Elise's Cognac Hat

Pattern:

Cognac

Thea Colman

Yarn:

madelinetosh tosh dk

Celadon

This was a case of me buying the yarn first. I had started to make a Pressed Leaves hat for myself, but tore it out because my dear friend, Elise was complaining that I had made something for "Everyone" and not her. So, I frogged that and bought this pattern. The interesting cables intrigued me because I love a seed stitch. I also liked that it would be a unique hat. It reminded me a lot of Elise. I am pleased enough with the finished project, but I don't know I'd buy another Thea Colman pattern. The cables are cool, but the hat shape itself wasn't the best. It's a little weirdly long without being properly slouchy. I feel like I could have come up with a better shape without spending the money. Oh well, the hat is cute and I like the cable.

The color is prettier in person

Really cool cables

Chicago Skyline Hat

Pattern:

Chicago Skyline

Me

Yarn:

Dragonfly Fibers Traveler

Riptide

I knew I wanted to make a hat that was inspired by Chicago when I decided to move back home to Minneapolis. Originally, I was going to make a hat that was inspired by the Lake Michigan coastline, but it was too subtle and not terribly interesting. Then, I decided to chart out the Chicago skyline. Usually, something like this is done with colorwork, but I wanted something that played with texture. I made the buildings in reverse stockinette, and added some interesting v's up in the sky of stockinette. 

The yarn that I picked out is probably the most gorgeous skein of yarn I have ever encountered. I want to buy more and more of it and make a sweater. I may eventually make the investment, we'll see, it wouldn't be super cheap... But, totes worth it. I absolutely love the colors of the hat, and I love to wear it around.

I love the finished hat. The only trouble is that I am the only one who knows that it's supposed to be the skyline. I need to embroider with white floss the outline of the buildings, and then it will be done. I'm really excited to see the finished product.

Caryn's Bux Hat

Pattern:

BUX

The Restless Knitter

Yarn:

Traveller

Winterfell

For Caryn's birthday, I wanted to make her a hat. She first picked out the pretty dark blue yarn, and then we spent time looking at hundreds of hat patterns. She wanted something simple, but very slouchy to accommodate her giant head. This pattern was perfect, and I really like how the lace turned out. It shows off the subtle variations of the yarn really well, and the hat is super soft.

I would definitely make the pattern again. I think I might make it for myself with some pretty pink Ella Rae Lace Merino Worsted.

Nice lace

Different brim

Rachael's Birthday Hat

Pattern:
Beeswax Hat
Amy van de Laar

Yarn:
tosh dk
Candlewick

I have been interested in this pattern for a while. I really like things that have an ultra realistic texture or aspect to them, so this hat, with it's cleverly created honeycomb pattern, really caught my eye. I love how it creates the look of depth, without appearing to be too literal. When I decided to make Rachael a hat for her birthday, I knew this had to be the pattern.

I went into my favorite yarn shop looking for a pretty yarn. This one really jumped out at my, and my roommate thought it was perfect too. I was between this and a lighter, sunnier yellow, but the owner of the shop liked this one more, and I think the darker tones will look really lovely with Rachael's dark brown hair. I'm so excited to give it to her! The yarn obviously, is perfect. Tosh yarn is always the best and shows the pattern beautifully.

I made some minor mods to the brim of the hat. It's supposed to have a ribbing that leads into the comb, but I thought it looked dumb on everyone's heads, so I made it slouchy. I took out about ten stitches from the brim and added them as soon as I finished the ribbing. It has a nice shape, and I think it will be much more wearable.

Better shape

Love the honeycomb

Valentine's Day Hat 2015

Pattern:
Valentine's Day Hat 2015
Myself

Yarn:
Araucania Huasco
116 Lavender

For Valentine's Day this year, I wanted to use the same cable pattern that I used last year, the pretty heart, but I wanted to add something more intricate to complement the fingering weight yarn. I also wanted to have a slouchy hat that would work well for the balmy spring weather. The end result is one of my very favorite hats. The subtle stitch texture is really interesting and matches the color shifts well. I also really like the floral quality to the leaf cable. The yarn is also amazing. It is so soft and comfortable, and it holds its shape well. I love everything about the hat, especially since it was a good project for me to work on while I went through a rough Valentine's Day.

Took a while to get the right slouch shape

Really pretty quilted texture

Love the cable patterns

My Own Sweet William Hat

Pattern:
Sweet William
Alicia Plummer

Yarn:
Kollage Fantastic
Porcelain

I made my own Sweet William! I love this hat so much. My only complaint is that it's a little too snug. It's not very slouchy. If I make it again, I'll definitely keep it in mind. However, this will be great for keeping my head warm while temperatures are so low since it'll stay close to my head.

The yarn is incredible. It has amazing stitch definition and feels so luxuriously dense. I would most definitely make another hat out of this. Especially something with cables. The color is also very lovely. It'll match my other scarves and coats well. It'll be a nice hat for the winter!

Love the hat!

My Noro Thinking of Waves Scarf

Pattern:

Thinking of Waves

yellowcosmo

Yarn:

Taiyo Sock
3

So after looking at my Celes scarf for a year, and having only worn it once, right after I finished it, I decided to frog the scarf. I never really wore it because it wasn't a comfortable size or shape. I may make it again in future with a softer yarn that will drape better. In the meantime, I really liked the colors in the 3 and I really wanted to try using it again. Man, am I glad I did.

I have really wanted to make another Thinking of Waves, because I wear my Madelinetosh version all the time. I just love how the short rows flow and how it bunches around my neck and shoulders like a warm hug. It's probably my favorite shaped scarf of all of them.

The Noro seemed like an interesting experiment in how fiber content and dyes will affect the finished product. This scarf is much larger and a little more structured. The color shifts look really interesting in this and I predict I will wear this ALL the time. So much so, that I had to go out and buy more Noro to try it again with another project! I feel like Noro will either look amazing or hideous, it's just a matter of finding the right project. We'll see what I do with the new batch. For now, another really good scarf that I'm really happy with.

The funny thing about this yarn is that I bought it last year, before I stopped buying black, but by now, pretty much every color in this is a color I wear now. The bright greeny teal is the color of my lighter coat, and the bright purple is the color of my purse!

Really interesting color shifting

Love love love the colors in this