anna knits - traveling cable hat

A few months ago I knit a Brooklyn Beanie (free pattern) for my boyfriend. He got great use out of it at the beginning of the winter, but with snow storms and record low temperatures hitting New York he needed a warmer hat. About a year ago, I bought some luxurious merino wool from Purl Soho, and after knitting this hat I still had a little over a skein of the Toasted Charcoal yarn left. With this yarn in mind, I started looking at The Purl Bee for a pattern. I settled on the Traveling Cable Hat, which was free (yay!), and would allow me to practice cables.

MODIFICATIONS: After reading some of the reviews for the pattern on Ravelry, I decided to use size US7 and US8 needles, instead of the recommended size US5 and US6. (My boyfriend's head circumference is about 23 inches.) I also modified the pattern to be less slouchy by knitting the cabled pattern a total of three times rather than four. The pattern used just over one skein of yarn (164 yards per skein). While the hat fits well and has stretched out a bit since I finished it three weeks ago, if I were to knit it again I might even go up another needle size, just to make it a little roomier. The one technical issue I had was that since I did not own 20-inch circular needles, I knit the hat on 16-inch circular needles, which was a little fussy (due to the over-crowding), especially at the beginning.  

In the end, I think the hat turned out beautifully, and I would recommended this pattern (with the needle adjustments I mentioned above). As you can tell from the picture of the hat being modeled (reluctantly) above, it has already gotten a lot of use. While I love seeing my knitwear in use, I am definitely ready for some warm weather. How many days is it until spring??

anna knits - brooklyn beanie

I was gifted some beautiful North Light Fibers Fingerling 80% Baby Alpaca, 20% Bamboo 2 ply yarn a few months ago. I was not sure what to make with it at first, but since I was not in the mood to knit on tiny needles, I decided to hold two strands of the fingerling yarn together and knit a hat with size US6 circular needles. I love the color combination of the gray and blue yarns, so I included a thin contrast stripe at the bottom. This is an easy unisex project that would make a great holiday gift. I included the pattern I used below. 

You can see a different style hat I made with the same yarn here. 

~Brooklyn Beanie Pattern ~

Yarn: I used 2 strands of North Light Fibers Fingerling 80% Baby Alpaca, 20% Bamboo 2 ply held together in main color (MC) Stone Wall, and 2 stands of North Light Fibers Fingerling 80% Baby Alpaca, 20% Bamboo 2 ply held together in contrast color (CC) Cerulean Sea Glass. A thick sport or light worsened weight will get the same result.  

Needles: US6 circular and double pointed

Gauge: 25 stitches = 4", 30 rows = 4" in ribbed (K2, P2) stitch.

Finished hat size: fits 20" - 23" head circumference

K = knit

P = purl

K2tog = knit 2 stitches together

P2tog = purl 2 stitches together

Cast on 100 stitches in MC to circular needles

Round 1: Join work, place marker, and work K2, P2 around

Rounds 2-7: (K2, P2) around

Round 8: Switch to CC and K2, P2 around

Rounds 9-11: (K2, P2) around

Round 12: Switch to MC and K2, P2 around

Continue with K2, P2 until hat measures 7" - 7.5" from Round 1

Crown Shaping (switch to double pointed needles when needed):

Round 1: (K2tog, P2) around (75 stitches)

Round 2: (K2, P1) around

Round 3: (K1, P2tog) around (50 stitches)

Rounds 4-6: (K1, P1) around

Round 7: K2tog, (K2tog, P2tog) around (25 stitches)

Round 8: K1, (P1, K1) around

Round 9: P1, (K1, P1) around

Round 10: K1, (P1, K1) around

Round 11: K1 (K2tog, K1) around (17 stitches)

Cut yarn and weave through remaining stitches. Draw firm and fasten on inside. Weave in loose ends.  

Block using your preferred method.

See the Ravelry posting here. 

anna knits - preemie santa hats

A few weeks ago a friend asked if I would help out with an effort to knit santa hats for preemie babies at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH). I myself was born at BWH, so I was particularly excited by this appeal, and volunteered to knit five hats by November 1.

For my hats I used Cascade 220 Superwash Sport in Really Red (809) and White (871). It took two skeins of red yarn and one skein of white to knit five hats. We used this free pattern by Sandy Davis, which I found easy to follow.

If you are interested in knitting for charity, especially as the cold weather and holiday season begins, Lion Bran Yarn has compiled a list of organizations seeking knitted donations for those in need. Browse the list here.

anna knits - smurf hat

Last August I received two skeins of beautiful Sky Blue Lace fingering yarn from Block Island's North Light Fibers for my birthday. It is a super soft alpaca/bamboo yarn that isn't scratchy for people who are sensitive to wool. Well, almost a year went by and I still had not used this gorgeous yarn. So when I went to Block Island for a few days this June, I brought it along and decided to knit up a quick hat.

Instead of slaving away over a super detailed project, I decided to put two strands of the fingerling yarn together and knit using size US8 needles. I was in the mood to knit a hat, so I found an easy pattern from Purl Soho, and cast on. The result is a super comfy slouch hat that, due to its blue hue, has become dubbed the smurf hat.

Are you knitting this summer, or has the heat kept you from casting on?

anna knits - regina hat

Process pics:

First attempt Regina Hat:

This post is WAY overdue as I finished these hats in February/March, but better late than never, ya? Anyway, a few months ago I saw this hat made by @littlellama on Instagram and fell in love with the pattern. Inspired to knit my own hat, I went on Ravelry, and, by a stroke of luck, stumbled upon the exact pattern @littlellama had used. It is called Regina by Carina Spencer and it is a free download.

I decided to make the hat with some yarn I already had, Bernat Softee Baby in Flannel with size US4 and US6 needles (see first attempt Regina Hat pictures). I loved the flexibility of the pattern, since you create the crown based on the number of stitches you use to make the band as opposed to using a set number of crown stitches. But while I enjoyed knitting the hat immensely, I was not totally happy with the result. In the end, I was not a fan of the way the back of the hat slouched (you can see this better in the picture from the pattern), and I felt that the yarn I had chosen was not right for the pattern. I wanted the hat in a more substantial yarn.

With these criticisms in mind, I embarked on the pattern for a second time. This go-around I treated myself with a skein of Purl Soho Worsted Twist in Toasted Charcoal, and used size US6 and US8 needles. I kept the band pretty tight, because I knew I wanted the hat to be snug rather than slouchy. (You can measure the band on yourself as you go.) While knitting, the fan part may seem a little weird at first, but if you trust the directions you will be fine. Blocking is essential as you want the fan to lay right. I wet blocked mine, and used pins to hold the fan in place (see picture).

I was very happy with the result, and ended up giving away the hat as a present. I have another skein of the Worsted Twist and think I might knit up another Regina hat with it. I would definitely recommend this pattern to anyone who has mastered a basic hat and is looking for something a little a little more challenging. Leave a comment or email me with questions!

anna knits - cable slouch hat update 2

I waited a little while to post this one because it was a gift, but it is all good now!

I started this hat on Super Bowl Sunday and was able to finish it on an unexpected snow day the Wednesday after. The pattern is called Quick Cable Slouch Hat, and it is available for free from Azure Knits. I used Bernat Alpaca yarn in stone, which I picked up a Michaels, with size US8 and US11 needles. The pattern was easy to follow, and - as the author notes - would make a great project for first time cablers. Just to note though, it is definitely more of a slouch hat than a beret, despite the look of my picture on the right!

anna knits - cable slouch hat update 1

I am not the biggest sports fan, but I do enjoy watching sports on TV while I knit. Anything amazing is going to be replayed many times, so you don't have to worry about keeping your head down for a minute to focus on a complicated cable or color change. For yesterday's Super Bowl, I decided to take a break from making knit headbands, and cast on a cable slouch hat I found on Ravelry from Azure Knits. It is a really fun and quick pattern, and only takes one ball of yarn (yay for using those impulse buys). I hope to finish it up this week!

Did you knit during the Super Bowl this year?

knit picks, etc. - slouchy hats

   

(knit) Free Ravelry download! (braided) This hat looks so cozy (slouchy) Knit bonnet with pompom from Zara  (netted) I'd hope to do a DIY for a netted beanie soon

anna travels - saratoga weekend

Last weekend I had the chance to go to Saratoga Springs, New York with some friends. We strolled through the town and saw a yarn-bombed bench (part of the knitting store Common Thread Saratoga!), wore fun hats to the races, and cheered on our favorite horses. It was a really fun and different trip for me. The Saratoga Race Course is celebrating its 150 year of racing, so it was an especially exciting time to be there. You can read a little bit about Saratoga and the races in this recent New York Times article.

knitting, etc. - beehive knitting

I love this beehive tea cosy I saw on Etsy:

I found a free pattern for a similar tea cosy on Ravelry here. The bees really make the cosy though.

While I haven't knit anything in a beehive pattern yet, it's something I'd like to try. This hat in a beehive shape - though it is called wurm! - is also fun:

Writing this post is making me want honey... time for some tea!

anna knits - red hope hat

After knitting this hope hat, I was commissioned to make another. It is for a man, so I decided to make a solid red one.

I used the same HOPE design from Knit Circus, which you can find here, but I changed the way I knit the body of the hat - I was not super happy with the fit of my first hat. 

Instead of following the Knit Circus pattern, I used the Turn a Square pattern (minus the color work) by  Brooklyn Tweed, which you can download for free here. The pattern got great reviews on Ravelry and it was easy to follow. 

Here are a few pictures of the progress:

Because the back of the hat was red and not blue, I knitted the red sections of the pattern fair isle style and then used duplicate stitching for the blue. 

anna knits - hope hat update 2

I finished my hope hat today:

I did the 21in picot version using worsened weight Cascade 220 yarn via the knitcircus pattern available here. 

It turned out smaller than I anticipated - I have to admit I did not measure my head first. It will be perfect for a child, but is definitely not adult sized. If I make this again, I will knit the 24in version. 

You can see my progress in an earlier post here. 

anna knits - hope hat update 1

My hope hat is coming along:

I am trying a red version inspired by this one by mrspeterson, which I first saw on Ravelry:

You can find the pattern for the hat here. 

On an Obama related note, my Obama cup cosy is now for sale in my Etsy store! Check it out here.