Justin Sock Yarn Hat

I opened my sock drawer the other day and noticed that I have knitted so many socks over the last 20 years that I could never wear them out.  Then I looked at my sock yarn stash and realized that I could make at least three times as many socks as I have now. Lovely colors, soft feel, gentle textures, but I could never knit all them up.

So I decided to use the yarn to do something other than socks. I love hats – which I have more of than even socks --  but I have a little side business of selling hats, so it made sense. I have seen pictures of these slouchy hats and have even seen some patterns for them.  I worked on the design to be as close to what I want and finally think I got it right.  I used my sons as models. One thing they wanted was the hat to fit closer around the ears. So I extended the use of the smaller needles into the body of the hat which is why you don’t switch needles after the cuff.

I always name my hats after people in my life. I named this hat after my friend Justin from work. He looks good in hats.  I also needed a name that could also be unused for a woman’s hat.  

Size:                       Men’s  (women’s) size. Hat has a lot of stretch so one size fits most

Yarn:                      Any kind of sock yarn

Needles:              Circular needle size 2 (2.75mm) 16”

                                Circular needle size 6 (4mm) 16”

                                DPN Size 6 (4mm) set of 4

                                Yarn needle

Gauge:                 5 stitches/inch in stockinette, size 6 needles. (Gauge is not critical but should be close.  I have used this pattern with size 5, 6, and 7 needles, with success.) I always start with size 2 needles for the brim.

Piano Fingerless Gloves

Fingerless gloves may be in fashion today, but they are actually from the Victorian era. At those times, young ladies were expected to learn to play music and sing, as well as needlecrafts such as knitting, embroidery, and sewing. To keep her hands warm but still free to play the piano, fingerless gloves were not only fashionable, but functional.  

A few years ago, these gloves came back into fashion as computer gloves.  In order to stave off the chills of low thermostats in the winter or air conditioning in the summer, these gloves made working on computer keyboards a must. 

Today, they are also called texting gloves, allowing thumbs to racing across cell phones keypads while keeping hands warm.  No matter what you use them for, they are a delightful accessory to any wardrobe.

Yarn: Vanna’s Glamour Baby Yarn, 1.75 oz./50 g (202 yd/185 m) 96% Acrylic, 4% Metallic Polyester

1 Skein in Onyx and Diamond

(Black and white sock yarn works well too)

Needles: Size 3 (3.25 mm)

Gauge: 30 stitches = 4 inches (10 cm)

Getting Ready for the Holidays

I think I get ready for the holidays all year! The holiday store opens next week at Southwest Plaza (Denver, CO) and my hat stand is already set up. The store is named American Dreamers - Holiday Artisans. It includes merchandise from over 100 artisans from Colorado. Ken built me a hat rack a couple a years ago and it displays my hats impressively.  The store opens on November 1, with the grand opening November 5.

The good part is that this year, the store is close to home. In the past, it has been in Castle Rock or Cherry Creek, so it is a drive to get back and forward. I can now go by and check on it more often.

Back to the needles

Why Don't Cats Like Hats?

I don't understand my Neko. I made him this cute little jester hat and he doesn't seem to like it. It's a fun design, pretty colors (who could go wrong with pink and purple?), the fit is great, it is perfect for Halloween, and it keeps his ears warm. I guess he just doesn't have a sense of humor.

Back to the needles.

Gotta Love Colorado!

It was 80 degrees yesterday. It is 60 degrees today. By tomorrow we are supposed to have 8 inches of snow. I love Colorado. I am getting all my errands done today so I can just knit hats tomorrow watching the hills and trees become white. I can't imagine the snow will stick because it has been so warm, but I don't plan on going anywhere anyway.

Back to the needles.

I have had it with summer!

I have never been a fan of summer. Even as a kid, I would rather be in school than have summer. That probably came from my farm life, where summer meant cutting cockleburrs out of the soy bean crop. We would be sent to the bean fields early in the morning before it got too hot, but in South Dakota, it was always hot. It would cool off to the 90's and 80's at night, so mornings were still miserable.

The good part is that football has started, so it won't be too long before the cooler weather will come. However, I hear it's supposed to stay in the 90's all this week. Ugh!

So I have about six projects going at once here on my sofa. I was working on a navy blue felted bag with a rust and cream motif, but it is getting too big in this hot weather. The yarn is I Love this Wool, only because I have enough of it in my stash.

I changed to a beautiful shawl project in the latest Vogue Magazine. I am using Mirasole Nuna which is a wool and bamboo blend in a blue gray shade. Very beautiful

The Adele Button Felted Hat

I named this hat after my mom who passed away in 1992. She taught me how to knit before I can remember, and I have been doing this ever since. She would love to see the resurgence in handicrafts in the past several years.

The Adele Button Hat

Material:

1 skein Paton’s Classical wool (approx. 220 yards felting wool)

Circular needles size 10 (5 mm)

Double-pointed needles size 10 (5 mm)

Button or pin

Felted hat form or bowl approximately 22” circum.

: Not critical – size is achieve with felting.

Ian's Hat

I learned a long time ago that combining colors is not always my strength. I tend to stay with blues and purples and rarely go into the yellows and greens. So when my son's friend Ian wanted a hat with burnt orange and forest green with a checkerboard pattern, I just went ahead with it, even though I would not put these two colors together on my own. See? Colors are not my strength. I think it looks wonderful.

 

Materials:
Encore Worsted Weight 
   Amount: 1 skein of burnt orange (A) and forest green (B)S

   Knitting Gauge: 4 stitches = 1" on #9 needles

Needles: US8 and US9 circular 16-inch; one set US9 DPN or size needed to obtain gauge
   Stitch marker

 stitches = 1" on #9 needles

Chroma Slouchy Hat

  

Have you tried KnitPicks Chroma yarn?

I ordered this yarn because I liked the colors, but oh my!! the softness. I have read that some people don't like it because it has some shubs and thin areas, but in this patterns, that only adds to the character of the hat.

Materials:
Chroma Worsted Weight in Midwinter
   Amount: 1 skein: 198 yards/100 gram ball
   Content: 70% Wool, 30% Nylon
   Knitting Gauge: 4 stitches = 1" on #9 needles

Timing is not everything

Ok, so my timing is not great. It's 3:08 a.m. and I decided to create a blog. I have thought about doing this for awhile, but alas, after writing all day at work, I only want to knit. However, I do want to start doing recording my knitting project and designs. Plus now that I am not working, I may want to write in a blog more often.
But now I am tired. Hopefully, I can get some sleep and work on this in the morning.