Easy ribbed cowl

Lately I have been a little obsessed with using up yarn. Consequently, I was looking for a simple project to finish up the Jamieson and Smith Shetland I used on several other projects. Hence, this cowl.

Pattern: 2x2 Easy Ribbed Cowl, by Rachel Steinbock.
Yarn: Jamieson and Smith Shetland Aran Worsted, in 'Flugga White', 'Light Grey', and 'Shetland Black'; 94g total
Needles: US8 (cast on and bind off using US9)
Modifications: I used a 2x2 alternating long tail cast on and bound off in pattern; continued until I ran out of yarn, at 8.5"

This yarn is one of those "sheepy" smelling ones. I used some Eucalan Wool Wash when I soaked it before blocking, but not enough. I don't mind the smell, but it's not something everyone likes.

Box hat in Shetland

When I saw this pattern on Purl Soho, I had to give it a try. Instead of the usual round top, the hat has a boxy shape. I also liked the deep ribbing.

Pattern: Box Hat by Purl Soho
Yarn: Jamieson & Smith Shetland Aran Worsted, in 'Flugga White' and 'Light Grey'
Needles: US8
Modifications: None except I didn't use bulky yarn as suggested in the pattern; also, I cast on using the alternating long tail method and US9 needle

This hat is very comfortable and very warm. Unfortunately, I don't know how to do the Kitchener stitch without forming "ears".

If you are looking for an easy and quick hat to knit, I highly recommend this one.

(An aside: Purl Soho started as a brick-and-mortar shop in New York Ciy. I was there once! It was early days of my return to knitting and, even though the shop was relatively tiny, I found it a bit overwhelming and intimidating. Plus I am shy. In 2023, the owners made the decision to go online only, sad for the neighborhood, but their website is amazing. Check them out!)

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 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.

One rug done

The spinning guild challenge project is done, just in the nick of time. The floor runner is approximately 5' long and 15" wide. While I am pleased with the results, I wouldn't make another rug from Shetland; I chose it because it is supposed to be pill-resistant, but it is also rather fuzzy.

The cotton/poly edging at each end is secured with an overcast stitch. Then I created a fold using Philippine ties, weaving in the ends. The instructions for these finishing methods may be found in Finishing Touches for the Handweaver, by Virginia M. West.

How to photograph the finished product? Show the end striping...

... and the front and back...

...and then a couple of full length shots.

At the spinning guild, we were encouraged to enter our projects in the county fair. From what others have said, the judges are not very familiar with fiber arts, but it might be worth the effort, just to see what they say. Stay tooned!

The old swatcheroo

My spinning guild issued a challenge: spin for a project, then execute the project. Lucky for me, I already had a project like that sorta started: weave a runner for in front of the sofa. With the deadline looming, I am (finally) putting the pedal to the treadle.

But first. I decided I should make a swatch, to see if my assumptions were correct. Spoiler: some were, some were NOT.

One assumption was that I would weave 3 ppi (picks - or rows - per inch). That turned out to be false. The actual ppi is 5, which means I need to spin more yarn. Also, there was virtually no shrinkage of the swatch, so I don't have to worry (much) about that.

The roving I spun is not dyed. My assumption that the natural colors would play well together? Correct. The dark brown and light brown are both Shetland, which I chose because of its reputation to be pill-resistant. The white "art yarn" is my poor attempt to spin woolen, using Dorset Polypay. The yarn is 3-ply, because I was trying to imitate some commercial 3-ply rug yarn. The Shetland came out super bulky, at 5 wpi (wraps per inch), the Dorset Polypay is bulky, at 7 epi. This variation will give the runner some visual texture (she said optimistically).

Yesterday I put on my big girl panties and warped the loom with 'Khaki' cotton/poly carpet warp. I really hate warping because I can't seem to get even tension across the loom, but this time it worked relatively well. The epi (ends per inch) is 5. (Pay no attention to the bright super bulky yarn - I use that to spread the warp.)

Although I wove only 10 rows of the carpet warp on the swatch, it seemed like enough to assume its quarter-inch length would translate to 40 ppi. On my rigid heddle loom, though, it was more like 35, even with beating. Today I finished up the edging at one end, securing it both fore and aft with a row of cross over stitches. This edging will be folded under (I think).

I did some cypherin' to figure out how much of each yarn to use where. The runner is supposed to be 18" wide and 72" long. As of right now, I plan to do the following:

• 2" dark brown
• 3 picks white
• 3" light brown
• 3 picks white
• 2" dark brown
• 3 picks white
• 3" light brown
• 3 picks white
• 2" dark brown
• 3 picks white
• 3" light brown
• 3 picks white
• 36" dark brown
• 3 picks white
• 3" light brown
• 3 picks white
• 2" dark brown
• 3 picks white
• 3" light brown
• 3 picks white
• 2" dark brown
• 3 picks white
• 3" light brown
• 3 picks white
• 2" dark brown

I'm not exactly following the implied rules of spinning for the project, as I started spinning with a general idea of how I would use the yarn. I'm making the yardage determine the pattern instead of the other way around. But spinning bulky yarn is new for me, I have a lot of Shetland to use up, and the white was serendipitous. Good enough for me.