Hats for the Troops, Handspun Knits, and a Cozy Fall Update

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Hats for the Troops, Handspun Knits, and a Cozy Fall Update

It has been about ten days since my last post, and I am almost too tired to write this today, but I really hate falling behind.

It is an early Monday morning here in Alabama. The boys are eating breakfast, and soon we will be in the car taking the kindergartner to school. He has a short week this week since they are out on Friday. The weather here has been a little cooler the last couple of days, and I am loving every minute of it. The leaves are starting to change and fall to the ground with each little breeze.

This will also be a short week for me since I get to go to DOTMOM in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with my mom. We are lucky that it is only about two hours from here, but it is all the getting-things-ready beforehand that feels so tiring. I am really hoping to complete my honeycomb scarf before we go. I want to take it with me, just in case it is cool there.

I have one finished object to show and one almost finished object. This week, it has been all about hats.

The first hat I made was for a KAL that I mentioned in my last post. I knit this hat using my own handspun yarn. The roving is from Kramer Yarns and is 100 percent wool. This was only the second thing I had ever spun on my wheel, and it definitely shows. It is a little quirky, thin in some places and thicker in others, but I love it. I think that variation is what makes this hat feel so cozy and special.

To Knit This hat, do a 2x2 rib, then 3 rows of purls, and then knit up and do decreases, sew up, and enjoy.

This project used about 140 yards of handspun yarn, and I knit it on US 10½ needles. I started with a two-by-two rib for about an inch, then worked stockinette stitch in the round before beginning my decreases. This one got a little scary toward the end, because after sewing it up I was left with only about a three-inch tail. I was definitely getting a little sweaty as I finished it up.

The next hat is a donation hat. I knit this one for my local yarn store. They are collecting hats to send to the troops by December. The yarn for these hats was donated by different companies, and I was given a ball of Ella Rae Superwash Chunky to work with. Knit Your Bit is happening around the USA in various stores. For the donation hat I am knitting, it is part of the Knit Your Bit effort through Yarns by HPF, and the pattern I am using comes directly from the shop and is simple, warm, and perfect for a men’s hat.

I am knitting this hat using Ella Rae Classic Chunky Superwash yarn. It is a bulky, one-hundred percent wool yarn, and I use one full skein, which is about 121 yards, or 100 grams. The colorway is 01, dye lot 8091. I do not have any of this yarn left in my stash after finishing the hat. For this hat, I did a simple two-by-two rib, then knit until the hat reached seven inches. Once I hit seven inches, I began my decreases. Do you see the cute little candy corn stitch marker? That is one of my creations. I also made a matching candy corn crochet hook to go with it.

This project is made specifically for the troops, and it feels good knowing it will be worn during colder months. The pattern works up quickly, and the finished hat has a nice weight and warmth to it, which makes it a great choice for donation knitting. This hat, I did a simple two-by-two rib, then knit until the hat reached seven inches. Once I hit seven inches, I began my decreases. Do you see the cute little candy corn stitch marker? That is one of my creations. I also made a matching candy corn crochet hook to go with it.

Random Things To Share

I also wanted to share a few random pictures from the week. I guess I will call them my random rants.

I donated three ounces of my ponytail to Locks of Love.

These two lovely pieces were spotted at Cracker Barrel. I love the color combination of the scarf, and when I saw the sweater, I thought, hmm, I could probably make that.