Hats for Jack

 

I got a bit carried away and made some hats for a friend's new baby :D

Orange Hat and Cowl number FourOrange

I have been meaning to knit an orange hat to go with my gorgeous Forest Canopy Shawl that Joy made me in 2008 and i finally got round to it!
I used the Interlude Hat pattern with no mods and used the yummy Colinette DK that i bought on our Welsh holiday in 2009 for this very purpose! I like it when a plan comes together! :D

Orange hat and Cowl Four

The cowl is installment Four in the Great Cowl Challenge over at Feministy's Ravelry group. This one's called Perpertually Persistant and is made with Rowan Big Wool and 10mm needles! It's really thick and squishy and so warm! I'm managing to keep to the schedule and am getting my cowls submitted on time which is great and i am really enjoying the challenge too :)

Spring Cap

One ball down!
I started knitting at about 7 and this took about 3 hours while watching the tellybox :oD

I'm going to make the body a little longer than the green one before i start the decreases as that is my only niggle with it, the body is just a little too short so it sits way back on my head, if it were a little longer i could wear it further forward and it would still be a beret and not turn into a beanie ;o)

I have to say, i am LOVING the colour! I wasn't sure about it "in the ball" but it's just coming out gorgeously, it has a much more purple feel to it than it looked which is always a bonus!

January WW KAL

Happy New Year!
This year is a year of a few resolutions, both lifestyle-wise and crafting wise.
I'm not exactly going Cold Sheep cos if i see an absolute bargain i know i won't be able to resist it but i am determined to knit as much from stash as possible. If i don't have something suitable then the project can wait!
::fingers crossed::
So, on that note, my first project from stash this year is Castiel, this hat is January's KAL in the Rav group and this took me waaaaaaay longer than it should have done. The style of the hat is a skinny slouch beanie but from past experience i know that it wouldn't have suited me so i made it more of a folded brim beanie and i am very happy with the results :o)


There was some pooling on the brim but by the time i got to the body it had sorted itself out :o)

Just a gratuitous close-up of the luscious colours and the lovely lacy pattern.

Pattern: Castiel by Woolly Wormhead
Yarn: Fyberspates BFL DK in Reds and Plums
Needle: 3mm for brim 3.5mm for body
Mods: Less body repeats

Summer hat

When i was much younger i used to wear a lovely little white cotton skully and last week i found a photo at Mum's which reminded me how much i loved it, so yesterday i had a hunt through the hat collection and only flippin' found it!
Unfortunately it seems to have shrunk and it's rather tight so i thought i'd make myself a new skully for the summer :oD
I had a good hunt on Ravelry and found a lace cap pattern that i liked and then yesteray i spent the afternoon crocheting.
Unfortunately due to a difference in gauge it took me about four attempts to get it right but i did it!

I love it!! :oD

Pattern: Lace cap
Yarn: Rowan Cotton Rope
Mods: LOTS!

instead of 3ch sp i did 2 chsp
as pattern up to round 5 then…
rnd6: 3hdc in each ch2 space and hdc in 5
rnd7: 3hdc in ch2 sp and hdc in 6
rnd8: 2hdc in ch2sp and hdc in 6
rnd9: 2hdc in ch2sp and hdc in 6
rnd10: 2hdc in ch2sp and hdc in 6
rnd11: 2hdc in ch2sp, hdc in 4, dec on last hdc before sp
rnd12: 2sc in 2 chsp and sc in 5
rnd13, 14, 15: sc round
finish off

Ooooh lala!!

So, i finished off Lisa's beret on Wednesday :o)

I just needed to come down a needle size for the remainder of the brim to make it a little tighter...
et voila!
It took about 8 hours to knit in total and i could have made the body a little bigger as i have a few yards of wool left over!
I will know for next time ;o)

Ooooooh la la!

You may remember a recent expedition to the Sandown Creative Stitchcrafts show where i bought this rather lovely duo of yarns...


Well, after i finished the Skew socks yesterday i thought it might be nice to give my hands a rest from tiny needles and knit something in a heavier weight and keep a promise into the bargain ;o)

I started with Emily Ocker's circular cast-on which was a lot easier than i had expected...

and it grew really quickly!
These two photos were taken about an hour and 15 minutes apart!

By the time i put it away last night i had increased up to 18 stitches between the markers and started decreasing back down again and this afternoon i have decided to put it to one side with ten rounds of ribbing until i see it's new owner, just in case it needs to be adjusted in any way ;o)

I'm a little bit in love with it to be honest, the colour is just gorgeous.

Fortunately for Lisa i shan't be keeping it as my eyes are quite itchy now so goodness knows what it'd be like if i were to wear it for any length of time!! heheheee

The contrasting ribbing is one of my favourite things about it!

New Hat!

Sloochie - finished! 14th July 09
Originally uploaded by franneyk

Oh yes, another new hat hot off the needles!

This is the July vertical KAL at Wormhead's Hats. The pattern is Sloochie and i used the Lett-Lopi that Terri sent me in the Santa Swap last November.

I love my new hat :oD

I added 6 rows of stocking stitch after the cabled brim as i know that a flat brim doesn't suit me and the resulting little roll is just perfect! I found the wool quite uneven in places it was as thin (if not thinner) than a 4ply but it's classed as an aran and i got gauge of 18sts to 4" on 4.5mm dpns. When i hit a thin bit i either tore it out and spit spliced the two ends or i just doubled the wool over and spit on it LOL

I used a little over one ball, if i hadn't added the extra 6 rows it would have been less than one ball by a couple of yards ;o)

WIP roundup

There's been lots going on chez Franney lately so i thought i'd do a round up!
I started the Caesar's Check socks (black and multi) last week while i was babysitting, my 10 year old niece was helping choose a pattern and she said she really liked that one, and she liked the colours in the wool so i decided to knit her a pair of socks for her birthday which is the begininning of August. Hopefully i will be able to get them finished in time! The wool is a random ball i bought from someone on the forum, it either came in alucky dip or i just liked the colours :o? It's a Russian company, Pehorka and the colours are really pretty. I was knitting on this on Saturday at knit club and there was a new lady there, i pulled the label out after someone asked what wool it was and said "no idea, it's foreign" and she read the label!! How cool is that, she speaks Russian!! The black is some Sirdar Town & Country. I like both yarns, the T&C is quite hairy though, something i hadn't noticed in the ball but it's fluffing out as i knit it. Nice though, and the slip stitch pattern makes a nice warm fabric. Oh, the pattern! It's from Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch. I forget how much i like this book!
I managed to sneakily measure Niece's foot last week by getting her to help me do mine ;o) so hopefuly i should be able to get it the right size! The cuff is 3" long so far and she says she likes her socks at about 5" so not long before i start the heel :oD
The Kiila sock (green) is coming along nicely too, i have just started the gusset chart so the cabling will be expanding soon, i am really looking forward to it! I am enjoying the travelling stitches, and cabling without a needle but it is quite fiddly and time consuming and i haven't quite got the hang of it yet. I'm sure i'll get the hang of it with a bit more practise though ;o)
Baktus is also coming alnog nicely. I am up to 71 stitches and have just 7g of my first ball left! I've had some travelling time to knit on this, i had a tram and a bus ride on Saturday to get to and from knit club and then yesterday was a hospital appt for Bloke so i had an hour or so knitting time while we waited (patiently) to be called.
Speaking of my bus ride...
As i got on and flashed the driver a smile and my ticket he said "i like your hat" so i replied with another smile and a "thankyou" and he then asked if i knit it myself! What a sweetie! It's reassuring to know that there are some nice people left, and that some of them are bus drivers!! lol
Finally we have the pinkness. That's another Dulcie hat (my third) in Aracunia Aysen (again lol), this one is for Amy who fell in love with my Dulcie last time we camped together. It's her birthday today but i'm not seeing her until Thursday, which won't be a problem as i only have two more sections to do and then it's Kitchener time. I lurve to Kitchener :oD

WW June KAL...

DONE!
:oD

I started yesterday afternoon and this was my progress by 7pm. I'd got 4 repeats done, when i went to bed last night i had 6 repeats done and i've been picking it up throughout the day today and it's finished!
What a speedy knit! I actually love the hat too, although i wasn't sure at first cos it's quite long but it's really comfy and i love the colour and the pattern.

For those that don't know, the pattern is Marina by Woolly Wormhead and i used 96g of Patons Vintage in colour "Scorched" that was bargainous from Kemps. This was June's vertical KAL in the Wormhead's Hats Ravelry group. The other KAL was for Trellis but i'm not so keen on that pattern so i'm going to knit another Dulcie instead as my second hat of the month seeing as i've finished Becky's now! I have a friend with a birthday coming up and she fell in love with my Dulcie while we were camping so i thought it'd be a nice surprise for her to have one of her own.

Windward KAL

DONE!



:oD

Knitted as part of the KAL at the Woolly Wormhead group on Ravelry, i used some King Cole 4seasons cotton which was a gmable but has paid off!
The hat is lovely and comfy, it's not too hot during the day and is toasty warm at night. I finished it while we were camping on Friday and wore it non stop after that, in fact i must remember to cut the (sewn in) ends off soon!
I loved the pattern, it was really easy to follow - as all of WW's patterns are in fact, and it took just enough concentration to keep me interested and still able to hold a conversation ;o)

I'm really pleased with myself, i have managed to finish four hats in two months, there'll be another Dulcie coming off the needles in a day or so and then there's another two KALs in June. I don't know if i'll be doing both of them again though, it depends if they are summer hats or not i think ;o)

Ribba Hat

This week's finished object is the Ribba Hat by Woolly Wormhead
I used my oddd skein of Noro Iro that Lisa gave me and it used 87g and i think it looks FAB!

I seem to be doing OK with starting and finishing hats lately, maybe because i am knitting them as part of a knitalong? Who knows, but at least i am actually finishing stuff!
I have Windward and Dulcie on the needles too and would like a sock to cast on next, possibly something in two colours?I'm itching to cast on this ball:

I think it'll look great as a two colour pattern with a ball of black T&C, i have several contenders, mostly from Sensational Knitted Socks ;o)

I haz newness!

New hat!
Woolly Wormhead's "Pleated Beret" pattern, knit as part of the vertical KAL in her Ravelry group - i used a ball of Elle Pure Gold i picked up in a bargain bin at Bodkins, it might be acrylic but it feels really velvetty and nice :oD
(Rav link, but everyone's signed up now haven't they? Surely? If you haven't then why not?? Go do it!)

New Hair!
Rock Chick Mullet courtesy of Jorge at Rush ;o)
More to the hair story but i am still too traumatised to talk about it just yet :o(

Centuria photos :o)

Centuria
Originally uploaded by franneyk

All knitted, ready for the Kitchenering!

Centuria
Originally uploaded by franneyk

Beautifully modelled by Ratzo!

Centuria
Originally uploaded by franneyk

This is Trout's Chrimble present, i'll let you know on Friday if she likes it!!

Centuria
Originally uploaded by franneyk

The tapestry makes a gorgeous fabric, really soft but it holds it's shape well

Meret

Meret
Originally uploaded by franneyk

Finally got round to taking photos of some Finished Objects yesterday!

Meret
Originally uploaded by franneyk

Here is Woolly Wormheads Mystery Beret knitted in the Debbie Bliss Aran Tweed that Noo sent me in the Secret Santa, and even if i say so myself it's GORGEOUS! I was worried that it would be too small - i forgot to take pre-blocking photos but it was a lot smaller before i blocked it quite severely over a biscuit tin!! It was more like a bobble-less bobble hat than an extra slouch beret to be honest and i was quite worried, especially as i struggled so hard to get the gauge right!!

Meret
Originally uploaded by franneyk

Hat for Bloke

Hat for Bloke
Originally uploaded by franneyk

Here it is in all it's green glory!
It's made with the "seaweed" green i got for the fishie blankie in a 5x4 rib.
The crown looks a bit pointy but once it's on it stretches out and fits his head luvverly :oD

I had 99 stitches on the needle, i will definitely change that next time as it was so awkward working out the decreases. In the end i just decreased one stitch in each knit panel, knit a round plain, decreased a stitch in each purl panel, knit a round plain etc etc until i had eleven stitches left, then i pulled the yarn through and sewed it in :o)

He's wearing it today so we'll see tonight how it fares as a work hat!