Tag: project

Quick knit hat pattern suggestions

On By iswimlikeafishIn knittingLeave a comment
A speckled turquoise knit hat with a pompom and three rows of eyelets evenly spaced between the brim and the top.

As the weather jumps between cold and warm temperatures, I’ve been on a bit of a hat mission. Inkwell and Banded Hat are my most recent creations. Each took a handful of hours to complete due to calling for worsted weight, I was able to knit the bulk of both hats during afternoon naptime. Of the two, I probably prefer the Banded Hat pattern as it provides a bit of spice to a more classic hat design. That being said, Inkwell provides more opportunities to play with striping. Sometimes fast with lots of design possibilities is the best recipe for creativity.

Being a knitter, I get to work with and enjoy all kinds of fabrics worked into all kinds of shapes and textures. I’ve knit bulky sweaters and enjoyed how they make me sweat and fingering weight sweaters that seem to take forever. I love wearing them all and have even learned to branch out from my original favorite colors. To be blunt, I want all the knit things and am really only hindered by my knitting speed and budget.

This wasn’t always the case. When I was in high school, I hated anything that added bulk to my body. Perhaps it was body dysmorphia or a symptom of being a teenager, but I truly hated anything that had poof. Even my favorite t-shirts, ones I wore all the time, needed to hang a specific way on my body. I didn’t mind a straight look, but too loose and I immediately became self-conscious. This problem, if you will, was extended to my winter clothing. I didn’t feel comfortable wearing bulky hats or mittens. Thick socks were tolerable. It took me years to get over this and to this day I don’t have a good answer as to what caused the feelings in the first place.

A knit hat with a stripped lime green brim and a speckled top.

It sounds really silly, but when I say things like “I want to wear that worsted/bulky weight hat all the time!”, it’s a mark of how far I’ve come. It’s exciting to be excited to wear things that my 16-year-old self would have been horrified to be caught dead in. Whether that be fun thick fabric or clothing that isn’t “on trend” (this is also funny because I NEVER had clothing that was on trend).

There is still a long way for me to go to get to a place where I can call myself body positive, but I hope that the work I continue to do will teach our daughter to love her own body and feel empowered to wear what she likes rather than what she thinks make her look good to others.

As always, use the discount YARNVIP for 15% off your total purchase from Wonderland Yarns (discount not eligible on sale items, with other discounts, or on yarn clubs) :]

Slowing down: Longma’s Cowl + Cockle Shell Cowl

On By iswimlikeafishIn knitting, patterns, yarnLeave a comment
Close up on Longma's Cowl, a repeating whale tail patterned worked in a grey gradient.

Knitting is categorically not a fast activity, even the simplest project requires time for the stitches to come together into a workable object. Several years ago, I think I accidently clocked a pair of socks by the number of graduate classes I was able to work the same pair through (it was taking me a bit less than a week and a half for those of you who are curious, now I can work the leg off a sock in a 45 minute tv episode if it’s simple enough). Despite this understanding, I have still been known to attempt to crank out a last minute knit or two during the holiday season.

When seeking a faster knit, I find the secret is in the similicity of the project. Anything worked in stockinett stitch in the round tends to jump off my needles a lot faster than something worked flat or with a pattern that requires more focus (I’m thinking of you, Leaves of Grass) and it’s not that I’m looking for speed when working on knitting projects, it’s just that projects that are typically good for zoom meetings are the same ones that fly off ones needles.

Over the last few months, I’ve started seeking out projects with stitch patterns that slow me down and require me to focus some energy on them. Sure, this means that it’s harder to throw them down when naptime is suddenly over, but it also means that I’m required to be more mindful about my craft. Focus on each stitch and relax into the design.

This started with Alicia Plummer’s Community Cardi, with knits and purls working together to form a waffle pattern and moved onto several other textured knits before moving into the land of lace stitches. Longma’s Cowl is a ten row lace repeat that forms a whale’s tail after the second repeat. The repeat is worked over and over again until you run out of yarn and honestly doesn’t take that long to memorize.

Longma’s Cowl was an interesting experiment in “what happens if I work a gradient set out of order?”. While I’m thrilled with the way the colors look together and the stitch pattern, I’m not sure I love the idea of the two together. I worry that the stripping takes away from the stitches, but perhaps that’s more of a me problem.

Close up of the cockle shell cowl, a lace shell pattern knit up in a light purple color.

The other slow knit I’ve completed recently, or rather ironically cranked out, is the Cockle Shell Cowl. I worked up the 9 inch single wrap, but highly recommend the 7 inch double wrap as it will end up growing width wise in the end. Another easy to memorize repeat, the main reason this project worked up so fast is due to the needle size the pattern calls.

Something about this purple colorway has made me obsessed with purple all of a sudden, I’m planning on using the leftover yarn from my cowl and the dark grey leftovers from my pivotal point shawl to work a hat (Harlow? Vintage Prim?).

All these samples later and I’m still obsessed with Wonderland Yarns — I literally find myself working up their needs before reaching for other yarns/projects in my stash. It’s been such a fun way to work with colors that are outside my typical comfort zone. Use the discount YARNVIP for 15% off your total purchase from Wonderland Yarns (discount not eligible on sale items, with other discounts, or on yarn clubs) :]

Grist Shawl

On By iswimlikeafishIn crochetLeave a comment
A purple and pink striped crochet shawl laying underneath a owl russian doll yarn bag.

I was in high school with my paternal grandmother passed away, which means that I inherited my grandmother’s crochet hooks and sewing basket at a time in my life when I wasn’t intently crafting. I wasn’t looking to learn new skills and I didn’t have regular access to craft supplies. My aunt was regularly encouraging me to knit by gifting me nice yarn and needles when my birthday rolled around and I had enjoyed sewing during home ec, but otherwise, I’m not sure why I was thought of when it came to finding a home for the crochet hooks and sewing basket filled with notions. They aren’t things I grabbed for myself with the intention of thinking of her while I used them, these things were items that someone else thought I would enjoy having.

The interesting thing is that they weren’t necessarily wrong. These hooks and sewing notions have moved from apartment to apartment with me, patiently waiting until the day I decided to take up a new craft. Sewing reentered my life when I bought a $20 vintage machine in 2018, earning the notions a permant location on my craft table. Crochet and I have a more tentative history, one where I bring the hooks out every couple years determined to actually learn how to use them. The last time I opted to try learning was back in 2016, where I made my first dish cloth, scarf and baby blanket. In 2020 I tried again, making up crocheting in the round to make a couple of coasters. Setting my sights on a few crochet projects that popped up in my instagram feed, I signed myself up for a few classes this year. Thinking perhaps 2022 would finally be the year I switch my ravelry filter from only knitting to knitting and crochet, I signed up for a few project based classes at Gather Here and one at Webs Yarn.

Grist, by Victoria Myers, was my first attempt towards this goal. It’s the first project I’ve completed using a pattern, as well as the first one I’ve attempted that manipluated increases and decreases in order to create a shawl shape.

One of the tricky things about learning something new is that you have to anticipate the project not looking perfect at the end, which means it’s hard to justify spending a lot of money on nice yarn. The flip side of this, is that once you’ve worked with nice yarn, it’s hard to justify forcing yourself to work with lesser yarn. To combat this dilema, I used leftover yarn and converted the shawl into a cowl when I ran out of yarn.

The final result is a finished object I will never wear! I probably would have been better off blocking the shawl and enjoying a mini Grist than working a cowl that looks funny. Oh well, you live and you learn. At least I learned how to read a pattern and am ready to move on to more complicated crochet things :]

Mistborn Fingerless Mitts

On By iswimlikeafishIn knitting, patterns, ravelry, yarnLeave a comment
Two mistborn mitts laid on top of one another next to a copy of Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson. On top of the paper back book lies a skein of Metalico in Grey.

Admittedly, I’m always on a fantasy book kick. In my mind, there is nothing better than getting lost in an unrecognizable world and observing unknowing (and sometimes unwilling) heroes begin their quest. Mistborn, by Brandon Sanderson, is one of my favorite worlds to think about. Imagine a world where there were people who had superpowers as long as they had access to metal. More specifically, access to metal that could be ingested. Suddenly gold takes on a new value, especially for those who don’t have a lot of it.

In Mistborn, one of the main characters is a young woman named Vin who is raised on the streets and taken in by Kelsiver, the leader of an elite criminal team, to help take down the government. Vin must act as though she is a Nobel woman by day and use her allomancy (her superpowers) by night to learn about what’s happening in the city and eventually kill the “Lord Ruler”.

A hand wearing a blue mistborn fingerless mitt resting on top of Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson. Below the hand is a skein of metalico yarn in grey and above the hand is pothos leaves.

As I felt Blue Sky’s Metalico and tried to envision what to make, Vin came to mind. As the series progresses, she moves from disliking the formal clothing to enjoying it, making me wonder what it would look like if she had a pair of mitts to wear by day and by night. Something textured and elegant, while being warm and cozy. I love the idea of Vin slipping on a set of these mitts just before dawning her mist cloak and fading into the night.

The pattern, which can be purchased on Ravelry, offers two different styles in the form of a short cuff and a long one. The short cuff can be made using one skein of Metalico and the long can be made using two. Metalico is soft and warm, making these mitts perfect for chilly offices or winter nights.

A Mistborn fingerless mitt knit up in blue rests on a grey table cloth surrounded by a grey skein of metalico (left), a paperback copy of Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson (above) and pothos (right).

Bright Red Hyphen Sweater

On By iswimlikeafishIn knitting, patterns, ravelryLeave a comment
Red short sleeved handknit cardigan with a hyphen pattern across the yolk. Coordinating multicolored pom pom hat and cabled leg warmers are laid on top of it.

No matter how you swing it, patroning yarn shops with my husband is different from patroning yarn shops by myself. He forces me to slow down and reminds me to take a look at the gorgeous samples that the shop owner/employees have taken the time to knit up, otherwise, I’m often someone who runs in and out to pick up yarn for a specific project (a habit developed out of necessity when working for Webs Yarn Store). In fact, if he hadn’t been there when I impulsively decided to pop into Norwich Knits I probably would have walked out empty-handed instead of with the two coordinating skeins of Malabrigo that I left with.

The initial plan was to make two short sleeved Hyphen sweaters and while it’s true that I loved working the pattern (the yoke stitches were the perfect pop of interesting), my second plan was to work up a coordinating pair of pants. Then I decided to knit the sweater in a size larger and realized that I hadn’t purchased enough yarn for the pants!

With a quick pivot, I worked up a pair of coordinating leg warmers (I’ll do a separate post on that because I translated a pattern from German and it’s worth sharing!) and a hat. So happy with the end result, right down to the red flower buttons I found.

Speaking of buttons, I used my sewing machine’s button stitch to attach the red flower buttons and I’m sold. Despite the knit fabric, they are firmly attached it took a quarter of the time. 100% recommend this technique :]