Finished Object: Heartfelt Hat

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This Heartfelt Hat was made with Maureen O'Doogan's pattern. She is an amazing designer and her color combinations are simply glorious. I did make a few changes including using wool yo-yo's instead of hearts.

I also completely messed up the color work part. I've been reading up on color work and charts and wanted to try a project. Nowhere had I read that the last square of the chart is not to be worked because it's actually the first stitch of the next row. The first two rounds, I also thought I was supposed to repeat the entire chart over and over again. I kept thinking my gauge was off.

Why didn't I swatch? For one thing, the swatch would have been about as big as the color work part of the hat. Additionally, I have not learned to swatch in the round, yet. Then, there are times when I consider it more beneficial to jump in and try a small project learning as I go versus doing a swatch. By doing the project first, now I'm ready to play around with swatching in the round because I can compare them and figure out which things will be the same and which will be different. I also have a whole new set of questions about how color work goes together and I've also learned some things.

But, I also have Mastering Color Knitting now. That should help clear up some questions.

One of the things I learned is that color work comes out really, really tight. This definitely came out child size. My assumption was that it would actually be very loose. Another thing I learned is that knitting with two colors is deceivingly easy at least as far as manipulating two yarns back and forth. Now, if I can just conquer charts, I'll be set.

Have You Tried Sashiko?

I finished my first sashiko project. It was a kit that was sold as a pillow cover, but I made a table mat instead. It took longer than I thought it would to complete, but I really enjoyed it. And, I really love the white against the navy background.

Sashiko is a Japanese form of embroidery that means "stab stitch." Most examples are white on navy and it incorporates many different geometric patterns. It uses a thick cotton thread that actually comes in many different colors. Next I want to try a white on red pattern.

The teapot in the picture is an Yixing teapot made from special clay in China. You only use it for one kind of tea: oolong, pu-erh, or a black tea. Each teapot is only used for a single kind of tea because the flavor of the tea is retained in the clay. Green or herbal teas are not recommended.

The more you use the teapot, the shinier it gets. Also, you are supposed to pour the dregs of the tea over the top of the teapot when you are finished drinking it as it helps bring out the shine. The teapot only holds enough for one small cup of tea.