Propello

I have been in desperate need of a new winter hat that fits properly. I knew it would be a Woolly Wormhead pattern, and eventually chose Propello (as I love the Propeller hat in Wee Woolly Toppers - this is the adult version)


I knew it would be a quick knit - maybe 3 or 4 hours total knitting time I reckon. I chose the same Colinette Iona that I knit Thomas' winter hat from. Matching hats again? Well I won't be able to get away with it for much longer!

 I chose the same Colinette Iona that I knit Thomas' winter hat from. Matching hats again? Well I won't be able to get away with it for much longer!

It is lovely and warm and not too big. Yipeee

Hats Galore

In an attempt to catch up on what I've made in the last few months here is a little summary of the headgear produced here at Rooknits.

In December, two more Springtime Hats. This one in chunky weight alpaca merino mix from Fyberspates that I got in a p/hop swap.

And this one in some Malabrigo Worsted I purchased on a recent trip to Loop in London.

At the start of October I made Bimple from Woollywormhead's Bambeanies for Thomas from half a skein of Colinette Iona

He wasn't too happy about modelling it, but has been wearing it quite happily since it got colder. Plus the ties mean it stays on!
The colourway is Copperbeach, which meets the boyish but interesting criteria I set myself.

Another Bambeanies knit was Queenie, for a little girl who turned 5 in October. This one is in Noro Silk Garden - and I am very thankful to Caroline who donated the little extra yarn I needed to finish it.

A hat for Evie

My friend Cath asked me to make her a hatfor her little girl to replace a lost one like this from Mothercare.

I evenutally chose McKinley's Springtime Hat


I chose the deliciously soft Malabrigo Worsted, this is made from leftovers from my Brownie Hat and my February Lady Sweater.

It was super-fast to make, it was completed in a couple of hours one evening.

Thomas modelled it before it was sent off to Nottingham - he got the pose just right ;o)

Emergency Hat Knitting

This week has been the week of emergency hat knitting!
Tony’s mum, Pat, had chemo at the start of the year before having a stem cell transplant. (Her Aplastic Anaemia returned in November, and this is the only solution for a long term cure.)
She is now feeling well enough to get out and about and was invited out to dinner on Thursday evening by her neighbours. The chemo made her lose her hair. and although it is growing back, it is still very short and patchy, so she asked if I would make her a “dressy” hat that she could wear to go out for dinner in. Tony asked in a very casual way before I headed off to Skip North last weekend... I said yes, of course. It was only when I returned home on Sunday evening that I found out the meal out was this Thursday - 3 days to knit a hat - and I had no idea what she wanted!
I invited them over for dinner on Monday, and spent the evening searching Ravelry for ideas. She wanted a cream hat, with a brim that detracted from the fact she has no hair. I suggested Odessa but with a roll brim and maybe a flower or something similar. I’ve knit this hat before and knew it would work well in Rowan Calmer, which met with her, “it can’t be wool and it needs to be a bit stretchy” requirement. House of Fraser in Brum has a ball of cream Calmer in the rejects bin for 50p on Tuesday. Bingo!
I cast on during my commute home, knit up to the first or second pattern repeat on Tuesday night before falling asleep. I was convinced I wasn’t going to finish it in time. I knit like the wind on Wednesday; on the bus, on the train, at lunchtime in a cafe. Beading on a bus is certainly interesting! I cast off and crocheted the flower at about 10.30pm on Wednesday evening and delivered it to Pat. (I even remembered to take a picture first). Luckily (a) it fit and (b) she really liked it. Phew.

Pattern: Odessa by Grumperina. Originally from Magknits, now available from Ravelry
Yarn: Rowan Calmer in Cream (no ball band, sorry!)
Beads: Left over from my Swallowtail shawl
Needles: 4mm addi turbos
Started: 24th March
Finished: 25th March
Comments: I cast on 10 more stitches than the pattern recommends and did 8 rows of stocking stitch to make the roll brim before decreasing 10 stitches evenly around and following the pattern as normal.
The flower was a last minute addition, crocheted and completely made up on a 4.5mm hook (it was the first one that came out of the bag!)

Now I can go back to the spinnng! I made a right mess of some BFL last night :o)

A hat from all angles

My new winter hat, the Meret (Ravelry Link) from Woolly Wormhead's Mystery Knit-a-long.

I knit the medium slouchy size and it fits perfectly.

The yarn is a gorgeous deep brown Rowan Pure Wool Aran.

I knit the ribbing on 4.5mm needles and changed to 5mm needles for the crown. I even managed to magic loop the last bit!

I liked it so much I am knitting another, for Tony's sisters birthday - which is tomorrow! Better get a move on....

A problem rectified

I completely forgot about the Yarn Harlot's latest challenge until Delle reminded me in the comments of my last post. What AM I going to do if I come across a politician or head of state if I don't have a sock?
So, I have rectified the situation, but I'm in a quandry.
Here is the sock:

Honeybee by Stephanie van der Linden.
I'm knitting them in the new Malabrigo sock yarn I got from Alice at Socktopus. The yarn feels absolutely divine. The pattern is not nearly as hard as I imagined it would be BUT it is making the yarn pool - there is a big chunk of purple to the right of the first bee. I don't actually mind the pooling, but these are going to be a present for someone else as part of the SoSeSaSw. Should I rip them out and fine a plainer yarn, or should I carry on? Hmm. It's a hard one. Please advise.

In the mean time I have finished another hat

Pattern: Cubba from Wee Woolly Toppers
Yarn: RYC Extra Fine Merino in Blood (about 2/3rd of a ball)
Size: XS
Needles: 3.5mm
Started: 9th October
Finished: 11th October
Comments: I'm sure this will look much cuter when worn! Easy pattern, very fast knit. Job done! Must get it in the post before baby Olivia is too big for it.

The wonder of hats

I have no socks on the needles at the moment. I know, it's amazing. This week I have discovered the wonder of hats.

The seven wonders of hats

1. You get to buy yarn because you are sure you have no red DK yarn in your stash. You only need one skein (like socks, but cheaper).

This is new RYC Extra Fine Merino, rather like the old Jaeger yarn. This is very soft, and machine washable and less splitty that DB Baby Cashmerino. I may have found a new "blanket" yarn.

2. Hats are portable, especially if they are for small people. So you can knit them on the bus/tram/train. Perfect commuter knitting.
3. Ruth writes some fabulous patterns.
4. You can re size them a little to make them fit a whole array of small people that you know.
5. They are a really quick knit
6. You get to go back to the yarn shop to buy another skein of yarn just in case.
7. (The best one) They don't come as a pair so you only have to knit ONE!


Pattern: Waltzer from Wee Woolly Toppers by Woolly Wormhead
Size: Large
Yarn: RYC Extra Fine Merino in Blood - 1 ball with about 10m left over.
Needles: 4mm
Started: 4th October
Finished: 8th October
Comments: I made the large size on 4mm needles rather than 3.5mm in the hope it will fit a "soon to be" two year old. It is plenty big enough, and this design is so stretchy that I wonder if it will be too large (especially as I can nearly get it on my head!)
The yarn is wonderful, really soft but seems quite hard wearing at the same time and it blocks like a dream. The label claims it can be washed at 40 degrees - I haven't tested that yet. Oh and the colours are fab too.
I found a small mistake in the pattern. I messaged Ruth on Ravelry to make sure I wasn't going mad. She responded within about 10 minutes and had fixed the pattern within a couple of hours. Absolutely fantastic customer service. I know she was gutted to find a mistake, but I am extremely impressed with her response.
Let's just hope Hattie is as pleased with her birthday hat (well I couldn't really knit anything else could I?)

So, what to do next? Cast on another hat that's what with the extra ball of RYC EFM I bought just in case. Cubba this time, in the smallest size, for one of the new arrivals. Three baby girls have been born to three different friends in the last 2 weeks! They all need hats - it's getting cold.
I cast on for this hat on the bus to work this morning and am about 3/4 of the way through after about 2-3 hours knitting in total today. This is product knitting to the max!


I think everyone is getting hats for Christmas. Socks are so last season!

However this:


and this


arrived in the post yesterday.
BeautiFuL - Blue Faced Leicester superwash sock yarn from Natalie at The Yarn Yard.
The first one is the first installment of the solid socks club and the photo above definitely does NOT do it justice. It is a reddy brown colour overdyed with teal. In some lights it looks brown with a teal haze, in others it looks like a dark reddy/purple. Truly amazing. Like one of those weird iridescent paint sprays you see on cars. It is set to become a pair of Chalet Socks. I just can't get the pattern out of my head.
The second one is colourway 396. Oranges, greens and yellows. Halloween yarn if ever I saw it! I can't wait to see how it knits up. That is if I can get away from hats.