Slouchy Hat: Take 2

Alright, so with my first slouchy hat being way too large I decided to try again and this time make it a bit smaller.  I reduced the length as well as my needle size and got this; my most favourite hat ever!

DREAM TRIP

OK, for all of us passionate knitters who appreciate the art I found what is probably seen as the dream vacation.  It involves touring Ireland's finest small towns and communities learning about all the wonders of how yarn comes to be, as well as sight seeing and knitting workshops.  I would love to join this wonderful journey however sometimes vacations have to be placed on hold because of bad timing.  I hope some day I will be able to make it there some day and meet some great knitters along the way.  If you are interested in going please check out this WOOL-TYME link and get the full 10 day details and all its perks.  All in all, the price isn't all that bad, but right now for me it unfortunately is.  However I do love where I am in my life and am enjoying every moment of it!

Washing Instructions

So while reading my weekly newsletter from Lion Brand Yarn called "The Weekly Stitch", which contains some handy tips, new patterns, and some other treasures.  This week was particularly a life savor when I discovered they included a link to there website which contains the washing instruction symbols on yarn.  These could also apply to clothing but either way a great thing to have when you are trying to decipher what a circle with a line means! Click HERE to check it out!

For anyone who loves knitting this is a great newsletter to sign up for.  I have found some really beautiful patterns and some very helpful tips!  It is very easy to join and the cost is free all you need is an email address, which makes it even more amazing!  If you would like to sign up follow this LINK.

YARN!

So from other blogs I have read and even in the books I have purchased they always talk about "the stash".  What are they referring to you ask... Well that would be YARN!  Thats right, our driving desire to go into every LYS we see and physically not being able to leave without some kind of yarn.  I have 2 shelves, a basket and a note tote tub full of yarn!  It all started when I went to this store in Ottawa called Knit Knackers (on bank st).  Well they have 3 or 4 huge bins of end of the run yarn.  This means 50% discount or more on perfectly amazing yarn that simply is the last few in its colour, or dye lot.  $80 later and multiple bag fulls of yarn I was in euphoria! The rush and excitement of all the projects I could create, was making my head spin. 

Many months later my boyfriend was flipping through the paper and saw this huge warehouse sale at a LYS called Wool-Tyme in Ottawa, and showed it to me.  Big mistake!  There was so much beautiful yarn and at amazing prices.  Like 4 balls for $7!  This is unbelievable!  So me being the eager knitter I am, and knowing I want to make sweaters and blankets, decided to buy lots and lots of yarn.  For all the knitters who have not looked into sweater making normally you need about 10 x 150g balls of yarn to make one sweater.  So the next thing I knew, we were carting 4 bag fulls of yarn to the bus stop.  Again the rush and excitement was like a kid in a candy store. FANTASTIC!  I have toned down my purchasing and now do not to into LYS unless I have a specific project and my boyfriend comes with me to help monitor my spending's.  This is for the good of everybody because the next thing I realized I have a huge collection of yarn and not enough time to make all the projects I had dreamed of.  Here is a preview of some of my collection.... still missing is my note tote tub.

Yes this basket is full!

This is 1 of 2 shelves.

First Ever Needles

So when I started to learn how to knit I went to one of the many LYS around and while looking at all the beautiful yarn, I selected a few and headed for the cash.  When I got there I fell in love with these knitting needles.  I wanted a pair so unique and proud to call my first ever owned needles.

Piggy Needles

Tools of my Trade

Since I started knitting I began falling in love with the variety of needles that are out there and the accessories to store them.  The most affordable places I have found to purchase needles is ebay (you can get sizes US 0-15 in DPN, or single pointed, or circular for one low price), and thrift stores.  I found that ebay was really good when I shopped around to find the right price.  I got all of my DPN (double pointed needles) there for one low price which was definitely under $20!  This is a great deal considering you can sometimes spend $5 or more per one set, and I got the whole collection of sizes!  I also got my circular needles at ebay for a very low price as well.  Thrift stores however I find harbor the hidden treasures and vintage looking needles.  You can normally get a bag of them for a couple of dollars.  Definitely worth the price for these unique needles.  So needless to say I have got quite the large collection.

A glimpse at my collection

As you may now be thinking where on earth does she store all of these needles.  Well, ebay came to my rescue again.  I was able to find a really cool knitting needle roll up case for under $15!  This is amazing since in the LYS (local yarn stores) they charge up to $40.  If I was any good at sewing (maybe one day, I do want to learn) I would love to make my own but I would have no idea where to start.

Needle Case I found on Ebay

For the smaller accessories like needles, stitch markers, etc, I found this cute sewing box in at Zellers. It does the trick.

Then there is the circular needles.  They have long strips of cord in between the needles which kind of make them difficult to store, until I discovered a unique holder in Stitch N Bitch: The Knitters Handbook.  When I found this holder I dived right in with no sewing machine experience.  An entire evening and a few proto-types later, my master piece was created.  Thank goodness my mom had donated a bed sheet that she had bought, which was the wrong size for the beds at home.  So I had new fabric and lots of it, which was needed when I cut, and made mistakes, and then cut some more.  The biggest thing I learned is the importance of measuring and pinning your work, and checking it twice before sewing or cutting! In the end I had many broken sewing machine needles, ran out of string, but a first ever completed sewing machine project.  I still have to put the US sizes on the front of each pocket to correspond with the needle in it, but until then it works just fine!  I am proud of my completion of this task and look forward to one day owning my own sewing machine and taking on more projects.

Circular Knitting Needle Holder

 

Slouchy Hat

So I made this slouchy hat from one of the many books I own (A simple to use guide to creating hip knits, by Astor Tsang) and for some reason it turned out really big.  I was making it for my friend but I think it may fall off her head if she tries to wear it.  I will try making it again using smaller needles and see if that does the trick.  I'm thinking perhaps my gauge was off.  I know they are suppose to fit loose but it seems a bit too much.  I'm sure someone will be able to fit into it.

Here is a picture of the book.  It came in this starter kit that my boyfriend bought for me as a surprise.   What can I say best surprise ever, especially for the addicted knitter I have become. The slouchy hat is on the cover. 

 

Here is some pics of my oversized slouchy hat.  I am going to make another one and reduce the size and use smaller needles.  I hope the next one will fit better!

Slouchy hat with dropped stitch

The back of the hat