Two Hats for the Family! Can You Fathom One is for ME?

Indeed, folks, I have knit myself a hat - for the first time in six years, I believe...something close, anyway!  As you see, of course, it's photographed on Camden; I couldn't handle the photos Matt took of ME in said hat.  Sad times.

The hat is Fathom, from the first collection of Interpretations patterns by Veera Valimaki and Joji Locatelli (ebook on Ravelry).  The pattern fell under Veera's interpretation of the word "reflection."  This hat is one of the reasons I wanted this book (though Laneway is also lovely!).  I own the third volume, also, and the newest volume, number 4, is out, but I only see one pattern in there that I'd like to knit, so, I think I'd just buy the pattern individually, if I ever get a chance to knit it.  Veera does also have a blog, 100% Rain, if you want to check it out!

Man, this hat is better on HER!

I used Orange Flower Yarn in the DK 250 base, colorway Peachy which is clearly NOT the called-for sport weight base, but I knew it'd work out just peachy keen (see what I did there??!), because of my loose knitting/tighter row gauge thing.  The yarn was something I ordered a couple years ago, because some raveler just had knit up the most glorious project...in which colorway, I do not know, but I think I managed getting my skein on sale - yay!

The pattern knit up beautifully and FAST, which is always great.  I had cast the brim on a couple weeks ago, before my beach weekend, and I let it sit on the needles until I finished Camden's Little Honey sweater.  What makes me laugh is that I knew I had to work next on Tiberius's Antler cardigan, yet I somehow COMPLETELY forgot all about that in my fervor to work on something for myself ;)  I will clearly get back to his cardigan now, as I need to cast on the sleeves.  I feel bad, as it took me all winter, and I haven't yet finished a cardigan for the poor little guy.

Another reason I was pushed into starting this hat is seeing Jeanette (Bookish Stitcher Podcast) knit up a gorgeous version, which she showed off on her podcast last month.  I clearly needed it - and it worked nicely into Nina's Palate Cleanser KAL (This Old Knit podcast).

Awwww!

Next up, we have the Cables and Twists Beanie by Jamie Sande.  It was a lovely, simple pattern - less purling than Fathom, which was nice, too, LOL.  I'd had this skein of Madelinetosh DK for years now, so, I yanked that sucker out of my stash and said it would be a hat for Tiberius (though it was originally meant for Matt - oops!).  The colorway is Terrarium, and it is a lovely green that sadly didn't come out well in the photos, both because of lighting and Tiberius acting like a crazy person.  I apologize for the poor quality :O

And...how most photos went...

It is a FREEEEE pattern, which is a bonus!  I probably cast on ten fewer stitches, and I could have maybe gone up a needle size.  It's not snug at the moment, but I hope it actually fits through NEXT winter.  I also maybe could have gone a smidge taller, but whatevs at this point, aha!  Of course, it seems like there is enough yarn yet in the skein for maybe some mittens????  That'd be awesome!  I'll have to remember that a million months from now!

And now...a million days in review!!

Don't get me started :(  TOOOO smalll.... 

Just another floor picnic!

Hanging out with Aunt Jeannette during baby shower weekend!

Just another cheap Joann Fabrics craft!

Yay for another fun hat for me!

I get to take a quilting class at Modern Domestic!

                                    

Warming up, post-bath

He couldn't help being a weirdo on our date night

All the baby sweaters finished for a cousin!

It Seems I have Officially SEAMED! The Berenice Sweater

A child down on her luck???

I tell you what, folks:  this sweater was some sort of test...a test in patience?  Maybe a test in whether or not I actually know how to knit?  I have no idea.

But JEEZ.

I have wanted to knit the Berenice sweater since it first came out in the first Kids Collection by Brooklyn Tweed....along with several other BT KC patterns, LOL.  I also totally purchased the Rosy Green Wool (I buy from Yarn Culture or Warm 'n Fuzzy) with the pattern in mind...envious all the while of Camden, because I secretly wanted that colorway for myself!

I also used this yarn when knitting my Windswept shawl!

I knit the sweater on the Cheeky Merino Joy base in the Wild Mallow colorway.  This base is perfect for this style of sweater, as I think it lends a certain classiness, LOL, if there is such a thing.  But I'm in love with all things Rosy Green Wool, so, a bit of a bias exists here.  The base is perfect, though, for a loose knitter like ME.  When I move down needle sizes to reach gauge on fingering weight yarn, my row gauge tightens up too much, so, knitting on sport weight yarn is awesome, as it fills out my row gauge, while still giving me a nice fabric.

Now, if you check my project page, the knitting of the sweater doesn't appear too dramatic.  I did have to rip out once, due to forgetting about length of the sweater.  I wanted to knit a size 4/5, because I didn't want the excessive positive ease, but I had wanted to make sure it was long enough - though I clearly forgot.  Thankfully, I realized this while still knitting the first side.  The pattern itself is written by Julie Hoover (her FB page) and is totally easy to understand.  There is a lot of flipping from page to page to keep track of what I needed to be doing, but the chart is great, and while not memorizable, as the repeat is too long, it is easy to knit while catching knitting podcasts and such.

Once the sleeve increases started, though, I had to be more careful about where I was at.  I used two sets of stitch markers in order to keep track of chart repeats and sleeve increases.  I have to say that next time, I wouldn't worry about working between two sizes.  I wish I had just knit a size 6/7, though it fits Camden okay now - and hopefully through this fall.  I did forget, I am pretty sure (you should have SEEN me counting rows and stitch markers like a WACKO), one of my sleeve increase repeats...which is incredibly depressing, as I lost six rows of knitting, so, it surely won't fit that great if she grows another inch or so.  Sad days.

Honestly, this yarn is SO SOFT

The sweater is knit in reverse stockinette, so, that feature is new to me....though clearly, the other side is stockinette, which, when knit flat, just means a bunch of purling.  I wonder if that is partly why my hand is broken???  LOL.  (no, seriously.)

Other than the lovely lace and cables in the pattern, a main feature of the sweater is in the exposed seams - picking up the stitches on the wrong side.  I LIKE that idea, but in execution, I am not sure my work looks so pretty.  The cuffs and hem are okay, but the neck is a bit crazy.  I've decided, though, that I can be over THAT....it's the shoulder seaming that kills me.  I think I did the right thing with the side seams, in using the mattress stitch.  This is the first time I've ever fully seamed a sweater.  So, when I needed to seam the shoulders, I was thrown for a loop, as I clearly was presented with stitches in the wrong direction, so to speak.  I tried looking up information on this, but I finally just said EFF IT and tried my best...which looks WONKY.  Like...not cool.  I can pretend it's a design element, like Melinda over at the Yarnder Woman Podcast likes to say, but I'm not sure I can even pull that off.  Live and learn.  I was just over knitting the sweater at that point.  I want to point out again that the pattern is quite lovely, but I already felt like it was on the needles for far too long, having cast on over Thanksgiving weekend, and I just wanted the end product.

That seaming!!!  Sorry if you have hurt your eyes in the looking!

It IS cute, and I wish I was awesome like so many other knitters and could figure out how to knit it for myself!  Julie Hoover should just be cool and design it for women ;)