Tree Planting Hat

And I finished a hat! I actually started this back in May when I went up to do some tree planting at my Brothers house. I wanted a simple project to work on in the car and while we sat around after the planting was done and just chatted.

The pattern: Countrywool Rolled Brim Hat on Ravely - or if you are not on Ravelry you can find it HERE.

The yarn: Adriafil Knitcol I used 44 grams which is about 121 yards (111 m) on size 7 (4.5mm) needles. I love this yarn as it does all the color-work for you! So you get to look fancy with no effort. Awesome.

This is the fifth time (at least!) that I have made this hat. Love the pattern. It's just so simple and perfect. My Ravelry page can be found HERE for anyone interested in the notes I have there. The pattern is really easy though and written well. Highly recommend!

A Hat For a Neighbor

Project Name: Hat for Bruce
Pattern Name: Ed's Hat by Michelle Edwards (Free Pattern on Ravelry)
Yarn: 75 yards of Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick in color 110 Navy
Needle: Size 13, 36" circular needle
Size: Adult
Love: ♥♥♥♥♥ - Love it!

You can find my Ravelry Project Notes HERE

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This is a hat for my neighbor Bruce. He brought us over nice neighbor Christmas gifts BEFORE Christmas. (Begin guilt meter here....) And here I am mid February finally finished with his hat. I actually had a box of locally made fancy chocolate to give him - and managed to deliver my "Christmas Neighbor Gift" to all my neighbors except him. I think he ran away for the holidays, and then we had the flu over in our house. It seemed wrong to deliver a belated gift of food from the house of flu, so I decided to knit him a hat instead. 

Well I had to find a pattern and buy the yarn. And then I messed up the pattern, so I had to frog it out and start over. This actually got me to knit this hat on a long circular instead of double point needles. I have never knit a hat on one long circular - so it was fun to figure that out while working on the inches of ribbing.

The pattern itself was really simple and well written. It makes a nice "Manly" hat and I think I will keep this one around to give as gifts to my brother and male relatives. 

Square Pegs

Project Name: Square Pegs

Pattern Name: Turn a Square by Jared Flood (Free Ravelry Pattern also free on the Brooklyn Tweed Website HERE)
Yarn: Patons Classic Wool Worsted 0.45 skeins = 94.5 yards (86.4m) in Colorway Dark Grey Mix for Main color and Plymouth Yarn Boku 0.4 skeins = 39.6 yards (36.2m) in colorway 20 (purples)

Needle: 16" US 6, 16" US 7, and Size 7 Double Points to finish it off
Size: Adult Large
Love: ♥♥♥♥♥ SO MUCH LOVE! Have worn it every day since I finished it!

You can find my Ravelry Project Notes HERE.

I love this hat! I cast on when I was down with the flu and found it was a very well written pattern and a really quick knit. It's a great stash buster and wonderful to use up those odd bits of Noro or (as I used here Boku) for the CC. I think because the stripes are small it keeps you trucking along quickly. You don't knit a single color long enough to get bored with it, and then add to that I used a color changing yarn for the CC, so it was different every time I got to that stripe row. Loved seeing how the colors progressed and I really could not put this hat down!

This is the first time I have worked with Boku and it will not be the last! Love the colors, it's cheaper than Noro, and unlike Noro I didn't have a single break in the yarn! WIN!

Here is my only trouble spot with this hat. It gives directions (and yes - I watched the video too!) on how to make a jogless jog. Sadly mine turned out pretty rough and it makes it look like I knit the hat flat and seamed it up! Well, I love this hat so much that I immediately cast on another and am working on this "Jogless Jog" thing. Hopefully the next hat I post I will have an update on an improved method!

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!

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.♦

Azalea Hat

Project Name: Azalea Hat
Pattern Name: Erich's A&F Knockoff Hat

Yarn: 50 yards of Lion Brand Hometown USA Tweeds in Phoenix Azalea
Needle: US 15 (16" circ) for the body and US 13 Double Points for the last bit
Size: Adult
Love: ♥♥♥♥♥ Hard to donate this one - TOO Cute!

You can find my Ravelry Project Notes HERE.

 

I know my blog is turning into a hat parade! But this pattern is really easy to knit in bed at night and since I am donating most of them to the Pine Ridge Reservation I feel like it's ok to hog up my blog with the same hat over and over. Also - It's about all I am knitting these days. All my other time is spent studying for the A+ certification and trying to figure out Ohm's Law and fun stuff like that. **Yawn**

This hat is so cute I had a hard time putting it in the donation box. It really tried to make it's way into my hat drawer! But I was firm and told it NO. I can't tell you how warm and wonderful this pattern is. Easy as pie, cheap yarn, and machine washable and dry-able. Love it!

Ain't No Grinch! The Hat!

Project Name: Ain't No Grinch
Pattern Name: Erich's A&F Knockoff Hat
Yarn: Lion Brand Hometown USA leftovers in Tampa Spice (Red) and Lime. Hat weighed in at 98 grams so about 57 yards of yarn total.
Needle: US 15 for the bulk of the hat and then Size US 13 Double points for the last two rows of the decrease and bind off.
Size: Adult
Love: ♥♥♥♥♥ - Love this so much! SQUEEEE!

You can find my Ravelry Project Notes HERE.

I saw these two left over balls of yarn in my scrap bin and KNEW I had to make them into a crazy striped Christmas Hat for me! I thought it would be a wacky tacky - but the end product is quite pretty actually! Love the every other row stripe look on the ribbing. And I am happy I cast on in red and then did row one in red too. It gives the hat a kind of finished look or something. Don't know - Just like it!

My stash of acrylic is getting kind of low, so I may have to do some stash expansion so I can keep knocking these out. Only 1100 stitches to make this hat, and it keeps me feeling like I am accomplishing things in the knitting world when I really only have time to knit a little here and there.

And now I am set for the holidays! Warm head and holiday spirit to boot!

Pasture & Sky Hat

Project Name: Pasture & Sky
Pattern Name: Erich's A&F Knockoff Hat
Yarn: Lion Brand Hometown USA in Washington Denim & Lion Brand Thick & Quick in Grass. Hat weighed in at 110 grams so I used 64 yards approximately.
Needle: Us 15 for most of it and then 13 Double points for the bind off
Size: Adult
Love: ♥♥♥♥ Lots of love. It's not my favorite I have made of this pattern (that would be the red/gray/black from earlier this week)

You can find my Ravelry Project Notes HERE.

Another charity hat for the Pine Ridge Reservation. This is #2 and I am looking at my stash so I can cast on another!

This hat I had intended to be shorter, but I ran out of the green yarn on the last three rows! So I improvised and added a final blue stripe and then bound off in the blue. I think the result is pretty good. When you put it on you can raise and lower the brim to cover your ears better if it's needed. I forgot how nice that option is - too many beanies knit lately I think. You just don't get the same ear coverage with the shorter beanie style.

I may have to knit more like this!

What are you making there?

Project Name: What are you making there?
Pattern Name: Erich's A&F Knockoff Hat
Yarn: 50 yards of assorted scraps - mostly Hometown USA by Lion Brand - but some Thick &Quick from Lion Brand might also be in there.
Needle: US 15 for everything but the last two rows where I needed Double Points - US 13 there.
Size: Adult
Love: ♥♥♥♥♥ 5 Hearts = Full of Love!

You can find my Ravelry Project Notes HERE.

This is the first in what I hope will be a respectable sized pile of knit goods that I intend to mail to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation this winter.

I am really happy with how it turned out. While I was knitting it, my hubby leaned over and asked me "What are you making there?" in a manner that made me think he might be interested in having this hat. When it was finished he was excited - but after trying it on declared he "must just not be a hat person." LOL! So I can donate it knowing my hubby had his chance!

And yes - I have my new camera! So I can make with the clicking! YAY!

Can you handle the lockdown? HAT

 

Project Name: Can you handle the lockdown?

Pattern Name: Erich's A&F Knockoff Hat

Yarn: Lion Brand Hometown USA in Dallas Gray 50.2 yards (45.9m)
Needle: 15 & 13
Size: Fit's me head
Love: ♥♥♥♥♥ 5 Hearts! Simple pattern and it looks good!

You can find my Ravelry Project Notes HERE.
 

A simple hat pattern out of some stash I had laying around. I saw Sassypants Knitter was collecting hats in honor of her Grandma who wants to collect 100 hats it give to the Homeless this winter. Wendy (Sassypants herself) is so awesome, and it seemed like the perfect thing that I knit this thinking I wanted it to be a charity hat, and then I saw on Ravelry that she is taking hats for donation.

This pattern is a breeze to work up and looks pretty fab if I do say so myself. I went through my leftovers last night and pulled out a bunch of left overs of this weight of yarn and think I will work up a bunch more charity hats. It's good to do a little charity knitting!

Oh - And the name comes from me knitting this up while watching Ghost Adventures on The Travel Channel.

A Hat!

 

This was almost an instant hat and I am so happy I did it!

I have been admiring this pattern on Ravelry for a while now. The pattern is for Spud & Chloe and was created by Susan B. Anderson and is called "Slope Hat". I had avoided it for awhile because:

 

* It's not available as a download.

* Spud and Chloe charge kind of a lot for their patterns. $8.00 for a hat pattern is a little hard to justify for me.

* The yarn for their patterns is also expensive. Outer runs around $16.00 and you get 60 yards. Ouch.

 

So I kind of resolved myself to just admire the pattern and never make it. Then I clicked on a link for kpixie on Ravelry and found out I could get the hat and pattern for less than the cost they normally charge for just a ball of the yarn. I ordered it almost instantly! I didn't have a choice in the color of the yarn, but I was ok with the Hedge Green. I really liked the deal I got from kpixie, the yarn came very fast and they offer some great deals on their site. (I will be shopping there again!)

 

So I cast on with size 15 7" circulars and would have finished it in one sitting if I hadn't been so darn tired. I made myself stop when I got to the point I needed to switch to double points and finished it off the next morning.

 

I really like the yarn! It's superwash wool and cotton and it felt almost soapy to me when I was knitting (I can't find any other way to describe the texture - Soapy was how I described it to my hubby.) I love how it lays in the pattern, the cable looks really nice. The hat fits really well and I know I will wear it a lot this winter.

I am already looking through my stash for more yarns to work this pattern in. It only used 50 yards of the Outer! I have a fantasy of making several more in outer and then making something out of all the left over 10 yard chunks. We will see. I am pretty sure my yarn budget is already destroyed for 2013.....

Butter Beret

 

 I am not sure what made me do it, but I had a burning need to cast on a simple crochet beret. I call it Butter Beret as the color is the palest yellow. It's a free pattern on Ravelry called Crochet Hat by Corrine Leigh of Threadbanger Fame.

 

I wanted to stash bust so I used a thinner yarn than they used for the pattern. They used Lion Brand Organic Cotton, and I used Debbie Bliss Cotton. Reading through other projects I decided I better add a single row of crochet after each increase row to give the hat some extra poof.

Here is a view from the top. I think the center area got a little wonky when I closed up the starting hole, but I am fairly happy with my stitch consistency.

 

A view from the inside. The pattern calls for just two decrease rows and no additional rows, but I thought it needed a little more, so I added two single crochet rows after the decreasing to clean it up a little and just give it more of a band sort of look.

 

I am fairly happy with it for a first crochet hat, but I think I might agree with my hubby that the color is just a little too light and baby-ish for me. I don't do pastel colors very well. We will see. It might look better with my wool pea coat this fall.

Something Something Hat

You can tell I am sort of running out of names for hats. I was looking for a pattern in Creative Knitting, Fall 2010: Accessorize with Style and came across this pattern for a simple cap in a Single Skein of Blizzard Yarn. Why I would have purchased a single skein of a yarn with only 66 yards on it - I have no idea. I think the color and the squish factor made me do it. (Apparently this yarn is now discontinued which just makes me sad. It was so yummy!)

So I cast on and quickly got through the body. And then as I was getting ready to knit the last couple rows I noticed a twisted stitch half way up the hat. On sock yarn this would not be a big deal - but when you are working on something this bulky it REALLY stands out. So I frogged it and started over. Second attempt I got into the final rows of decreases and realized my stitch count was off and it looked BAD. Frog frog frog. Third time I managed to knit the hat correctly! So really I made the same hat three times in one day. It's a wonderful pattern. Very simple and I really only used about 50 yards of yarn.

It's one of those hats you just want to pet because it's so soft and cuddly. The rib keeps the hat from rolling up. A really warm hat. Instant gratification. I think I will keep the pattern handy as it would be excellent for one of those "Oh crap!" moments where you need a hand knit gift immediately. (Shocking how often that really does happen!) I might need to troll the Internet for more of this yarn.... It's really nice!

Burly Spun Mari 2: The Resurrection

I am continuing on with my effort to sort out my knit goods. My latest reclaiming was a hat I made in 2008 out of Burley Spun. I liked the hat - but again - top down construction made it kind of pointy and weird. Add to this that it's lime green - Totally rocked out an elf thing here.

I didn't take awesome pictures of this the first go around - but you can get a sense of the fit of this hat on my Roger Head. Keep in mind Roger does not have my insane big hair to tuck under this hat either - so you can imagine how high this sat on my head. Not exactly keeping the old ears warm.

This next shot shows a much more relaxed hat. The pointy top is pretty much gone and the length is much better. I did the Eucalin soak for about an hour and then rolled it in a towel to get most of the water out and then stretched it onto good old Roger here. It dried in a couple days.

And lastly - here is me wearing the hat. It fits over my giant crazy hair and is pretty much the perfect size now. So much more wearable!

Pretty Crafty Home Indeed!

I recently (thanks to Lucy 'InTheSky'!) Discovered Cherry Heart's blog and her Pretty Crafty Home Project and had to join in. Here is the nutshell of this project taken directly from the wonderful Miss Sandra's blog:

If you're doing something crafty to improve your home, make it a more pleasurable environment to be in and look at then, it qualifies. If you can thrift and recycle your way there - so much the better!

Hopefully she doesn't mind me taking the quote directly from her blog - she just states it so well! Since this completely meshes with the way I am trying to move in this world I joined in immediately. I just wanted to give a shout out about it so if anyone else is interested in this they can go have a look and see if it's for them too.

In the spirit of the group, I recently started going through some of my knit items and asking myself if I wear them - and if not why? Can I "fix" the item so it moves into the "wearable" circle? Does the item need to be repurposed? Donated? My first item was a hat I made a couple of years ago that I rarely wear because the hat is a little too pointy on top and a little to short on the sides. (Top down construction.)

Here is a picture from just after I made it. You can see it sits just a LITTLE too high on my head and there is just a little too much pointy going on up top. Not terrible - but enough where I didn't really want to wear it too often. (Sad.)

So recently I gave it a good soak and then stretched it over my mannequin head to dry for a few days. End result? Less pointy on top and I gained about a half inch in length. Suddenly it's REALLY wearable!

Please excuse the bad mirror pick. I have not yet trained Emma (the awesome Dog) to take pictures of me. I wore this hat all day today and it was comfortable and I did not feel like a gnome! Sweet! I intend to go through all my knit items with the same viewpoint and will hopefully end up with a more useable hoard of knit goods!

Never Beret-ed

My first hat of 2012 is complete!

I knit this following the free pattern on ravelry called: Super-simple fast and easy chunky hand-knit beret! by Laurie Perry. (You might know her from her blog or her books: Crazy Aunt Purl!) The yarn is Hitsuji by Noro. I knit this in four hours including the time it took to eat dinner. (So probably 3 to 3.5 hours of knitting would get you a hat.)

I was a little freaked out at first since it seemed to grow quite a bit after the bath and air dry. The ribbed brim is really loose around my head. That being said - this is the only hat I have made that I can take off my head without having that lovely ribbing line show up on my forehead - also I can wear it without fear of smooshed wool hat hair appearing after I take it off. It's sloppy and arty farty and I think I am kind of in love!

Here is a side view. Love the colors in here. Turquoise, Mustard, Hot Pink. I don't know who does the color work for Noro but I am always amazed at what they come up with.

What I don't love about Noro is the breaks in the yarn. See that hot pink stitch on the lower edge of the picture? It goes from VERY pink to gray here because they did a yarn join here and they just tied it on with gray rather than matching a pink. I have found something like that in almost every Noro I have used. VERY irritating. I would love Noro so much more if it didn't pull that crap. Grrrrrrr.

Now that THAT is out of my system - I am still darn happy with the results here.

Hood and Shoulders Above the Rest

Yesterday when I came upstairs after my tread milling, I noticed it was starting to snow. At first it was just a cold freezing rain sort of mess, but it quickly changed to giant fluffy flakes. This is a terrible picture of the bird feeder outside our front window. We have several large pine trees and the Cardinals seem to know when it snows and they will appear magical frolicking in the snow.

After Tom got back from his workout I asked if we could do a Photoshoot outside with my new hat that I named "Hood and Shoulders above the Rest". The pattern is a free pattern on Ravelry called Capucine and I really love it! It's fast, simple, and a great stash buster for some bulky yarn in one's stash. (Although I HAD to have this in black to go with my new Red Coat, so I had to go to JoAnns and buy this special. Go figure.)

It was still snowing and starting to get a little dark out by the time we wandered out to take pictures. I left off the tassels that are used in the pattern and just wear it as it was knit. The ribbed section is flipped over and it frames my head (and my 80's cowgirl hair I was rocking yesterday) quite well. When It is really cold I can pin the "Wings" together under my chin for more warmth and stay-put power.

You can see the flipped brim a little more here. (It was snowing pretty good!) I think because I used such bulky yarn it was actually about 1 inch longer than it was supposed to be. None of the other patterns had a flipped brim and a lot of people using this yarn cast on less stitches and knit to a certain length rather than following a pattern exactly. I am happy with my results regardless.

This shot shows (if you can see around the snow) the bonnet quality this hat has. It would make an excellent hood on a sweater vest!

And here is how it looks in back. I love the stitch definition with this yarn. If you look in the background of the picture you can see Emma running in the snow. The first snow of the season is always so exciting for Miss Emma!

Am very pleased with and would (and intend to) make more of these!

Day off ... sort of

Today I used a Holiday and had the day off from work. So of course I ran around like an insane chicken pecking at every rock possible.

I am tired!

At 8:30 this morning I was at the clinic getting my last Hepatitis B vaccine and a Flu shot. The regular shot lady was in and BOY is she better than the evil woman who filled in for her last time. HUGE difference in the pain factor between Awesome Pam and Evil Substitute lady.

Next - Off to Target for an hour of shopping. I have lost enough weight to be able to shop the clearance racks again and actually FIND items in my size that aren't awful! Wahoo! It's been awhile since I have been able to do that. I scored a tee shirt (that I intend to use to replace a sleep shirt I shrank out of), a long sleeve tee (that is so low cut when I tried it on that I can probably only ever wear under another shirt) and a hooded Sweatshirt for $21.00! Go Team Jen!

I also scored this lovely item. Our Bananas have been just laying on the counter, and our apples were in a bowl of their own. Now we can have the fruit all in one neat spot! I am WAY to excited about this and I know it. But, to be fair, we live in a little rambler and counter space is PRETTY limited, so getting things organized just feels good!

After Target I got a Starbucks coffee and then headed to JoAnn Fabrics and Crafts to pick up two skeins of Lion Brand Thick & Quick to make the Capucine Hat . I love Ravelry user SUS' version called Nice & Spice in particular, so I was compulsed and HAD to get some Thick and Quick to knit this asap. While there I also scored the Vogue Knitting with Martha on the cover and two more skeins of Sheep(ish). (Stash levels reaching critical! Must. Knit. Faster!)

After that it was a quick stop at the cash machine and then on to get my hair cut. Same style as last time, just a trim. While waiting I was crocheting another wash cloth and the lady next to me started chatting away to me about knitting and crochet. We had a nice little chat. :) I love how people open up to you and seem fascinated by knitting (or crocheting!) in public. I think I might make crochet my go - to for appointment waiting as it's so nice to shove it back into my purse when my name is called and not fear full destruction.

After my haircut I hit the grocery store (forgetting several items of course) and then home in time for lunch!

I took a break after lunch and watched an episode of The Biggest Loser and finished a knitting project. (Details to come!) And started a spontaneous new project too! (Details on that to come as well.) Then cleaning and organizing projects kept me busy the rest of the day.

Did I mention I am tired?!?! Really nice day though. I feel all accomplished. :)

Now it's time to put some laundry away, have a nice dinner and then PJ's and some TV knitting.

YAY for Friday! Double YAY for Friday's off!

Spray Hat

Side view of my Spray Hat knit with Rowan Spray - a discontinued yarn. I had knit some mittens out of one skein of this yarn in the Spring and decided I would use my other ball to make a hat to match. This hat took almost exactly one skein of the yarn and it is warm and cozy! The hat pattern was a free pattern on Ravelry called Painted Forest Ribbed Hat. I knit it on size 13 circulars and double points.

How the hat looks from straight on. The fold-up rim on this is ample - so I will be able to really pull it down when the winter chill is biting at me.

This is kind of gross - but I thought I would show what the "bathwater" looked like after I gave my hat a bath with a packet of Soak. Love that product. I will be stocking up on more next time I go to a yarn store. I really need to give all my woolens a wash.

This is what this yarn did to my needles. Can you imagine if I had not rinsed out that dye from the hat (and mittens)? I would have had all that dye coming off on my head, hair and hands. Gross! (And I think I know why the yarn was discontinued....) I am pretty sure the needles are ruined. I am knitting an acrylic black yarn on them now - thinking maybe the friction will rub some of that red off. Yuck.