A hat for me...possibly!

Well, I finally finished the Northmoor Watchcap. Midsummer is a good time for knitting hats, don't you think? The link takes you to the pattern and I can definitely recommend it. There is even a good chance that I will wear it if we ever have a severe winter. 

I really like the way it turned out. I ploughed on with the 120 stitches per round because nobody on Ravelry commented about that part of the pattern. It was monotonous; but sometimes that is just what I need. It also used up a lot of yarn; but that has made a very warm hat and means I am nearer my goal of using up all my Aran yarn. Win, win.

Some knitters, however, commented that they started the crown shaping one inch earlier than specified in the pattern. I tried it on (very carefully) when I reached that stage, and that was the right size for me as well. So I started the shaping. Like the brim, it was a little more complicated than some hat patterns. But it has made a very neat crown. It doesn't show up in the photo. But I like to think that whoever sits behind me on the bus will think "what a lovely hat"! In fact the whole hat looks quite professional.

On a different topic, some bloggers occasionally tell me that they can't add comments to my blog. Never fear; I discovered some comments awaiting moderation yesterday. It seems that the comments are reaching me; but I don't always receive a notification. That is probably what is being blocked. I have no idea why. I have checked my Blogger settings and everything seems ok. It remains a mystery. But please keep commenting. I always see and read them eventually.

PS: having written that, I just checked my settings again because I was no longer able to reply to comments. I have now changed one setting and that should make it easier for everyone. Phew!

Busy, busy, busy...

Thanks to everyone who left comments on my last blog post and apologies that I haven't found time to answer them. But, rest assured that I read and appreciate every comment. 

However, only comments relating to my blog reach the publication stage. The increasing amount of spam that I receive about restaurants, cleaning materials and other highly irrelevant topics is deleted immediately. I don't even open the links (I'm not daft!!), so whoever is wasting their time sending spam really is wasting their time. Rant over!

I love this time of year. But it is really busy as I make the most of  the good light. If I'm not in the garden, I'm up a ladder with a paint brush in my hand.

I have just found time to start this hat:

The pattern is called Northmoor Watchcaps by Luise O'Neill and is available on Ravelry. I love the way there is a choice of brims. I am knitting the fancy brim which you can just about see in the photo. It has a very clever cable effect that does not need fiddly cable needles. The whole hat is knit on a circular needle. Unusually for Aran yarn it uses a size 4mm needle. The advantage is a more professional finish. The disadvantage is the 120 stitches on each row!

With impeccable timing, I am knitting this on our hottest day of the year so far. As this hat is for me, it will probably be the coldest day of the year before I actually wear it. I generally don't like hats. That's why I am knitting the cable brim for a bit of extra je ne sais quoi.

My new favourite hat pattern...

I promise this isn't the same hat photographed from different angles and blogged about several times! I have quite a lot of this Aran wool to use up. I loved it when I bought it and I still do. It's navy blue with a small beige fleck to give a bit of interest.

This time I followed a pattern that I can't remember knitting before. It's the Easy-Fit Ribbed Hat by Mary Jane Protus. It is almost identical to my previous favourite pattern. But this one has a much neater crown and for that reason is the pattern that I will use in future. It is knit "in the round" and very easy to do. 

The ribbing helps it to fit any shape head. My hat will fit an older child and will eventually go off to Operation Orphan. But I like the wool and pattern so much that I am planning to knit an adult size for myself. That is a big statement for someone who usually prefers to freeze than wear a hat. The beauty of this pattern is that you just use a slightly larger knitting needle if you want a larger size. There is no wading through rows of numbers with this pattern. 

Presently, I am working on three different worry monsters and they are all at the ugly duckling stage. I will blog about them when they are a bit more presentable!

Best laid plans....

Having finally succeeded in using up my 4 ply yarn, apart from a few scraps, (which may have a future use, after all), I decided to use up my Aran yarn which is taking up an unreasonable amount of space. I knitted my favourite, easy hat pattern. I have knitted many of these in the past. It is very simple. I found the pattern on the Loving Hands website. I don't know whether or not it is still there, but it is called Ellie's Easiest Ever Hat and certainly lives up to its name. It is knit in the round with Aran wool. You simply change the needle size to make it fit a child, teenager, woman or man. I definitely recommend this as a quick, easy pattern.

This one will fit a teenager and will go to Operation Orphan when I have enough to post. It barely made a dent in my bag of aran yarn, so I can see another year of knitting hats ahead of me.

My plans to clear the big yarn fell apart when someone gave me three of these humongous balls of wool for Christmas. The beauty is that it won't take me long to knit something with such a thick yarn. The downside is that I have had to order new larger broomsticks knitting needles and I also have no idea what to knit. 

A quick search on Ravelry shows that most people use it for thick scarves. I have enough of those, so will probably make a simple, thick lap rug. Any other ideas? I only have 150 metres of it....all pink!

The person who gave me this wool is not a knitter. They just thought it was lovely and it was a kind thought, so I'm not really complaining. The original expression about best laid schemes comes from a Robert Burns' poem about a poor mouse whose home was ploughed up in a cold winter.

With thanks to Robert Burns, To A Mouse, 1785, and Wikipedia 2019:

The original wording

The poem in modern English

Wee, sleekit, cowrin, tim'rous beastie, O, what a pannic's in thy breastie! Thou need na start awa sae hasty, Wi' bickering brattle! I wad be laith to rin an' chase thee, Wi' murd'ring pattle! I'm truly sorry man's dominion, Has broken nature's social union, An' justifies that ill opinion, Which makes thee startle At me, thy poor, earth-born companion, An' fellow-mortal! I doubt na, whiles, but thou may thieve; What then? poor beastie, thou maun live! A daimen icker in a thrave 'S a sma' request; I'll get a blessin wi' the lave, An' never miss't! Thy wee bit housie, too, in ruin! It's silly wa's the win's are strewin! An' naething, now, to big a new ane, O' foggage green! An' bleak December's winds ensuin, Baith snell an' keen! Thou saw the fields laid bare an' waste, An' weary winter comin fast, An' cozie here, beneath the blast, Thou thought to dwell- Till crash! the cruel coulter past Out thro' thy cell. Thy wee bit heap o' leaves an' stibble, Has cost thee mony a weary nibble! Now thou's turn'd out, for a' thy trouble, But house or hald, To thole the winter's sleety dribble, An' cranreuch cauld! But, Mousie, thou art no thy-lane, In proving foresight may be vain; The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men Gang aft agley, An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain, For promis'd joy! Still thou art blest, compar'd wi' me The present only toucheth thee: But, Och! I backward cast my e'e. On prospects drear! An' forward, tho' I canna see, I guess an' fear![5]

Little, sly, cowering, timid beast, Oh, what a panic is in your heart! You need not start away so hasty With bickering prattle! I would be loath to run and chase you, With murdering paddle! I'm truly sorry man's dominion Has broken Nature's social union, And justifies that ill opinion Which makes you startle At me, your poor, earth-born companion And fellow mortal! I doubt not, sometimes, that you may steal; What then? Poor beast, you must live! An odd ear in twenty-four sheaves Is a small request; I will get a blessing with what is left, And never miss it. Your small house, too, in ruin! Its feeble walls the winds are scattering! And nothing now, to build a new one, Of coarse green foliage! And bleak December's winds coming, Both bitter and piercing! You saw the fields laid bare and empty, And weary winter coming fast, And cozy here, beneath the blast, You thought to dwell, Till crash! The cruel plough passed Out through your cell. That small heap of leaves and stubble, Has cost you many a weary nibble! Now you are turned out, for all your trouble, Without house or holding, To endure the winter's sleety dribble, And hoar-frost cold. But Mouse, you are not alone, In proving foresight may be vain: The best laid schemes of mice and men Go often askew, And leave us nothing but grief and pain, For promised joy! Still you are blessed, compared with me! The present only touches you: But oh! I backward cast my eye, On prospects dreary! And forward, though I cannot see, I guess and fear![citation needed]

My 4 ply days are OVER...

I have never knowingly bought 4 ply yarn. But I seem to accumulate quite a lot of it via kind donations. It definitely comes in useful for tiny baby items, which I like to knit occasionally. It's also easier to knit with during the summer when the thought of working with aran or even double knit wool is often far from enticing. Those are the plus points. The big negative is how long it takes to produce anything on tiny needles. 

So, it seems like I have been working my way through a large bag of 4 ply for YEARS. I'm delighted to say I have finally finished. Woo hoo! 

I knitted two hats for PreemiesUK. I love this shade of pale green because it is very easy on the eye. The little scraps in the photo are all I have left in my 4 ply collection. There isn't enough to knit another hat, so I am officially declaring my 4 ply days OVER. I won't waste the scraps though. They will end up as little decorations or motifs on other future projects.

The weather is freezing cold here at the moment.....just right for the aran wool project I have planned to start next....

I hope everyone is having a peaceful end to the year. I couldn't resist adding the following photo. I'm sure it applies to dogs, cats, ferrets, rabbits, and small children!

More hats for Operation Orphan...

We are going through an intense heat wave here in the UK. Comparisons are being made to the heat wave of 1976. That one was totally wasted on me as I was busy taking exams that year. So this year has been a bit of a shock. It hasn't rained for goodness knows how many weeks and temperatures have been above 30C every day for at least 2 weeks, with more of the same forecast. So what do I do but knit a woolly hat 😎.

I have knitted many of these in the past. It is very simple. I found the pattern on the Loving Hands website. I don't know whether or not it is still there, but it is called Ellie's Easiest Ever Hat and certainly lives up to its name. It is knit in the round with Aran wool. You simply change the needle size to make it fit a child, teenager, woman or man. I definitely recommend this as a quick, easy pattern.

I have added the hat to others and made a small parcel for Operation Orphan.

I try to send my favourite charities at least one parcel per year. This is a much smaller parcel than I would usually send. But I have been ridiculously busy this year with lots of visits from distant relatives, sorting sheds, trying to keep the garden alive, going to the gym etc etc.

A start, a finish and a big donation...

I received another bag of lovely donations from Hubby's colleague. Pastels predominate because she used to knit for her grandchildren, who are now older and wiser and more into grunge. I can't remember the last time I actually BOUGHT a ball of wool.

The wool is mainly dk which suits me perfectly except for the fact that I am currently trying to blitz my 4ply yarn. Here is a photo of a corner-to-corner baby blanket that I have been knitting for quite a while. I am using blue and white 4ply and loving the stripes. Sorry, they don't show up well in the photo. The only problem is the lack of daylight at this time of year. I have learned the hard way that knitting this blanket in artificial light leads to mistakes. I managed to knit a blue stripe instead of a white one, not once, but twice. I tried to live with it, but couldn't, and had to rip back a couple of inches each time. That is no fun when you are crawling along in the 4ply lane

So, my modus operandi now is to knit the blanket whilst watching the midday news. It distracts me from all the doom and gloom which, in turn, distracts me from the endless 4ply knitting. Then, in the evening, I knit with dk yarn. The photo shows a hat that I was able to knit in a couple of days. It's satisfying to be able to finish something quickly. The blanket looks like taking me the rest of the year. I only manage to knit a few rows per day because I have to concentrate. I don't want any more mistakes! 

Here is another photo of the same hat together with one I finished months ago but never got around to photographing. These will eventually go off to Operation Orphan. I will knit more hats until I have enough to fill a reasonable size box. There is no rush as they tend to dispatch the warm clothing donations during the summer. That way,  they are in situ and ready when winter arrives.

Three preemie hats...

Here are three more hats that I have just knitted from the Andycrafts pattern which is fast becoming my favourite preemie hat pattern. That's because it is small but perfectly formed. You can find it on page three if you go to the above link and download the patterns. There are some lovely patterns for preemie cardigans, hats, mittens and socks.

This is very easy to knit and knitters who shy away from knitting in-the-round will be pleased to hear that this one is knitted flat. Personally, I like to knit in-the-round but have to admit that it wouldn't be very easy to do with tiny hats. These will eventually go off to PreemiesUK. This month they especially need:

Teddies

Octopuses 
Knitted blankets 
Crochet blankets
Hats

This pattern called for 4 ply yarn. I'm on a mission to use up all my 4 ply. I have very little left but, because it goes so far, it looks like taking me the rest of the year. Watch this space...

PS: I have lost count of how many times the words "knit" and "patterns" are repeated in this post. I must try harder to think of alternatives!

A preemie blanket and two hats...

The fairly atrocious photo above definitely does not do justice to my latest knits. I finished the preemie blanket that I blogged about recently. It measures 15" square which shows up the tiny size of the preemie hats that I knitted with the remnants of the same 4 ply yarn. 

The smaller hat is for a baby angel of 20 weeks gestation. The larger hat should fit an older premature baby. The pattern came from Andycrafts. There are some lovely premature baby patterns on the website. This hat is at the bottom of page 3 if you go as far as downloading them. My items will eventually go off to PreemiesUK.

All three items above are pale blue. The photo was taken in poor light on a cloudy day in a busy city. Look how it is put to shame by the beautiful photo I took last week. This is Port Gaverne in North Cornwall, England. It is very close to Port Isaac where the tv series "Doc Martin" is filmed. 

The scenery all along that part of the coastline is spectacular. The air is clean and the daylight has a quality of its own. No wonder artists make the effort to travel there for painting holidays or even to live there permanently. I could drink in these colours all day.

The Cornish hedgerows are currently blooming with an orange shrub that I later found out is Crocosmia. You can see it in the foreground of the photo. We had plans to plant some at home until I read up about it. Apparently, it is invasive and will even travel underground to come up through concrete. I don't think my neighbours would be too pleased with me if I planted it. Luckily, I took lots of photos.

Two hats...a blog button...and lots of links

Here are two very simple hats to fit an adult. They will go into my charity box until I have enough to post off to Knit-for-Nowt.  I used a pattern called "Ellie's Easiest Ever Hat" which I think I found on the Loving Hands website.  It really is easy.  It is written for 2 needles, but I always knit this on a circular needle to avoid a bulky seam.

The pattern calls for chunky yarn or dk doubled.  I used Robin Paintbox dk in shades of blue and purple.  There is just one set of instructions.  You simply alter the size of knitting needle to adjust the hat to fit a teenager, woman, or man. I used a 5.5mm needle and dk yarn doubled to knit the woman's size.  The finished hat weighs 80g. So a standard 100g ball of dk yarn could easily be divided and then knitted together to make a cosy hat.  I think that is a great way to use up those 100g balls of yarn that are not big enough for anything else.

Moving on to a completely different subject, huge thanks go to Amy at Love Made My Home for suggesting sites that would be useful for making a blog button.  Eventually, I used a combination of Bannersnack to make the poster, Canva to turn it into a button and Inlinkz to generate the code.  Another useful site for generating code is Mycoolrealm.  I plumped for the Inlinkz code because it added my blog name under the button.  But I really liked the Mycoolrealm site as well because it lets you change the colour of the rather unattractive code box. I would have chosen this code if my blog name had been more obvious on the button. 

The days here are dreary at the moment and perfect for sitting indoors geeking.  It has been time well spent because I have been able to refresh my html skills which used to be quite good. I had to tweak the code which originally gave me a HUGE code box and I altered some of the wording.  There are still areas that could be improved; but there is a limit to how much time I can spare!  I could probably change the colour of the code box if I'm ever snowed-in for a fortnight.

So my sidebar is now hosting a blog button!  The jury is still out on this.  Some people love them and some hate them.   I have always had some belonging to other blogs on my sidebar, so I must be in the first category.  It is interesting to see that my blog stats show a huge spike in visitors since I even mentioned making a blog button. I'll watch the stats.  If they fall dramatically, that will be time for a rethink.

By request, five hats...

Towards the end of last November, I sent a parcel to Knit for Nowt. This is an organisation that supplies knitted and crocheted items to people in Hull and East Yorkshire.  I was impressed at how quickly the organiser contacted me and even more impressed when she asked me for more hats and scarves in adult sizes. I do like a good communicator and I am happiest when I know that what I am knitting is actually needed.

I finished the toddler size hat that was already on my needles and then started on the adult hats.  I had some aran in grey and some in a sparkly beige colour.  Neither of them looked appealing to start with, but both knitted up beautifully. I don't remember where it came from, but I think it must have been filling a space in a job lot.  The grey is Sirdar Supersoft and definitely lives up to its name.  The beige was missing its label but measured as aran. The sparkle is just enough to make the boring beige more interesting. Both colours were perfect for adult hats.

I used up all the beige on two hats and then most of the grey on another two.  I still have enough grey left for another hat. But I was knitting so fast that I actually wore out the circular needle! I had several near disasters with the last hat when the stitches flew off the end of the collapsed cable.  Luckily, it is fairly easy to pick up aran stitches if you stay calm.  I wonder if there is a poster that says "Keep calm and pick up stitches". Maybe I will design one.

I wasn't too upset about the cable.  I have used it for several years without problems. I always knit hats "in the round" to avoid seams. I have another cable on order.  But the parcel is going off tomorrow with the five hats I managed to finish.  I want them to reach Yorkshire while the weather is still cold.

A new hat for a new charity....

This has been the coldest week of the year in my part of the UK.  It is cold enough for snow, though I haven't seen any yet.  After crocheting a large blanket, I am in the mood to relax a little with smaller items.  This hat is for a 6 months old baby. I started with a couple of rounds of pale pink, followed by a variegated ribbing and a solid purple for the rest of the hat.  All the yarn was left over from the same blanket. So it all matches nicely. 

I followed one of my favourite simple hat patterns. It is the Basic Baby Hat by Heather Tucker and I have knitted this many times.  The 6 months size uses only 27g of dk yarn. I can recommend this pattern.  It is knitted in the round; so there are no uncomfortable seams to worry about.

At this time of year, I like to post off any knits that are ready.  It's become a traditional end-of-year winding down ritual. This little collection was in my "completed" box. I had intended to send them to Operation Orphan but discovered at the last minute that they don't really want baby knits as they supply only schools and nurseries. 

So, I logged in to the wonderful Loving Hands website and posted my quandary. Within a few minutes, I received a reply that suggested sending them to Knit for Nowt.  This is a new charity that supplies knitted and crocheted items to people of all ages in East Yorkshire.  I sent off an email to make sure they are still an active charity and once again received a reply in a few minutes. So within thirty minutes of discovering my items were homeless, I had found a really worthwhile home in a part of the UK that I really love.  Result!

Knit for Nowt collects the type of things that I like to make....mainly hats and scarves. They also collect knitted glove and finger puppets. These are used as therapy puppets. There is more information about them HERE.

PreemiesUK...

This little quartet was posted recently to PreemiesUK.  Sometimes I hear about people who struggle to find homes for their preemie items.  Well, I love this group because it has a very active website that is regularly updated with photos of donations received and news of deliveries to premature baby units all over the UK.  I knitted the angel pockets with them in mind.  I added the blanket and hat to the parcel at the last minute.  I was saving them for family and friends' future babies. But, although they are newborn baby size, I decided they would be outgrown very soon.

I still remember happily knitting a little jumper when I was pregnant with my daughter many years ago.  She wore it ONCE before she outgrew it. That is one reason I now prefer to knit things with a longer shelf life.  Blankets and hats meet that criteria.  

I couldn't bear to part with the little jumper. So, it is now in the loft which might or might not be a complete waste depending on whether or not Daughter has a baby of her own one day.  No pressure then!

More 4 ply...

Well, the scarf that I have been working on is now finished.  It is 48" long and will fit a young child.  I was knitting with two balls of 4 ply pink yarn together and kept going until one of the balls was completely used up.  The remainder of the second ball has gone back into the bag and will star in a future project.

Then I took a couple of balls of 4 ply blue yarn and made an aran weight hat to fit a toddler.  I still have quite a bit of blue yarn left.  But my 4 ply mojo has left the building, flown the coop and gone awol. My collection of 4 ply yarn barely fills one carrier bag.  But it will probably last me for five years if I keep using it at the current rate. Never mind.  It will eventually be turned into useful items.

Both these items will go to Operation Orphan for their Keep A Child Warm project.  I'm afraid I don't have links for the patterns. They were both so easy that  I just scribbled them down instead of printing them off.

I am now happily looking at blanket patterns.  I want to knit one that will be easy enough to qualify as mindless knitting and interesting enough to take my mind off some very depressing world and UK events.  Enough said...

Off they go....

This hat looks 100% better in real life!  I had some variegated yarn left after finishing my recent blanket and, as usual, didn't want to "put it back in the bag".  So I knitted a hat to fit a toddler.  I had a tiny amount of matching plain pink yarn and thought this was the perfect opportunity to use it up.  There was enough for the 8 rows of ribbing and also to insert a very subtle single round every nine rounds in the main body of the hat.  These contrast rounds barely show up in the photo.  You can just about see one on the left side of the hat above the ribbing.  But I am very pleased at how they look and will do this again with another hat.

I added the hat to the parcel of goodies that I have just sent off to Operation Orphan for their Keep A Child Warm campaign.  That is 4 scarves, 8 hats and a jumper out of my home and on their way to keep someone warm.

I managed to use up every last scrap of the plain pink yarn.  I love it when that happens.  However, I still have some of the variegated yarn left and just had to put it away.  I'm all pinked out for now and have started a little project in blue...more about that soon.

And now, one for the boys...

Having recently knitted some bright pink hats, I decided to play fair and knitted a balaclava with some grey wool left over from a recent project.  I added three stripes in a variegated grey yarn to add some interest and because I really like this yarn. I bought it a couple of years ago from an enterprising lady who was selling items from her front room.  The plain grey yarn came to me in a bargain joblot and is very soft. This will be a warm and comfortable hat.

This balaclava should fit a child aged 3-4 years.  It is from this very easy balaclava pattern.  I have knitted several of these in the past and never cease to be amazed at how little yarn is needed.  100g of dk yarn is more than enough to knit two of the age 3-4 years size.  This one will be going off very soon to Operation Orphan.

Pretty in pink hats...

This time last week I was on the last round of a very big crochet project that I have been working on.  It has gone surprisingly quick because I have worked on it exclusively.  Then I needed a bit of a break from it.  So I knitted these two hats.  

The bigger one is toddler size and follows the Simple Lines Baby Hat pattern by Heather Tucker.  The smaller one is for a six months old baby and is a slight variation on the Basic Baby Hat pattern also by Heather Tucker.  I just added a row of eyelet holes above the ribbing because I felt like it!  I managed to use just 27g of yarn on the smaller hat and about 44g on the larger one.

I love the pink and the variegated yarns in these hats.  Little girls seem to love pink even when their mothers try to steer them towards other colours.

If I had stuck with my larger project, it would be finished by now. But the weather here is very warm at the moment, so it still doesn't appeal to me.  I feel one more hat in my system before the temperature cools down a little next week.  Watch this space...

Two little boys' hats...

I had some blue yarn left over after knitting my recent scarf and I didn't want to put it back "in the bag".  So I knitted two newborn baby hats.  The colours are possibly a little darker than most baby hats.  But I would have used these if Daughter had been a boy and I also have nieces who are crazy about a football team that wears these colours.

The pattern I used for the darker hat is by Heather Tucker and can be found here.  I like the raised stitches detail as it adds just enough interest.  It is very easy, though you do have to keep track of which round you are knitting.  For the variegated hat, I followed the Basic Baby Hat pattern which is also by Heather Tucker.  It is a complete breeze to knit as it omits the raised stitches detail.  Just point your needles and go!

The nieces I mentioned probably have at least five years living to do before they produce babies.  So I will probably send these hats off to Operation Orphan.

Newsflash: my dilemma about what to do with the shocking pink yarn has been solved.  I have actually made a start on using it in a new project.  Watch this space.....

Scarf and hat set finished....

It's been all about grand finishes here this week.  We now have lovely new floors and a very strong oak staircase that will still be here in a hundred years time.  I have miles of new skirting boards to paint.  This week I finished the dining room and all the furniture is back in place.  Woo hoo!  The lurid background in the photo is actually an antique dining table that Hubby paid an obscene amount of money for at an Antiques Fair.  It will be starring in a lot of my future photos and I promise it looks better in real life than it does here!

I finished the scarf I have been knitting for some time.  It is a one row pattern.  Sadly, I have mislaid the link.  But there are lots of one row patterns and I can recommend them as very therapeutic mindless knitting.  I was using 6mm needles and two strands of 4ply together. I'm really pleased with the soft texture.  It will be very warm.  My scarf is 59" long and weighs 97g.  It definitely took longer to make than a crochet scarf.  But sometimes I am just in the mood for knitting.

The hat is from the Two By Two Basic Beanie pattern by Kate Gondwana.  I love this pattern for its simplicity and many sizes from baby to large adult.  It is really written for dk yarn, but 4ply doubled worked fine.  I knitted the "younger child" size and used 22g of yarn.  

These will eventually be going off to Operation Orphan.  They would make a nice matching set for someone, though I don't really expect them to end up on the same child.  They will probably be separated at the sorting stage and it would be a very lucky moment if they managed to reunite.