Yet more hats

This week has been all about hats again - some of which are destined to be Christmas gifts. I was lucky enough to get plenty of knitting time at work so these have been flying off the needles. I finished my second version of Ela's Favorite Hat from One Skein Wonders. This time it is knitted from a skein of Debbie Bliss Maya that I have had stashed for ages. There was enough yarn to make the tassels this time. I have worn the hat several times and love it. This is a simple pattern which works well in a variety of yarns. I can see myself making this again.

I also knitted a second version of Woolly Wormhead's Urchin Cap. I used a couple of balls of Wendy Moiselle from my stash. I love the shape of this hat. This version worked out a little larger than the Debbie Bliss Soho version. Clare the Bear has claimed it and it really suits her.

While the Bear was around, I got her to model my Chicken Viking Hat. This is a wonderful free pattern available on the web. I plan to give it as a Christmas gift. The original pattern is for a baby hat but I wanted an adult sized one. I used a cheap acrylic dk doubled and 6mm needles and just followed the pattern as written. The result was a delightful adult sized hat. This is just so much fun!

This little hat is the Edge of Lace hat from Designer One Skein Wonders. I plan to make the matching cuffs this week . It's another simple pattern that looks just great when it's made up. I absolutely love both of the One Skein Wonders books. They are full of brilliant projects, many of which are ideal for gifts. The one skein concept is also very appealing to me - my stash is full of odd skeins that I have bought from sales and bargain bins over the years.

Next up is another Iris earflap hat in Colinette Prism, Fiorentina colourway, to match the Iris mittens that I finished last week. This was a very quick knit. Love the pattern and love the yarn.

Last week I bought a copy of a new knitting magazine that I spotted in W H Smiths called Let's Knit . It came with a free pair of wooden 20mm needles and contained a selection of patterns that used them. I noticed one was a beret made from a single skein of Rowan Little Big Wool. There just happened to be a couple of these in my stash in need of a suitable project. I whipped up a beret in a couple of hours last night whilst watching a double bill of NCIS on the telly. I just got it out of one ball. After sewing up there was about 1 inch of yarn left - very close thing ! It's not a bad little hat. Not sure whether to use the other ball to make another hat or some matching handwarmers.

Sari Silk belt

This week I have been playing around on the Ravelry site a lot. It's taking ages to upload details of all my finished projects from the last couple of years. I am quite enjoying reviewing them, although I have forgotten a lot of the details such as yarn colours and needle sizes. I used some of the Sari Silk yarn that I got at he knit and stitch show to crochet the Sari Silk Belt from Positively Crochet by Mary Jane Hall. I love this pattern it is easy to crochet and the finished belt looks really effective. Ideal for this type of yarn. I have yet to find a decent toggle or button but a temporary toggle is in place for the moment. Mary Jane sent me a mesage on Ravelry when she saw that I was making up this pattern. She is such a friendly and multi talented lady. I am probably going to make the Sari Silk bag to match my belt.

I made the Iris hat and mittens from Colinette Artyfacts a couple of years ago as a Christmas present using some Rowan Chunky Print. They turned out really nice. The recommended yarn, Colinette Prism, is less fluffy than Chunky Print but still turns out really well. Prism is one of my favourite yarns at the moment. This was a skein in the Forest colourway that I purchased at Knit and Stitch 2007. I love the hat and should be able to squeeze a small pair of handwarmers out of the leftovers. I decided to make a matching set with some of the purple Prism in my stash and have completed the mittens so far. I love them. They may get to be a Christmas gift if I can bear to part with them.

A single skein of Colinette Point Five knitted up into the Pansy hat from Artyfacts in jst a couple of hours. All the Colinette patterns seem to be knitted flat then seamed. I hate sewing up really chunky items, so I used circular needles for this. I had about two inches of yarn left at the finish of this one - extremely close ! I just love the colours of Colinette.

I tried out one of Woolly Wormhead's hat patterns with a couple of balls of Debbie Bliss Soho from my stash. She is an ace designer of woolly hats. This is the Urchin Cap. I knitted it up yesterday evening and it is now my new favourite hat. The shape is just great and works really well in Soho. I used 5.5mm circular needles. I like it so much that I've cast on another one using some Wendy Moiselle from my stash. This is slightly chunkier than Soho so I'm going up a needle size and making the smaller hat.

Super Speedy Chunky Jumper !

I managed to knit up this little number in just 2 afternoons and 1 evening - it really did fly off the 15mm needles ! The yarn is Colinette Shimmer Five that I purchased at the Colinette stand at the Knit and Stitch Show 2007. I used the pattern "Sylvie" from the Colinette Shimmer Five booklet that came free with the yarn. It took just over 6 skeins. I am hoping to make a hat out of the leftovers. I really hate sewing up chunky garments as it is so hard to keep things neat. All in all I'm quite pleased with the finished jumper.
Mel's Funky 3-Way Hat is finished and I love it. It really is quite funky despite being incredibly simple and quick to knit. This may be largely due to the wonderful Koigu Kersti Merino Crepe yarn which was a joy to knit with and amazing colours. It is slightly lighter than the recommended yarn for this pattern so I went down a needle size and made the largest hat. It worked out perfect.

There was enough yarn left to whip up the Little Ruff from One Skein Wonders. This would be much better made in a heavier yarn as it turned out a bit floppy. I enjoyed practising short row shaping and would make this again with a more appropriate yarn.

I've had some skeins of Debbie Bliss Maya in my stash for ages that I'd bought on sale. I used two shades of blue to make up Kim's Hat from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I made the version with earflaps in the largest size as it is for a man. I'm really pleased with the hat . I love the way that this pattern can be adapted. I can see myself making up variations of this to use up oddments of yan left over from other projects.

Sadly, Wilhelmina Witch did not get finished in time for Halloween. There is very little left to do but I just can't bring myself to make thise fiddly little trimmings and sew them on. I also don't like the feel of the acrylic yarn , although it is probably ideal for this sort of toy. I do intend to finish it as I've got this far...

I am currently making another Punk's Not Dead Hat from Pretty In Punk. I love this pattern it always turns out spectacularly. I'm using Lambs Pride Bulky in Onyx . I think it will look great in plain black.

Ravelry !!! and more hats...

My invitation to join Ravelry came through and I have been playing around with the site for the last week. It's brilliant. It will take ages to load up details of all my finished projects but it will be worth it. It's really easy to see what other knitters have done with a pattern. Still lots of knitting going on ...

The Aspen Hat from Twinkle's Big City Knits knitted up in about an hour on the largest circular needles that I've ever used - 15mm. I found the buttons in my old button tin and they look great on it. I think I would prefer it in a solid colour and may try it again. I also finally finished the short sleeve ribbed cardi from Fitted Knits. Prism may not have been the perfect yarn for this project but I still very much like the finished garment. Again, I think that it would have been better in a solid colour to show up the detail.I used the ball of Silk Garden that I got at Ally Pally to make Ela's Favorite Hat from One Skein Wonders which is my favourite pattern book of the moment. There wasn't quite enough yarn to make the tassels on top but I still like it a lot.Also from One Skein Wonders and using Noro Iro from Ally Pally is the Short and Sassy Shawl. I did manage to get this out of one skein. It is a great scarf/shawl and the colours are wonderful. It makes me want to buy a ton of Noro yarn !I bought some Debbie Bliss Cashmerino in a lovely shade of green to make the Twirly-Top Toque - also from One Skein Wonders. I like the shape of this hat and it was enjoyable to knit. The lace is easy to remember. It only took a day to finish. I cast on for Mel's 3-Way Funky Hat as soon as I'd finished the toque. The Koigu Kersti That I bought at String in NY is only a sport weight yarn so I used a smaller needle and made the large size. It 's almost finished and is looking very funky indeed. What next...