Pattern: The Purl Beret from The Purl Bee
Yarn: 1 skein Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock: mediumweight in “Rolling Stone”
Needles: 3.00 mm bamboo circular (16”)
Modifications: None
 
This project was also finished over Easterweekend but wasn’t blocked until a week later. I think it turned out really well. I love the way the colours blend around in the crown of the hat.
 
If I make this again - which seems likely - I think I will add a couple of extra needles to the pattern. The ribbed band would look tidier compared to the stocking stitch if it was done on a smaller needle, maybe 2.00 mm or 2.5 mm, and the body of the hat would fit better around a 24” circular; The 16” circular was a bit of a squeeze.

 

 

 

 

I’ve been working on the Endpaper Mitts. I cast on last Saturday and finished the ribbing over the weekend. I started the colour-work on Wednesday at the Stitch ’n’ Bitch and last night I finished the first repeat... Theylook cute already!
 
This is a challenging project but I’m learning a lot along the way. My hands are getting used to the stranded colour-work and it went a lot faster last night than it did on Wednesday - I suppose sitting by myself without any distractions helped too. I’m getting into a rhythm a little faster each time I sit down to work on these. The pattern is simple and predictable so I don’t have to check the chart too often and it is easy to catch my mistakes.

Pattern: My Own-ish (see below)
Yarn: SULI FIBRES Easter Bonnet. Wool with mohair, silk and beads.
Needles: 15.75 mm wooden needles

This is not actually a recent project but I decided to block it out yesterday and, given the yarn name, today seemed a goodday to post it. I usually call this my “dishcloth shawl” because the pattern  is actually the first part of a free dishcloth pattern I got when I first started knitting. I made this a little over a year ago and sometimes use it to keep my shoulders warm at work. It’s more of a fishu than a shawl but it’s great for filling in the neckline of a shirt when the air is cold but you don’t want to wear a turtle neck.


Since it is all garter stitch it had a kind of lumpy texture (see above) and I wanted to see how it would look blocked out flat. I gave it a good soak and a rinse and pinned it out on top of a sheet on the carpet. I think it responded very well. The stitches stretched out to make a clear lace pattern with large eyelets making a border down the sides. The texture of the yarn itself still shows very well (perhaps better) but the shawl has a smoother appearance and will lay flat on a surface, or my shoulders, instead of bunching up. It’s still more of a shawlette than a shawl but it grew almost 20 cm (8") in each direction.


The picture at the top is a curl of mohair (I think) that was sticking out of the shawl when I finished blocking. It reminds me of that perfect curl Superman always has in the middle of his forehead.


Materials
Yarn: Any you like.
Needles: Any size to suite your yarn and desired gauge.
Tapestry Needle

Gauge:
There is no set gauge for this pattern. Using the suggest needles for your yarn as a starting point you can experiment to achieve different effects. A tight gauge on smaller needles will produce a dense, solid fabric. A loose gauge on larger needles will produce a lacier shawl.

Terms:
K1fb: Knit into the front and back of a stitch to increase one.
YO: Yarn over. Between two stitches put the yarn around the right needle as though forming a stitch.

Directions:
Cast on 2 stitches.
Row 1: K1fb, K1fb; 4 sts
Row 2: K2, YO, Knit to end of row. 5 sts
Repeat Row 2 to desired size or until you have only enough yarn left to bind off.
Bind off top edge loosely.

Finishing:
Weave in yarn ends. Block your shawl as desired for an even finish. Lacy shawls can be blocked out tightly; denser shawls won't need as much stretching.