Smoke on the Water

I started this hat as a potential Christmas present back in November, but it fell by the wayside without a definite recipient and I just finished it up last night. When I woke up this morning to snow, I thought that I'd be able to get a nice, wintery outdoor photo, but it wasn't light enough at home and there was N-O snow at the office, so indoor mirror photos are going to have to do the trick.

The pattern is, of course the Yarn Harlot's Unoriginal Hat (there are 592 finished versions on Ravelry), and the yarn is Blue Moon's Leticia, in Rook-y. I ran out of yarn on the crown, which surprised me, and required some modifications at the top--switch to smaller needles before the last cable cross, eliminate the plain round before the last cable cross, and then decrease faster. I don't think it looks bad, but you can judge for yourself in my extremely lame behind the head photo below:

I have 20 grams left of the skein that I knit my first hat out of, so either the yardage varies a lot (I'm pretty sure that weight is secondary to yardage for BMFA) or this skein was short, or the first skein was long. I tried to deliberately knit this hat looser (once I knew it would be for my giant head), so that could also be the issue, and since I was able to finish the hat without a drastic mod, it doesn't really matter to me. If I'd run out a little earlier, I'd be plenty mad, and I am a little sorry that I don't have any leftovers--this is gorgeous yarn, both in touch and in color.

Two Toe Tuesday: House Socks in the Nick of Time

It's been over two months since I last finished a pair of socks. This wouldn't seem so surprising if I hadn't started three pair during that time, which means that I had FIVE pair of socks on the needles at once. I will list them, as proof: House Socks, Poppies, Mr. Stripey, Stripey Sock, School Bus Socks. Let us not speak of pair #6, the Pink Footies, which haven't seen action since November 2006 and should really be ripped out because I don't like the way they look and I don't want to knit socks on DPNs ever again.

It's quite a relief to be finished with this pair, and not just because I wasn't sure I'd ever finish another sock. The pattern comes from Cat Bordhi's New Pathways for Sock Knitters book, it is the Hearth & Home Eyelet Anklets in the Ridgeway Sock Architecture.

What I don't like about the pattern: I don't love the eyelet/ribbing trim at the top of the sock, and I found the pattern very frustrating--not because it was difficult or counterintuitive, but because I had to shuffle through a stack of photocopies every time I needed to move from one section to another. This drives me totally bananas, because inevitably I end up missing a page and then I have to dig out the book and figure out what's next.

Also, in order to ensure a proper fit, a gauge swatch is pretty important, and I prefer not to swatch for socks. The swatch determines the "magic numbers" that determine the number of stitches you start with, so if you start the toe without doing a swatch, weird adjustments may be necessary. The solution is to use the same yarn repeatedly, or to have a better understanding of the architectures so that I can fudge without referring to my Calculus textbook (especially since I threw it away 15 years ago).

What I do like about the pattern: The sock looks weird off the foot, but it fits really, really well and I think it looks good. The socks are for me to wear around the house, and I like the little bit of pattern on the top and the cushy heel. Despite all of my complaining, I do like to learn new techniques, and the concept behind Cat's sock architectures is fascinating.

What I like about the yarn: This is the first time I've used Melody by Jojoland, and I really like this yarn. I love the long color repeats, and how the two strands blended together in the socks. I think it would be interesting to use strands of two different colorways. I had no issues with splitting, and only minor problems with tangling that were entirely my fault.

I haven't washed & blocked the socks, because we still don't have heat--it looks like we need a new furnace, not just a new part for the 16 year old furnace. This would have been very good information to get on day 1 of the furnace outage, instead of day 6. Anyway, I'll wash & block later--for now, I need to put those puppies on!

Last night I cast on another Unoriginal Hat, again in Leticia, but in the Rook-y colorway:

I love the color of this yarn, too, and it seems a little less thick/thin than the last skein. Maybe the winding twisted the yarn? I may have used more tension when winding the first skein, although this one looked fluffier to begin with. In any case, I'm looking forward to another quick knit--in between working on all of those socks.

Quick Like A Bunny

Wow, this hat was quick to knit. Fixing "the Problem" wasn't too tough, either, and I can't tell which cable it was that was fixed. The hat is pretty snug on my giant head, but it doesn't pop off or anything. I haven't yet washed & blocked it, so I'm not sure how much it will grow--this is definitely waiting until the heat is back on. In any case, the person I'm planning to give this to has a smaller head than I do, so I think that the fit will be fine. The closer-up photo below makes the hat look taller than it is, probably because it's over a Pyrex measuring cup with a ball of yarn on top of it. The color is pretty true in both of these photos, they were taken in a sunny spot. Yesterday's photos were taken with the help of a full-spectrum bulb, so the colors look a little different (redder).

Although I wish that the thickness of the yarn was more consistent, I do really like the yarn and the finished product. If I believed that the yarn would come in time, I'd probably order a few more skeins to knit up for Christmas. I keep having to remind myself that I already have enough holiday knitting on my plate, and that late November isn't the time to add more!

This is What Cables Look Like (Right??)

My long-awaited Ravens landed on my doorstep yesterday, and I cast on the Yarn Harlot's Unoriginal Hat immediately. I'm planning to make a couple of these for Christmas, and I'd like to get one of them in the mail fairly soon, so the quickness of the project really appeals. Plus, it's a c-u-t-e hat without being cutesy or dull.

So far, the hat looks great (I'm almost half-way through), right? What's that you say? You'd like to see the other side? Here it is:

Hmmm. . . that doesn't look quite the same, does it? I dropped a stitch, and it fell quite a ways--six rows (or halfway back to the cast-on edge). I think I must have dropped it when I was moving to bigger needles so I could try it on, that's the only explanation. I'm trying to decide whether it will be quicker to rip or fix, I'm leaning towards fix at the moment. Since this yarn is unevenly spun, the stitches aren't super crisp so the fix should be easy to hide. However, the unevenness also makes it tough to see if I'm picking up the right stitches. Either way, hopefully this will be done tonight!

The vitals: Leticia Yarn by Blue Moon Fiber Arts in the Valkyrie colorway. The yarn is very, very soft and I love the colors, although I wish that it was a little more evenly spun. Size 10.75 (7.0mm) Addi Natura 16" needles, with help from an longer INOX pair that doesn't magic loop well.

p.s. Thanks for the warm furnace thoughts. Hopefully it will be fixed on Monday or Tuesday, it depends on how long it takes for the part to arrive.