Skip to main content

FO Friday: Hendreary Hat

Ever since I snagged Whimsical Little Knits 3, I've been dying to make this colorwork hat. I bought the yarn back in July during Bijou Basin Ranch's Fourth of July flash sale, but didn't cast on til mid-August. It's a nice, easy-knitting colorwork hat and I'm really thrilled with how it turned out.

Both colors are hand-dyed, but as you can see the Cadet blue color has a lot more variation within the skein, producing a kind of trippy effect! The yak/cormo blend yarn (Bijou Bliss) feels sturdy yet soft when you knit with it, but the real treat is what happens after you give it a good blocking: the yarn relaxes and blooms, becoming even softer than before! My hat actually grew in size to a slouchier version of a beanie. These are the kinds of surprises you get when you throw caution to the wind and don't gauge, but at least this time it was a pleasant surprise.

I'm hoping to wear this tomorrow, when I head up to the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool festival with my pal Lauren. There are some great vendors (among them a few of my clients) and I am expecting a bit of a yarn-and-fiber-blowout. I'll be sure to share my photos with you, if I survive this weekend - besides a day trip to Wisconsin, I'll also be stopping by the 92nd annual German-American festival in Lincoln Square, hitting our neighborhood's block party on Saturday, heading to the farmer's Market on Sunday morning, and browsing the Renegade Craft Fair on Sunday afternoon. It kind of makes me tired just thinking about it!

Pattern: Hendreary by Ysolda Teague (from Whimsical Little Knits 3)
Yarn: Bijou Bliss in Cadet and Steel (1 skein each)
Needles: Knitter's Pride Cubics Special Interchangeables

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Overdyeing A Finished Knit

Even after just a few years of knitting or crocheting, you're bound to have some finished projects lying around that never get worn or used. After 10+ years of crafting, I have more than just "some" or "a few"....and with my ongoing quest to declutter my house this year, I've become obsessed with going through these forlorn projects and making some Big Decisions. Sometimes, they are perfectly fine and just need a new and loving home. Other projects may have not turned out quite right: there might have been some mistakes in the knitting that I thought I could live with, or the yarn was gorgeous but not well-matched to the pattern, or my  taste has drastically changed since I finished making the project...in any case, why on earth did I keep knitting?! Who knows, but I don't feel good about gifting anything that falls into this category to someone else. These projects have been relegated to the "frog pile" (or should I say, frog pond?), to b...

A Finished Sweater, With Cat Hair

After losing Tilly and Robin within a year of each other, I sure didn't think I'd be finding cat hair in my knitting any time soon. But the universe had other ideas. Over the winter, a white feral cat adopted us. I'd noticed her when we moved into our apartment last summer - I would see her hiding in the bushes or sunning herself in the grass when she thought no one was looking. I assumed she was someone's cat until I realized how skittish she was around humans, plus she had a tipped ear, which is a universal sign that a feral/stray cat has been spayed. Neighbors confirmed that she was a feral kitty (descended from several generations of feral cats, in fact), and that she has survived on her wits and whatever food various residents put out for her.  We had some bitterly cold days over the winter, and I just felt so sorry for this poor kitty! I started offering her treats and slowly gained her trust. She didn't even want to come inside our apartment at first, much le...

Australian Superfine Merino Yarn Review & Giveaway

After more than ten years of knitting, I can still have new experiences - even with well-covered territory such as merino yarn! This recent merino experience actually took me by surprise: I've spun with it, I've dyed it, I've knit with it, and I've even crocheted with it...I was pretty sure I knew all there was to know about merino! Turns out, there are four different classifications of merino fiber, sorted by micron count range . At the bottom of the spectrum is Strong Merino , which ranges from 26-22.9 microns; above that is Fine Merino , which ranges from 20.1-23 microns; next up is Extra Fine Merino, which ranges from 20-15.6 microns; and at the very top of the heap is Superfine Merino Wool , with a micron range of 18.5-15.6. If you're into numbers and wondering how these four classes stack up against other fibers you may be familiar with, here are a few for comparison's sake: BFL (Blue-Faced Leicester) has a micron range of 24-28, Cashmere goat down ...