$2 Habitat

Name: $2 Habitat
Pattern: Habitat by Jared Flood
Craft: Knitting
Made for me :o)
Size: Med/Lg
Start date: September 13, 2009
Completed date: September 17, 2009
Needle size: US 8 / 5.0 mm and US 10 / 6.0 mm
Yarn: Lion Brand Vanna's Choice Solid
How much?1 skeins = 170.0 yards (155.4m)
Colour: 99 Linen
See it on Ravelry!

Modifications: To accommodate for my big head, I decided to use aran weight yarn instead of worsted. Used bigger needles to accommodate the increase in yarn. I didn’t bother blocking the hat when it was done. I was very happy with the size and shape, so blocking was not necessary.

Pattern: Huge fan of Jared Flood, so I have been looking forward to making this pattern for awhile. I wanted to make this hat for Jim last year, but he doesn’t like the cables. I didn’t make it for myself at first because normally hats like this don’t look so great on me. Usually the hats are too tight around my big head and it just looks awkward. I have a similar style hat from Abercrombie and it it fits me pretty well because the hat is huge. So I decided to give this hat a try with a thicker wool and bigger needles to see how it goes, and I’m really pleased with the final product. It’s nice to knit with a pattern that doesn’t have any mistakes in it. I hate being one of the first knitters and discovering errata all throughout the pattern.

Yarn: I bought this at Michaels using their 50% off coupon and got a skein for $2! What a steal! It took less than a skein to complete the hat. I was really pleased with Vanna’s Choice; it is extremely soft for acrylic. I recently knitted with an acrylic yarn and it was awful! It was very plastic feeling and stiff. This yarn did not feel like plastic at all and it was very soft to work with. I absolutely love this colour as well, very elegant and very understated. Just my kind of colour!

Snapdragon Tam

Name: Snapdragon Tam
Pattern: Snapdragon Tam by Ysolda Teague
Craft: Knitting
Made for me :o)
Size: Medium
Start date: September 10, 2009
Completed date: September 12, 2009
Needle size: US 6 / 4.0 mm
Yarn: Red Heart Ltd. Comfort Sport
How much? 60 grams = 0.17 skeins = 194.5 yards (177.8m)
Colour: 4312
See it on Ravelry!

Pattern: When I saw this hat on ysolda’s website, I knew I had to knit it. As soon as the pattern was available, I instantly bought the pattern and cast on right away. Again, another flawless pattern from her. Easy to follow and not a single mistake anywhere. There’s a chart version and there’s row by row instruction, so you can use whatever is more convenient for you.

Yarn: I bought the yarn because I liked the vibrant raspberry colour (the pictures doesn’t do it justice). I used this yarn because I was sick and decided to knit from my stash instead of going out to get more yarn. I don’t think store owners would be very pleased with me coughing and sneezing while I grabbed and fondled their yarn to decide which one I wanted to buy. I wasn’t very pleased with this yarn and don’t think I will ever knit anything with it again. It was very stiff and felt like plastic. I know it’s acrylic, and I have nothing against acrylic! In fact, I often love it because of the cost. However, this has to be the worse acrylic yarn out there. Never again!

Gretel

Name: Gretel
Pattern: Gretel by Ysolda Teague
Craft: Knitting
Made for me :o)
Size: Middle size (blocked to 10.5 inch diameter)
Start date: August 27, 2009
Completed date: August 30, 2009
Needle size: US 3 / 3.25 mm and US 7 / 4.5 mm
Yarn: Cascade Yarns 220 Heathers
How much? 1 skein = 220 yars (201.2m)
Colorway: 8401 Silver Grey
See it on Ravelry!

Made this with the leftover from my Almeara gloves. Beautiful hat, I love all the cable-y goodness! I have been wanting to knit this for awhile and the finished product is everything I had hoped for. Can't wait for the weather to get cooler so I can start wearing this!

Grove Mittens

Name: Grove Mittens

Pattern: Grove Mittens by Jared Flood
Made for me :)
Size: One size
Start date: August 19, 2009
Completed date: August 25, 2009
Needle size: US 6 / 4.0 mm
Yarn: Cascade Yarns 220 Wool
How much? 1 skein = 220.0 yards (201.2m)
Colour: 9484 Stratosphere
See it on Ravelry!

Made this to go with my Laurel hat! It was an uphill battle, but I think I won in the end! I didn't check the gauge (which is a bad habit, but I never do) and the mittens were extremely tight when they were on the needle. They were also poorly shaped and weirdly long (they reminded me of hot dog buns for some reason). I wasn't very happy with them and kept thinking about how I could turn my frown upside down with these mittens. I even tried lining the mittens, but that didn't work out so well either. Thankfully blocking did miracles to these gloves, and now I actually like them!

Tip: The chart in the pattern is very tiny, so what I did was scanned the chart (you can also take a picture of it) and cropped it so it was just the left mitten or the right mitten chart by itself. I then printed each chart so that it was as large as a 8.5 by 11 page. It was so much easier to see and I just highlighted each row as I was done knitting it.

Modifications: Made the cuff a bit bigger than instructed in the pattern. I did k2tog instead of k2tog through the back loops. When I did them through the back loop the stitches were going in the opposite direction of where they needed to go. Used kitchener stitch to bind off instead of using the three needle method.

Errata: I think there should be a change in marker placement. Work to the end of row 49. Remove marker, slip one stitch to right needle with yarn in the back, and then put the marker back on the needle.

Blocking:The mittens turned out a bit small (and I have really small hands!). Oh well, nothing blocking and stretching can’t fix. We’ll see how blocking does. I might try knitting with 4.5mm needle next time (serves me right for not checking the gauge and relying on blocking to fix any problems). What I did was cut out one side of the mitten chart when I was done and traced it on a piece of cardboard (this piece was a bit bigger than my hands and definitely alot bigger than the finished knitting piece). Soaked the mitten, and then used a towel to get rid of excess water. Blocked it over the piece of cardboard, and the result is perfect pair of mittens! I should of used a piece of plastic to block the mittens instead of cardboard. I didnt have any plastic, so the cardboard was just fine! I would have thrown these mittens in the garbage can if it weren't for blocking. Blocking saved the day :)