Monthly Archives: August 2023

1898 Hat with two color band

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I love the 1898 Hat by Kristine Byrnes. A commenter asked me how I knit the two-color headband section.

Necessity is the Mother of Invention as I had a limited amount of yarn for a hat so I adapted the pattern to my needs. I made a slight modification to the pattern by using two colors for the band.

***For a two color band:
Using provisional cast on, CO 12 stitches in Color A, 3 stitches in Color B, and 12 stitches in either Color A or B, leaving a 20 inch tail. (If you prefer to seam instead of graft the ends together, use your preferred cast on, but leave the same length tail.)
Set up row (WS): Color B Sl1, k11, pm, sl3 wyif, pm, Color A  k12*  Make sure to twist the two colors to avoid a hole. 
Start back of headband:
Row A (RS) = Color A Sl1, k to marker, sl m, Color B k3, sl m, Color A or B k to end.
Row B (all WS rows) = Color B Sl1, k to marker, sl m, sl3 wyif, sl m, Color B, sl m, Color A or B k to end.

Any questions regarding the original pattern should be directed to the designer, Kristine Byrnes. This modification is for a two-color headband.

But I don’t play tennis anymore

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My knitting has been sidelined for a while. The Curaçao Diamonds did number on my left arm. I really love those socks but the fingering weight cotton blend yarn and US #1 knitting needles were too much for those muscles especially since I hurried through the second one.

I looked up my symptoms and self-diagnosed tennis elbow. Rest and a combination of heat and ice are the only things that will help.

Once my arm feels better, my knitting queue will include seamless slippers (requested by my other sister-in-law), some baby hats (from super soft stash yarn), and a new sweater for Pepper. The slippers will likely be Frankensteined while using up odds and ends of worsted weight yarns. Pepper’s sweater will be from my yarn stash, too.

And speaking of Pepper, she is the star* of our training sessions! We’ve gone to two so far and she and I are learning how to communicate better. 

*Never mind that our sessions are one-on-one with the trainer!

Happy knitting!

Curaçau Diamonds

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My S-I-L received her socks. I like to include a little card with all the pertantent information.

I asked her for her honest opinion regarding color, size, length, fit, feel, and whatever else she opined about. Here is her response:

Happy feet!! The color is very pretty, bright & wonderfully rich, and I can tell already the socks will keep my feet toasty on cool days. 😃 They are warming my always cold feet quickly!  They stay in place perfectly when I put my shoes on, no bunching!!

Comfy they are, though not as comfy as the last 2 pairs you made me which are the most comfy ever. They feel a bit short and I worry my foot will wear out the toe quickly. I will wear them judiciously. If I had to choose between one or the other in terms of softness, I would choose the last pair.

These are wonderful and I thank you!!  💕 

I told her that she can block them while wet, stretch the foot area and then dry flat. I’m new to cotton blend yarns so tell me if that will work or not.

The last two pairs I gave her were a nylon/acrylic blend.

Time flies

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Between several doctor’s appointments, bloodwork, and my two favorite medical tests*, I managed to find time to knit and photograph my finished project!!

Well, I decided to rip back the second sock and start it over with the other dye lot. As my grandmother used to say: If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right.

The socks are finished and I love how they turned out. I’ll get these socks to my sister-in-law asap. I will use the leftover 24 grams (out of 100) of yarn for something else where it won’t matter that the dye lots are different.

One might call these mullet socks as it’s all business in the front and a party in the back kind of like that 1980’s hairstyle. (I was going to grab a photo of a mullet but I just couldn’t do it.) I like the secret design running down the back of the leg.

The Curaçao blue is such an intense color that just draws you in like a deep pool of water.

The CoBaSi (cotton, bamboo, silk) yarn was a bit splitty but that’s just how cotton and cotton blend yarns are. I’m curious how these will hold up and hope they aren’t too thick or uncomfortable to wear.

Happy knitting!

*The squishing test and the “cleansing/probing” test. All is well!