hats & the arlequin shawl: ta-da!

I know I’ve been slack about posting lately, but I haven’t been slack with my crafting!  Admittedly it’s tapered off from my hat-every-other-day rate and I still have at least 5 Christmas gifts to make, but whatever.  I want to share with you my completed Arlequin Shawl!

So first, I want to talk up this pattern.  Not only is it free, it’s easy to memorize but not too boring.  The asymmetrical shape was off-putting to me at first but it’s actually kind of fun to play with.

Now I have to talk up this yarn.  Oh.  My.  Gosh.  I’ve never worked with a fingering/sock weight yarn this soft before.  It’s Lily Neige Single Fingering Alpaga & Soie (alpaca & silk) in colorway Bonbon Harlequin.  This is the same colorway that the pattern calls for only I got the variegated version instead of the long gradient, and it is SO GORGEOUS.  It’s hard to capture just how pretty this yarn is worked up in the garter & stockinette stitches.  Oh and did I mention zero knots?

I used 1.95 skeins (about 907 yds) and the wingspan was over 8′ during blocking.  I’m glad I made it slightly larger than recommended; it’s a good size for me and it’s actually pretty warm!  The drape is really nice too.  I can’t say how happy I am with this.  I’d definitely recommend the pattern & the yarn!

I also made myself a Sockhead Slouch hat; I felt out of the loop because it seems like everyone has made one of these!  I used exactly half a skein of Julie Asselin Fino (75% merino, 15% cashmere, 10% silk) — which is great because I definitely have enough yarn leftover for another hat — in the limited edition colorway Gina’s Dance Off.

I LOVE this colorway.  The specked yarn trend is awesome, and this colorway really reminds me of the gorgeous yarns from We Love Knitting (only I didn’t have to pay crazy shipping prices).

The hat itself is a good fit, which I was really pleased with.  I didn’t have the required needle sizes at the time so I made this with US sizes 3 & 5, casting on 128 with the smaller needles & using them throughout the ribbing, then switching to the larger ones.  I was a little worried the size would be off but it’s a comfy fit!  It IS really slouchy but the brim can be rolled double or just once really far if I want to wear it as a regular beanie.  Best part of all, it matches my favorite comfy plaid shirt.

Finally, here’s some crochet.  We were told we HAD to dress up for Halloween for work; I thought about doing something snarky, like writing in Sharpie on a white shirt “404: costume can not be found” or “Costume loading: approximately 8 hours remaining” (that last one was Dad’s idea).  In the end though I thought it might be best to actually put some effort into it so as not to antagonize my boss, but I didn’t have money to buy anything fancy, so what did I do?  Why, crocheted a cat hat, of course!

I just used a little over 1 skein of Bernat Softee Chunky Solids in black from my local JoAnn’s along with this free Black Cat Slouch Hat pattern.  I didn’t make it a slouch — I did start with the 11″ foundation row as suggested but I didn’t add the border.  I think it looks good; the edge is neat & I like the beanie fit.  This was easy to make & worked up really quickly.  I added a handbell necklace (from my Dad) and attempted wing liner for a cat eye (and for my first try I think I did pretty well) and just wore black clothes.  I actually really love that sweater — it’s oversized & has cables & a silver thread running throughout, and I got it for free from the donations bin there at work (I don’t think it would fit any of the clients).  Actually that’s where I got that mint plaid shirt, too, funnily enough.

And I’ve also made 1 more Ribbed Waffle Hat (my 6th one) as a Christmas gift (yarn: KnitPicks Brava worsted in Fig):

I really do love these — they’re easy, fast, and they’re stretchy enough to fit everyone comfortably.  Perfect gift, really.

I do have some WIPs that I’m really excited about but this post is already super long so I’ll save them for another time!  If you follow me on Instagram you’ve gotten peeks already!

Thanks so much for stopping by, see you soon!