Sup my crafty friends!?
It has been a week since I last posted, I was hoping to share yesterday but it was so gloomy and I was so tired it didn’t happen. So I’ll update you with what I’ve done in the past week and the patterns I have used.
Where to begin…February 21st I started an Instagram specifically for knitting and my blog and it’s quite small but I have high hopes that it will grow and I’ll make connections with others in the fiber art community. I was looking for ways to meet other knitters and makers and I discovered test knitting. It’s where you knit a test pattern to check for errors and also to get photographs of other examples of the end result. It’s a genius thing because who has time to knit a hat 10 times to make sure there aren’t any errors in the pattern.
So I found Gretha on Instagram who is from Germany and looking for people to test a second version of a hat she designed. I commented that I was interested and she gave me the opportunity to be a test knitter for the first time.
To test knit a hat I needed to get yarn specifically for this pattern because who doesn’t need an excuse to go buy more yarn. 😉 I had plans to meet up with a friend last week who I hadn’t seen a long time, so I came up with the idea of driving to Grand Rapids, OH to check out their shops and explore the short trail along the Maumee River, and the town just so happens to have a yarn shop.
After picking up Autumn and driving 50 minutes to Grand Rapids our first stop was inside the beautiful and rustic Natural Fiber & Yarn Company. All of their yarn and roving is from their own sheep and alpaca that are raised locally. I asked for some help for finding some yarn and she pointed me towards the worsted merino wool and it decided on a beautiful deep purple for $18.
After purchasing my yarn we went for a walk around the main street to some different shops and then ate at Fernando’s. After eating we went for a stroll long the canal trail and enjoyed the unusual 70 degree weather…in FEBRUARY.
Not postitive that I wanted to use purple yarn to make my hat since it is a dark color and I wanted to easily see my stitches I decided to take Autumn to my favorite yarn shop 25 minutes away in Perrysburg, OH – Yarn Cravin’.
Yarn Cravin’ carries tons of different brands and an assortment of needles and hooks. My favorite thing to purchase from Yarn Cravin’ is Manos Del Uruguay Yarns in their style Maxima – the softest, most yummy yarn. ❤ The staff at Yarn Cravin’ is friendly and always there to help me find what I need or give
me ideas for my next project. I showed them the pattern for the hat and they pointed me to the Shepherds Wool and Cascade Yarn section. They highly recommended the Shepherd Wool and for just $14 I went for it and a beautiful shade of gray.
I also picked up a pair of Knitter’s Pride Dreamz knitting needles and they are fabulous. I’ve never had such a nice pair of wooden needles, the yarn slides right off. Quite pleased with my yarn purchases we called it a day and went back home to Fremont.
When I got home I already had a project going on my 4mm needles so decided to make a baby hat with some yarn I needed to destash and use my new knitting needles. I found this fun ombre pattern on Ravelry.
Side note – I can see why the needles are called Dreamz because they knit like one. It was so quick and easy. Also this was the first time I really interchanged colors like this and it’s not as scary as you would think.
Find the pattern here:
www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/quick-ombre-hat
Before I get back to talking about test knitting Gretha’s hat pattern I wanted to show you another stash busting hat I made using some Lion Brand Bulky yarn and size 11 circular needles. I did have to change up the pattern a bit because I think this yarn must have been bulkier than the yarn in the pattern or it was knit for a giant. So instead of casting on 64 I casted on 48 and I didn’t knit 5 rounds of rows 1-6 I did about 3, I probably could have done closer to 4 though. I loved the colors I used and might use this pattern for the left over red and white yarn I have. I’ll add a link to the pattern at the end of the blog.
Now enough with stash busting patterns. In my preview post you saw that I was working on a shawl and while haven’t finished it yet but I figured I would show you a photograph of my progress. I think it will be a beautiful piece when I get around to finishing it but I needed the needles so I’m taking a little break.
Now back to the hat I’m working on. I have finished the brim and now I’m working on the body of the hat. Also I wasn’t sure what the woman at Yarn Cravin’ meant by “that yarn knits like butter” but I do now. It is awesome! I haven’t had an issue with the fibers separating and it’s helped me knit a lot quicker than normal while looking very professional. I think in a couple days I’ll have this finished and ready to photograph. ❤
Here’s a photograph of my husband sitting at Starbucks over this past weekend. I love our little coffee dates. Anyways…
Hope this post wasn’t too scatter brained for ya. Stick around I will definitely be sharing the results soon but for now you can stay up to date by following me on Instagram and please go check out the links below from all the patterns I’ve been using and the shops I’ve visted!
Follow me! –> http://www.instagram.com/rinknitsandstuff
Links to the people and shops I wrote about:
Gretha on Ravelry –> http://www.ravelry.com/people/Oceaan
Natural Fiber and Yarn Co. –> https://www.facebook.com/Naturalfiberandyarncompany/
Yarn Cravin’ –> http://www.yarncravin.com/
Ombre Hat Pattern –> www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/quick-ombre-hat
Cable Knit Hat –> http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/darn-knit-cable-hat
Shawl Pattern –> http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/taina-2
I’d love to hear from you, leave me a comment below!
Much love,
Rin
Rin Knits + stuff 