• About Me

little and lots

~ little bits, lots of them

little and lots

Tag Archives: lowbrow hat

what’s happening

21 Monday Oct 2013

Posted by Laura C in knitting, quilts, Uncategorized

≈ 20 Comments

Tags

lowbrow hat, phoenix twins, super tote

Oh, hello, two weeks that went by without a blog post. I’ve been ever so busy, in the best possible way!

I realized Christmas is coming. And so soon! So I went bats for hats.

I knit two gorgeous hats:

SONY DSC

These are the Lowbrow Hat pattern. The lace pattern might look special, but is ever-so-easy to knit. I felt like a genius when I quickly memorized the lace pattern and didn’t mess it up at all. The blue hat is Plucky Primo Aran in Outta My Hair; the green is Tosh Chunky in Thoreau. (I think this is the IDEAL pattern for a lonely skein of Tosh Chunky, if one happens to have one languishing.)

I also knit a hat dud.

20131021-204814.jpg

Purl Soho’s Chunky Cabled Hat, knit up in some heathen stash acrylic yarn. This might have turned out better had I ponied up the bucks for the gorgeous-looking Super Soft Merino, which undoubtedly has better drape. As it is I looked like Marge Simpson. I’m considering: trying to shrink the hat in the washing machine, adding a pompom (go bit or go home amirite), or giving it to one of my more-stylish younger sisters who seem to wear everything fabulously. I will not be frogging back or futzing with it in any way that requires real effort.

I made a Super Tote, too! I don’t have much to say about this pattern that others haven’t already said; that Noodlehead knows how to write a pattern. I will say that if you choose Essex Linen for your exterior gusset, DO choose to interface it. I did not, and the gusset is a little floppy for my taste.

20131021-204904.jpg

I went to a Victoria Findlay Wolfe lecture hosted by my guild last Friday. (I wrote a little writeup of the lecture over at my guild’s blog.) You guys? I think Victoria Findlay Wolfe is a genius. Her lecture was luminous and inspiring; her quilts even more so. I’m still working out what to think about what she had to say (there’s always more fabric! cut it up and use it; never make the same quilt twice, try something new every time; make the quilt you said you would never make; if it’s not working cut it up; challenge yourself by using the fabric you think you hate) but I know that 100% of what she said is true.

20131021-204922.jpg

I also worked hard at soaking up every last bit of fall sunshine before we fall into the cycle of 6 hours of grey daylight every day all five months of winter.

20131021-204948.jpg

Oh, and I finished a little quilt top. No big deal.

20131021-204846.jpg

Yes, this is the first of the two twin quilts I’m making for my friends living in Phoenix (so I’m calling them the Phoenix Twins). I started the second one today and I can tell it’s going to go very quickly. I’ve worked all the drama out of my system on the first one. I’m quite pleased with how this top turned out.

I’ve had a couple of questions about how I made the center blocks for this quilt. I took a few process photos today and will post a little behind-the-scenes tomorrow. You don’t need a tutorial, for goodness’ sake. They are just improv-pieced on a paper foundation (and I owe a lot to Rachel’s Ziggy Strings tutorial for helping me get here). Check back to see how it’s done!

all the things

17 Tuesday Sep 2013

Posted by Laura C in knitting

≈ 14 Comments

Tags

color affection shawl, lowbrow hat, nanook sweater

Yesterday on Instagram I observed, “cooler weather = casting on all the things.”

photo-2

Yesterday evening I cast on a Lowbrow Hat (click through to purchase the pattern on Ravelry) in The Plucky Knitter Primo Aran in the June Classics colorway, Outta My Hair. I have a good friend who washed a man outta her hair this spring-summer, and I wanted to knit her a little luxury to remind her what a good thing washing a man outta your hair can be. The pattern is so easy and amazing that I knit through the first pattern repeat before bed!

photo_2I always thought that leaves looked tricky to knit, but this leaf pattern isn’t. What fun hats are.

Also on my needles right now is my Nanook (again, click through for details and to purchase pattern). You’ve seen the Insta-spam, probably.

DSC08132

I’m using Cascade 220 in the colorway Anis. Bad math led me to believe that my five stashed skeins were enough, but as I seamed the first sleeve on Sunday

photo

I started to get that really bad yarn runny-out-y feeling and rushed to order more. (I’ve since re-done my math, and guess what? 5 times 220 yards does NOT, in fact, equal 1200 yards. #englishmajor). The color is a real chameleon. I love it in the top photo, hate it in the second; love it with certain Instagram filters, am wishy-washy on it IRL. I realized it’s the exact color of one of Lucy’s vests

SONY DSC

and so I’ve made peace with it, as a color. I’m 1/4 down the second sleeve and then it’s just a mile and a half of garter and stockinette for the body, so I hope to have it done before a hard frost.

About a month ago I finished my Color Affection shawl, which I posted about before I started it but not since. Yarn is (natch) Plucky Feet in Oatmeal, Dandy Lion, and Ball Point.

DSC08128

DSC08127

DSC08124

I’d not ever knit stripes before, so, as you can see in the second photo, my edge is a little disastrous. (I’ve got to get one of you IRL knitters I know to teach me to twist yarns together at the color changes.) I don’t care. I love this shawl and I’ve been wearing it in the evenings, August heat be damned. Now that it’s cold, watch out, I’ll hardly take it off.

I’d noticed that I’d gone a bit off knitting and yarn buying. But now that it’s getting back down into the 50s 60s here, I’m having fun planning my fall knits. I want to knit Grace, and those Purl Soho kneesocks that kicked my butt in January. I wound yarn for a To Infinity and Beyond cowl, and MAY have just ordered a couple of skeins of DK for a French Cancan. And I think Lucy’s just got to have a Little Sperry.

If you knit, what are you planning for the fall-winter? Are you casting on all the things too? 🙂

About Me

Recent Posts

  • around the world blog hop
  • finished: fancy fox quilt
  • finished: snake trail quilt (the cerise beast)
  • advice for new bloggers: community {plum and june 2014 blog hop for new modern quilt bloggers}
  • mathilde blouse: an all-the-hard-things finish
Follow on Bloglovin

No Instagram images were found.

Archives

  • September 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012

Seacoast Modern Quilt Guild

ScrapBEElicious

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • little and lots
    • Join 103 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • little and lots
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...