Nostalgia: that feeling we get when a song or smell whisks us back to a previous time and allows us to revel in joys past. I was looking around my house for some of my old knitting and sewing supplies, and I happened upon this gem.
This is an old ball of yarn I used to crochet a bag. I think I was in high school, but all I really remember about it is that it took forever. Now I think, “No wonder it took forever, this yarn is tiny!” The older, wiser me wishes someone had told me to buy bulky instead of sport weight yarn to make a bag out of. I am going to be making some baby booties out of this to donate to charity.
Last week I bought two pairs of bamboo circular knitting needles for two different projects. I struggle with the metal circulars because the cord is stiff, and the stitches fly off the needles which results in many a dropped stitch. I started a hat for my mother that I want to finish this week. It took three tries to get past casting on and the first row, because I was casting on too tight and the bamboo doesn’t have enough slip to forgive tight stitches. I literally couldn’t move the stitches on the needles. Needless to say, I was very frustrated, until a friend advised that I cast on with larger needles then resume on the bamboo circulars. That worked very well.
Now that the knitting is moving along, I don’t think I am ever going to buy metal circular needles again. The bamboo is light, and has the right amount of slickness. It holds on to the stitches, but they are still easily movable. They are definitely worth the extra money. I bought mine on sale, but they are normally $10-$13 in the craft store.
I am doing this hat pattern. You can see images on the ravelry page for it here. My mom wants a hat that will warm her ears so since this one is double thick, and longer than usual, it should do the job. I am using Wool-Ease yarn, and I am loving it so far! It is warm and soft, and the cream color my mom chose is so rich and luxurious looking! I can’t wait until I can make something for myself with it. Here is where my hat is currently:
I have finished the 2.5 in of ribbing, and I am working on the increase round.
I find that in knitting there is often a wavering between frustration and delight, despair and excitement. That is most definitely the case with this hat. It is working up fast because I am using worsted weight yarn, and I can already tell it is going to be an extremely warm hat. In hindsight, It would be nice if I could double knit this hat and just whipstitch the bottom together instead of having to go back and knit another one. That would get complicated since its cabled, but it would save time.
I am working on some other projects as well, but they have been pushed back because my mom’s birthday is soon and I am making her this hat, and these socks. At the moment, I am trying to decide which colors of palette yarn from Knit Picks to buy. Instead of being white and blue, I want the socks to be the colors an actual microprocessor would be, which are green on green, or green and gold.
I am trying to choose between using the color in the top middle as the MC, and the one to its right as the CC or using the same MC and the one in the bottom left as the CC. I am leaning toward the first option, please comment below if you think one would look better than the other.
Finally, a teaser to make you drool. This yarn is gorgeous from Darn Good Yarn. It is a recycled silk yarn with gorgeous colors! I can’t wait until I can afford to splurge on some. This is my favorite ball on the site:
thedivaswork 