Purple Slouch Hat

 This hat is one that gets used all the time by the recipient, but somehow I had never blogged. 

Pattern: Sockhead Slouch Hat by Kelly McClure

Yarn: Schoppel-Wolle Zauberball® Crazy

Needles: US 2 - 2.75 mm

I love this pattern so much; it is a classic. I have previously also made in into my original Sockhead Slouch hat and  Firefly hat. In fact, I knit this hat as a backup for the friend who took the original Sockhead slouch hat.

Such a good pattern! Super simple and mindless, and perfect to wear. It does not put a lot of pressure on the head, but it stays on well. And for those with  bunch of hair, it is nice way to keep it all tucked inside.

Chaos Reborn: Hand Dyeing

Do you ever have a super clear vision of what you are looking for, but nothing is quite there? That is what happened when I was in search of some sport to DK weight yarn in "an unnatural green". Fortunately I found something super close, and I am not afraid to experiment.

Here is what we started with: a skein of Mirasol Yarn Kancha that I picked up at Mind's Eye Yarn. One of the neat things about this yarn is that it is a cotton/wool yarn, but instead of being a blend, it has two plies, one of each fiber. Since the wool would take the acid dye and the cotton would not, this meant I would potentially be able to keep some of the visual texture that I really liked about the original skein.

It was definitely in the right ballpark, but a bit more on the unnatural yellow side compared with what I wanted. So I broke out some Jacquard acid dye in Kelly Green (care of Dharma Trading Company).

I did a couple of tests to see how the dye would take. The mini skein to the left is on the Mirasol Kancha, The center is the same dye bath (same concentration and duration) on a 100% white wool yarn that you see to the right. Fun!

Since I was pleased with the test skein, I went ahead a did the rest of the skein, and the final result looked like this:

In the picture here it looks moderately even, but it has some great tonal variation in person. Super pleased!

WIP: Smores Socks

Last weekend we stayed just a few minutes walk from Webs, but somehow I overcame temptation and did not stop in. It helps that I have recently been going through my stash at home, and I have lots of inspiration of things I can make with the stash that I have.

So instead I worked on these toe-up socks in a yarn that I remember was from a hand dyer inspired by smores on a wool sock blend yarn, but that is about it. It is a good travel project and has kept me company through several meetings and lectures.

In general over the last few years, I have been trying to focus on really looking first at what is in my WIPs and stash to see if any of those would match what I want to be making. I still have passion projects, but I find that I am often reinspired by the stash I have when I take this time.

FO: Hallima Fever Dream Shawl

In addition to a pair of socks and some mystic armor panels I also knit my LARP character a shawl. My character is a healer, so the pattern name amused me to no end: Fever Dreams.

 

Yarn: Malabrigo Yarn Arroyo in Cereza and black

Yarn Supplier: Lucky Cat Yarns 

Pattern: Fever Dreams by Kate Burge and Rachel Price

Needles: US 7 - 4.5 mm

The major modification here was to knit it in just two colors, and I extended the honeycomb section because it was my favorite part visually.

I am super pleased by how the whole look is coming together. 

Any thoughts on things I might want to tackle next?

FO: Alpenglow

I wasn't quite ready to return to Rhinebeck in 2022, but I did fall in love with Alpenglow, the 2022 Rhinebeck sweater.  It certainly did not hurt my feelings that this pattern was designed with my favorite: Spin Cycle Dyed in the Wool, which you have seen in many recent FOs from me including the Promises in the Dark shawl, the Shift Cowl, the Hinterland sweater, and the Trigradient Shawl.

Yarn: Spincycle Yarn Dyed in the Wool in Summer Love and Melancholia, Moondrake Kid Mohair in White, and Juniper Moon Farm Patagonia Organic Merino in gray

Yarn Supplier: Black Sheep Knitting

Needles: US 4 - 3.5 mm & US 2 - 2.75 mm

This was the first time I can recall knitting with a mohair yarn like this, but I really love the soft look of the result. Such a great combination of yarns and pattern. The Dyed in the Wool was, of course, a delight. The Juniper Moon Farm Patagonia Organic Merino was really nice, and I would definitely consider knitting with it again.

I also just really loved a ton of the design elements in this one. The short rows for the back of the neck are perfect. I went with the folded collar, and I love the finished look. The corrugated rib at the bottom: delightful. I went fussy to align the color transitions on the sleeves, because I could.

Great knit! And it has become a wardrobe staple pretty much immediately.