Happy Birthday, Mom!

On February 6, 2019February 6, 2019 By FogKnitsIn FO Friday, Hat5 Comments

As it happens every year, not only is today Mom’s birthday, it’s also the FogKnits Blog 4th Anniversary! I’m still quite pleased that I thought about this overlap in the beginning. I’ve always got an FO post for the blog-iversary. It’s another project with a flower. If there’s one thing Mom likes it’s hats with flowers!

This was a fun one! The yarn is Noro’s Rainbow Roll…aka a thick, fluffy, pencil roving. It can be delicate and break easily so it’s not for everyone but I really love this yarn!

The pattern is Cameron’s Cap. It’s been one of my favorites for years. It’s a bottom up hat with a few quick short rows added to create the little ear flaps! Perfect for winter!

The flower is a common embroidery flower. I’m sure someone out there has a name for it but it ain’t me, babe! I’m really pleased with it though. And because it’s pencil roving, it’s not heavy or burdensome on the hat. That’s always a concern when attaching a big flower.

If I had more time, I’d share a retrospective of hats with flowers or maybe give you some blog stats. Instead you get pics of science shit. I got right back into it on day one! Turns out it’s like riding a bike…

And with that, I’m out the door for work. Those electrons won’t manipulate themselves! Happy Hump Day and Happy Birthday Mom!

FO Friday – All The Hats

On December 14, 2018December 14, 2018 By FogKnitsIn FO Friday, Hat2 Comments

As I prepared for this week’s pop up event, I didn’t put all of my knitting aside. I kept up my on-the-go knitting and it turns out, I get a lot of knitting done when I’m out of the house. Four new hats, just in time for holiday gift giving and winter chill!

The first two are Wurm derivatives. It’s a great free pattern. There’s nearly 16K Wurm hats on Ravelry. I know I’ve knit probably two dozen of them. They’re great stash busters, if you go the striped route like I did and they knit up in no time! Perfect last minute holiday gifts!

Of course, I can’t follow a pattern. I change my version up at the brim. The pattern is written with a folded stockinette hem. I prefer to go the all purl ridge route. This originates from my early days knitting. The double roll brim was my favorite way to start a hat. You can see it here, on my third hat of the week.

All my early hats have a double roll brim. I never liked the look of classic ribbing, especially not with a knitted cast on, which was my go-to. The stockinette curl hides that cast on edge perfectly! No reason to fret over doing the long tail cast on, if your edge is hidden.

It certainly started out as a lazy decision but honestly, it’s also a super comfortable way to start a hat. It’s cozy and warm around the ears and it’s never too tight. I’m not sure why it fell out of favor but I’m officially bringing the double roll brim back.

You heard it here first…2019 is the year of the double roll brim! Try it out and you’ll see…it’s a lot of fun! You’ll be screaming it from the roof tops too! Double roll brims for everyone! It’s gonna be so good!

It’s simply 10 rows of stockinette followed by 4 rows of reverse stockinette. Easy peasy. Just remember if you want to go for the two-tone look, you knit 9 rows in color 1 and then knit 1 row of color 2 before purling 4 rows of color.

Now, off to finish some last minute christmas knits. Packages don’t have to be in the mail until Monday…I can get a lot done in 72 hours!

A Triumphant Return!

On November 27, 2018November 27, 2018 By FogKnitsIn FO Friday, Hat, WIP5 Comments

Etsy Holiday Emporium weekend is over! The show was a big success! I had a really great time talking to all the people who came by. It was so fun to see people connect with my brand of snark and laugh at all the same things I laugh. It’s nice to have your art appreciated but this went a step beyond that. It was a big helping of personal validation and who doesn’t like that. Even better than that though, now that it’s over…I can get back to my knitting!

It’s been a month of virtually no knitting, in prep for the show. I was excited to get right down to it, casting on a hat to work on throughout the weekend. I picked a fun little slip stitch pattern that’s easy to memorize but has a big impact.

And, it’s reversible! Spotted on one side, striped on the other…super fun!

Here’s how it works, in the round…

Round 1: With color A, K1, P1

Rounds 2 & 3: With color B, S1 wyib, P1, K1, P1

Round 4: With color A, K1, P1

So, really only two rows, just knits, purls and an occasional slip stitch. Super easy!

The other noteworthy feature of this hat, is the cast on. I’m going to tell you about it and hope you’ll try it out too. I really love it. This is the Alternating Cable Cast On.

I use it as a stand in for the Tubular Cast On. The Alternating Cable Cast On is a lovely stretchy alternative that is easier and faster to execute. I first learned it from Wooly Wormhead and she’s the goddess of hat, if there ever was one. Here’s her tutorial for it, because she can surely give you the steps better than I can.

The basic explanation is this: It’s the Cable Cast On with one change. Instead of ‘knitting’ every stitch (inserting the needle from the front) you alternate between knit and purl (inserting the needle from the back). It’s aptly named, the Alternating Cable Cast On…just a cable cast on that alternates between knits and purls, perfect for ribbing!

It’s a minor detail but I love minor details. It’s the sort of thing that elevates homemade to handmade. It’s a little bit of finesse that add to the polish of the finished hat tenfold! I highly recommend it.

Of course, one hat didn’t last me long. Day 2 of the show required another cast on…this time, I added a third color and went for a spiral knit stripey hat!

And, just like that, Christmas knitting has begun. Next up, an ugly Christmas sweater for my cute little nephew and a whole slew of new stuffie animal friends for him. It’s gonna be so good! So, stand by as we have now returned to our regular knitting agenda! Wooooo!

When it rains…

On August 9, 2018August 9, 2018 By FogKnitsIn FO Friday, Hat3 Comments

It’s raining FO’s here at the FogKnits headquarters. After many finish free weeks, I’m suddenly finishing everything I touch.

If you recall, back in May, I started this hat but ripped it out because the ‘apple green’ mohair I was carrying as my second strand was reading yellow and I don’t like yellow.

Ugh. Yellow? I really wanted green so I ripped it out and changed my mohair strand. Instead I used a lovely purple that became this hat. These are happy dance colors!

Purple is soooooo much better. And, now that I’m looking at this photo again, I can say with a high degree of certainty, I’ve had this color palate on my mind for a while. LOL.

Completely unintentional and yet, certainly, not?

Anyhow. Back to yellow. Yuck. Nothing good comes of yellow but I had yarn left over so, begrudgingly, why not knit the second hat. Some people don’t find yellow to be offensive. Some people even like yellow? Weirdos, to be sure but they are out there.

So, as I was running out the door to a music festival, I needed some easy knitting. This hat fit the bill perfectly for a small project, with easy stitches, no fuss, just do it. It was the no-brainer I needed and it turned out to be right choice (in spite of all that yellowness).

I cast on early in the day while I watched the Black Sheep Brass Band. And they had super cute stickers.

Meant to be, clearly. And by the end of the evening, I had a finished hat.

Giving this hat an interesting distinction, it was knit almost entirely standing up. I’ve knit hats entirely on buses, while riding in cars and even on airplanes. Always seated. This is the first FO that was mostly standing. I did sit for a bit to finish the last six rows, so maybe that was 5-10%. Still, close enough for me!

And, there’s still an FO (or two) left for tomorrow! Woo! When it rains, it pours! :)

FO Friday – Purple Haze

On May 25, 2018May 25, 2018 By FogKnitsIn FO Friday, Hat8 Comments

This week, Queen Elizabeth is my spirit animal! Did you guys see her outfit at the royal wedding, last weekend?? An inspired color choice, as always. I absolutely love it. Seeing it, reminded me of a skein of yarn I’d picked up a while back.

It’s a skein of Silk Cloud, from Shibui, in color Green Apple. Their mohair/silk blend. Perfect for spicing up the uninspired swatch I was working on. Off I went.

I cast on a hat and made quick progress. Unfortunately, I hated it. My lovely sour green haze was reading yellow. I hate yellow. Me and yellow will never be friends. EVER. I’m okay with that. As long as yellow stays waaaaaaaay over on the other side of the room. Across the hall is actually preferable.

Somehow though, yellow had crept into the room and hopped right up on my needles?!? WTF? I was not having it. I swatched a bit of purple but that was really a formality. I knew I was ripping that horrid yellow out.

Soon enough, I had this…

aaaahhhhh. So much better. So lovely and soothing. I’m even one of those people who enjoys a bit of pooling. This was happy place knitting, for sure. I even got to put a literal cherry on top!

I’ve been trying to put that green pom pom on something for years. Nothing every worked but finally, it was meant to be! This is what I’d been waiting for all along! It’s perfect! I’m pretty sure Queen Elizabeth approves.

I wonder, though, about that yellow. It’s kind of nagging at me…everyone else liked it? Maybe I shouldn’t have been so quick to judge? And, it turns out, I have enough yarn for another hat, easily. I haven’t been on a hat binge in a while. It’s a three day weekend. Everyone is out of town. I’m left here, all alone…things might get a little crazy?! It’s only friday…I’ve got plenty of time to destroy the evidence if it doesn’t work out!

I think I’m going to knit a yellow hat this weekend. Hope your weekend is equally as interesting!

FO Friday – Connect the Dots

On March 23, 2018March 23, 2018 By FogKnitsIn FO Friday, Shawl3 Comments

New hat for the weekend! Nothing fancy, just a plain stockinette beanie with a little stripe. Easy Peasy.

The real story of the week is a bout of Castonitis. With all this finishing lately, I’ve been contemplating new cast ons. I may have gone a bit overboard once I got started.

First, a little Peanut Warmer for the impending nephew. It’s so tiny, size 0-3 months. It’ll be done in no time!

After that, I sorted my stash picking blues, greens and purples for a new Dotted Rays.

Of course, as I sorted all the cool colors out, a pile of warm colors that was just as appealing formed. And so, Dotted Rays #2 joined the cast on party.

Needless to say, this completely obliterates my strict 6 project limit. I’m currently at 10 and I’m not ruling out #11 this weekend.

Whoops.

I am imposing one rule, though. There needs to be, at least, a tiny bit of order.

If I want two scrappy Dotted Rays at once…I have to weave the ends as I go. So far, so good. It makes photos nicer and it actually helps with the knitting too…no extraneous tails to get tangled with the working yarn. Totally practical!

Now let me see what else I can cast on…

Happy Friday!

Ravellenic Wrap Up

On February 26, 2018February 26, 2018 By FogKnitsIn FO Friday, Hat, Ravellenics, Skirt10 Comments

The Olympics are over. Phew! Finally…I don’t think I could take any more! I didn’t get 13 hats done, but I did get 12 done!

I’m okay with that. I’m still a winner. It’s just tough to stay focused on the finish line when it passes directly through the Stitches West marketplace! On the last day, I wanted to knit new yarn, not old yarn. The new yarn is soooooo good! (…More on that later.)

First, let’s see the last two hats, they’re good ones! Another Nephew hat, it started as a combo Michigan/Marcus hat. I was quite self-congratulatory when I realized the overlap between baby’s monogram and dad’s favorite team.

I tried a couple yarns for the duplicate stitch. Even tried holding them double. I never really got over the whole light stitch on a dark background to a place I liked though. I learned long ago, don’t mess with logos people love if you can’t do it right. This was not right, so I scrapped it.

Instead, I went back to the dinosaur theme and this happened…

The T.Rex applique was fun to make. It was a bit complex but the pattern is clear and has lots of pictures. Find it here, if you want to try it yourself. I’m quite pleased with my results.

And then, there’s this…

An ode to Jayne Cobb and Firefly.

As always, this hat started out as something different but once I saw the brown stripe pooling, I knew I’d have to adjust the plan. The new plan turned out to be waaaay better anyhow.

I’ve never watched Firefly but I have enough geeky friends to know, this is absolutely perfect! My Mom dyed this yarn for me and it turns out, the iconic Jayne Cobb hat from the show, was made by Jayne’s Mom. It’s so delightfully meta. I love it. It really spruced this hat up. Now to chose a fun pom-pom. This is definitely a Pom YES situation…I’m thinking the middle one in that first row, with all the green/blue/purple shades.

Tomorrow, I’ll tell you about Stitches and the yarn. THE YARN! It’s sooo good! I’m in the middle of a winding frenzy but I’ve managed to get one new project on the needles. Yay for yarn sold in balls!

See you tomorrow with all the fibery details!