Starr

And another 4 months passed. Damn.

I'm so not good at blogging. I suppose it's a good thing I don't blog for a living. My only excuse is that my knitting pace is currently at slow-as-molasses levels. My current energy level is sluggish, and my mood is subdued. So not much is coming along, knitting wise.

I did finish a new project, which was short and sweet. The delay was in the photographing. 

Here we go:

Starr by Kim Hargreaves

Needle size: 2 and 6

Yarn: Premier Yarn Isaac's Colorways Merino Blend, Ice Blue

Skeins: 1

Size: custom

I needed a new, cable-y hat. I've knit Kim Hargreaves patterns before, and I've enjoyed them immensely. Very squishy, fat cables interspersed with lace. Purdy. This is the first time I've used this yarn. It was quite nice, actually (given I purchased it at Michaels. No knock on Michaels, but they have very little when it comes to natural fibers). I don't know how well it will hold up though, or if it will pill. I'll come back and update. 

I did do some modifications:

1. I knit the hat in the round. Curiously, the hat was supposed to be knit flat and then seamed, but why deal with seaming if you can knit it in the round? 

There does seem to be some debate on whether or not there is an extra selvedge stitch included in the pattern. And the final answer (by yours truly) is yes! There is most definitely an extra stitch in the body of the pattern, after you finish the ribbing. If you read the pattern carefully, the cables and lace sections are flanked by one purl stitch. However, when knitting flat, you'll notice that the end of the round terminates with a purl, and the beginning of the next round is another purl. This is the only case where two purls are back to back. So if you're knitting in the round, you need to decrease one stitch to remove this selvedge stitch. I would decrease one at the point you change to larger needles, after the ribbing is done.

2. I was afraid that I was going to run out of yarn, so I removed rows 9 and 10 in the crown-shaping section. Looks pretty good to me. And it was a good idea too; I would not have had enough yarn to finish had I included these two rounds.

3. My yarn overs are different. The YOs in the pattern appeared to be double, in that you wind the yarn around your needle twice. I just did an old-fashioned YO. For example, if my first stitch was a knit and the next a purl, I just left the yarn in the back after completing the knit stitch, which would result in a YO after I purled the following stitch. I think this worked in my favor, considering that I had limited yarn to start.

I'm happy with the finished product. Unfortunately (or fortunately?) I haven't been able to wear it due to lovely spring weather. I think we need more sunshine in our lives, don't you think?