Sunshine
So I don't know about you, but where we are, it's winter and gray and gloomy. And while normally I can deal with that this fine, somehow this year it's wearing on me. The obvious cure is sunshine. And this is about as close as I can get to sunshine in a jar. We've talked before about how to do this. The gist is chop up your citrus (I've gotten much more casual about leaving the seeds in and the tips on over time, but you can totally remove them if you're so inclined). Jam them in jars, dumping in [...]
Take me to your leader
So the hat is looking something like a space ship. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing...but it is a bit unexpected. Now that's mostly because I've got a short row panel jammed onto a long, straight needle, so the fabric is all bent around. But if we put it on more accommodating needles, it doesn't look too much more normal. It will round out once I knit a few more straight rows, I promise. It's almost time to add in some green fluff! [pextestim pex_attr_set="looking-for-this-pattern" pex_attr_autoplay="false"][/pextestim]
This will either be grand or…
So you know at the very end of winter? When the sky is still gray but one or two psychotic trees have put out the tiny, bright green leaf buds? I've always loved that color combo, and it turns out I had some yarn that might just be able to pull that off hanging out in my stash. The obvious next step is a bit of swatching... Oh and then hey, ribbing. Because apparently I hate myself and want myself to suffer. Or, possibly, because ribbing is lovely and functional and serves an important purpose at the bottom of a [...]
Tippy top
As promised, here's the top of the hat. It hasn't quite been blocked yet (because blocking means I need to clean my sink, and that is just currently too hard), but you can still see it's going to be nifty. It does a lovely poufy, structured thing when you've got it on, and that should be even more pronounced once it's had a nice firm block (I'm considering using paper clips or something to help emphasize the pleats when I block it...I'll show it off if I do and it works well. And no, I'm still not quite sure which [...]
Constellate, how can I change my gauge?
We're having a little KAL for Constellate, and I promised I'd talk about a few ways you can modify the pattern as part of the festivities. One of the easiest (and I think most fun) ways you could modify this pattern is to tweak your gauge. Now, the pattern is already written in three gauges (5.5, 6, or 6.5 stitches per inch, which should work for most dk, sport, or fingering weight yarns). There's a little chart in the pattern that looks something like this. It shows you what size head the hat fits at various gauges and cast ons. [...]
Constellate KAL
So, enough folks have asked that I think we should do a little knitalong for Constellate! I've got us a thread set up on ravelry right over here. If this has found its way onto your needles, I'd be delighted if you'd come show it off! Over the next week or two I'll show off some swatches of this stitch in other yarn, talk a bit about how you could change up the gauge to make a really bulky hat, and maybe even see if we can't come up with a few examples of how you could turn this into [...]
Mountains and Valleys
So it's done (yay), and my current biggest dilemma is whether I want to wear it so the mountain part is in front (so this side would be facing forward). Or with the valley part is in front (so this side would be facing forward). I suspect the actual answer will be 'however the heck it's oriented when I yank it out of my coat pocket is just fine thank you very much.' But it's possible other folks are more concerned with the nuances of fashion than I am. Some time soon here I'll show off the crown of this [...]
And now we knit
This is at the point where we just go round and round and round until it's tall enough. Which shouldn't take too terribly much longer. Maybe a few more inches... And, as usual, this one will have quick quick quick decreases (I have a plan for this little pinwheel looking thing I think will be awesome), so I'm trying it on like this every few rows to see how it fits. Won't be long now! [pextestim pex_attr_set="looking-for-this-pattern" pex_attr_autoplay="false"][/pextestim]
Bigger and bigger
The hat continues to grow. I continue to like how ribbing looks and behaves slightly (ever so slightly) more than I dislike actually knitting it. And I am quite looking forward to watching these go careening about. It should just about be consolation for all that ribbing. We're going to have to have a long chat about those increases at some point. They're just lifted increases, but fiddled about with just a bit to keep them nicely matched. I'm dearly hoping I can find someone else that has done a lovely, thorough explanation of them and just point at that. [...]
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