like it enough to schlepp all of my stuff to a McDonalds car park so I can steal their WIFI without purchasing any of their products. To paraphrase the immortal words of Meatloaf, I will do many things but I won't do that.  However, even though there was no blogging the casting on did continue.

Day 5: Henslowe the second


This is another Henslowe for my sister. The second time is definitely the charm because I haven't made any of the stupid mistakes I made last time. The yarn is Bendigo Woollen Mills Luxury that has been in the stash for about two years.

Day 6: Smooshy Alpaca Hat

This is the Full Bloom Hat from Yarn Magazine Issue 23. The yarn is some Bendigo Woollen Mills Alpaca I've had in the stash for about four years. That's an insane amount of time to have unused yarn lying around! It is definitely time it gets knitted up.

Day 7: Pasmina Herbivore
As I approached Day 7 of this craziness that was CAST ON MANIA, I admit my enthusiasm was starting to flag.  I knit four rows of this Herbivore (for me! Yippee!) and then moved this to the bottom of the WIP bag. I will get it done but seven projects in seven days proved much more challenging that I thought they would. The yarn is MadeleineTOSH Pashmina and it's a stash baby - only 12 months old.

Three things I learnt from CAST ON MANIA
1. Making things sparkle is fun.
2. While starting new things is fun, starting lots of new things all in one week requires a bit of stick-to-it-iveness.
3. I really have a lot of wool.

Tomorrow, a huge FO and a new book review.

Finally done! 2011 FO #4: New Start Shawl

Last year when I left one job and headed down a new pathway in my life, I started a new shawl.  It's only taken me nine months (!!!) but it's finally done:

As per usual, Lucy helped out as best she could during the blocking process.  

Finishing this shawl did cause me to evaluate the last nine months.  I certainly have not achieved everything I wanted - my work, though interesting, is infrequent, leading to weeks where I am crazy busy intersected by days watching repeats of Friends and Sex and the City.  I have lost weight, but not as much as I wanted.  Overall, even though I have some way to go, I am certain that I am on the correct path and heading in the right direction. Yay me.

Enough navel-gazing - here's the vital statistics:

Pattern: Bitterroot Shawl from Knitty

Yarn: Patonyle, three full skeins in black.  This sock yarn is terrible for socks, but perfect for a lovely, soft, drapey shawl.  Go figure.

Notes/modifications: Knitted the size large exactly as written.  The pattern was clear, easy to understand, and completely stress free.  A very nice project.