Happy Holidays!

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It’s April 22nd and this is getting a bit old. The dock is in the water. The pontoon boat is too. The paddleboat is bobbing around staked to a pole in its usual spot. And its snowing. Snowing.

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Steve bundled up and took a spin around the lake anyway.

So, this wintry weather is a good excuse to feature some nice, warm, knitted hats and earwarmers. Here’s Molly, a great free pattern on Ravelry by Erin Ruth. More than 3000 Mollies have been knit and posted on Ravelry project pages.

Molly

Great texture. Great slouch. My only modification was to try a folded cast-on edge instead of straight 1-by-1 ribbing. It worked out well, but the extra effort wasn’t really needed.

The crown decreases are nicely organized.

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My Molly is knit in one of the truly great discontinued luxury yarns: Classic Elite’s Princess. It’s 40% wool, 28% rayon, 15% nylon, 10% cashmere, 7% angora. Yipes! It’s wonderful and if you can find any, buy even a colorway you would otherwise spurn–it’s that nice to work with.

I had a bit of Princess left in this leaf colorway. I also had one skein of Princess in “regal teal” and a hankering to try Andi Satterlund‘s “Cabot.” Now, Cabot’s supposed to be all one color. But it’s a yarn eater and I my one skein wasn’t going to quite be enough.

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So, I tried a two-toned Cabot. I have to say I’d have liked the finished hat much better if I hadn’t gone my own way on this one. It’s an excellent pattern and my version doesn’t do it justice.

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Also while we are thinking of snow even though it’s almost May, I’ve been busy knitting more Calorimetries, that great free Knitty pattern by Kathryn Schoendorf. This is Calorimetry #17,464 on Ravelry,

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It’s knit in Plymouth Yarns Boku. One skein, almost no leftovers. Great earwarmer.

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Here’s #17,578, in another Boku colorway:

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And, in between is Rav’s Calorimetry #17,467, worked up in a yarn I’ve not used before, Simpliworsted by HiKoo by skacel. Excellent yarn. I don’t know what’s up with the double “by” but it’s a great worsted. I was very much drawn to the olive green colorway:

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Here’s another view that conjures up a tropical leaf:

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While we’re not thinking summer, or even spring, I’ve also been busy with a few Earbuds by Knitwise Design:

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Bulky-earbuds

The yarn is from my stash and is so totally unavailable anymore there’s really no sense in identifying it for you. But here’s a better view of just how cute and useful Earbuds are. They are knit in two shakes of a lamb’s tail. And they’re useful in the pocket of every winter coat you have.

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More Calorimetries

colerimetry I know. I just can’t enough of these Calorimetries. These are my three new ones, shown on my glass head at the start of this thumbnail gallery. Plymouth Yarn Boku is my favorite choice for Calorimetry. One skein knits one Caloriimetry, with just enough yards left that you don’t start worrying you’ll run out.  I really should knit one more. That would make an even dozen.

I’m not the only one who’s so keen on knitting these. Ravelers have knit 16,193 Calorimetries and posted them on Rav. Figuring that many people knit them and eschew posting about it, I’m thinking there must be zillions of these keeping ears warm all over the world. Kathryn Schoendorf designed a real classic when she designed this headband.

Calorimetry is a free pattern on Knitty, also accessible via Ravelry. These fly out of my holiday gift basket really quick. Since I still don’t have one, maybe that 12th one I knit will be for me. Click on any you’re interested in to get a closer look at my almost-dozen.

More Calorimetry

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rosie_caliThis easy, quick knit finds a home every time I bind off. It’s Kathryn Schoendorf’s Calorimetry, a free Knitty pattern, available here.  For me, one skein of Plymouth Yarn’s worsted weight Boku knits up the entire wide headband on a US size 7 needle, with a small ball to spare.

I find making these little things totally delightful. Some day, maybe soon, I should make one for myself. The red/gold/green quickly found a home and so did this jeweltone one:

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Click on the thumbnails to check out this pattern in various yarns I’ve knit with. Well, mostly it’s various colorways of Boku, but there’s not a one that isn’t cute as a bug’s ear.

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“Yes, Virginia, it really is yet another Calorimetry.”

I’ve made a bushel and a peck of these. Well, not quite. But if you click on the thumbnail gallery at the end of this post you’ll see almost all of them. This one is knitted in Big Mexiko Color by Schoeller-Stahl. It’s a self-patterning wool worsted weight. I had my doubts about my choice of this yarn because of the short row shaping and how it might interact with the dye pattern. But I am quite pleased with the result. The vintage button works well too.

Calorimetry is a free pattern available at Knitty’s Winter, 2006 edition (also via a Ravelry link). It’s designed by Kathryn Schoendorf. So far, it’s been knitted and posted on the project pages of 14696 Ravelers. Quite remarkable popularity, Kathryn!

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Oops…another Calorimetry

Calorimetry is a really addictive quick knit. I’ve made so many now that it’s getting a bit embarrassing. I should probably quit posting them, but every one comes out different and cute in a new way. You can find this Knitty free pattern here. Kathryn Schoendorf, Calorimetry’s designer, deserves to be recognized in a knitter’s “hit parade” for this gem of a pattern. It’s been knit and posted 14,448 times on Ravelry. It’s waiting in 7092 queues as of this writing.

Here’s what Calorimetry looks like laid out flat:

Here’s a glimpse of the B.C. (before Calorimetry) time when the yarn was just a ball of Plymouth Yarns Boku: