Chapter 27 - New Yarn and Free Pattern!

ALL THE WAY FROM NEW ZEALAND

New Zealand Merino

Pebblemill Yarns

Lucky me! My very generous knitting friend, Diane, returned from her month-long trip to New Zealand with a bag full of luscious yarn to share with her pals! 

She couldn't have picked a more lovely souvenir. This 100% pure New Zealand Merino, called Softspun, is the softest wooley-wool I've ever used. It's an 8-ply DK that, according to Diane, is spun from the undyed creamy white and black fleece from the merino sheep. 

Must be a hat.

Two Hats' Worth of Yarn

As you can see, above, I knit a perfect little hat and had plenty of yarn left over. The ball band said it was 100 grams (about 3.5 oz) and 273 yards, quite a lot! When I weighed in the remainder of the yarn (1.85 oz.) it can be assumed that this hat used up a little bit less than half of the yarn.

Gorgeous stitch definition.

Thank you, Diane! It was such a treat to have this New Zealand yarn to knit with! 

The pattern I used is my own, so I named it after my social media nickname. I'll include it at the end of this post.

HAND-DYED TO ORDER FROM COPPER CORGI

Fresh from the dye-pots.

The Copper Corgi Fiber Studio

I discovered this Savannah, Georgia indie dyer when I traveled to Savannah last year. Looking to expand my stash, I stopped in at The Frayed Knot to see what they had that was different and exciting. I came home with an armload of yarn, including two skeins from Copper Corgi  (see Chapter 11). I knit this kerchief  in one skein and this scarf in the other, and absolutely loved how the yarns performed.

I'm designing my first cowl pattern and I wanted to base it on CC's fingering weight merino superwash. When I visited her Etsy shop, The Copper Corgi Fiber Studio, I went crazy over these deeply saturated tonals in all the crayon colors. 

The Copper Corgi's finest.

Happy Hanks

The colors, above, are (from left to right): What Can I Do, Kashmir, Poor Tom, Wearing and Tearing, and Ten Years Gone.

My package arrived yesterday, and as soon as I get some things off the needles I'll wind these up and begin my pattern!

WORKS IN PROGRESS

Starting small.

Stashbuster Shawl by Heather Haynes

I saw this pattern on a recent Bakery Bears podcast and checked it out on Ravelry immediately. It's a paid-for pattern but at 2.50 GBP it's quite reasonable. 

Picot edge gives this shawl some flair.

I have two balls of the Incan Spice yarn for a total of 436 yards, and I plan to use it all up. I have a feeling this shawl will have a tremendous wingspan, because right now I can see that it's getting wider faster than it's getting deeper.  (Click the link to see the yarn content info.)

Another Hat for Ruth

Just your standard slouch hat.

Ruth, my daughter-in-law in Northern Virginia, asked me to make her another slouch hat. I'm using the same acrylic tweed yarn as the first one I made her, but this one is a brown version.

I follow the Barley (by Tin Can Knits) pattern for her hats, knitting the size Small and omitting the garter-stitch section. 

BONUS: GROOVE HAT PATTERN

TOOLS

US size 6 and 8 circular needles (16")
US size 8 DPNs
50 g or 1.8 oz 100% merino DK or light worsted weight yarn
6 stitch markers

SIZE

FITS HEAD CIRCUMFERENCE 21-22"

RECIPE

1. With size 6 circular needles, cast on 84 stitches. Join to work in the round, (don't forget to place a marker first) being careful not to twist stitches.

2. Knit two through back loop, then purl two through back loop, and repeat this pattern to the end of the round. (2 x 2 twisted rib.)

3. Knit 7 more rounds of 2 x 2 twisted rib, for a total of 8 rounds.

4. Change to size 8 circular needles and knit 6 rounds (stockinette stitch).

5. Purl 5 rounds (reverse stockinette stitch).

6. Knit 8 rounds.

7. Purl 5 rounds.

8. Knit 10 rounds.

9. Purl 5 rounds.

10. Knit two rounds. (Note: Hat should now measure about 7" from cast-on edge.)

11. Knit 14 stitches, place marker, repeat around to end of round (six sections of 14 stitches marked).

12. Knit to 2 stitches before marker, knit 2 together, slip marker, repeat around to end of round.

13. Knit around.

14. Knit to 2 stitches before marker, knit 2 together, slip marker, repeat around to end of round.

15. Repeat steps 13 and 14 until there are 8 stitches per section (total 48 stitches), switching to DPNs when needed.

16. Repeat step 14 every round (no knit rounds in between) until there are six stitches (total) remaining on your needles.

17. Cut yarn and draw tail through the remaining live stitches, then pull tight to close up the hat. Weave in ends.

18. Block your hat! Run cool water from faucet over hat to dampen, wring gently, and pin to blocking pad, being careful to not stretch it out width-wise (especially ribbing). Flatten "poufy" sections by  stretching gently lengthwise before pinning.

♕♕♕

And there you have it! Thanks for stopping by. 

TTFN!