Madame Purl » Hats

Two More Finishes

Madame Purl — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 01:21:17 +0000

So I have two more finishes… a long and painful one and a quick knit one.

First the this is the Cocoon scarf, knit with Kidsilk Haze which is not one of my favorite yarns.

However, the finished project is very lovely as Madison agrees. This is going to Mom.

She’s also getting this extra-warm EZ hat. I have to admit I was tempted to try it out for warmth today while I snow-blowed the driveway. I refrained, but it’s really nice and warm. It’s double-sided, utilitarian, and lovely. A 3-day knit.

Finally to get some Dogs on Thursday going around here. Coco and Charlie seem to be cuddling.

Two Finishes

Madame Purl — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:48:58 +0000

First off – finally got a picture of me in Gretel.

I blocked it out and I’m glad now I didn’t make the slouchy. This is just the regular. I’ve thought about re-wetting it and getting down to a smaller size. Alpaca does block out well. Please excuse the crazy picture. I took with with my computer camera.

Secondly I had nearly a whole ball left, so a pair of Fetching happened. Lovely. There is still about a 1/3 ball of this yarn left. I think it will fester in the stash for a while. The yarn is City Tweed by KnitPicks – the aran weight.

Gretel is Done

Madame Purl — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 23:31:27 +0000

I loved this hat the first time I saw it. Since, I’m a hat person it was just a matter of time until I knit it. After a little break when I knit the socks for my swap pal, I got back to it and it worked up fairly fast. It is a little tricky as the start of the row moves a bit. However, it’s one of those great patterns that keeps you on your toes, so that you stay interested.

I used KnitPicks City Tweed HW in Dungarees. I was a little worried that this yarn would be fuzzy, but it really is so soft and nice. I think maybe with heavy wear, say with a favorite sweater, it might fuzz up a bit, but oh it would be so comfy and cozy, I probably wouldn’t mind having to de-fuzz it on occasion. This yarn was a smidge heavier than that pattern called for so I knit the regular. My original plan was to knit the slouchy. I think one blocked it will be slouchy enough. I used one ball and just a little of the second, but if you plan to do one of these with this yarn, make sure to get two balls.

I knit it using the magic loop technique with my KnitPicks Options. I put a 40″ cable on it it worked perfect. I have to tell you that I am going on 11 months since I’ve touched my Addi Turbo needles. I just love the soft cable and the pointier tip. When I put them side-by-side they don’t look much different, but my hands know the difference.

So yesterday I went to my first writer’s guild meeting. I have a writing bug that is busy competing with my knitting bug. Anyway, it’s a local group that meets and I had a great time. I joined up on the spot and am looking forward to meeting more people and going to the meetings. I have to miss the next one since I’m going to Rhinebeck – I know poor thing – no need to feel bad for me. However, I’ll be going to the November meeting and I can’t wait. I’ll keep you posted if I ever write anything that get’s published.

Saturday Sky and Gretel

Madame Purl — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 04:17:39 +0000

I’ve been wanting to try the new City Tweed by Knit Picks and thought Gretel would be the perfect project to test out this yarn. I would just hate to do an entire sweater and have it fuzz up or something. I’m just a little concerned that the alpaca is going to cause shedding. I won’t know till it gets more wear.

It’s been cool and threatening rain all day around here.

Yesterday the knitting gals and I went to the Midwest Fiber Festival. I had a new experience. I came home with nothing. I mean nada. I don’t know what it was, but I just didn’t see anything new. Since I didn’t need anything or see anything that really needed to come home with me, I just passed. There were a lot of vendors there, but many of them were not fiber related. Also, I’ve been thinking about it and I think maybe I’m not the intended market. This has more of an art show feel to it. I think I like the wool festivals better for the fleece shows. I can’t wait for Rhinebeck. I can smell the fleece already.

Also had a visit with Martini Knitter’s mom today and we headed out to see the new Harry Potter movie. We had a great time and I really enjoyed the movie.

A Little Cupcake

Madame Purl — Fri, 29 May 2009 11:45:53 +0000

Another finished object for me… yeah! Actually it just took a while to get the pom-pom done. I’m not the best pom-pom maker. They are a bit fiddly, but perfect as a cherry on top. This cute little cupcake hat is for my one-year-old cousin. I hope she enjoys it.

Project info can be found on my Ravelry project page. Yeah!

Everywhere

Madame Purl — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 00:00:40 +0000

I can’t believe it’s been more than a week since I posted. Whoops. I feel like I’ve been everywhere. I know there’s just so much going on, but for the life of me I don’t know what. Last night I gave a talk/demo on spinning to the Hononegah Women’s group. We all had a blast. I really enjoy myself on these talks. Of course I could talk spinning/knitting forever, so it’s more like get me to shut up. Last week we went to a little festival out in Cedarville – that was a lot of fun and as per usual I spent my budget with no problems on some great little foibles and fiber.

I have made a little progress and started more projects. I’ve almost got the body done for my FLS.

I also started a little hat for my little cousin that is turning 1. These cupcake hats are all the rage for my knitting group. I thought she would look cute. Anyway, I’m done with the pesky part, so now it’s the fun part.

I did cast on a few new socks. I’m back on two at a time, toe up. I haven’t done this since I first learned to knit socks, so I’m re-visiting the technique and having fun.

I also finished a pair of car socks – they’re easy enough to knit in the car. By the way this is Wisdom Yarn’s Chicago and the knots were nuts. As you can see they don’t match. At one point I was like whatever and just finished them before I pitched the yarn – knitted project and all in the trash. As you may already guess – I’m staying away from this yarn with a ten foot pole.

Finally I couldn’t resist. I picked up these great little project bags. I couldn’t decide on a pattern, so I got three. These are very nicely done and very inexpensive. A great size and has a nice pocket and good draw string. Super fast shipping also – I order on Friday and had by Monday. Gotta love that.

These came from BlueTulips on Etsy. Go over and have a browse. You know you want too… heheh.

The Newsboy Hat

Madame Purl — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 21:57:38 +0000

Another finished object and another crochet project.

Pattern: Crochet Newsboy Hat by Eileen Tepper.
Available: from Ravelry and on Etsy.
Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca – 2 skeins – matches my scarf.

Super easy and fun project. I did re-crochet the brim a couple of times to get my tension right, but other than that no mods and just plain fun.

Nemesis Defeated

Madame Purl — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 22:13:04 +0000

If you’ve been following my knitting mishaps for a while, you’ll know that hats are my kryptonite. Two hats done… no ripping back… Pow! Take that hat knitting nemesis.

One Baroness Beret for Mom – Free pattern a la Ravelry.

One Simple Hat… scarf casted on again for Mom. This is from the book Cables Untangled.

And our kitty of the week… for Whisker’s on Wednesday is…Honey our teddy bear kitty.

She jumped up here to get away from Coco, who is so pleased to play with her and several of the other kitties. I call her the teddy bear kitty because she has the thickest coat I’ve seen and is the one that hates to be brushed the most. She will however tolerate the puple brush with soft bristles that is more like a massage.

Buttons

Madame Purl — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 01:23:49 +0000

I was very pleasantly surprised at the nice buttons I found at JoAnn Fabrics. They have a really nice new selection of modern buttons that worked great with the hats. They are now winging their way East. I would definitely make this pattern again.

Specs on these -

Knitpicks – Shine worsted in Grass and Crocus. I made the green one a bit longer.

Needle size 5 for me – I always need to go down two needle sizes with cotton.

Pattern is a freebie found on Ravelry – Pi Topper Chemo Cap.

The Hats

Madame Purl — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:07:37 +0000

Well I have to give Knit Picks props… the yarn color matches exactly. I can’t see a variation at all. Yeah!

The two hats are done except for a nice button on the side, which I hope to pick up Friday or Saturday and will get a final pick up then before they get posted. I hope she likes them. I made the green a bit longer than the purple. The purple is made right to the pattern specs, but I thought maybe one a bit longer would be nice. I had a try on before washing and they both look nice.