rigid beanie

I knitted this hat without a pattern.  Hats are my sanctuary.  They are so quick, and you can customize each one to make it different than the last.  I just wish you could wear them all year.  Then I would have a justification for all the hats I've been making lately.

Both yarns are a wool blend.  I love the colors in the contrast yarn.  I tried to showcase the multicolored yarn by alternating knit and purl rows in the round (which would be garter stitch if I had knit it flat) and I like the results.  From the right side, the ridges make the colors pop.  And I think that the gray blends into the background, leaving the fun colors in the contrasting yarn for the spotlight.

I used the same crown shaping as with this hat.  I really enjoy the look of this shaping, and it keeps me interested while I'm knitting.  I never get bored with it.

When I try this again, I will make it a little longer.  This hat is more of a beanie and that's not what I was going for.  It still looks nice and fits well, but I like my hats with a little more depth to be able to pull down further over my ears when it gets windy.  Probably another inch of stockinette after the contrasting garter ridges would be perfect!

Here is the general pattern guideline for worsted weight yarn:

Main color (MC): I used Lion Brand Wool-Ease worsted in gray.
Contrast color (CC): I used Sensations It's A Wrap bulky in purple/rose.

Cast on 80 stitches in CC for adult sized hat & join to work in the round.
Change to MC.
Knit 2x2 rib for 2 inches.
Knit stockinette in MC for 1 inch.
Change to CC.
Knit one round.
Purl one round.
Alternate knit and purl rounds for 3 inches.  Be sure to end with a purl row.
Change to MC.
Knit stockinette for 1 inch.
Shape crown as desired.

Next time, I might try these changes:
1/2 inch stockinette in main color before ridges instead of 1 inch
3 inches stockinette in main color after ridges before decreasing


yarn name: Lion Brand Wool-Ease (main), Sensations It's A Wrap (contrast)
yarn type: 80% acrylic, 20% wool (main);  75% nylon, 25% wool (contrast)
colorway: Gray (main); Purple/Rose (contrast)
yardage: ~100 yards (main); ~30 yards (contrast)
needle size: US 8 (5.0mm) circular and double-pointed

knitting therapy

After a loss like we've experienced, how do you get back to doing the things you loved doing before the loss?  One part of you wants to get back to the stuff you enjoy doing because it makes you happy and gives you something else to think about in the midst of tragedy.  Another part of you opposes that happy feeling because any feeling other than sadness is a betrayal to the one you lost.

But even though you are stuck in the mud and can't move anywhere, the rest of the world continues to move.  People return to their lives after a brief sympathetic encounter with you and you begin to wonder how others can possibly laugh with each other when there is enough grief in your heart to pass around the room a million times. 

But this is what people do.  We move forward.  The world keeps spinning and the time continues to tick along as if it's unaware of what just happened to you.

Eventually you make the decision to slowly move along with everything else.  And for me, slowly is the key.  I have to be careful not to throw myself into work, business or personal.  I want to give myself time to fully grieve and I'm afraid I won't have time for grief if I fill my time with too many projects.  I've read a small bit about some women finding comfort in knitting where the thoughts are able to gently float around and perhaps even organize themselves through the rhythmic motions of the needles.  So knitting has been my grief craft of choice because it's a quiet craft and I can bring it to any room in the house to be near my family.

This Kami Hat that I found on Ravelry was the perfect first project.  It's just a bunch of stockinette stitch with a few purls placed in there for good measure.  I didn't need to think much while knitting this so my mind was free to think about Timmy.

There were a few times during this project that I felt angry.  During those times my knitting was a little tighter and I even felt myself banging the needles together and throwing the yarn around the needle with a little more force.  Although I don't enjoy being angry, I welcomed all emotions and just let myself feel whatever came.

 

When the hat was complete, I had an unexpected reaction.  Usually I feel a sense of accomplishment when I finish something as would most people.  But this time I cried.  I had no idea why at the time.  I just felt sad.  Although I'm sure my perception of those moments will improve over time, I think the tears had something to do with realizing that knitting the hat wasn't going to bring Timmy back.  It's not that I ever thought while knitting that if I could only finish the hat that things would be different.  Those thoughts didn't consciously occur to me.

I think the sense of accomplishment was missing because I realized that completing the project didn't change anything.  It didn't change how I felt about losing Timmy and it didn't change that Timmy was gone.  So what was the point?  Why did I spend so much time knitting if it really didn't matter?  It felt like a huge waste of time.  I had no idea what else I would have done with the time, but knitting seemed like a waste of it and I felt ashamed for wasting time on something that didn't matter.

My husband tries to tell me that Timmy would want me to do the things that I love doing.  I know this is true.  If it was me up there watching over the family, I would want them to do what brought them joy.  So I have no doubt that Timmy would want the same and might even enjoy watching me create things while thinking of him.

I hope the sadness at the end of a project will subside over time.  I certainly plan to face this feeling head on, and I hope that someday I can look up to Heaven and smile when I've completed a project knowing that doing what you love is never a waste of time and that Timmy would be proud of me.

a punch of color {in a fun hat}

This was my car craft on our return trip from Kentucky this past weekend.  I knitted this for about 5 of the 6 hours it took to drive back home and then another 2-3 hours to finish.  The problem is . . . I'm not sure I'm finished.

The pattern for this Capucine Hat as the creator calls it is available for free on Ravelry.  This is a fun and funky pattern that breaks out of the traditional circular shape of other hats.  The pattern calls for tassels to hang from the ear flaps as well as the top cap, but my 6-year-old boy insists that anything hanging from a hat screams girl.  Pom-poms on the top of a hat are acceptable but braids, tassels, or pom-poms hanging from the sides not gender-neutral.

But now I'm thinking why even make this pattern if you're going to skip such exciting embellishments?  It's just an oddly shaped hat without all the fun stuff, so now I just have to decide if I want to add some braids and a pom-pom and gift it to someone special or modify it in some other way to make it work for the intended child.

I also have to say how much I love these colors together!  The black really makes the red and blue pop.  I was aiming for boy colors but I'm not sure I hit the mark; my 3-year-old tells me he likes it, but "it's kinda girl."

Pattern Modifications:

• worsted weight yarn
• size US 8 circular & double-pointed needles
• slip first stitch of each row for a neater finish
• cast on in contrasting color then switch to main color
• knit 2x2 rib for 2.25 inches
• knit garter for 3 inches, decrease 1 stitch every other row until 72 stitches are left
• join in the round before last row
• switch to main color, knit stockinette for 1.75 inches
• decrease by 8's every other row until 8 stitches remain

I took these modifications from some other knitters on Ravelry.  Since I used worsted weight yarn, my hat fits a child but the pattern calls calls for bulky and larger needles for an adult size.

 



If you are really observant, you will notice that the hat is inside out in most of these photos.  I couldn't tell with the black yarn when I put it on him, and that probably means that most other people won't be able to tell either.  That makes this hat extra special because now I can call it REVERSIBLE!

another brimmed hat {crochet}

Do I really even have to put crochet in the title anymore?  I suppose you can pretty much figure that when I make a hat, it's been crocheted.

This hat was made using Vickie Howell's new Sheep(ish) yarn available at JoAnn's.  I really, really like the look of this yarn.  As with the first brimmed hat I made, I wanted to look for a softer looking yarn, but I needed a manly color.  This yarn is like a gunmetal sort of color, mostly black with a grey/silverish sheen.  The hub agrees that this color is perfect.  The yarn is really soft, too, and it comes in lots of fun colors. 

I started this hat using the same Cheri Hat pattern that I used for this hat, but part way through I abondoned this pattern for my own.  This hat is for the hub (although he declined my invitation for a photo shoot).  When he saw the first brimmed hat that I made, he asked if I could make one for him.  The pattern doesn't give adjustments for adult sizes so I had to improvise.  I originally increased for 7 rounds in double crochet, but that proved to be too big to I pulled out a round.  Even 6 increase rounds was too big, but I got too far before I realized it.  I corrected the hat a little in the back by decreasing a few stitches and it's not noticable, but I should have done a few more decreases.  Next time, I will increase only 5 rounds in double crochet because don't forget that hats are supposed to stretch a little.

I also couldn't get the brim to look right using the pattern I had.  I tried 5 different ways of adding the brim, but I ultimately settled on this youtube demonstration by bobwilson.  I really like her videos.  They are modern designs and she does a really great job of explaining all the steps in all of her demonstrations.  I'm still not convinced the brim looks exactly as it should, but it's much better than what I started with.  I even had to try this one 3 different times to get it to look like this.  I'm not sure if blocking it will give it just the right look or not, but it's worth a try.  I will just have to keep working the idea until I find something that makes it look just right.


ps.  I just picked up the Holiday 2011 issue of KnitSimple at the library and Vickie Howell is on the cover.  In her interview, she explains how her mother tried to teach her to knit when she was younger but she hated it.  She says she favored crochet and it wasn't until she was in her twenties that she learned to appreciate knitting.  If I just learned to crochet a month ago and favor crochet over knitting now, I should learn to appreciate knitting by the time I'm 50.

a baby hat with a mod brim {crochet}

My sister's friend, whom I also know from school, just had a baby in July and my sister wanted something to give to the baby for her first Christmas.  Because it's rare that I can make something for a little girl, I jumped at the chance.  I decided to splurge on some 80% baby alpaca wool and 20% silk from Debbie Bliss because the pattern I had in mind was just a plain brimmed hat.  I thought some really good yarn in a really fun color would make it less plain.  I used almost the entire 50g skein of color 25010 for this 6 month sized hat.

This yarn is so soft!  I just kept feeling the hat after I crocheted it.  And I really do think this wool helped give the hat a really feminine look.  I used a free pattern that I found on Ravelry; it's called the Cheri Hat.  I really like the pattern exactly how it is and I will definitely use it again for a baby hat, but sample hats in the pattern used cotton yarn.  Although very practical for kids, cotton yarn just doesn't have the same look as wool.  Luckily, I think my slurge paid off because my hat turned out looking softer than the sample.

Sorry, no baby to use in the photo shoot.

Also, it's amazing how colors can look different in different types of light.  I don't think the hat was quite this pink


Other Notes:  I read somewhere once that acrylic yarn is easier to learn with than any other type of yarn.  I don't usually buy into this stuff, especially if as a beginner you knew that you wanted to use merino wool all the time then why wouldn't you teach yourself using merino wool.  But when I crocheted with this stuff, particularly when I made a mistake and had to correct it, I really realized the difference they were talking about.  Acrylic yarn is easy to pull out; this alpaca and silk yarn is not.  It sticks together better and is difficult to tear, which I guess is a good thing if you are not trying to fix your mistakes.  If I would have used this as my first yarn, I would have been completely frustrated and probably never moved past my first hat.  But now that I know, I will first be more careful with my stitches and second be more patient with my corrections.

a cabled hat {more crochet}

Since I was making a hat for one sister, I crocheted a hat for another sister.  I wanted something a little more elegant for this one, so I purchased a pattern from Holland Designs.  This is the Diamond Slouch Beanie pattern.  I found this pattern through Etsy, but it looks like she sells them on her website, too.  If I would have had the money, I would have bought the whole store!  She has some really neat designs and many of them have a knitted crochet kind of look.

This was my first lesson in yarn weights.  This pattern called for DK weight, but I only had worsted.  I just thought it work up more quickly, but it ended up being huge!  I had to downsize it quite a bit.  The hub asked me at one point who the skirt was for.  I knew at that point that it was too big for a normal size hat.

One of the best things about the yarn medium is how quickly you can fix mistakes.  Just pull out your stitches and you can start over.  No slow, sharp, and frustrating seam ripper to worry about.  So I just pulled the yarn out to the appropriate height and joined the hat at the top.

This hat has some weight to it.  I hope my sister doesn't get neck cramps wearing around.  But it will definitely keep her head warm.  As fussy at this pattern was (or I should probably just say advanced), it did help me understand cables and it's a really elegant and timeless hat.  I would do this one again, just in the correct weight and maybe in a really fun and girly color.

I used Vanna's Choice in Wheat.  I used nearly 2 full skeins.

crochet puff hat

I love crocheting hats for some reason.  I usually don't like making more than one of anything, but hats appear to be the exception.  Good thing it's winter or this would be a useless effort.

I wish I could tell you a nostalgic story about how I learned to crochet, and it would have been possible because my mom has always crocheted.  But I never showed any interest until now and, unfortunately, she lives 6 hours away.  So left to my own devices, I learned to crochet from youtube.  There are a lot of good tutorials that show you exactly what to do.  I learned this puff stitch and the general idea for the hat on various youtube videos.  I made sure the size was right by just trying it on.

I wanted this hat to be a little fuller around the top so it would have little waves.  Most of the tutorials I saw made the hat in the traditional hat shape (like a rounded cone), and I knew I wanted it a little more modern than that.  So I increased the number of puff stitches to start with which made it a little fuller.  It's amazing what you can learn from trial and error. 

I made this hat for my sister for Christmas and the hat actually looks better on her.  I wish I would have gotten a picture of her in it.  I'm sure people get tired of seeing me pose in all my photos.

I would definitely do this hat again.  It worked up really quickly, I think it took me two evenings, maybe 4 hours total and it was only my third hat.

I used Vanna Choice yarn in Grey Marble. I used about 1.25 skeins for this hat.