Hat # 7 – A Hat for Janine

I told my friend Janine that I would knit her a hat if she bought the yarn. I asked if she had a pattern in mind and all she said was that she wanted cables.

I looked for a pattern and I could not find any that fit the yarn and the size of Janine’s head, so I designed my own. I found a cable in Barbara Walker’s 2^nd Treasury and figured it out to be done in the round.

The yarn is Rowan Renew (which is sadly discontinued) and it was very nice to knit with and I would gladly knit with it again.

I think it is pretty good and Janine liked it. So life is good. 

Double the Hats, Double the Fun

Due to circumstances beyond my control, I am going to write about 2 hats in this post.

Hat # 5 – Going for the Gold

On Ravelry, we like to celebrate the Olympic games with a little contest we call the Ravellenic games. Basically, you pick a category and cast on during the opening ceremonies and have to be finished by the closing ceremonies and you knit while watching all the different sports. The object is to choose a project which will challenge you.  I have had this Knit Picks kit for a Andean Chullo for several years. The reason I have never knit it is because I HATE purling in two colors. I cannot purl with my left hand (I have no problem knitting with it). I have to just pick it up with my left hand and wrap the purl around the needle. It takes me forever. So this was a good project for me to challenge myself.

There is a ton of yarn in this kit. I am pretty sure I could make 4 hats just like this with the kit and still have yarn left over.  I am really happy with the way it turned out and I have been wearing it. It is warm and cozy and cute as a button (if I do say so myself).

I would like to talk a little bit about Andean hats… The Andes are in Peru and Bolivia. There men and women (depending on the village) knit brightly colored men’s hats called Chullos. They have detailed patterns, some are geometric and some have animals, but they are all very lovely. The hats are not stranded knitting (which this kit is), but rather they are knit in a type of intarsia in the round. The knitters will also add embellishments like buttons and tassels. I have not added any of those things to my hat, but I think if I do another one, I will make the earflaps in stripes and then add buttons because, well I like buttons!

If you would like to learn more about Andean Knitting, here is a website. http://btsadventures.com/for-knitters/

They also have trips for those who are interested. I would very much like to go and see how they do the intarsia in the round. When I have tried to do it, I have not been successful.

Hat # 6 – So cute

This hat is a child size hat made for the shop. We were having a Yarn Tasting and needed a sample knit up in one of the yarns. The pattern is called Lineside Beanie. It is a well written pattern and can be made for newborns to adults. I actually think it is a great pattern for the whole family and think that is a great deal as you can knit it in dk or worsted weight and it would look good on almost everyone. It is a little fiddly at first, but once you get to the body of the hat, it goes really fast.

I think I might be slightly behind in my hat making so I am going to have to make some hats with a little bigger yarn to catch up. 

Hat # 3 – Oh Voyageur!

This hat is a kit from Imperial Stock Ranch it is the Corps of Discovery. The reason this post is after hat 4 is because I ran out of yarn. This was probably my fault because I always have a problem with row gauge; my rows are always smaller than they should be. I ran out when I had only about 20 rows left. I asked if I could get like 10 – 15 more yards because I figured that would finish it up. The lovely people at Imperial Stock Ranch sent a whole skein. They are awesome.

This pattern (which is available to purchase separately) is really well written. It has great short row directions. But I would advise getting the kit because it comes with the Imperial Stock Ranch’s Columbia yarn (which is fantastic) and is great to knit with.

Columbia yarn is made from Columbia sheep. These sheep are a truly American sheep. They were developed in 1912 by the USDA who wanted a hearty sheep which would thrive in the western United States and provide more wool. I would highly recommend it.  

So, why knit a Voyageur hat? One Christmas (many, many years ago) The Hub & I gave my father-in-law a book about Voyageurs in Minnesota. He was really pleased with it (more than I could have imagined) and he sang a song about Voyageurs. Flash forward to last year when I saw this hat pattern and I thought why not knit that in honor of my father-in-law. If I thought he would wear it, I would give it to him, but I knit him a hat per his request a couple of years ago. 

Hat # 4 - Look Puppies!

What??? Hat # 4, where is hat number 3? There was a slight problem with it and I had to move on to this one. As you know, time and tide waits for no man and I am no exception… So I am proud to present to you hat #4. 

This hat is the February perk at the shop and it is my own design. I am calling it Pups on Parade.

I used Elemental Affects Fingering for the yellow, red and blue and the black is Rowan Angora Haze. I loved working with the Elemental Affects, it is nice and toothy and it works so well for the colorwork. I found the Angora haze easy to knit with, but it is very soft and when I pulled the yarn through the remaining stitches, it broke and I had to patch it together to weave in the ends. But the pups look so nice and fuzzy and I am happy with them.

I think I should have added more rows in the crown so it was longer and less bunchy, but I still like the hat and I would gladly wear it. 

If you like it too, stop into 3 Kittens and pick up a pattern.