Fisherman's balaclava

I keep getting balaclava and baklava mixed up. The words, that is, not the objects. When it is cold and windy out, the former may be more useful than the latter.

Pattern: A combination of Hunter's Orange by Kaeleigh Geddes and Copy Cat C.C. Beanie by Emily Ingrid
Yarn: Lion's Brand Fisherman's Wool, in natural
Needles: US7 and US8
Modifications: Quite a few - see below

Starting with the Hunter's Orange pattern, I increased the needle sizes, as my head is big. Then I cast on 88 stitches using the alternating long-tail cast on. I followed the instructions until the cast on for the top of the face opening, where I used the slip knot cast on (which as very tricky to get tight enough). Then I continued with the instructions until I reached the "Head" section, where I switched to the Copy Cat C.C. Beanie instructions, starting above the ribbing. After two pattern repeats (using 2x2 ribbing instead of 1x1), I followed the instructions to finish off the crown (for which 88 stitches worked better than the 86 stitches in the C.C. pattern).

I was a little nervous about how it would turn out, but one of the great things about knitting is anything knit can be unknit. But I like it, despite the fact it reminds me of one of several one-eyed cartoon characters.

Bring on the windy cold weather!

Mended

That damaged gray sock I displayed a week or so ago is all fixed. It helps that I not only had notes in Ravelry about these socks, but also a blog post. While not exactly a twin to its sibling, certainly functional.

One issue was this pair of socks was knit from the toe up, using a Turkish cast on. The repaired toe had to be done in the opposite direction. I supposed I could have worked harder to make the toe rounder, but after some use, I'm sure my SO won't be able to feel the difference.

While I was able to duplicate the colors on the toe, I didn't make the effort on the cuff, as it would have meant breaking up the remaining yarn to get at the correct shade of gray. Anyway, challenge met!

Knitting: Besides fixing the above socks, I finished the balaclava; separate post to follow. The ice dyed socks continue to be my portable project.

When I arrived at last week's spin-in, I asked how many handknits one could wear at one time. I had on a sweater, a scarf, a hat, mittens, and socks, all made by me. I guess I won.

More

After last week's post, I thought of yet another sweater I want to knit: a cuff-to-cuff one (pattern in Ashford's Wheel publication) using handspun. Then this colorful one showed up in my FB feed and looks like one that would use up a lot of this and that.

I don't want to buy this sweater, I want to knit it!

Suddenly granny squares are in, so now I am also looking at crocheted sweaters. A fiber friend created the following (she called it a "hexagon" sweater):

Photo courtesy Lorinda Browning

When I shared the above photo with another fiber friend, she responded with this one:

Borrowed from FB

As if that is not enough, Knitty featured a cuff-to-cuff crocheted sweater recently. There are a LOT of possibilies out there for handknit sweaters!

Knitting: It's cold outside, so I started knitting a balaclava to protect my (facial) cheeks. Still working on the ice dyed socks.

My SO presented me with a handknit sock that had become damaged.

Challenge accepted!

Gisella hat

I noticed that my son's girl friend had a hat that allowed her to pull her pony tail through the top. Then I recalled that one of my fiber friends had made such a hat. It turns out the pattern is from another of my fiber friends. So I knit one.

Pattern: Gisella, by Lorinda Browning
Yarn: Jamieson & Smith Aran Worsted, in 'Flugga White', 'Light Grey', and 'Shetland Black'
Needles: US8
Modifications: Old Norwegian caston, Icelandic bindoff, down one needle size, mimicked colors in photo instead of instructions

The result is something that can be worn as a cowl or a hat or an earband. I'm not very adept at stranded colorwork, so the non-stranded bits are snugger (almost too snug) than the stranded middle (hence the shape). Were I to knit this pattern again, I would try to rectify that.

I offered up the hat at xmas, but no takers. Today was rather windy, so I wore it - the brim kept slipping down until it rested on my glasses, which was actually a good thing. Coupled with a stand-up cowl, I almost felt like I was wearing a balaclava. Almost. My cheeks still stung from the cold.

The pattern calls for "chunky" yarn, although its summary page on Ravelry says "aran", which is what I used. The three colors in the pattern photo don't match the two-color instructions. "Cast on loosely" and "bind off loosely" are two phrases I have come to dislike in knitting patterns, since there are so many better alternatives. I'm not sure how I feel about rolled brims, either. It is very warm, though.

Three-color log cabin scarf

I wove a log cabin scarf for my SO in 2018, using Cascade 220 Superwash (because he had put a previous knit scarf through the washing machine and ruined it). The selvages wore out, though. He received a lot of compliments on that log cabin scarf, so I decided to repeat the effort, but with three colors (because a recent program at the spinning guild was about log cabin and its modifications).

Pattern: none
Weave structure: Log cabin
Loom: Ashford SampleIt
Warp: Brown Sheep Lambs Pride Worted, naturally dyed with walnut, henna, turmeric, and onion skins
Weft: Same as warp
EPI/PPI: 7.5/7.5
Ends: 54
Finished size: 58"L (without fringe), 7"W (with crocheted border)
Finishing: twisted fringe, single crocheted selvages

Because of the frayed selvages on the previous log cabin scarf, I chose to finish the selvages on this one with single crochet. Also, the edging covered the not-too-bad-but-not-perfect selvages. I debated about the fringe, because some men don't like fringe, but went ahead with it. I told my SO I could change that, but he thinks it adds something special.

Wrangling three colors took some concentration, so I did all the weft in one day, cheat sheet and sticky note by my side. I was also careful to not stretch out the warp as I have done on other scarves. I wasn't sure how the pattern would look, but it turned out rather decent (IMHO).

Time of reckoning

A review of my fiber resolutions for 2024 was a bit disappointing. I achieved NONE of my fiber goals, although one I tacked on at a later date did get done: having my hand-pieced quilt top quilted by a professional. "Buy no fiber" failed from the get go; no work was done on the Accidental Poncho; and I lost interest in dyeing roving, as it is very easy for the dyeing process to felt the fiber.

Where does that leave me for 2025? Well, I would still like to buy no fiber, but I realize that is not a very achievable goal. The challenge for the spinning guild is going to be to finish unfinished objects (UFOs); according to Ravelry, I have about a dozen of those, so perhaps the goal of finishing at least one per month would be doable.

When the owner of a semi-local yarn store (LYS) retired, she said she was going to tackle her "bucket list" of fiber projects. I have a couple of those that are sweater-specific: knit an adult-size Baby Surprise Jacket (BSJ), using some acid dyed Cascade 220, and knit a sweater based on one I saw on the cover of the fall edition of the Fun Times (published by the local parks and rec department).

And I think that is good enough. New projects will come along, I'm sure, especially portable ones like socks (see below). There is plenty of fiber activity to keep me busy throughout the coming year.

Knitting: I started a new pair of socks, using some "ice dyed" sock yarn.

My laptop is acting up - it may be a failing video card - so if I am offline for a while, blame technology. Happy New Year!

Three Graham hats

My daughter really likes this style of slouchy hat. She already has several (including a 'Blaze Orange' one in case she is walking in the woods during hunting season), but that doesn't stop her from requesting more. This season, neutrals are "in" so cream, gray, and black were the colors of choice.

Pattern: Graham, by Jennifer Adams
Yarn: Jamieson & Smith Shetland Aran Worsted, in 'Flugga White' (107g)
Needles: US5 and US7
Modifications: None.

The white one came out kind of large with little drape, so I made some modifications going forward.

Yarn: Jamieson & Smith Shetland Aran Worsted, in 'Light Grey' (91g)
Needles: US6 and US8
Modifications: Decreased the circumference by one pattern repeat (16 stitches) while using the length for the "large" size

The gray one came out better. One more version.

Yarn: Jamieson & Smith Shetland Aran Worsted, in 'Shetland Black' (87g)
Needles: US6 and US8
Modifications: Also decreased the circumfrence by one pattern repeat, but increased the length a bit.

I asked my daughter to let me know if she likes one version more than the other, but I'm guessing she won't be able to tell much difference. I'm the one who is being picky.

My 14-year-old granddaughter will probably borrow these, as she is becoming more and more fashion conscious these days. In fact, one of her requests for xmas was a subscription to Vogue (and not Teen Vogue). At her age, I was reading Tiger Beat.