From scarves to hats...

I finished the red wool scarf. Well, except for weaving in the beginning and tail ends... I hate weaving in ends. Which is probably why the afghan I "completed" 3 years ago and that has been on my bed long before that (best place to store a blanket WIP), still has ends to work in. Plus it got gored by the metal frame for my bed, so there's a patch job.

So, having completed the red scarf - as I only had 4 balls of Lion Wool in that lot, from when the local Walmart clearanced out its craft area. Lion Wool has less yardage per skein, and I've been burned by wool-ease balls so often, so I didn't get this until it was about $1.50 per ball. I have 3 more balls in a different lot number (thought I only had 1) so I immediately latched onto the idea of making a matching hat. (Once I confirmed that the Patons red beret I knit and felted (as I knit it far too big) was the wrong color.) However, in small circular needles, I only had a set of size 9 or 10, and with size 8 on the scarf, the gauge was too loose for a hat, so I'm thinking 7 or 6.

This meant, I got distracted and made a nice black hat with the size 4's in the meantime.


Roll brim, ribbed row then an increase, with a circular decrease on the top, trying to flatten it out.






With that done, still distracted, I pulled out some old Wool-ease that I last used on my brother's afghan (that my Mom has in addition to her own 62 is a good house temp with blankets), and have been trying another roll brim, with an diagonal rib.

The problem here is that I started with 160 cast on, as I know that it would be thinner than the Paton's. I went with my double ended 3's, but I stink at multiple needles (I keep making accidental yo's at the new needle) so I went to the circular 4 16" needle, but could see even more light with the rib, so have gone to a 3, and now to the only 2's I have double-ended.

And still there doesn't seem to be the density I want for a hat.

Fall Frost, and Knitting Resumes.

I had a kick for a while this summer with knitting washcloths. I didn't realize how quickly Sugar & Cream loses its color - I mean I've read that it fades quickly- but some of the ones I knit in the spring look like antiques. Another factor is that I think I'd move up another size with the needles for the next time I feel like knitting cotton - from the dryer they shrink so much they look too small, but wet they grow an inch or so.

With the cool weather I've resumed my large double-stranded Red Heart yarn afghan. It's huge and heavy - and I think probably more than half done - but the weight makes it impossible to knit more than 2 rows at a time max, and lately my hands are cramping less than halfway through 1 row.

I've started 2 new scarves and finished both of my old scarf projects. The aqua toned one curls quite a bit being mostly in stockinette, and I've been debating whether I should felt it. I really have no idea how it would felt - if the width would shrink more than the length or vice versa. But I'm learning towards felting it with the curling.

The near permanent dirt under my fingernails

I haven't been doing much knitting, as when the AC goes on, I feel wasteful knitting under a blanket. I have been gardening, though the rain and recent temperature spikes haven't cooperated. My irises were gorgeous this year, with a couple of colors I didn't remember showing up well. Grass though has been a hard to get out weed in my flowerbeds, only really sprouting in my perennials, and they are loving my creeping phlox. I did make an attempt to kill all the grass in the phlox on my corner bed, but only succeeded in killing the phlox. :(