Whimsical Hats: Part 3

Pattern: Crochet “Sun and Moon” Granny Square by Creggy’s Crochet - Yarn: Premier Just Yarn Worsted Yarn in Yellow, Cream, Turquoise, and Classic Blue - Hook: 5.5mm

  I was watching Kira (PricklyAlpaca) on YouTube and she fairly recently learned how to crochet and made some sun and moon granny squares.  I liked them enough that I wanted to make something with them too.  I have also half paid attention to ads for the Arkyve Holly Bloom Crochet Cat Hat, which are pretty cute.  I thought it would be a fun idea to combine those ideas together.  Since the sun and moon granny square is pretty large, I wouldn't be able to use 4 for each half of the hat if I wanted to make it a kid's size.  I also wanted mine to be more unique and only get inspiration from the one I saw. 

  I started out with the “Sun and Moon” Granny Square.  Once I got it squared off I started working back and forth around the sides and bottom.  I tried so many things to keep it as square as I could.

  The best result I had was from alternating rows of double crochets and treble crochets on the bottom, and always working half-double crochets on the sides.  To keep the counts the same I added two half-double crochets in the corners of the sides and only one double/treble crochet in the corners of the bottom.

  This is a chart of how the bottom would be worked.  The grey stitches are from the original square, so they might be different if you are trying this with a different starting square.  The blue are the first row, which is different than the following half-double crochet rows.  The red stitches are to let you know to just keep working plain along the side.  The reason I have both chains and half-double crochets next to each other is because I usually work a standing half-double, but most people like to work a turning chain.

  When the piece was almost big enough, I did a final row of double crochet all the way around with two double crochets in the first stitch of the first side and the last stitch of the third side.  I put double crochets spaced evenly along the top to match the count on the bottom.  I once again used the Crochet Tight Join As You Go Method by Hooked by Robin on the last row of the second square.

  If I make this or something similar again, I would only chain three between the sun beams before the background color is introduced, mine has too much sun color peeking through.  Another option would be to make it smaller one by just putting five double crochets in the spaces and not work the single stitches for the sun rays, though it wouldn't change the finished size of the square.  To do that the squaring off row could be worked on row as well.

Pattern: Jester Style Crochet Hat by Alison Russell - Yarn: Lion Brand Yarn Mandala Baby in Honeydukes - Hook: 3.75mm

  I don't know if I mentioned the things I have been doing differently on these than when I made my regular granny squares.  For the first row I have been working groups of two instead of three because even if I'm working groups of three later, this lets you tighten the center magic ring easier.  I have also been working a chain 1, sc as the last chain of the row.  That way you end in the middle of what would normally be a chain 2 space.  I like being able to work the entire first wedge without turning or trying to squish everything backwards.

  The Wednesday evening group looks to be dying down again.  A lot of the older ladies meet earlier in the day on Wednesday, so they don't have to drive in the dark.  One of the people moved, so if she works on Wednesday then she's too tired to hang out and also drive herself home after.  I've been trying to get more people I know to go, but I've not gotten anyone to come consistently.  The younger people have also been meeting on Saturday mornings, which I wouldn't mind going to, but I also have my Saturday afternoon group.

  We were glad they have some indoor seating and even a highchair at Mary's Botanitas weekend before last.  I got sopes with chicken for Miss Spud and soft tacos with chorizo and al pastor with regular horchata to drink for me.  The horchata came out in a large soup to-go container.  Their hot sauce wasn't too hot, but had a lot of flavor.  The chorizo came with some nice crispy bits and the al pastor was very moist and tender.  I do want to go back at some point and try more options.

Pattern: Crochet Jester Hat by me - Yarn: Baby Bee Sweet Delight Prints in 324 Sprinkles - Hook: 4.5mm

  I wanted to make a version of the jester hat that was a combination of the first few and the blue/white one.  I'm trying to decide if I want to post the general pattern for this on here or on Ravelry.  I could do both.  It is easier to just post on here because Ravelry needs more information, though more people would see it on Ravelry.

  It was a busy day at the cabin on this past Monday.  Around 9am the Internet guy showed up.  He said that whoever installed our phone didn't install the battery backup they provide.  We have one of our own, but they installed one anyway.

  The people bringing the new refrigerator were supposed to let Bill know about half an hour before they arrive.  However, half an hour away from the cabin doesn't have cell service.  He was worried that they wouldn't find the place, but the cable guy and all the Amazon trucks have been able to find us.

  They got to us and didn't have any real problems getting the old one out and the new one in.  They had to take the handles off the old one and the interior door of the cabin off, but that wasn't a big deal for them.  The handles for the new one came inside, and it was easy getting it in place.

  It won't be dying down there any time soon because we have the windows coming later this week and the heating and cooling systems sometime later this month.

Yearly Yarn Tracker:

Yarn In: 10 (0)
Yarn Out: 11 (1)

Total: -1