HannahOwens

Star Anise hat ta-da!

March 28, 2015 by HannahOwens 4 Comments

Not quite like I expected but I’m happy.

This was made with 131 yards of Arroyo yarn by Malabrigo (100% merino, sport weight) in the Coffee Toffee colorway, which is one of those colors that’s oddly difficult to photograph accurately. The yarn is so soft — I’d had it forever and forgotten about it, and I love it! Have to get some more sometime.

Despite my love of the yarn, the needles called for (US 3 & 4) were not quite right — my hat is not slouchy or loose at all like the ones in the pictures on the pattern page. Of course, maybe that’s my fault — I could have been knitting way too tightly, and I didn’t make a gauge swatch. Even so, I like the hat:

It turns out it’s hard to take pictures of the top of your own head. Well, the KBLs that go up the whole thing are a little wonky — maybe because I didn’t block it — but I’m hoping it will all straighten out with wear.

The cast on was difficult because it was my first [successful] long tail tubular cast on, but I love how it turned out! Might start using it for things that don’t even call for it.

Anyway, I think the pattern is worth the $6. It was enjoyable to make and I do like the end result. Let me know what you think, and if you’ve made it, how did yours turn out?

Well, that’s all for today. Thanks for stopping by!

Filed Under: knitting Tagged With: crafts, hat, knit, knitting, star anise

crochet tutorials

March 21, 2015 by HannahOwens Leave a Comment

Did you know that there are many crochet (and knitting) tutorials here on NYAC? Check out the menu bar for the full selection. A few have had photo updates! Click the photo to be taken to the tutorial.

squares and rectangles:

circles:

granny squares:

And last but not least, the shell stitch:

Check out the menu bar for more basic shapes and many more decorative stitches to try!

Filed Under: announcements

top 4 yarns of winter ’14/’15

March 17, 2015 by HannahOwens 9 Comments

There are a few wooly faves for this past season, and since the last day of winter is in 2 days I thought it’d be a good time to share what I very happily used. In no particular order, my top 4 are as follows:

KnitPicks Hawthorne Fingering in Ladds Addition colorway:

This yarn is absolutely gorgeous (both the colors themselves and the way it made a pretty zigzag pattern in my Gentille cowl). Soft to work with and wear next to the skin. It is a fingering weight/4 ply yarn made up of 80% wool, 20% nylon and comes in skeins of 357 yds/100 g. Pick it up from KnitPicks for a really good price.

DyeForYarn Fingering Merino/Babycamel in Dyeing Rose colorway:

This super-soft fingering single ply yarn is made of 55% merino, 45% camel and comes in skeins of 525 yds/100 g. I’d say it’s really more of a light fingering. Very strong for a single ply yarn! It made a great Phoenicia crescent shawl (and a Plume beanie from last year), and while this colorway is no longer available you can pick up a gorgeous array of colorways at the DyeForWool Etsy shop.

Berroco Vintage in 5176 colorway (a heathery autumn orange):

The Gothic Lace Cowl I made was pretty quick to work up using this worsted weight 10 ply yarn. Made up of 50% acrylic, 40% wool, and 10% nylon, it is soft enough to wear against the skin and can be washed in a machine (if you want to slightly felt your work it will do so if you use hot water and put it in the dryer, too — this is an advantage when you make blankets that dog claws might snag and you want to avoid that problem). It comes in skeins of 217 yds/100 g. This was purchased at a yarn store in North Carolina.

Malabrigo Yarn Arroyo in Coffee Toffee colorway:

These Nara mitts were made in 2013 but I’ve made something with the leftovers this winter that will be posted next week. Made of 100% merino, this sport weight 5 ply yarn is very soft and comes in skeins of 335 yds/100 g. The Coffee Toffee colorway is hard to capture properly in photos — it’s a purplish brown with a hand dyed look and is very beautiful! I purchased this also at a yarn shop in North Carolina.

So that’s it, my top 4 yarns of this winter! I’d recommend them all. All beautiful, all soft, all fun to work with! Thanks so much for stopping by, see you soon!

Filed Under: announcements Tagged With: crafts, crochet, knitting, winer, yarn

top 5 iOS apps for knitters & crocheters

March 14, 2015 by HannahOwens 11 Comments

Even aside from craft store apps that give you coupons, there are tons of apps out there for knitters and crocheters. These are my personal favorites.

Knit: a row/stitch counter that can keep up with multiple projects at once. The developer doesn’t speak English that well, but the cuteness of the app makes up for that.

Wooly: If Ravelry had developed an app, it would be like this. You can add projects, add stash items, and queue patterns, you can add photos (which is great if you’ve experienced the frustration of trying to add photos to Ravelry on a mobile device), check your messages, and more. Super handy.

YarnPro: Like a reference book in your pocket, and this screenshot says it all (or almost — I should add you can customize the units of measurement):

Granny Square (by Simply Crochet): Free granny square patterns! A variety to choose from.

Raglanify: Haven’t acually used this yet, but it will generate a custom raglan sweater pattern for you if you imput your desired measurements, gauge, etc. It thinks of everything!