Strawberries and peaches hat: free pattern.

I had some yarn left over from this summer cardi and decided to knit a matching hat for my daughter. I'm currently trying hard to use all remaining yarn in my stash, especially all the small and odd left over balls of yarn. For this summer hat I used only half a hank of pretty Araucania cotton. It was a super quick project as well and I decided to share my notes with other knitters here.

 STRAWBERRIES AND PEACHES HAT.

 *** project notes ***

Size: 18-24 months

Yarn: Araucania Pomaire Multy, circa half a hank (83m)

Needles: dpn 4mm/ US6, circular 3.75mm/ US5

Gauge: 17sts on larger needles in the round = 10cm

Abbreviations:

st st: stockinette stitch

dpn: double pointed needles

ssk: slip two stitches knit wise (one at a time), then move them back onto your left needle and knit them together through the back

kfb: knit stitch front and back

Using provisional method cast on 80 sts. 

Spread stitches evenly on 4mm dpn (20 sts on each needle).

Join in round and place marker to indicate the beginning of each round.

Knit in st st until your piece measures 9 cm.

Next round: *knit 8 stitches, ssk, repeat from * till the end of round

Next round: knit

Next round: *knit 7 sts, ssk, repeat from * till the end of round

Next round: knit

Next round: *knit 6 sts, ssk, repeat from * till the end of round

Next round: knit

Next round: *knit 5 sts, ssk, repeat from * till the end of round

Next round: knit

Next round: *knit 4 sts, ssk, repeat from * till the end of round

Next round: knit

Next round: *knit 3 sts, ssk, repeat from * till the end of round

Next round: knit

Next round: *knit 2 sts, ssk, repeat from * till the end of round

Next round: knit

Next round: knit 1 sts, ssk, repeat from * till the end of round

Cut yarn and pull it tightly through remaining stitches.

Now go back to the base of your hat.

Remove scrap yarn that you used for provisional cast on, placing the stitches evenly on 4mm dpn.

Knit one round.

Next round: purl

Next round: change to 3.75mm circular needles and kfb all your  stitches (160 sts)

Knit 6 rounds.

Next round: cable bind off which will create lovely picot edging.

Cable bind off: cast off 2 sts, *move stitch from right needle to the left one and cable cast on 3 sts,  cast off 5 sts, repeat from * until all sts are bound off.

Weave in loose ends and block the hat gently.

I hope my notes help someone to knit this summer hat for their little ones :)

***Copyright notice: These are my personal pattern notes and they belong to me. I've written them down for personal and non-profit use only. They can be used to knit for charity but they cannot be used to knit garments for commercial purposes. Thank you!***

FO: Strawberries and peaches.

Today I finally finished this summer cardi for my daughter. Simple, seamless and sweet like strawberries and peaches on a hot sunny day. I am so pleased with the final result. I was worried it was going to be too small but I can see it fits little G. perfectly and I think she will wear it a lot. She looks pretty cute in it, doesn't she?

Project notes:
Yarn: Araucania Pomaire, 1.2 skeins
Needles: 4mm/ US6
Ravelry project page

The weather was marvellous today, warm and sunny with perfectly blue sky. We enjoyed staying in the park most of the afternoon and the photo session went very smooth.

I particularly like the picot edging: I think this time I finally got it right. It was worth to go through the pain of time consuming cable cast off...  

Free spirit... She runs like Phoebe form "Friends" :)

FO: Easter shawl.

Finally finished... And I'm not sure if I like it. I loved the pattern (very easy to follow) but I think it would work better for me in solid colour. Next time (yes, there will be next time) I will definitely use different yarn. 

I called it Easter shawl because whenever I look at it, its colours remind me of Easter eggs. You know, those little chocolate eggs in yellow and blue shells that kids are hunting for :)

The picot bind off was a real pain. It took  f o r e v e r. I managed to watch whole "Out of Africa" while casting off and I thought I was going blind but it was worth it: I love the ruffle section and the edge.

Project notes:
Pattern: Summer Flies by Donna Griffin
Yarn: Araucania Ranco Multy
Needles: 5mm/ US8
Modifications: added two more rows in section 6

*

Spring is here, spoiling us with plenty of sun and perfectly blue sky. It's time for some cotton knitting, I am just getting ready, expanding my stash and experimenting a lot with different kinds of cotton.

Have a great weekend Everyone!

A Tale of Two Yarns - 2KCBWDAY1

A Tale of Two Yarns – 2KCBWDAY1

Part of any fibre enthusiast’s hobby is an appreciation of yarn. Choose two yarns that you have either used, are in your stash or which you yearn after and capture what it is you love or loathe about them.

It is so difficult to choose only two yarns to write about. I love all my yarn from my stash and there  is much more out there that I'd love to own but I decided to write about two brands of yarn that I am particularly fond of. 

1. Araucania yarns. I love them! Especially the colorful ones. I can never resist them... For each of these skeins I have a project in mind, I just don't have enough time to start. Meantime, I keep stashing more... My favourite of Araucania yarns is Toconao and Ranco and, recently, Ulmo.

2. Rowan yarns. Ok, maybe I'm not very original with this choice but I really love working with Rowan yarns. It's always a source of big pleasure. I believe that quality of Rowan yarns is really great and I've never been disappointed with the finished projects. I'm just about to start Shalom cardigan with Rowan Cocoon. 

Mojo's back!

I have lots to share with you today. I've been back to my needles, knitting quite feverishly; I've finished three projects this week and now I'm digging through my stash in search of new projects. Here are my recent FOs:

1. Cable sweater for C.

I started knitting it in November last year; it was supposed be Christmas sweater but, of course, I didn't manage to complete it on time. I was knitting it on and off and I'm so glad it's finally finished. It's seamless, knitted from top to bottom. I improvised the cable pattern as I went. I think the sleeves are too large but C. says he likes them this way so if he's happy, I'm happy. I just know I would't be able to frog the whole thing up to the arm increases to make the sleeves smaller. I admit I got pretty tired with this project.

Yarn: Sirdar Click Aran with Wool

Needles: 5mm/ US8 

2. Baby beanie.

I produced this little hat one evening. It's a gift for my friend's baby boy who was born last Sunday.

Yarn: Patons Fairytale DK

Needles: dpn 4mm/ US6

3. Stripy sweater.

I just love it! My quickest knit ever: it took only three days to complete it. I had some Debbie Bliss Donegal Luxury Tweed Aran sitting in my stash and after some search on Ravelry I found this fantastic project by Audrey. The pattern is "$5 in Paris" but I didn't  follow it. It's an easy seamless top, knitted from top to bottom. I wrote my notes on my Ravelry page (here).

Yarn: Debbie Bliss Donegal Luxury Tweed Aran

Needles: 4mm/ US6 and 4.5mm/ US7

***

From other news: yesterday I finally visited Loop, the legendary yarn shop in Islington (though the nearest tube station is Angel; I didn't know that and had a bit of a walk from Highbury&Islington station).

The shop is a real paradise. I could easily live there... Not only they stock high quality yarns but the way everything is presented makes this place very special. And the customer service is excellent too; you really feel welcome (something I never experience when I visit I Knit shop, for example). The shop assistant complimented on my Noro shawlette that I had wrapped around my neck. It felt good :)

I was a good girl and didn't let myself to buy much, although I was really tempted. The choice of yarn that they offer is fantastic but I only bought one skein of Colinette Jitterbug. I plan to knit socks with it; I wanted small shawlette but I think one skein wont be enough.

And the last thing: it's official now- I am addicted to Araucania yarns. I have stashed some more:

Happy Knitting!

Yarn, yarn and more yarn...

I promised myself that I would knit from my stash as much as possible without buying new yarns and what did I do last week? I spoiled myself with two bags of new yarns! Seriously, I need to start working on my strong will, stop browsing online yarn shops and pass Peter Jones with closed eyes whenever I go to King's Road. Last Friday I went to pick up C. and on my way I popped in to PJ haberdashery department. I really didn't want to buy anything but, well, once again I couldn't resist... I left with bag full of Rowan yarns (cocoon, colourscape and cashsoft dk). And when we came back home that evening I found a package from online store with the yarn that I had ordered just one day before (new Araucania in delicious colors).

This is it. I'm done. I've stashed so much yarn recently that I should really start seriously knitting it down. For a while now I've been thinking of opening my shop on Etsy or/and Folksy with my little knits (baby hats, scarves, mitts and maybe sweaters for kids).