The Lie of Variegated Yarn

So I go to the yarn store and see this wonderful skein of yarn. It is bright and compelling. The red is overwhelming and I have to have it. I know immediately I will use it to make a hat. I can't wait to get home to cast it on because it will make a bright and compelling hat. I might even have to buy another pair of circular needles because my current set of 3mm needles is being used on one of my many, many WIPs. (probably with another variegated yarn)

Within an hour or two, the thrill is gone. The brightness is muted by the other colors and it is no longer as compelling. Yes, it is still pretty, but it is not how my mind imagined the pattern would be. When the yarn is dyed, that bright red is in one area of the skein so it is concentrated and stands out. it is meant to fool you.

I know this.  

I never remember this in the yarn store.

I believe that there is a zone in every yarn store that temporarily erases this fact from your mind. That zone gets me every time.

However, I still like how this red-ish hat turned out. I just need to tie a string of yarn around my finger so I remember this the next time I go to the yarn store. Unfortunately, that string of yarn is probably colored in a bright and compelling color.

 

Bright Lavender

This picture does not do justice to how bright this lavender yarn is. It is bright, bright! This picture almost looks blue instead of lavender. But it is noticeable on your head. This is three-thickness brim hat, not a Musselburgh hat but it will still very warm. I knitted the brim in stockinette for 9 inches, folded in half and joined it to make a 4.5 inch cuff. Then I continued knitting for another 7 inches before starting the decreases for the crown. There is probably many patterns for this on Ravelry, but I made this pattern up on my own. I am calling it the Dane hat.

I have read a couple of articles that we are going to have a harsh winter. I hope so but this past winter was very warm. We had hardly any snow and the ski resorts really suffered. I am ready for a thick warm hat day! It is 90 today.

Light Blue to Match ME!

I hope this doesn't sound too boastful, but when I put this hat on, my eyes popped out. It is almost the exact blue of my eyes. It is really, really hot now (in the high 90's -- ugh!) so I can't wear it. However, I can't wait for cold weather so I can don this hat! 

If you know me at all, you know I hate hot weather, so I want the cold weather to come to Colorado as soon as possible no matter what color the hat is.

 

Escape to Rocky Mountain

It has been so insanely hot here in Colorado that we decided to escape to Rocky Mountain National Park. It is only about 60 miles from our home. We met our son here on Sunday and drove up to the higher altitudes in hopes of temperatures lower than the high 90's and low 100s. 

Well, kind of. The temperatures at the top were in the low-80's. But the scenery was worth it. The elevation is around 12,000 feet.

It was also our son's birthday, so it was a wonderful way to spend the day. These pictures were taken at Rainbow Curve on Trail Ridge Road.

Even the elk in Estes Park thought it was too hot! Can't wait for fall.

Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright

 

"Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright" is the first line of a poem by William Blake. I have always been a fan of tigers. They are so beautiful and so fierce. So the closest I want to be is the yarn in this hat. This is the Opal line of sock yarn from KickPicks, and it was perfect to make a Musselburgh hat. Still on my hat knitting kick.

Chick-a-dee potholder

 After listening to a chickadee in the tree outside my living room all week, I finally had to knit her into a potholder. Instead of black and white though, I used light blue and navy and really liked how it turned out. I did it in double knitting and cotton. Sing away little bird!

More scrubbies

 Yeah, I made more. Lots to sell at the Christmas craft fairs and gifts for family and friends.

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/garter-stitch-round-scrubby

Also making some face cloths

 While on my kick for quick and shorter projects in between my hats, I have also been make face cloths or dish cloth, depending on where you use them. This is my own pattern, but since it is similar to many other pattern, it is free. I change the colors of the yarns as the mood hits me, so have fun.

Using a cotton light yarn, cast on 40 stitches, place marker, cast on 1 stitch, place marker, cast on 40 stitches (81 stitches).

Row 1: K.

Row 2: K to marker. Slip marker (sm), purl 1, sm, k to end.

Row 3: k to 2 sts before marker. SSK, sm, k1, sm, k2tog, sm, k to end.

Row 4: K to marker. Slip marker (sm), purl 1, sm, k to end.

Repeat rows 3 and 4 until three sts are left. K 3tog. Cut yarn and pull through remaining st. Weave in ends.

Back to some scrubbies

 I needed some quick and colorful projects that I can complete in a day. I have been making lots of hats so I complete two or three a week but I wanted to do some more. So here are some scrubbies I have completed. I could make three in a day but I usually only do two at the most. The pattern is included below. It is fast with one color, variegated yarn, and two colors.

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/garter-stitch-round-scrubby

Hot Pink Hat!

Hot pink sock yarn in superwash. This color is ever brighter in real life. 

 

 

A Slight Break from Hats

 

I got back in touch with an old friend from my working days in law firms and we met for coffee. I remembered that she collected owls, so I took a break from my hats to make a gift for her. It is made with brown and cream cotton yarn in a double knitting pattern. It really turned out cute. She loved it!

A Purpose for the Mini Skeins I have been holding onto.

In my stash, I found a series of mini skeins that I probably bought several years ago. It was in shades of navy, purple, blue, lavender, and rose. I would not be surprised if I had that little packet for more than 10 years. They were probably fairly expensive. I was working at that time so I would have been a bit more likely to spend it.  The cool part is that by turning the hat inside out, I have two different hats.

 

A Bucket Hat to Honor my Wookie

The yarn I used for this bucket hat is the same colors as my sweet Wookie who crossed the Rainbow Bridge last August. I still miss her every day

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I may have OCD when it comes to my knitting

I have noticed that once I get into a 'groove,' I continue knitting those projects one after another until the next project starts. I have continued this pattern - so to speak -- with bags, booties, socks, potholders, dish clothes, etc. As I get older, I would rather just knit while watching TV or listening to a book on tape. 

Right now, I am on a kick for hats. Several are the popular Musselburgh hat, but some are my own design. I hesitate to post a pattern because I often use an existing pattern and modify it to my own liking. So anyway, I am going to start posting several of the hats have been making over that last six weeks. 

Stay tuned!

This hat is made with a wool superwash yarn in maroon with bits of blue intertwined. One of my friends got this one so give to her daughter.

 

Can't Forget a Musselburgh for my Hubby!

I actually made this Musselburg hat first but only posting about it now. It is made with a worsted yarn that I found in my stash, so I don't know when I got it or how long I have had it. It started me back a obsession of knitting it over and over, and fortunately, finding lots of yarn in my stash.

This is a variegated dark navy, dark green, and olive, so it is a perfect color for guy who mainly wears flannel shirts. We keep our house fairly cool since it is a solar house so it is common for us to wear hats in the house. He even wears hats to bed (remember the poem "mama in her kerchief and I in my hat, just settled down for a long winter's nap"?). 

 

Here is the link for the Musselburgh

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/musselburgh

A Musselburgh hat for my brother

I finally got to have lunch with my brother a week ago, so I gave him this Mussellburgh hat (https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/musselburgh). It is green, black, rust, and gold. He wears a hat every day because the warehouse works in is cold in the winter. He love the four-layer ear cover for that reason. Actually, he should retire but he likes working. How crazy is that? I have need retired since 2016.

Brian and I are only 11 months apart and have been close forever. When I was 19, I went to a psychic. She told me that he and I were tied throughout time and have been reincarnated together many times. The time before this was during the Bore Wars of 1899 and 1900. We were related there as well, but not necessary brother and sister. It might have been parent and child, husband and wife, or even grandparent and grandchild. Apparently, we were tortured and killed in that war, and we were sent to this life together to 'heal.' Now I don't know how true all this is, but I always loved the story. And I have to admit that Brian and I have had relatively easy lives. We grew up on a farm in South Dakota with good parents. We had two older brothers but it was us who were close. My mom said that we even had a language of our own when we were young. We never fought and always had each other's back. In some ways, we even married people who are similar to each other. Brian went into the service and I moved to Colorado as young adults. Mom was disappointed because she wanted Brian to move back to South Dakota, but instead, he moved to Colorado to be close to me. He even lived with for a year before finding his own place.

We are both now in our 70's and we are all that is left of our immediate family, with both our parents and our two old brothers gone. We still have our spouses, and we both had two sons who are about the same ages, and are good friends. Maybe that physic knew something after all.

More MIT Hats!

I had to bring my kitty Omi into this tread, but she doesn't seem to be that happy with it. But she was a good sport anyway. This was actually a baby hat for a friend.

I made one for a friend of mine who lives in Washington State. Since she is not here in Colorado, and my son is visiting for the weekend, I made him model it.

This Might Be My New Favorite Hat!

 

I love how this hat turned out. I purchased this yarn from a sale table in my local yarn store just because I loved the marbled purples (my favorite color) and white colors. It is a wool DK made on size 6 needles. I started at the top and increased until I had 128 stitches. I worked in stockinette for 9 inches. Then I worked 1x1 ribbing until I ran out of yarn. It turned out perfect!

I am back in a hat-making kick and am making MTI hats for friends as well as just lots and lots of hats. Back to the needles.