Beardo

Does it seem like a halfway decent idea? Yes. Would I wear one? No, but I certainly got a good laugh out of looking at the website for the product.

I'm talking about Beardo, a toque with a detachable beard. I won't deny the item's practical value in the cold, but there's a big hurdle in the form of how one would look in it. How could you not laugh at someone sporting one of these?

Still, there's enough of a worthwhile idea here that the developer might find success. Get the right celebrity to don one of these and who knows?

My suggestion: make a red hat with a white beard--a Santa Beardo--available. Seems like a can't miss prospect to me.

Tiny hats

Knitted Newborn Hat

Yarn: Caron Vickie Howell Sheep(ish) (70% acrylic, 30% wool; worsted weight)
Colors: 0019 and 0012 [Olive(ish)and Yellow(ish)]
Needles: US 8 circulars
Stitches: 54

It's been slow going knitting things this year. The above hat is my first FO of 2011, if that tells you anything. But then, what's this?

Knitted Newborn Hat

Yarn: Vanna's Choice (100% acrylic; worsted weight)
Colors: Rose and Pink
Needles: US 8 circulars
Stitches: 54

Why, it's another FO started and finished today. The pattern for this baby hat disappeared from the web for awhile, but the link is in the project comments on Ravelry.

The hats are going to the same parents (or baby, as it were). Since they're Green Bay Packers fans, I thought I'd make one approximately in the football team's colors. I think it turned out all right and can double as colors for a girl regardless of the sports affiliation, but I've gone back and forth on whether I like it.

Comparing the yarns, Vickie Howell Sheep(ish) seems softer and not as thick as Vanna's Choice. As you can see from having them side by side, the gauge is different too. One for now and to grow on, perhaps?

Knits for a nephew

Knitted Newborn Hat

Yarn: Dark Horse Yarns-Fantasy (50% nylon, 50% acrylic; worsted weight)
Colors: 14 and 16 (Baby blue and Silver Blue)
Needles: US 8 circulars
Stitches: 54

I've finished another baby hat for my brother and sister-in-law. Gotta get a jump on this stuff before the baby arrives, right?

I suppose baby socks are next. And maybe, just maybe, I'll actually knit a baby sweater.

Baby blue

Knitted Newborn Hat

Yarn: Dark Horse Yarns-Fantasy (50% nylon, 50% acrylic; worsted weight)
Colors: 14 and 16 (French blue and baby blue)
Needles: US 8 circulars
Stitches: 54

OK, so there's an FO for the future nephew.

I do believe it's the finest baby hat I've ever made. No ladders, no obvious beginning of the cast on row, and no apparent spot on the right side where I switched yarn. Even the decreases and crown look a little better knit than can sometimes be the case.

I've knit a lot of hats. Getting reacquainted with the baby hat allowed me to put that knowledge to use and make a really nice item. I'm thrilled with it and I expect my brother and sister-in-law will be too.

What I'm less thrilled about is this notion of other people in my family calling me "uncle". When my nephew arrives and is capable of talking, I'm fine with the kid referring to me by that word. I'm not so cool with my dad putting it before my name. Maybe it's the way that he said it--OK, that's part of, if not entirely, the issue--but I didn't like what I heard.

It's sort of like having students address me as Mr. (last name). It doesn't sound right to my ear. That being said, few students do this, and those who do are informed right away that that there is no need to be formal.

This is a hang-up I'm going to have to get over, isn't it?

Tiny

Knitted Newborn Hat

Yarn: Dark Horse Yarns-Fantasy (50% nylon, 50% acrylic; worsted weight)
Colors: 31 and 33 (baby pink and dark rose)
Needles: US 8 circulars
Stitches: 54

The pattern for this hat is lost in the corners of the internet, so this is my improvised version of it. I have made others, but it's been a couple years. Apparently, though, I knit most of the previous ones flat and then would mostly ruin them with the seaming. WHAT?! So this FO is a reminder of how I've improved through the years. It was an easy knit even without a pattern.

For this baby hat I decided to get rid of the garter stitch ornamentation. I'm not opposed to the detail; it just didn't interest me for this project.

My biggest questions were how big should I make it and how should I decrease. I checked a couple of other patterns and didn't come up with a consistent answer on length. I went with 3.75 inches before beginning the decreases. As for those decreases, I began by k7 and then k2tog. I decreased for two rounds and then knit a round. It's standard stuff, so I don't know why I thought I needed to reference anything else.

The pink yarn used for this hat and others is almost used up. (It also went toward a not-so-great pair of baby socks that I couldn't justify actually giving to someone.) I suppose it's irrelevant that I've almost run out because I learned today that brother and sister-in-law will be having a boy around Thanksgiving. I had known when the child would be arriving, just not what its gender will be. Now I can begin knitting for him. Maybe a baby sweater will be in the offing, finally.

Freestyling

I've started knitting a baby hat I've made multiple times. It's been two years since I last made one of them, though. Wouldn't you know it, the pattern is no longer online. It's possible I have a copy of it around here somewhere, but the chances of me finding it in the immediate future are not good. What to do, what to do?

Luckily my blog entries include the number of stitches and needles size. I know what the hat looks like, so I can wing it...up to a point. What I'm unsure of is size. How big should this be before I start decreasing? How do I decrease? (I know in the general sense, obviously. Maybe the question I mean to ask is regarding the type of decrease.)

Anybody have any thoughts or tips? I figure I have 33% finished. That last third could be a real adventure.

Alternate

Seaman's Cap

Yarn: Cascade 220 (100% Peruvian highland wool; worsted weight)
Colorways: 8555 (black) and 7824 (orange)
Needles: US 6 and 7 dpns
Stitches: 102

I wasn't necessarily set on going to this week's knit night until I carelessly dropped a couple stitches in a late decrease row Sunday evening. I know how to pick up dropped stitches but not when I've been knitting them together in previous rows. Now my attendance would be imperative. What was a paralyzing error in my hands became, in no time, another repaired project by the knit night's designated mistake fixer. (Surely there's a better title than that we can give her.) One unexpected bonus from attending tonight was the unseasonably mild weather, which everyone enjoyed on the patio of a Mexican restaurant.

If we were talking artworks, this hat would be called a companion piece to a hat I made my dad. It's supposed to recall the old NFL knit hats I remember from when I was a kid. I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for, but essentially it was something like this:

except there wasn't any writing. (Or so my memory says.) I'm also thinking the color scheme was like what I just finished: black brim, orange body. Unless I'm imagining it, I had one of those Bengals cuffed knit hats with a pom. I've recreated it, more or less.

I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. The colors are a nice contrast in what's sure to be a good football weather hat...unless the Bengals are an embarrassment this upcoming fall and winter. But let's only think good thoughts about the franchise.

On the needles

Not much to speak of today, but I thought I'd mention that I selected my next project. True, it's none too exciting, but it's something that's been on the back burner for awhile and should be done in time well before it's needed.

That's right, it's another hat. Specifically, it's this hat with the colors reversed. For the record, the colors represent the Cincinnati Bengals.

If I can get my act together, which has been a big question of late when it comes to my knitting, I ought to have this done in no time flat and then can maybe move onto something more exotic like toe up socks or something for that future niece or nephew.

Finally

Seaman's cap

Yarn: Cascade 220 (100% Peruvian highland wool; worsted weight)
Colorways: 7617 (gray tweed)
Needles: US 6 and 7 dpns
Stitches: 102

My brother's Christmas 2009 gift is finished and only five and a half months late. Well, better late than never.

I restarted this sucker probably three or four times because I kept twisting the cast on row. After I was well into the brim I realized that I'd horsed up the brim's stitch pattern. (It should be k1, p2. I did k2, p1.) Turns out that the difference looks fine and isn't an egregious mistake.

Like the last hat I knit, this one features my modifications for a better fit. (In short, knit more than the pattern suggests.) As I was well into the decreases I began to worry that I might not have enough yarn. While there's less yarn remaining than I'm used to having with these hats, I didn't cut it close.

What's next? It might be time to knit a hat for me that reverses the colors in the cap linked in the previous paragraph. Whatever I make next, it's a relief to have this project done.

Onward

Breakthrough!

After reassurance that the hat brim looked fine as is, I charged ahead on the hat and have almost knit enough to the point where I'm ready to begin the decreases. Hopefully finishing it will signify that I've got my act together again. It's been some time since that happened.

After that, who knows? Maybe I'll knit another hat that I had the idea for back in the winter but never got around to making. I also have yarn that I've intended to use to knit toe up socks, so that could happen.

But let's get this hat done first. After all, it was supposed to be a Christmas present.

A small update

With the end of the academic year approaching, I haven't had a lot of gas in the tank or time for knitting. The hat that seems like it will never be finished has been in a holding pattern because I'm indecisive whether to knit it the way the pattern calls for or modify it based on my mistake on the brim.

The crux of it is this: the brim is supposed to be k1, p2 rib. I misremembered the pattern as k2, p1. I'm determined not to rip out what I've done because it's taken me this long to get to this point. What would ordinarily be the wrong side will be the part of the brim that's showing. But must it?

If I purl everything for the main portion of the hat rather than do the required knitting, I can sort of correct for that mistake. I'm just not sure if it will look right.

So I'm going to jolt my indecision by getting knit night opinions as to how to make the best of the situation. (Sorry but frogging it isn't something I'm willing to do at this point, even if it is the only correct answer.)

Not what I had in mind

I've finished knitting the brim of the hat that is a late--OK, very late--Christmas gift for my brother. As I mentioned the other day, having knit this pattern several times, I got sloppy and misremembered the stitch pattern.

I was thinking that I might correct for it by purling what is the right side that I want to be the wrong side. It might work, but I'm not sure that the single row of garter stitch, which is there the brim folds up, will be as effective as it ordinarily is.

At this point I'm leaning toward leaving it as is. It'll be a different stitch pattern on the brim than intended, but I don't know that that's such a bad thing. I suppose I could rip it all out, but considering how many false starts this project already had and how slow I've been at knitting it, I figure I better just stick with what I have or else I'll never finish.

Touchdown

Seaman's Cap

Yarn: Cascade 220 (100% Peruvian highland wool; worsted weight)
Colorways: 7824 (orange) and 8555 (black)
Needles: US 6 and 7 dpns
Stitches: 102

It's a Christmas miracle...or just some faster knitting than I expected I had in me. I decided that my dad needed a new hat from me. The one I knit two years ago was a little tight, and I don't think he was wearing it. I decided to make this one with Cascade 220, which I've had pretty good success with in this pattern, and picked Cincinnati Bengals colors for it.

I could have gone two ways with it: orange brim with black crown or black rim with orange crown. Knowing him, I figured he'd prefer the less colorful option of the two, but since I hadn't started it before arriving at my parents' home for Christmas, I asked what he preferred. My instinct was correct, as you can see above. I started yesterday afternoon and had it done this afternoon. Not bad. Plus, sew a Bengals patch onto the brim and it might look like the real deal.

One of the challenges for me in making this hat has been to get it long enough to cover my ears. I've experimented with different yarns and knitting more length than the pattern calls for. This time I think I hit upon the perfect dimensions. For the brim I knit ten rows instead of seven in the k1, p2 pattern after the knit row. Rather than knitting only 7.5 inches to begin decreases, I knit 8 inches. The hat has a snug fit and covers my ears, so it definitely works for me and should for my dad. Hooray!

I still have plenty of yarn left over, so I'll probably do a version with the colors reversed for myself. I don't know that I plan to work on it while I'm here--I'll be returning home before I realize it--but it's good to know that I can whip out one of these in short order. That's also helpful information since one of my brothers requested a hat too. He's currently out of the country and doesn't get back until January, so I can stall a bit more in knitting that hat.

I hope you've had a merry Christmas wherever you may be.

Head in a cloud

Seaman's Cap

Yarn: Shibui Baby Alpaca DK (100% baby alpaca; DK weight)
Colorway: Midnight (BA2955)--Deep Royal Blue
Needles: US 5 and 6 circulars
Stitches: 102

Nothing quite turned out as expected with this hat. While I should know by now that hand dyed=variegated (to some degree), I was expecting a more consistent color throughout. I'm not saying this is a bad thing. The stripes are consistently spaced, subtle, and probably keep the hat from being too boring. I just wasn't anticipating them.

I thought this hat was going to be a perfect fit. Maybe it would have been without the additional couple rows of stockinette I decided to knit, but it has some extra space at the top even when pulled all the way over my ears. Again, I don't know that this earns the hat any demerits. If anything, it means it provides more cover of the nape and won't slip and uncover my ears. (Note to English majors/amateur grammarians: based on the online dictionary definition, I'm using "nape" rather than "nape of the neck" as the latter seems redundant.)

Initially I was afraid that the hat might be a little tight around the cast on row, what with my uncertainty about making needle and yarn conversions to achieve gauge. As it turned out, the hat is very stretchy and fits quite nicely where the folded cuff is.

All of these unexpected results might sound like I'm unhappy with the hat, but that isn't the case. It's the softest thing ever. The softness of the Shibui yarn makes donning the hat feel like wearing a cloud. This is lightweight, luxurious stuff. The hat is knit well, if I do say so myself. There's no ladder, not even a suggestion of one, where I joined in the round. (Using only one magic loop, which I could get away with until the last few decrease rounds, may be responsible for this. Either that or my looser knitting.)

Sure, the hat's a little too big, but I'd rather have it slightly too long than too short. The color should go well with my overcoat and the scarf I've typically been wearing. While the hat feels as though it has zero weight, I expect it will keep my head warm, and that's the main thing that matters.

Brr!

The lowest temperature I saw today was a brisk -14 Fahrenheit when I got up this morning. The weather tool in my Google Desktop sidebar displays -10 as I write this blog entry. To say the least, it's very, very cold. The furnace is doing its job, but I can still feel the chill seeping through the windows. This is a day for long johns, thick socks, and thick, woolly scarves...and those might not be bad to wear inside.

I ventured out to see a movie, swap some screeners, and pick up some groceries, but other than that, this was a day for staying indoors. I don't recall having a day quite this cold in some time. My trusty car started without any fuss. I'm glad my shaving laziness provided a little more protection from the elements. I dug out one of my old, stretched out garter stitch scarves to help cover up. I could stand the frigid air, but I was wise enough not to stay out in it for extended periods. After all, it was so cold that the hairs in your nose freeze when breathing, and the chill drapes you like a gauzy garment.

The cold made this a perfect day for knitting, although I must fess up to taking a lengthy afternoon nap that kept me from finishing my hat today. Well, there's that and the fact that I've been knitting others like it too short.

I've made the pattern a fair number of times, but either I ignored or misread the instruction regarding the length. Actually, now that I look at it to write this, I'm not sure what's "correct".

The pattern says to knit until the hat measures 7.5" from the beginning. Then the crown decreases begin. This instruction doesn't list the measurement for the largest size, but at the start of the pattern it's mentioned that the smallest finished hat is supposed to be 7.5" long with the folded cuff and the largest is to be 8.25". I interpreted the instruction to mean that I should knit until the hat measures 8.25" and then start decreasing. Since the last one I made for myself is a little shorter than I'd like, some extra length is desirable even if it's unintended in the knitting.

For the previous hats I was measuring from the cast on row, but it occurred to me that this makes no sense. After all, the cuff will be folded, so shouldn't I fold it and then measure for the 8.25"? So that's what I've been doing. I've tried it on every now and then, and I think this is the right approach. It should be long enough to cover my ears completely and fit snugly at the crown.

But as I reread the pattern, the finished length with folded cuff is supposed to be 8.25". Mine's already that long before decreasing. This WIP is already longer than the one I made myself about a year ago. Now I'm thinking that I misread the pattern, but it's a good kind of mistake as this hat should be a better fit. I'm curious, though, what you think the pattern writer intends for the knitter to do. As for mine, it should be done and ready for wearing tomorrow.

Cool as ice

While the subzero temperature, wind chill advisory, and a 9:45 p.m. average time getting home this week had me ready to skip knit night, I faced the cold and went. When it's that cold outside, the car's heater is fighting a losing battle. Sure, it was blowing warm, but it didn't feel especially hot in the frigid air.

Maybe it was chill-inspired speed, but I got a lot of knitting done. I'd forgotten how quickly the Seaman's Cap knits up once you get past the ribbed cuff. I started the evening with the needle size switch and stockinette portion. Now I'm nearly to the point where I begin decreasing.

My initial concern of not achieving row gauge was misplaced. The folded cuff will be prominent but not overly large. I've tried on the hat as best as I can with it being on circs. When done it should have a snug fit that's just right.

The one thing I'm not certain of is exactly how it will look. The yarn is hand dyed. In the right light, the cuff appears like it might be striped. I'm not saying this is necessarily a negative but that it isn't quite what I expected. However it turns out, the blues in the hat are well-suited to the color of the light this time of year.

Anyway, I know this isn't earth-shaking news, but at least I had something knitting-related to write about today. Depending how much I stay in tomorrow, perhaps I'll have an FO to show off in 24 hours.

To the high seas

Seaman's Cap

Yarn: Plymouth Encore (75% acrylic, 25% wool; worsted weight)
Color: 1233
Needles: US 7 and 8 circulars
Stitches: 102

With all my stitch-twisting troubles in my last hat knitting attempts, I'd forgotten how quickly I can knock out one of these. Per the yarn's gauge I went up a needle size, which made this thing go even faster. I made the hat slightly longer than the others I've knitted because I wish my hat could be pulled down a little more to cover my ears entirely. Since it's headed to the Christmas at Sea program of the Seamen's Church Institute, I imagine a bit more coverage can't hurt.

It's not a flashy piece of work, but it should get the job done. I think the hat is knit pretty well, so it has that going for it too. There's no ladder where the project was joined in the round. I have that problem sometimes, so I'm pleased that it might even be able to pass as a store bought hat. The cable cast on row looks nice and has a good amount of stretch.

I'm half tempted to get started on another one of these hats for myself, but Christmas knitting must resume. Plus, I'm curious to see how my latest yarn purchase knits up in the pattern, assuming I can make sense of or stand to do the star stitch in it. Looking at the pattern again I realize that I may have made the mistake of not purchasing enough yarn--it calls for one and a half to two 100-gram skeins--but we'll see what happens. Sometimes when buying yarn I misremember yardage and skein weight. Note to self: write it down.

Plus-minus

The hat is coming along nicely now that I'm not twisting the stitches. I cranked through enough rounds during knit night to get me to the point where I was before I had to frog it all. OK, maybe I knit a round or two less because I lost count, but the cuff will be plenty big. Apparently I'm getting a gauge more in line with the pattern as this hat will have a larger cuff than any of the others I've made.

I'm five rows from having to change needles, which means that the hat may be going on hiatus. You see, I'm afraid I may have accidentally thrown out one of my Options needles. Recently I had a US 8 needle and join pull loose from the cable. I've found that one, but I wasn't able to locate the other needle still attached to the cable. In my haste to straighten up, it's possible I gathered the cable and needle along with some newspapers that went in the recycling bin yesterday. I'm going to take another look around my apartment tomorrow, but not finding it this evening is a bad sign.

Let's not do the twist

I'm well aware that my patience has been wearing thin and I've been tired a lot lately. That's not a good formula for knitting when mistakes are being made. (One could make the argument that that's why mistakes are being made.)

Since I was dissatisfied with the newly learned cable cast on that would have taken me twenty years to finish for the hat, I ripped it out and decided to give it one more shot before reverting to the long tail cast on. Funny how actually following the advice I was given made it go much smoother. (I was pulling the last stitch too tight before putting the needle between the two newest cast on stitches.) Can't say I was lightning fast casting on 103 stitches, but I was quicker than my super slo-mo knitting last night. Not being gassed probably helped.

Of course, I've been here before with a cast on row. The bigger trick was joining the blasted thing in the round without twisting the stitches. I laid the needles flat as instructed and made sure that nothing was corkscrewing on me. I joined the first and last stitch and made my way around the first time.

Everything looked good after one round, even if I had to purl the last two together because I'd cast on one too many stitches. The second round was progressing fine, but then I had to deal with the needle and cable doing something funky. The working yarn somehow got wrapped around the cable. As I was untangling it, I accidentally slipped nine stitches off the needle. By now I know that the knitting can still be salvaged. I tracked down a smaller needle, slipped it into the stitches, and was back on my way.

I still had to be careful to make sure that the stitches weren't twisting on the second round. So far, so good. If memory serves, once I have a few rows on the needles, I won't have to be as diligent about this. The cable will likely be tamed by then.

I haven't a clue why I didn't face this problem for most, if not all, of the hats I made as Christmas gifts a year ago. I suppose the good thing is now I've had it explained to me and can identify it on my own. I've learned a new cast on in the process too. It's all good now, right?

Back where it all began

Here's a better look at my brother's scarf. The natural light makes it look a lot better.

Maybe this shot gives a better idea of why the pattern reminds me of waves. Or not.

And one more for good measure.

I started knitting a hat for the Christmas at Sea program and was feeling pretty good about it. I'm nearly done with the cuff, and the color is perfect for its intended recipient, whoever that may be. I was also really glad that I cracked the problem of the Moebius strip effect that was plaguing me earlier in the year. I don't know how I did a bunch of hats without having it happen and now can't make one free of this issue until now...or so I thought.

Of course, there's a reason why I wrote about my positive feelings in the past tense. Looking at the hat now, I'm 100% certain that the 23 rows I've knit will all have to be frogged. I swear I'm not twisting the stitches. I'm going to blame the cable for twisting and making it harder for me to figure out what's happening. As good as I was feeling about the project, I've suddenly lost my taste for it. Ugggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggh.