Zig-Zag Hats

Pattern - Pennyroyal by Tracey Lambert - Yarn: Dynasty Yarn in Rio in HN-542 (brim/body) and HN-15 (crown) - Needles: US 8

  This yarn was interesting to work with.  In one skein there were places where the colorful thread was wrapped tighter than other places, so you could sometimes accidentally slide it.  I ran into three knots, and a section where there was a massive amount of thread loosely clumped together around the core.  The core was also flatter in some places than others.  The second skein was wrapped evenly and didn't have any knots.  It is really fun to look at, but I don't know if I want to work with it again.

Pattern - Pennyroyal by Tracey Lambert (mostly) - Yarn: Sensations Bellezza Collection Smania in 37635 64 Smania Berry Multi - Needles: US 8

  I saw the pattern Portsmouth Beanie by Jesie Ostermiller on Ravelry.  I liked the vibe it had, but it wasn't exactly what I was looking for.  I had so much fun working the first Pennyroyal that I figured I could work with that.  I changed the ribbing on the bottom to be *k2, p3, k1* to get the knits to work out just right with the pattern.  I also wanted the zig-zag to be thicker, a bit more like the Portsmouth Beanie so I added another row between the two sets of eyelets and decreases.  Since I was adding another two rows to the chart, I didn't work the 4 plain rows the pattern has you do otherwise.  I also worked an additional two rows after the chart was done to make sure it was as tall as intended before I decreased for the crown.  I like the results, but I might try again with a one-by-one rib to see how that looks.

  I got a big bag of scraps from Tammy and I'm not sure how to count that in the Yearly Yarn Tracker.  I could count each small ball, but then my Out number is going to grow quickly too.  I could try weighing some together to equal a full skein, but I'm also lazy.  If I don't end up counting them towards my In number, then I won't count them towards my Out number.

Yearly Yarn Tracker:
Yarn In: 5 (5)
Yarn Out: 13 (1)

Total: -8

Bright Hats!

Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver in 302 Kaleidoscope - Needles: US 8

  I saw Quynn by Woolly Wormhead on Ravelery and wanted to try my hand at making something similar.  While I didn't do too badly, I think their version is much cuter.

Pattern: BUN Hat by Andi OldTrout - Size: 18" - Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver in 302 Kaleidoscope - Needles: US 10

  I saw on a post by lindstitch on Instagram where she showed how to easily make yarn thicker.  Really handy if you don't want to buy new yarn but also don't have the correct weight.  It is pretty much doing a chain ply, like when spinning, and is really smart.  The resulting yarn was too thick for the size 10s I was trying to use, and I ended up not having enough yarn to finish the hat.  For this hat I just doubled up the yarn.

  I feel like the yarn tracker is making me look a lot better than it should be at this point.  It seems that even though people are still bringing their extra yarn to the get-togethers, none of it has really been speaking to me.  There were a few I was tempted by, but after I put it back down to think about it, someone else saw it and loved it.

  It is also worth noting that not all skeins are the same size.  I've had to use two to make a hat from one brand and have used one skein to make a few hats of another.

Yearly Yarn Tracker:
Yarn In: 0 (0)
Yarn Out: 12 (4)

Total: -12