Wednesday, February 08, 2012

A surprise hat and a few cowls

surprise hat 1

It is a testament to how little time I have had for blogging lately that it is the second week in February and I am only just now getting around to posting about the hat that I made Lawson for Christmas.  Every weekend I kept forgetting to take pictures of him wearing it, so much so that I finished another two knitting projects in the meantime... so we had a little photoshoot this weekend and now I can finally share!   I knit this hat using the Knotty but nice pattern from Knitty and I love how it turned out... this was the first time I had made traveling cables like this (my term - is that what they are really called?) and it was surprisingly easier than I expected.  Details of my project are on ravelry here.

surprise hat 2

The best part about this hat was that it was a surprise!  I had shown Lawson the pattern and he helped pick out the yarn, but he had no idea that I was actually making it for him for Christmas, and was totally shocked when I gave it to him.  Mostly I was able to knit it in carpool or when he was out of the house, but I ended up frogging it a bit because I thought it was too small, and so I was still knitting it up to the last minute whenever he would go out for an errand (or even sometimes when he was in the other room).  I felt pretty sneaky!

looped loop 1

After that, I had been really wanting to make myself a cowl, and I found this pattern (looped loop) on Ravelry and thought it would be perfect.  I really love how it turned out, it has a twist in it (a full twist, not a moebius half twist), so when you wrap it around your neck twice it loops around itself perfectly and there is no twist.  I didn't think I would like it as much wrapped just once, but I am finding that I also like it that way... it is super comfy and I have been wearing it all the time since I made it!  Ravelry details here.

looped loop 2

I decided to continue right on and make the honey cowl next, because I got this gorgeous, soft Manos Maxima yarn as a christmas gift and it just seemed like the perfect pattern for it.  I probably should have gone up a needle size to get better drape in the fabric, but I actually like that it is pretty dense fabric and really warm.  I haven't actually worn this yet since it has been pretty warm here, but it will be great for outdoor adventures or for trips back east in the winter.  I wanted it to wrap around twice but still fit pretty snugly, so I used somewhat fewer stitches than the large size - I think I used 210 but I don't actually remember;  Ravelry details here.

honey cowl 1

The yarn really is as soft and delicious as it looks - I think I may have to get more of this to make other projects!  It reminds me a lot of Malabrigo worsted but doesn't seems as pilly, which is nice. 

honey cowl 2

I actually may make myself yet another cowl - more of a single wrap/neckwarmer type - but for now I have cast on a pair of lacy socks which are pretty fun!

And I have been working on a few sewing projects too, but don't have any photos of them yet.  While I am not looking forward to getting up an hour earlier, I am looking forward to daylight savings time and the possibility of it actually being light any time that I am home during the week so that I could have time to take photos!

10 comments:

  1. I love the purple scarf. The hat is cool also and that he was surprised is really neat. I cant knit to save my life but I can sew and crochet.

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  2. Oh Kate the hat is gorgeous, I love the colour! The cowls look wonderful too, I love wearing loopy scarves like that, so snuggly :)

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  3. Love the hat and the cowls are delish. That Manos yarn- gorgeous color and looks sooooo cozy! I have some of theirs in worsted weight I have been hoarding...so pretty! Just home from Disney and was working on a cowl on the plane.... :)

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  4. Replies
    1. Oops, sorry to use knitting jargon - it means taking out the stitches :)

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  5. Look at you Miss Knitting Queen. All the projects look great. I am loving knitting too but have not grauated to anything more than a honey cowl, so far.

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  6. I'm totally hooked on cowls right now too! I just made the honey cowl, but because of the yarn I used, it smooches down a bit more than I'd like (you can see what I mean here- http://twyste.com/2012/02/08/yarn-along-and-free-heart-knits/). I may try it again with the madelinetosh yarn. I love the Malabrigo yarn that I used, but it just doesn't work the same.
    Also, I put together a site that has some of my favorite free knitting patterns on it.... which, right now because I'm hooked on cowls, happens to include a lot of cowl patterns! If you'd like to check it out, here's the link- http://freeandsimpleknittingpatterns.blogspot.com/
    By the way, I love the title of your blog! Very fun.

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  7. You've got the term right: traveling cables is what they're called! The hat looks amazing. I just love cables. Both of your cowls are beautiful, too!

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  8. The honey cowl looks so soft and cosy!

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