White knits

So far I’ve recently written about my new orange, blue, brown, and red knits. I know. Not really much of a way to organize my presentation. This is the last planned post that plays with just one color. And this time it’s white and sort-of-white.

Didn’t this turn out sweet? It’s Knitwise Design’s Hunting Season Hat. In my version, I’ll have to dub it Snow Season Hat. This is my third time knitting this hat and I’ve yet to knit it in blaze orange. This version is knit in Blue Sky Extra. There’s a bit of story to that. I bought my Extra in New Orleans on a business trip at a wonderful shop in the French Quarter. I knit most of it up in my Minnie. It’s a wonderful Aran weight yarn, in 55% merino 45% alpaca. And the extra must refer to extra soft because it definitely is.

I had extra Extra, so I lengthened my Annie Baker Designs Minnie to an extravagant 69 inches. It’s 11 inches at its widest point.

It was such a pretty thing. “Was” is the operative word. I simply couldn’t figure out how to wear it. I watched some videos on how to wear shawls and scarves. I got advice from friends. I finally decided to wear it once and someone told me it made “a bit of a statement.” Indeed. I frogged it. The yarn had been garter stitched for more than three years when I unravelled it and rolled it into a nice big ball. It was very kinked up but, honestly, I just didn’t feel like going through the effort to wash it and re-skein it. I just knit my hat, kinks and all.

I couldn’t be more pleased with it. Here’s a look at its crown decreases.

Hunting Season Hat barely made a dent in my frogged Extra. So I decided to knit Antonia Shankland’s Hello Cowl. It’s a Ravely freebie.

It knitted up very kinky looking and needed a complete soak to relax into the pattern. The soaking caused the crispness of the patterning to disappear. But I still like it. A lot actually. I cast on 130 stitches rather than 110 to widen the circumference. We’ve had some very chilly pontoon rides on the lake this week. I wore the cowl, some of the time, as Glass Head is modeling it. Sort of a snood.

I know I will get much more use out of this hat and cowl than Minnie. Minnie is a very sweet pattern, though. Don’t shy away from it just because I couldn’t get it to look quite right on me.

Maybe you remember that I totally overbought on my Paintbox Yarns Simply Aran when I knit two Canada Geese for my grandkids?  The pattern said one skein of white. I was making two geese. I bought two 100 gram skeins.  Think about a Canada Goose. Their only white markings are a neckband and their chest. So I had gobs of acrylic Aran weight yarn left to work with. Hats. Knitting hats in warm weather is a thing with me.

This one is Lea Petäjä’s Neulepipo Novita 7 Veljestä. When I put the title into the Google translator it translates as “Knit Hat from Novita 7 Brother.” Novita 7 Veljestä is a yarn from Novitaknits, a Helsinki company. I’m a fan of no-nonsense pattern names so “Knit Hat” suits me.

It’s an excellent combination of meandering cables and nice beefy bobbles. I’ve always enjoyed working a rolled brim when the rolling is tamed by ribbing. And the crown decreases work well too.

My white Paintbox Aran yarn Canada Geese purchase still wasn’t exhausted. This next hat from the goose stash is another Ravelry freebie: Foryla by ArtbyTekora.

Foryla means “whirl” in Cornish. These alternating medallion cables do have a whirl quality to them. They were a boatload of fun to knit. The crown decreases got rather untidy though. But unless someone is filming a drone video above you that doesn’t matter too much. This time, I think that the body of the hat makes up for it. And it’s entirely possible I goofed on following the crown decrease instructions.

For a closing laugh since I know how many of you are not dishcloth knitters, here’s Evelyn A. Clark’s Bathtime Blossoms, a Fiber Trends pattern. I knit mine in sportweight Appalachian Baby Design US organic cotton. Call it a spa cloth if that better suits. This yarn was left over from a baby hat kit I knit up years ago. Such a pretty thing! Using up oddments  is yet another good excuse for dishcloth knitting. If you need any excuses, Dot, now that you’ve begun your journey into dishcloth knitting.

Winter’s last gasps

This is Aimie Alexander’s Antonia’s Scarf. In her Polka Dot Sheep Stumptown DK it looks very refined and totally sweet. Check it out here. In my version, knit in Noro Yuzon, it lost its sweet. It turned out definitely more savory. Yuzon is a 56% wool, 34% silk,10% mohair DK. And where that mohair is hidden, I surely don’t know. My version of Antonia’s Scarf is not next-to-skin soft, but I love the color-changing quality of this yarn. Softness can be overrated. I plan to recommend that the wearer keep it on the outside of her coat.

I cast on 35 stitches instead of 29. Without stretching at all, and with a light steaming, mine is 65 inches long. This thing grows on the needles faster than bamboo. The elongated stitch does wonders for the time it takes to knit a scarf.

Here’s another look.

Spring is finally arriving here in Michigan. We’ve got buds on the trees to prove it, though nighttime temps are in the mid-30’s. But I’m still working my way through a nice wintry mix of knitting.

Here’s a pair of Paved boot cuffs, by TinCanKnits.

I even polished my boots to show them off. Actually, I didn’t. These boots hurt my feet so I don’t wear them. They make a nice photo prop for showing off, well, boot cuffs. My cuffs are knit in Brown Sheep Nature Spun worsted.

Over the years I’ve had great success with TinCanKnit patterns. They are well-tested– before, not after– we knitters buy the pattern. The patterns are usually straightforward enough for newer knitters, but with interesting design features to keep more experienced knitters interested too.

I have never worn boot cuffs. To me, they seem an odd accessory. I gave this pair away. But maybe someday I’ll make a pair for me and see if I take a shine to them.

This next knit is Battlements by Karalee Harding. She describes it as a “slightly asymmetrical, virtually reversible, and completely cozy” unisex cowl in a texture combination “reminiscent of the notched parapet of a castle wall.”

I see the slight assymetry. The reversibility is very nice. And knit up in Blue Sky Extra, a 55% Alpaca, 45% merino Aran weight, it definitely is completely cozy. I knit the shorter version. In the longer version, you knit enough to make a double loop or a nice long dangle.

Glasshead isn’t exactly seeing the notched parapet. But no matter, because this is one excellent cowl.