First of Challenge Done

So my first project for this years challenge is finished. If you can’t remember I have challenged myself to knit garments for myself other than socks. The aim is to have eventually filled up my wardrobe with hand knits. I am starting off easy and began with a hat. Felt it was only right since my last hat lasted all of a day (thank you Molly). Also, while I have knit many hats for my sister I don’t actually have any myself.

The pattern I chose is Cannetella by Woolly Wormhead. You can find it on ravelry if you are interested. Woolly Wormhead is famous for her hat designs. She plays around with stitches to come up with the most interesting designs. Her hats are also famous for being perfect for those who love to knit with indie dyers variegated yarns. They have that perfect balance where both the design and the colour way are highlighted. I have found that most designs one almost always overpowers the other. If you fancy learning new techniques on a smaller scale I would go an pick one of her designs.

I didn’t go for any of those because I really wanted a slouchy hat. I wear my hair all tied up in a tight bun at the top of my head for work. So beanie hats are a no no. I would look like a cone head. In any case I love a slouchy hat and I love a lace pattern which is why this one was so perfect for me. The pattern is easy to follow. It has a repeat that is fairly easy to remember so you can work out quickly where you are. How many times have we put down a lace pattern and come back to it a few days later with no idea where you are in the pattern. It’s easy to work out with this one (although I do tend to track in my notebook). It comes in many sizes too so you can chose one to suit yourself. I went for the largest because I wanted a good slouch on it. I would recommend using circulars rather than DPN’s. I am a DPN girl normally but a few times the stitches came off the end and I started the hat twice as a result of this. Next time I will get the circulars. Mind you, if you go with a smaller size you might be okay.

I used the yarn that I picked up in Amsterdam almost two years ago. It’s by Hedgehog Fibres and the colour is called Salty Tales. I have said recently that for the most part I will be a project knitter but I had the yarn picked out before I found the pattern I wanted (although I had a rough idea of what kind of pattern I wanted). The good thing is that the yarn came from my stash so I did a little stash busting. This yarn is beautiful. The colour changes are subtle and they pick up well in the light. At the moment I am in love with greys and I am especially in love with greys that have other colours through them like this one. Beautiful to knit with and perfect for this slouchy hat. Mind you it would have been perfect for socks too or a light jumper if you had enough of it.

I have ordered the yarn for the next project in my challenge and it’s a scarf. Also in grey to match the hat although the project is not lace. Looking forward to picking it up and starting it.

Giving Shetland a Go

This really should be titled 'In Which I Cannae See Green Cheese'. The Scot's out there will know what that means. Basically I saw something on instagram, wanted to join in and this is the result. There is a knit-along going on. It's a hap knit-along, or rather a hap-along. I saw quite a few people mentioning it on instagram (I follow a lot of yarny people it would seem) and I wanted a piece of the action. It is run by a lady who has a fab blog about using British based yarns. In keeping with that a hap is a Scottish word for something to wrap round and keep you warm. The only rule to joining in is that it had to have hap in the title or description.

I searched and searched and while I saw a few pattern liked I instantly fell in love with this pattern called Halligrath designed by Gudrun Johnston for Brooklyn Tweed (I have rave about Brooklyn Tweed many many times). While it is inspired by Shetland design (and most haps are of Shetland design) it does not mention the word. You have no idea how much I don't care. I instantly fell in love with the pattern. I even like it in that green which is not a colour I would ever choose.

Instead I decided to go with a Shetland yarn. I picked Jamieson and Smith. It's a yarn that I have used just once before. It was for a class on colour work. I thought it would have the right texture and the muted tones suited to it. I actually wanted more of a teal colour but as it wasn't available I picked this petrol blue instead.

This is the start of the chart and one repeat of the pattern. I have plenty of yarn to knit up the large size and then have some left over. You can see from the first image that I bought it in a cone rather than the 25g balls. Basically, the thought of all those loose ends is demoralising. The downside is that the cones are meant for machine knitting and so have an oily residue. However, the website stated that you could still use it for hand knitting so long as you wash it after. Since I am going to have to block the garment it's going to get washed anyway. Win win in my book and I will have plenty of yarn left over for some socks (yes, it's the equivalent of 4ply).

If you are interested in the hap-along you can find it on the organisers blog Knit British, which is also listed on my blogs page. Although I won't be joining in I still love seeing the photo's from others who are joining in and maybe I will join in another knit-along (hopefully after I have finished something).

Keeping with the blue I picked this up from my good friend of For the Love of Yarn. I fell in love with the colour as soon as she posted an image of it. It didn't matter that it was lace weight. I thought it would entice me back to lace knitting.

As I wanted to try something new I thought of a book I bought years ago, Arctic Lace by Donna Druchunas. I thought it was about time I knitted something from it. I thought the mobius scarf would be perfect!

Sadly I am not in love with how it is knitting up. I love the way the colours are striping but you can't see the pattern at all. I know pinning brings out the pattern with lace. Having stretched it out though I just can't see it. I think this pattern needs a slightly thicker yarn even though it calls for lace weight. I also have more yarn than I need for this scarf (a lot more) and I really don't want to waste it. I haven't totally decided but I am thinking I should start again with a new pattern.