Plum Snow Hat

Plum Snow Hat by MoMo Charlene

With the rains coming through the last of the plum blossoms now blanket my mossy lawn.  I was working on some socks in honor of the asparagus spearing through the ground.  I have this bright grassy Shibui sock yarn and began to make a swatch.  Yet somehow the pink snowy plum blossoms looked so beautiful and I had to make a hat.  I had just the yarn, in the right hue, fluffy and light. It will take only a moment or two (in knitting time) to fashion up a hat in honor of plum snow!  

close up and nearly done

This is a simple lace pattern, but it looks like the branches of the plum trees to me.  Around here we dress in layers and don't necessarily need tightly knitted caps.  Just something to keep the breeze off our ears.  A lace pattern has just the right ventilation.  The longer ribbing covers up the ears keeping them in the pink warm. 

Bird Blind  getting its first layer of glaze with Plum Blossom Snow Hat in back

In the meanwhile, I do need to get back to my real job and finish up some ceramic pieces for an upcoming exhibit.  I will post the pattern for Plum Snow Hat as soon as I finish off the top.  

Still working my way through all the maybe it's a full skein basket.  Just when I thought I had gotten a good handle on the  one skein  here and there I found a stray bag with 3 skeins of different yarns.  I started making hats again.  I have to admit hats are fast and fun to knit.

 Graham by Jennifer Adams

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

drawing by me done in Jo Sharp DK and Red Sharpie

Travel Shawl by Veronik Avery

Now I did sneak in the shawl from Knitting 24/7 by Veronik Avery into my knitting basket.  At first I didn't know what gives with the beginning until I realized that the shawl is not triangular but a square.  This isn't too clear in the photos, but it was actually a nice surprise.  I love the thought that it is useful as a lap shawl or folded for extra warmth.  Once started it goes along with its own rhythm.  In between I will continue to use up my one skein stash.  I already started to think headbands and cowls. Maybe some mittens.  Fingerless gloves.......

Stripe Hat by Me using leftovers

While sorting through my yarn I found a UFO hiding out in the pinks basket.  There was another small ball of Suri Alpaca in ac variegated taupe/rose/ecru wrapping itself around a little bit of blue alpaca yarn.  It was love at first sight.  Plain and simple they knitted themselves together, knit row in blue, purl row in rose in the round.  That way there is no right nor wrong side.  Just put it on and away you go!

Spring Rains Hat

All done! And it's beautiful outside. We had some rain and rain and rain.  I finished this hat just as the last raindrop fell.  The colors remind me of our rolling hills in the spring with velvet green grass, bright poppies and pale blue skies.  Here's to spring.....welcome!

Slipping away the yarn

Here's my reasoning concerning the baskets of yarn I own (hoard).  Most of it is a combination of leftovers from other projects or testing skeins.  Hmmm.  Okay.  I can work with that for a while.  In any case, I am still trying to use up all the bits and "had to have a least one skein." Sometimes I have something in mind, but don't have a pattern.  So I get an extra skein.  You know what I am saying.  You know you do.

The above hat (or it may turn into a bowl) uses up leftover:

Color A:  Debbie Bliss Cashmerino 503 green.
Color B:  Nashua Julia (Honey Gold)
Color C:  Berroco Ultra Alpaca Steel Blue


This is a small hat with a 20" circumference.  A hat about 21" is in parentheses.

Gauge:  4.5 stitches per inch
Needles:  Size 6 - 16" circulars

CO 96 stitches. Connect placing marker to mark start of row.

Rib K2.P2 for 5 rows in color A (green).

Row 1 Color B Knit.
Row 2 Color B Knit.
Row 3 Color C Knit 1.  *slip  1 purlwise, yb, k1.* repeat until last stitch. K1.
Row 4 Color C Purl 1.  *yf, slip 1 purlwise, purl 1.* repeat until last stitch. P1
Row 5 Color A Knit.
Row 6 Color A Knit.

Row 7 Color B Purl 2.  *slip  1 purlwise, yb, k1.* repeat until last stitch. K1.
Row 8 Color B Purl 2.  *yf, slip 1 purlwise,  p 1.* repeat until last stitch. P1.

Repeat  beginning with Color C.  Do this for about 6" ending at row 8.

Decrease to get star pattern decrease.  Since I had  96 stitches= 12x8.  Knit 12, pm. Repeat to end. PM.

Knit 11, ktog, pm.  Do this all around.  Do not forget last marker.

Knit around slipping markers.

Follow pattern until last two stitches before marker.  Knit together.  Continue.

Continue in this fashion following pattern repeat once.

Begin decreasing every row until 8 stitches left. Fasten off in usual fashion. 

Knitting like crazy

Knitting like crazy and loving it except I made an error on the link for PupTent Hat yesterday.  I corrected it.  It's from the blog-Caterpillar Green.  The knitter's name I got right.  I am also doing a hat by Woolly Wormhead call Meret. My brain has become a big ball of yarn and got a little tangled. My Meret was a little small so I will frog it.  I will try again and this time

check

  my gauge 

!

 

Pup Tent by Catherine Gamroth

Still yarn stash busting.  This charming slouchy hat is done in Berocco Vintage Chunky in a moss green.  It is firm enough to hold up the stitches yet soft against the skin.  I had little less than a full skein.  The model is Porcelain Hands by me.  It had come back from a gallery exhibit and the gallery had tossed its box. It came home in the back of a pickup truck with blankets and crossed fingers.  My crossed fingers.  It graces my living area until I can make a new box for it.  In the meanwhile it is perfect for modeling hats. 

trimming overgrown yarn bushes

Burgundy Stripe Hat  my own pattern

Urban Beanie 
 Closely Knits:  Handmade Gifts for the Ones You Love
by Hannah Fettig

Jester Hat by Elizabeth Morrison
found in Ravelry

Most of January was spent knitting hats.  I was trying to use up my stash.  It worked somewhat.  It's like trimming overgrown bushes. Trimmed nearly to the root but by spring there's more branches.  More flowers. Now Herr Reinhart doesn't follow this analogy.  It simply does not compute (he is after all an engineer.)  He just wonders how stash-busting creates more skeins of new yarn.









This hat is knitted with leftovers.  It seems to be a favorite with all.  There is something about stripes.

Patons Classic  Wool
















Love the tips over the ears.

Felted Tweed by Rowan


















Love the pompom.  Stuffed with leftover bits of yarn. 

Using two strands of Encore Dk in a lavender and lime.