Packer hat - FINISHED!

Project Name: Soldier, Brother, Packer Fan
Pattern Name: Ribbed Watchman's Hat by Channah Koppel (Free Pattern on Ravelry)
Yarn: 147 yards of Red Heart Team Spirit in the Green/Gold colorway
Needle: Size 7 16" circular and double point needles
Size: One Size (very stretchy!)
Love: ♥♥♥♥

You can find my Ravelry Project Notes HERE.

 

This was a great hat pattern to work on my last few weeks of class and during finals. I didn't think when I started it that I would finish in time to give it to my brother for Christmas - but I did! YAY!

I had a few mishaps while knitting this and finally taught myself the proper way to Tink. I had been doing it wrong for years and it caused my stitches to twist when I would do it - so generally I would just start over whenever I made a mistake. (No pressure, right?) 

In case anyone else has this problem, you can watch this video on uTube to learn how to knit and purl back to correct your mistakes. It saved this hat! I was almost 9 inches into the ribbing when I saw a flubbed up row where I messed up. I was able to back up and redo it and now you can't even tell I messed up!

I found this yarn pretty abrasive. When you are used to working with Brown Sheep and Malabrigo.... well it's a very different tactical experience! Still, my brother will probably love it. He is a HUGE packer fan! I am hoping to get a picture of him wearing it when I see him at Christmas. 

The pattern was great. I recommend it! It took under 150 yards of worsted weight yarn. Still not sure what I think of the decrease section. I prefer a spoked decrease aesthetically, but I think for a basic watch cap style cap this decrease is probably more appropriate.

I am thrilled with the hat and cannot wait to present it to my brother at Christmas!

Nerd Girl Yarns = Awesome B-day Gift

For my Birthday last month my parents gave me some spending money, which allowed me to go and get some yarn I have been wanting to try for a long time. I headed to Nerd Girl Yarns and looked through everything Yarn on the site. In the end I fell in love with these two yarns and had to get them.

Bounce and Stomp in the colorway "Bad Luck". I got the last available skein of this and I cannot wait to work it up. The stats from the website: "4-ply fingering - 75% superwash merino 25% nylon
Approximately 463 yards (423 meters), 100 grams".  When I pulled it out of the bag I went "Ooooooh" and gave it a squish with my hand. Oh yeah baby. That's what I like!

The color explosion above is a worsted weight yarn called "Clever" in the colorway Wonders. Here is the stats about it from the website: "100% superwash merino. 218 yards, 100 grams. worsted weight". I love love love the colors in this.

Living in Minnesota - I wear a scarf over half the year. Most of my coats are black. I wear blue jeans every day. Yawn. So a violent pop of color on my neutral colored wardrobe, when I live in an area that lacks any color in the landscape for months on end - well it makes me REALLY happy.  I am anxious to get knitting on this as well!

As for the shopping experience? Great! The website was well organized and easy to maneuver. I clicked on the link for "all items currently in stock" and cruised through them looking for my must haves. I have been to the site before looking for sci-fi themed yarns and been a bit confused about how that works. So I avoided that this time and had a better experience. I am drawn to a lot of her sci-fi lines of yarn - so I may need to figure that out in the future.

I was able to pay with PayPal (easy peasy) and got great confirmation of my purchase and tracking info. My yarn was in my hands just a few short days after I ordered it! Wonderful!

Very happy with my Birthday gift! 

IEEE 802.15.1 Bluetooth Cap

 

Project Name: IEEE 802.15.1 Bluetooth Cap

Pattern Name: Snow Day Cap (Free Pattern on LionBrand.com)
Yarn: Lion Brand Hometown USA. 44 yards of Main Color - MPLS Purple & 11 yards of Seattle Sea Mist for the Snowflakes
Needle: US 13
Size: Small Woman's or Large Childs
Love: ♥♥♥♥ Well written free pattern. Uses a minimum of yarn and the end result is quite nice!

You can find my Ravelry Project Notes HERE.

 

I really had to stretch this to fit on my mannequin head to take pictures - and you can tell the snowflakes are distorted when I place it on the head.  Laying flat you can see the snow flake pattern more clearly - and I have to think some young gal (Pre-tween I think) would rock this out wonderfully.

I knit this exactly as the pattern stated. I found the chart was too much for me when I was tired and didn't want to think too much - so I saved it for more alert and less distracted knitting times. I really like how it looks from the top. A pretty decrease sequence. 

A welcome addition to my Knit Hat Donation pile.

Let it snow!

Oh the weather outside is frightful... but my dog loves it! My hubby ran her around in the backyard while it was still coming down full force. I would be shocked if we aren't at almost a foot of snow at this point. And it's still coming down. It looks like we could get about 15 inches when it finally stops. THAT is a lot of snow!

I am happy it hit today instead of Monday - but I am still going to have to drive to work on some pretty yucky roads. Not. Fun. I am sure I will wonder, in the morning, when I am clearing huge piles of snow off our truck, why I live in Minnesota. But for today - snug in my house with candles lit and the snow dropping down - it's quite lovely.

And maybe this will kick-start my Christmas Spirit! I have been feeling a bit Grinchy, so this might help.

And now I must go and shovel. (Score one more for the Grinch!)

A hat for my brother

 I haven't had much time to knit lately, but when my mom got this yarn for me I knew I had to make something for my Brother toot sweet. My brother is a HUGE Green Bay Packer Fan and this yarn is perfect for making a Packer hat. The yarn is Red Heart Team Spirit and it's pretty rough acrylic. I have read it softens a bit when washed - so we will hope that is true.

I cast on after class this week and have been working on it in bed at night after I have studied to the point my brain is mush. Simple ribbing is really soothing to me right now. It feels like working worry beads. It's rhythmic and it's not real easy to screw up - A big bonus!

I like that the color changes every few rows. It keeps the boredom at bay a bit. I love a solid colored item - but I do get bored with the monotonous visual factor. So exciting when the yarn is about to change and you knit knit knit to get that color change onto your needle. I think I knit faster when there are color changes just because I need to see what is "next".

I don't think I will get it done for Christmas, but his B-day is in February and that is very do-able. The hat looks really small to me - but it IS ribbed so I guess it will really stretch. We will see.

Lovely (?) Lavender Hat

Project Name: Lovely Lavender Hat
Pattern Name: Big Chunky Comfy Hat by Erica Kempf on Ravelry (Free Pattern)
Yarn: Hometown USA in Seattle Sea Mist (66.4 Yards used)
Needle: 11
Size: adult-ish (may fit a child better)
Love: ♥♥♥ Only 3 out of 5 loves on this.

You can find my Ravelry Project Notes HERE.

I thought it would be fun to try a different pattern so I gave this one a go. It turned out a little awkward in length for me. It's a little too long all the way down unless I have a ponytail on under the hat. Then it's perfect. It's too short if I roll the brim up. So yeah.  A little off.

The other thing I am not in love with is the decrease section. I thought the ribs would just thin out - but it ended up looking really sloppy. Not sure if that was my execution or the pattern. I followed the pattern exactly so I could see how it turned out, and I would make this again but modified. I would add length to the body and rim area so you could get a nice flip over, and I would change the decrease section so it looked smoother.

I think this is hat three for the charity box I am making. A LOOOOOONG way to go to get it filled up - but it's fun to do!

♦ That's my cat Izzi that made it into most of the photo's this time.♦