A New Friend and a Fun Adventure

Pattern: Jason's Cashmere Hat by Melissa Thomson - Yarn: Berella So Soft in Dark Rose - Needle: US 8

  My dad has become good friends with the owner of Bourbon Boulevard and was invited out to see his farm.  The GPS decided to take us down the wrong road and have us try and use a Dominion Powder access path to get to the correct location.  We then asked for directions again and it took us along actual roads.

Pattern: Seafield Headband by Jennifer Shiels Toland - Yarn: Berella So Soft in Dark Rose - Needle: US 7

  We eventually found the huge house he has and got to meet his dog, Mina.  We all drove out and my dad and Bill helped him with a project he had in mind.  I stayed in the car and knitted, where it was warmer.  He learned a lot and had a great time.  We then had lunch at Bourbon Boulevard, it was funny because he put it into the kitchen remotely and then called so they didn't cancel the order for a table that didn't have any people at it.  We sat at my dad's usual table, table 61.

Yearly Yarn Tracker:
Yarn In: 0 (0)
Yarn Out: 2 (2)

Total: -2

Jason's Cashmere Hat: Is It The Best?

© Melissa Thomson

Jason's Cashmere Hat 

Overall rating: 4.9/5 from 2320 votes (Ravelry)

Cost: Free

  I was scrolling through the knitting board on Reddit when an impressive post showed up.  Swannygirl94 said that she and her mom wanted to try and fill a bathtub with these hats.  They didn't get there, but still made an impressive amount.

© swannygirl94 and her mother

  I probably won't be making 40 of them, but if the two of them love this pattern that much, then I think it's worth trying at least once.

I’ve knitted several hats for my husband. He works outside or an unheated shop in Ohio in the winter. This is the BEST EVER pattern!! He can turn it up or pull it down over his ears and it is snugly warm. The pattern is easy to follow and is delightful to knit!! Thanks SO MUCH!!

~ dmgoss55 (over 4 years ago)

  I was going to mention that I don't like it when patterns only have one size, but other people have successfully added another pattern repeat to make it a larger size.  I imagine that someone could also take off one repeat and make it a smaller size as well.

I LOVE this pattern! It is so well written! I am quite proud of the hat I finished, it was my first time knitting cables in the round. And I do believe that the well written pattern did all of the work! I am super excited to give this as a gift and I’ll post pictures once completed. Thank you for sharing this for free.

 ~ samanthadawnrawr (over 3 year ago) 

Yarn: Berella So Soft in Dark Rose - Needle: US 8

  The four inches of ribbing for the brim really got me.  I wouldn't make it quite so long if I make it again.  Two inches would be the max I would work before getting into the cables.

  I am just being nitpicky at this point, but I feel like the last two rows of decreases would look more cohesive if we worked ask as the decrease as opposed to the k2tog.  The decreases would lean the same way the cables did in the rest of the hat.  I also added an additional decrease row, but that is also more personal preference than anything about the pattern.

  Overall, I think this is a really fun pattern and works up pretty quickly.  I can see myself making it again.

New Year, New Fun!

   I have been loving my Best/Worst project, even if I didn't manage to get as many done as I had hoped.  I'm planning to keep it going for a while.  Since that was a fun new addition to the blog, I thought of another fun challenge.  I saw Kitty Natty on YouTube track how many skeins of yarn she took in during a month and how many she finished in her "One Year of Stashing Down" 2022 video.  Her goal was to use up all of her stash and while I'm not that ambitious, I think it would be interesting information to have.  It will help tell me if I really am slowly chipping away at my stash or if I'm staying pretty steady with how much I have.

  I plan on changing the numbers on the bottom per post, with a indicator on how much the count changed from the last time I posted.  If I decide to change that then I will try and remember to go back and reformat every post with the count in it.  So it won't be month to month like she did, but a more loose tracking.  She also included what yarn was either brought in or used up, I'm just going to keep track of numbers.

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

Total: 0

2023

Here is a quick list of everything I got done in the year of 2023

Crochet: 19
~Hats:

Half Herringbone Hat

Side to Side Ribbed Hat: 1, 2-3, 4-6, 7, 8-9, 10, 11

Hazelnut Beanie

Tilted Single Crochet Hat

~Scarves/Cowls:

Tilted Single Crochet Scarf

Linen/Moss Stitch Cowl

~Shawls:

Linen/Moss Stitch Triangle Shawl: 1-2, 3

Knit: 31
~Hats:

Not Quite Ribbed Hat: 1-4

Antler Toque

Lattice Beret: 1-2

Two Color Plain Bulky Beanie

Cat Bonnet

Lucky Bamboo Hat: 1, 2, 3

Metro Hat

Head Hug Chemo Cap: 1-2

Boyfriend Hat

Waves of Hope

Textured Cat Hat

Hurricane Hat: 1, 2

Slippy Hat

Dreamy Josephine: 1-2

aMAZEing Dice Hat: 1-2, 3

Swirl Hat: 1, 2

Little Pumpkin Hat

~Scarves/Cowls:

Braided Scarf

Roll 4 Skull Cowl

Worry Worms:

1-26, 27-50, 51-122, 123-147, 148-172, 173-189, 190-212, 213-230, 231-247

More Mazes and Pumpkins

Pattern: aMAZEing Dice Hat by Wyvern Knits - Size: D - Yarn: Caron Simply Soft in Bone and Yarn Bee Soft Secret in Navy - Needle: US 4

  I have been really liking the results I've been getting from the aMAZEing Dice Hat, but I was wondering if I could make the top seem flatter, so it would be easier to see if you can solve the maze.  I thought that working it from the top down might fix that.

  I worked the crown chart from the top down, but worked the rest of the charts from the bottom up.  I skipped the first two rows on the charts used for the first ones of the body since the last rows of the crown are main color rows.  I know I could have probably worked all the charts from the top down, but I didn't want to make it even more confusing than I already have with everything else going on.  I then added back the two main color rows before the ribbing.

Rolls I got for this hat: worked ~> and \/

  Chart number w/row for wraps for 12th row

  Crown w/17
2 w/4 - 6 w/6 - 5 w/6 - 5 w/12 - 2 w/8
5 w/2 - 2 w/12 - 2 w/6 - 6 w/6 - 6 w/2
3 w/2 - 3 w/2 - 6 w/8 - 4 w/4 - 5 w/2

1 w/12 - 5 w/8 - 5 w/8 - 2 w/2 - 1 w/2

6        - 5         - 6         - 4        - 4    
  Brim

  I used a M1L to do the increases.  They were pretty tight but I like how they looked.  I think I might try a yarn-over and knit it through the back loop on the next try.

  I also had to fudge the top because I was going to do size B, but didn't notice that I started with size US 4 needles and not the US 6 needles I had planned to use, so it was coming out pretty small.  I know I could have restarted it, but I really liked how the fabric of the hat was turning out.  I just added a few more rows from size D to the bottom to make it bigger.

  The brim also wants to flip, and I'm wondering if that is because I used the wrong size needle.  It might not do that if I had actually used the 6s for the body and 4s for the ribbing.

  I went back and tried to go to the post about The Best Damn Pumpkin Soup and found that the page no longer exists!  I used TheWayBackMachine and was able to get the recipe.  Since I had trouble finding it, I figured I would share it here.  I'm not going to put the entire post here, just the parts that matter to what I use.  Though to be fair, I usually use a smaller pumpkin and whatever soup ingredients I have on hand.  I also tend to eat it right out of the pumpkin instead of putting it into bowls.

The Best Damn Pumpkin Soup

Erin McDowell

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Start to finish: 1 1/2 hours

Ingredients:

One 3- to 4-pound cheese pumpkin

2 sprigs fresh rosemary

3 sprigs fresh thyme

1 leek, halved and thinly sliced

3 cups chicken or vegetable stock

1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

2. Using a paring knife, cut a tapered circle around the stem of the pumpkin (as if you were making a jack-o’-lantern). Remove the top of the pumpkin and trim any stringy bits. Scoop out the pumpkin seeds with a spoon and discard (or save, if desired).

3. Place the rosemary, thyme and sliced leek in the cavity of the pumpkin. Pour in the chicken stock and season with black pepper. Add the grated Parmesan cheese, then replace the top of the pumpkin.

4. Transfer the whole pumpkin to the prepared baking sheet and roast in the oven until the exterior of the pumpkin is golden brown and shiny, and the flesh inside is very tender, 1½ to 2 hours. (If the exterior is browning too quickly, reduce the oven temperature to 375°F.)

5. Remove the pumpkin from the oven and take off the top. To serve the soup, scoop several spoonfuls of pumpkin flesh from the inside, place in a bowl and top with a ladleful of broth. Finish with more pepper and Parmesan cheese, if desired.

  We did Christmas at the cabin this year.  It is the first Christmas where Tank got to be with us for opening presents.  In past years we have gone to my parent's house and came back once we were done with presents and food.  Since we weren't going to be down for a long while, my mom decorated one of our outside trees and then we just had a live stream of a tree on the TV to put the presents under.  I was worried that Tank's bright orange harness wasn't going to fit, but it does, even though the part around his neck isn't adjustable.  I like this new tradition.

  My mom and I also made a drop-off of mostly hats at Lebanon Springs House Ministries.  They were very impressed by the items we brought them.  We also all sat down and had some tea and just chatted.  They are very nice and it was great to actually meet them.

It's Still Pumpkin Season

Pattern: Little Pumpkin Hat by Asita Krebs - Size: Junior - Yarn: Caron Simply Soft in Bone - Needle: US 6

  I thought this was going to be worked like the BUN Hat by Andi OldTrout where you don't join it in the round at first, but I was wrong.  I had to go back and adjust some of the parts where I picked up and knit the wrap with the stitch because it was either being really loose or pulling the stitch in an obvious way.  Some are still a bit off, but not enough to make a difference.  I might try the Japanese Wrap and Turn method next time.  I also like how the first row of the ribbing is offset how you work it the rest of the time.

  The stitch pattern looked intimidating until I realized that rows 1 & 4 and 2 & 3 are the same to each other, just offset.  I just had to look at the beginning of the row, then I could just keep going without rechecking until the next row.

  We did a quick trip to the cabin, made sure no pipes froze or anything.  There was a limited release at the ABC store and Bill was curious what we could get down there.  We went to the closest one and were joking about random stuff with the people in front of us in line.  Bill picked out something and then we headed to the next one.  We ended up being behind the same people in line again!  He mentioned that there was another one a few minutes down the road and I said I was up to going to that one as well, but he wanted to go to Walmart to get some batteries.  We then went past the cabin the other direction and went to an ABC Store in WV and it was the smallest one I've ever been to.  It was a nice drive and the town it was in was very cute.  Some of the restaurants there looked pretty good as well, so I think we will head back there at some point.

Another Tricky Project

Pattern: Swirl Hat by Mandie Harrington - Size: Child - Yarn: Yarn Bee Soft Secret in Navy - Needle: US 6

   I decided to try the different decreases on this one.  It wasn't looking how I wanted it to, but I thought it was still pretty cool looking, so I kept going.  During Thanksgiving I accidentally added an extra yarn over and figured it would be quicker to take it out instead of trying to hide it.  I somehow missed getting both loops on a few of the decreases and next thing I knew I had some loops poking up from a few rows below.  I ended up having to take out about 5 rows before I got everything where it should be.  I kept going and it was still pretty good looking, but not how I pictured it.  Though when I flipped it inside onto to weave in my end, it looked really good.  I then flipped it back, wove on my ends on the previously right side, and I'm super happy with it.

Pattern: Moss Stitch Shawl by Sarah Zimmerman - Yarn: Caron Perfect Match in 7411 Evening Jewels - Hook: 6mm

  I forgot about this.  I went to block it in the guest room and just let it sit in there to dry for over a month now.  I kept wondering why I felt like I was missing something and then I remembered this project.  I love the colors.  There are some great variances in the pooling that repeat themselves in different parts of the shawl.  It looks pretty busy when it is small, like in the picture, but in person it isn't quite so overwhelming.