Hat Challenge WIP #3: Pashmina Sockhead Hat

I needed a new brainless project to knit while carpooling and in lecture class, so I cast on for my third Hat Challenge project.  Yay!  This is the Sockhead Hat by Kelly McClure, and it's a super cute little slouchy hat that can be knit in a variety of different yarns.  Pashmina is just barely a sportweight, so it's a little heavy, but the fabric it's making is very squishy and nice.

It's funny, when I bought this yarn, I thought it was a silvery grey, but now that I'm knitting with it, it's abundantly clear that it's a very, very, very pale blue - especially when it's put up next to true greys. 

 I was actually bad with this hat, and didn't swatch.  Well, that's not strictly true: I did try to swatch.  I started with a US 2.5 (3.0 mm) and after about two inches of fabric, I was getting about 7 stitches per inch instead of the suggested 8.  So I ripped that out and switched to a US 2 (2.75 mm), thinking that should definitely fix it.  Nope.  I got 7.5 stitches per inch, and my hands hurt from knitting that teeny gauge with biggish yarn.

So I said screw it and cast on without getting gauge.  I'm using the smaller needles for the ribbing, since I  invariably wish the ribbing of all my hats were smaller.  I think I'm going to switch to the larger needles for the stockinette portion.  It's been a great project to throw in my purse - it's so much easier to finish in the middle of a round of 2x2 ribbed hat than in the middle of a lace row!

Hat Challenge WIP #1: Eyelet Cap

First up: # 09 Eyelet Cap by Cathy Carron.  I swatched for this hat a good month ago, and finally cast on last week.  It's cast-on from the top, and at first I was trying to be all tricksy and use a provisional cast-on so I could zip up the first 12 stitches later, but when it proved to be messy and ugly, I ripped out my first attempt and cast on the way the pattern recommended.  And guess what?  It looks fine.  The hat is full of eyelets, so the slightly bigger eyelet in the middle looks right at home.

I've been bad.  This is my walking-around knitting right now, and I've been so preoccupied with just getting it done that I haven't tried it on yet.  I like the color, though, and the yarn is lovely to work with.  It sucks light big-time, I think because it's a brown yarn that's been overdyed dark red.  It's also a little bit thick-and-thin and has a light halo that's more toned-down than mohair and more intense than cashmere.

My one complaint for this project?  The needles I'm using are too damn blunt.  The eyelet rows were freakin' painful.  Sometimes I think about buying a whole mess of 16" Addi Turbo Lace needles just to make hats.  Skacel makes them, but not all stores stock them.  Although I've been using my old Addi Turbos with the regular tips for the hats I've been making lately, some of them have a lot of stitch manipulation that would be loads easier with a lace tip.

I've also been doing some hatstorming (hahah, see what I did there?) about my next Hat Challenge project. Methinks it will involve Tosh Merino Light... hm-hmmm....

Hat Challenge Post 2: Swatch Time!

Hahah!  You thought I'd forgotten, eh?  Well, okay... maybe I did a little bit.  But not entirely!  You see, I knit a swatch.

And then left it on the armrest of the couch for a week and a half.

But the overall point is that I blocked it.  And it turned from a perfectly decent little piece of ribbed fabric to perhaps the most beautiful, light, fluffy slip of deliciousness I've ever made.

There is nothing quite like the look of freshly blocked ribbing: coaxed into soft vertical lines, expansive and forgiving like the best of old friends.

And now I'm really excited to cast on.

... at least, if I got gauge.

Hat! Challenge! Part 1: #09 Eyelet Cap in Buffalo Gals

First up in the Hat Challenge is this Cathy Carron pattern, #09 Eyelet Cap from the Fall 2009 issue of Vogue Knitting.  (It always throws me off, how generic Vogue pattern names can be.  "Eyelet cap" doesn't exactly stick in your mind.)  This will be my hat pattern for September.  I love how simple and slouchy it is, and I can easily imagine a hat like this being coveted by knitters and non-knitters alike.

As for the yarn, I'll be using this gorgeous 50/50 bison/alpaca blend from Buffalo Gals.  The yarn is called "Homage to the New World", which more than makes up for the hat's boring name!  I got this yarn at The Swift Stitch in Santa Cruz, California.  I grabbed this yarn in particular because.  OMG.  It is so freaking soft.  The shop is a very cute LYS with friendly employees and a fabulous selection of sock yarn and luxury fibers, great samples, and a comfy couch for the non-knitting friend or significant other to chill while you wait.  It has a loft above the shop, so there are wooden stairs between the cash register and shelving that create a little corner of sock yarn.  There's also a great bakery right next door, as well as a little vintage shop in one of the other buildings in the complex.

Now, to swatch!

Next up: Hat Challenge Project #2.  So many hats queued, so little time...