Yarny projects update...

I can't believe it's June already!  And I can't believe that in a little over one month, the Year of Projects (YOP) group on Ravelry will start another year. 

Because the group started in July (of 2011), it has kept that tradition of starting mid-year, and I love it.  I find it refreshing to start something new mid-year.  And it's fun to look back when I create a "round-up" post, and exciting to imagine what I might end up making during the next twelve months. That said, some members choose to YOP on a calendar year schedule - and I would imagine they feel the same things I feel.  They just feel it in December and January instead of June and July. 😄

A few years ago (in 2022), I think because my hands were hurting and I was looking forward to hand surgery later that year, I decided to step away from the Year of Projects group - not realizing at the time time I'd be gone for two years.  Then in 2024 (after healing from yet another surgery, and cancer treatment), I wondered if it was worth it to come back at all.  I missed the camaraderie of the group, but because handcrafts had gotten pushed to the back burner during moving, and then health issues), I was a little afraid I'd regret putting pressure on myself to post every week.  I waffled right up to the last minute, but I finally decided to just re-join and if I fizzled, I fizzled. I knew there was no judgement in the YOP group.  There was only encouragement. I am nowhere near the participant I was in my earlier YOP years, but I am so glad I decided to take the chance this past year and jump back in.

Even though I don’t post every week, just knowing that the weekly YOP thread will be created, and fellow YOPpers will be posting about their crafts, has (a number of times) prodded me to pick up my languishing handcrafts and do something creative. That alone, has made it a net plus for me. All the encouragement fellow YOPpers offer each other is sweet icing on the cake.

I write all that in case anyone reading this wonders about these Year of Project posts that show up here every few weeks or so.  If you want to know more about the Year of Projects' group and get a feel for how the group members encourage each other, you'll need a free Ravelry account.  With that account, you can peruse all sorts of groups, and join them without any commitment.  You can join the YOP group and lurk for as long as you want as you consider whether or not it's a good fit for you.  If you want to join in on the fun, you'll just need a blog where you'd like to share your crafty progress, and can link to.  If YOPing sounds interesting at all, I hope you'll check it out.

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Projects I've been working on in recent weeks:

A couple of knitted beanies to kick-start a collection of donatable items that will be distributed come autumn/winter.  Rockport Double Brimmed Beanie

While these look okay (enough) in the photograph, I'd love to know if there are any special tricks seasoned knitters have learned for making neat decreasing at the crown.  It seems like my stitches get looser and looser and the decreasing ribs at the crown go a little wonky.  I think my first hats knitted years ago look much better. Is it just my aging hands that make keeping consistent tension more difficult?

One day a week or so ago more crocheted hexagons got made:

When I picked this back up, I decided this is a most excellent project to have in the background, ready to pick up and crochet however many I want whenever the motivation strikes.  Or when I felt no serious motivation to work on anything, just making one hexagon resulted in six more being made before I decide to move on...

And since April I've been knitting dishcloths again. They are great to knit when my hands want to be busy, my mind needs a distraction, and I'm too tired to do much physically - often at the end of a day (or right before bedtime).   Since I now only use two patterns or knit simple garter or stockinette stitch cloths, I've concluded my creativity with these is going to be in photographing them.  This is just fraction of what I've knit since April:

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And lastly... I found (and bought) a fun metal dish at a resale shop last week.  For all I know, this was originally purchased at Hobby Lobby (or some home store), but  thinking it might make a nice container for different kinds of displays or table centerpieces I brought it home to play with.

I auditioned it with some of my embroidery threads.

 And came up with this for the table behind our couch:

I'm living with it for a while to decide what I think of it.  Though I realize today I need to change out the May pillow...

I can't believe it's June already!

Hats are finished...

As of yesterday, at least temporarily, I have turned out the lights and closed the door of my hat making studio.  Finished hats are handed over, and, as happy as I was to make them for a hat giveaway in a few weeks, I'm feeling exceedingly happy to let myself move on to other projects.

It's funny how when I commit myself to one project for a period of time, all the other things start looking intensely interesting. Nevermind that before my one-project commitment, I wasn't really doing any of those other things.

Such is my life. Maybe you relate?  I am seriously looking forward to working on a different project this week, but I'm not going to say what it is.  The interest I feel for it at the moment will fly right out the window the moment I say aloud what it is. Does anyone at all relate to that?!?  

But before I move on to new things, here's my final update.  I knit three more hats this past week following the Benefaction Knit Hat pattern, using a helix knitting pattern on two, and substituting a 1x1 ribbing for the suggested 2x2 ribbing.  And, finally, I added yarny poms to three especially girly hats.

Here's the most recent lineup:

Since hand made pom poms may not fare well in the laundry, I decided to fasten the poms on the above hats using buttons to tie them on with.  Like so:

I threaded the yarn through two diagonally opposite large holes of the button, then wrapped the two ends of the yarn two different directions under the button and tied the ends into a tight bow.

In retrospect, not being sure that someone will actually notice the button inside the crowns of these hats, I'm now thinking it might have been a good idea to add a tag to these hats, explaining that the pom is removable, and mention fiber content, and that these are machine washable.

Thinking that other handmade hats will likely not have care tags on them, and knowing these are all machine wash and dryable, I'm not feeling too badly about it, but it's a thought for the future.

Things I've learned:

1)  I decided it's best to get started on this kind of multi-project project earlier.  Spread the work throughout the year when there is plenty of time to experiment with different patterns.  And when I'm not in the mood to learn a new pattern, or just want an easy knit, a simple hat pattern can be made more special and fun just knitting colorful stripes or blocks of different colors.

2) I learned how to make jogless joins when changing colors, working wide stripes in the round, and making skinny stripes using helical knitting.

3)  I rediscovered how fun helical knitting is.

4) I learned how to knit a double brim.  It's a nice finish, though it tends to increase the time it takes to knit a hat by about a third.  That's significant when working under a time constraint.

5)  It doesn't take much yarn to knit a hat.  As an occasional knitter, who is an avid crocheter, I was shocked to rediscover this.  My realization:  I could make a hundred hats, and it would hardly make a dent in my huge yarn stash.  Fortunately, my favorite thing to make with yarn is blankets.  And have recently learned how nice a shawl is around my shoulders and arms - and so much easier to put on and whip off than a sweater is. I'm now happily anticipating cooler weather soon and once again enjoying crocheting these cozy things.

Hats and Hurricanes...

It's starting to come down to the wire, and, mentally, I'm ready to wrap this hat making project up.  In reality, I have the rest of this week to make hats if I choose to do so. If you detect a small note of negativity with that last statement, you would be correct.  

So far, I feel like I'm failing to make an appropriately sized hat.  I was told the hats were to be "child size", and nothing more.  Not having a child handy, I feel like I'm guessing as to what size that must be.  I can see size charts online, but that's not like having a real head to try one on.  My hats so far seem to be possibly baby-sized, and one is adult sized (it  fits me and I think I probably have an average sized adult head).  

I'll probably have time to try two more times over the next few days.  I would be thrilled to finish at least one that appears to be solidly "child sized".

While knitting on DPNs (Double Pointed Needles, for non knitters) is a bit tricker than knitting on a corded needle, I get a little excited when I transfer from circular needles to these little sticks.  From this point, it's pretty quick work to finish a hat. 

Because I'm running into some minor issues decreasing the crowns while I'm doing helical knitting, I think I'm just going to make any more hats I knit a solid color at the top.  My hat crowns look perfectly fine, but as I'm knitting the crowns, I keep second-guessing the situation when the color change doesn't seem to work together with the decreasing stitches.  Somehow it works out, but I'm getting weary of worrying about it until the hat is finished.  So, from here on out, my hats will either be completely solid in color, or they will have wide stripes or blocks of color (so I can work the decreases in one colorway only).  It probably doesn't need to be noted, but I am making the simplest of hats here.  I think they're decent hats, but they are simple.

Here are last week's finishes:

While I'm turning hats over on Saturday to be taken to the donation site, I'm thinking I want to wrap this up mid-week.  Especially, if I end up feeling like I want to make pom poms.  Truth is, I don't want to make pom poms, but I think there are one or two hats that would benefit from one.

Because hat knitting feels almost trivial in light of the tragedy that has struck so many in parts of the Southeastern U.S., I also want to address the topic.  

I'm sure just as it is with you if you were spared the wrath of Helene, I am heartbroken daily as I watch and read about the devastation so many people are suffering from. I have greatly appreciated youtubers who are able to report what's been going on, and I am humbled and touched beyond words seeing and hearing of the selflessness of so many who are coming to the aid of those who are/were trapped, and who are found wandering out of the forests.  It is mind boggling to see what the human spirit can endure.  And frightening to also see how fragile we are as human beings. The work ahead is mind numbing to think about.  I cannot imagine how exhausting it is to experience it.

ETA: Because a regular reader, Linda G, made mention of an organization in North Carolina that is working to provide assistance to mothers and babies suffering in the wake of Hurricane Helene, I found the Facebook page where interested readers can see updates about this organization's efforts:

https://www.facebook.com/theboobtiquelkn

More information can be found in Linda G's message below.

And, as hard as it is to believe, now less than two weeks later, I join those also praying for all in the path of Milton. 

~~~~~ 

Hats...

This is the second in a series of posts over the next few weeks where I'm sharing hats (and hat patterns) that I hope to contribute to an upcoming toy/hat/blanket giveaway.  I figured I'd just answer the question that will inevitably be asked - "What will you do with all those hats?"  😉

Feeling less than thrilled with my hat knitting last week, I went back to something that felt more natural for my fingers - crochet.  I searched through patterns I'd made before, and I quickly settled on this Stepping Texture hat:

Crocheted in Vanna's Choice, worsted weight in the colorway Silver Blue 

Video Tutorials for this hat can be found at the following links:

Yarnspirations (I like this for showing the slip stitch ribbing)

DIY Danni (While it's harder to see her work because of the dark yarn being used, this video shows making a single crochet ribbing - which is an easier stitch).

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After having success with making a familiar crocheted hat, I went back to the Benefaction Hat pattern, and ditching the idea of doing stranded colorwork, I worked up a small simple beanie.  It will probably only fit a baby, but it's a successfully knitted hat, and that was my goal:

Knit in Lion Brand Heartland yarn in the colorway, Glacier Bay 

Not being excited about the 2x2 ribbing above, and thinking I might try a provisional cast-on to get a smoother edge on the ribbing, I went searching on YouTube for the perfect tutorial.  I did find some good ones, but before I actually committed to trying the provisional cast on, I came across the concept of knitting a "double-thick brim" using only knit stitches.  

What?  No purl stitches?!?  No special cast-on?  And I can get a smooth edge on the bottom of the hat?

These two tutorials convinced me to give this a try, and I  LOVED it:

Wolly Bear Knits

yokieB Crochet and Knit

Using yokieB's tutorial and scrap yarn, I knit up this small child's hat:

Knit with different brands of pink worsted acrylic.

The hat above is more of a slouchy style, but the double brim is so soft, it can be folded up to make a fitted  beanie.  This hat also turned out pretty small - likely to only fit a baby or toddler.

Having success knitting a double brimmed hat (albeit a small one), I couldn't wait to get started on a larger beanie with more subdued colors:

The plan at the moment, is to start this as a double-brimmed hat, but finish with the decreasing rounds found in the Benefaction Hat, instead of the gathered top of my pink double-brimmed hat.  I plan to put pom poms on any hats made with gathered tops before sending them on their way.  Pom poms assembly-line-style will be the last step in my hat making.

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So now, on my growing list of things to try (when I'm not working with a goal of production over learning new skills)...

Provisional Cast-on to create a single layer brimmed beanie

Stranded colorwork 

Interesting patterned decreasing rounds for beanie crowns

That said, I'm already itching to get back to crochet.  Isn't that always the way it is...   

Or am I the only one who's so easily distracted?

  

Doilies and hats...

Crocheting and knitting a little over the last couple of weeks, I made two more of "99 Little Doilies".

Crocheted in Artiste #10 thread in the color "Peach Ivory"

Tiny little doily #31 doesn't really inspire me at all, but it will be a fine addition to a collection of small doilies in a few different colorways that I hope to finish and display together some day - even if just on a table top.

Doily # 22, crocheted in Curio #10 thread in the color "Hawk"

It wasn't until I saw this dark gray doily in a picture that I saw what I imagine to be a round stained glass window without the stained glass.  So I named this "Lead Rosette".  So glad I decided to skip all the picots in this one.  They would have driven me crazy, and I like the edges on this so much better.

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Another project has presented itself, and sounds enjoyable - as long as my neck doesn't go back into "stiff mode".   Last month we attended a volunteer dinner (as quests) where youngest son, Ben, attends a church that hosts a community  food distribution.  That night they announced they also plan to host a toy/hat/blanket giveaway in early December - and they were "calling all yarnies" to knit or crochet hats.  I placed a loose mental sticky note in my mind that I could knit some hats to donate, but honestly, it wasn't until Ben mentioned it a week or so ago (just on the chance I might be interested) that I got a bit more serious about it.

Knit and crocheted hats can be great easy projects - taking just a few hours each - some less.  At least that's how I remembered it...

Well, this weekend I started with knitting a simple Benefaction Hat, and decided I'd add some colorwork after watching a few YouTube videos to see how it's done.  I thought I'd do a "fade" pattern with several colors.

The "fade" is where things started getting a little challenging.  The concept of stranded knitting (especially on this level) is simple enough, but I need a lot of practice to get my stitches and tension more consistent in that part of the knitting.

To a non-knitter's eye, I'm not sure this looks all that bad, and some of the unevenness can be blocked out, but I don't think I have it in me to finish this.  And I'm not sure I like the colors I chose, so there's that, too.  I may hang onto it, and use it as practice later, but since the more immediate goal is to actually produce some hats (not improve my knitting), I'm moving on.

I looked back at my Ravelry project page, and I see the last hat I crocheted was in September of 2020.  The last hat I knit was almost a year before that.

Armed with that knowledge, I suddenly feel kind of rusty and am wondering if volunteering to make some hats was a good idea.

Ah well...   the evidence will present itself here over the next 4 weeks.  I've pulled out lots of colors of yarns from my stash, and I've given myself a goal of wrapping up hat making by mid-October.  Come October 13th, I will either be relieved to be done, or feeling very satisfied with what I accomplished - maybe both.  Either way, it does feel good to have a purposeful project to throw myself into.

 

Has it only been a week?

Somehow, this past week has felt more like a month...

Post has been edited to remove some information that I've since thought better about posting to WWW.  Carry on...

Hubs has been gone for the last 3 days and is driving home through slushy slush as I type. 

I thought I'd get so much done while he was gone, but at the moment I can't account for a lot.

There was lunch one day with a friend and her mother.  Her mother (who is just a few years younger than my MIL) is like an older version of my friend.  Double the fun!

I worked a couple of days this past week with Ruth.  In some ways she appears to be holding steady - and is as sweet as ever.  On the other hand, she's losing interest and stamina for some of the things we've done in the past.  I know this is the progression her condition, and I'm thankful it has been slow and I have enjoyed so many good days with her.  Still do enjoy our time together.  Just differently.

With hubs gone I thought I'd get to some more "minimizing".  But I really didn't have the focus for it.  Wishing I'd plowed ahead through something anyway.  

But I didn't.  

No sense regretting what is behind, I guess.

I did finish Part 4 of Sacred Space.  This section was mostly black with the addition of  yellow.  It doesn't look like much right now, but it's important to photograph each finished part if I want to look back on the evolution of it - which is fun to do.

At 49 inches across already, I'm sure I won't be making this full sized.  After one more part in the round, I'll have a better idea of when I'll be calling it quits.

~~~~~ 

And then I thought this might be of interest... 

Early in the week I got word that someone who was at last weekend's rummage sale/fundraiser wanted to know if I had more dishcloths I'd like to sell.  I heard a groan slip out as I felt an unwelcome and unasked for angst over knowing I can't, with a straight face, ask a price that does justice to the time they take to knit. 

But thinking of them as a contribution to a fundraiser, I was able to quickly put the groaning away.  

I called the woman and told her there were 4 "jelly rolls" of 2 cloths each left over from the fundraiser.  Not having any idea what anyone paid for them at the sale, I told her she could have any (or all) of those for $6.00/roll ($3.00/cloth) figuring that would allow me to donate possibly $24 more dollars to the fundraiser.  

She told me she expected to pay more than that.  Then I got an idea...  since I'd already given her a price, I asked how many she'd like at $3.00/cloth, that is if she didn't mind receiving them loose and in random colors.  She thought for a moment and asked how many I had.  I guessed I had 10-15 left at that point.  She told me between the rolls and loose cloths, she'd buy 20!  "Sixty dollars?" - I wanted to make sure she knew how much she was agreeing to pay.

Yep.  She knew.  And seemed thrilled about it.

I bagged them and took them to the church where the rummage sale had been held so she could pick them up (and pay for them) at her convenience.  I found out yesterday she paid $70.00 for the cloths.   I realize she received something for that money, and the price per cloth was a deal, but I was tickled about it all the same. I never knit dishcloths with the aim to sell them.  It's about the pleasure of making them, and then using or gifting them.  To be able to recognize that I had something already made that could be turned into easy money for a good cause is kind of wonderful. 

And now I can make more without feeling ridiculous that I'm just adding to the pile of cloths I already have.  I know many of us knit and crochet for charity purposes.  I do too, but I also consider myself something of a selfish knitter/crocheter - in that I make what I want, when I want.  And truly groan at the thought of someone asking me if they can pay me to make them something.  I've done it a few times in the past, but I've learned that it takes much of the joy out of handcrafting for me.

But when selfish knitting meets a good cause?!?   I'm thinking that might just be serendipity at its finest.  😀

Just one more...

Just a quick post this week.  As I was putting leftover yarn away from making all the hats and scarves over the last few weeks, I came across this yarn that, while I had purchased it once upon a time for making a hat, ended up being a bear to crochet (nevermind knit) with so I had set it aside.

While I contemplated re-homing it, it occurred to me that it might make a cute scarf.  Needing to work fast, I picked out this Openwork Scarf and I ended up making a mobius scarf with it.

While, overall, the variegation leaves me less than impressed, when twisted up around the neck, it doesn't look bad at all.

I'd certainly wear it, so hopefully someone else will see it hanging amongst the scarf selections and decide she wants to take it home with her.  It fits me, so I suspect it will fit a teen or a larger child.

And now that I've definitely got that large charity project behind me, I've pulled out one of my Spicier Life blankets, and I'm going to see how much I can get done if I just concentrate and employ some good old fashioned discipline.

It's a busy week ahead, but it's also going to be beautiful weather-wise, so maybe I can find some time to sit out in the sun and crochet on it in my spare moments (that thought inspired by Sandra's Beautiful Fall post this past week.  😄 

To see what other YOPers are up to, visit our group on Ravelry.

Hats & scarves are finished!

Finally - here is the happy result of a month and a half of knitting and crocheting kids' and teens' hats and scarves:  

As much as I enjoyed making all the above, it's very good to be finished.  

In the end, there were two or three hats that didn't make the grade, but those provided some good learning experiences and that counts for something.

Now they all just need size labels attached and to be dropped off where they will, hopefully, eventually find noggins and necks to keep warm this winter.  

I'm seriously liking those scarves with the furry pom poms - I may have to make one for myself this winter.  😉

To see what other YOPers are up to, visit our group on Ravelry.

2018 Stash-busting progress:  48.73/ 100 skeins

More hats...

Not a lot going on this week except having some plumbing repaired.   The good news on that front is that every single faucet in the house has now been replaced (and a couple have been replaced for the second time).  Counting the repeats, that's 9 faucets!  Eleven, if I count the two outside faucets.   That is over the course of 20 years, though, so it's not as bad as it first sounds.

A not-very-busy-week meant I got to spend a fair amount of time knitting and crocheting hats.   They are accumulating for the hat drive coming up in less than a month.

I do love the ease of the Benefaction Hat pattern.  I still enjoy making it:

And after digging through my stash for some self-striping yarn I think I'm going to enjoy making even more.  The following is Deborah Norville Everyday yarn in the colorway Red Rocks:

I am of course complicating things by removing that beige-y pink color (you can barely see it up there in the wound-up ball).

I'm looking forward to trying out a few more self-striping yarns I just happened to have single skeins of.



And I do still love a crocheted hat.  I made another Stepping Textures hat in a gold yarn:

When I get them all done (some will need pom poms) I'll try to create a collage of all the hats.  For now, some teaser pictures will suffice.

To see what other YOPpers are up to, visit our group on Ravelry.