Even More Hats

 I'm still slowly working my way through the top shelf of my wool cupboard - this is where I keep all the yarn that I've bought with the intention of making hats.

This lovely blue is another Katia yarn (I mentioned it in my last post) - I've used it before to make a plain hat but wasn't so happy with it this time. There wasn't anything wrong with the hat itself, just that it was looking very plain: so I made a toning flower from blue merino wool and am much happier!

I also made this pompom hat - and am so happy with how it turned out! I bought a pompom maker when we were last over in England but hadn't really used it til now.

 The wool for this one is the Tivoli yarn that a friend of my sisters gave me - I wasn't sure if it would be too chunky for hats but I really like it. I am confident that I will be making more pompom hats!!

...and feast your eyes on these! This is the Rowan Superfine Merino dk that I'd ordered (from Laughing Hens in the UK) for my latest order from Jaye - they will be five flower hats eventually.

So far I'm on the 4th hat and then will make the flowers afterwards - so stay tuned for an update with photos next time!

Yet More Hats

 I'm still working my way through my basket of 'hat' yarns that I'd pulled out of my cupboard a while ago. This cream one is the one I mentioned in my last post: made in a Katia yarn, it's a blend of wool, acrylic and alpaca. Someone on facebook is interested in it so I've 'reserved' it in my Etsy shop for her to check out...if she doesn't buy it then hopefully someone else will!

 This turquoise one is what I made after ripping out the popcorn/puff stitch mix up hat! It's made from Studio Donegal tweed wool - I bought 2 of the 2kg cones of the wool in this shade last year so I still have quite a bit to work my way through...

 These two hats (above and below) are both in Studio Donegal's tweed wool too: last year I used this slate grey for the mens' hats and had bought too much of it - I really like how this pair of hats turned out and like using the contrasting colour for the flowers on them both.

And this is one of the pair of hats I'd made with the King Cole Moorland aran - it's quite a simple looking hat really but I like the subtle colour combination.

Right now I'm using another Katia yarn, a lovely soft blue that has lots of different shades, hopefully I'll get that one finished tonight. I'm going to keep on making hats for a while yet...my lovely customer (and friend!) Jaye in the UK has asked me to make five hats for her! 

I've had to order the wool in - so watch this space! I know I've been trying not to order wool but it's different if it's something that's for a customer rather than me just randomly buying yarns...and I was very good and only bought what I needed rather than taking a peek at what else they were selling. It probably sounds a bit daft but I'm so happy that I was able to resist the temptation and just order what I needed.

More Hats

I've been true to my word and have been making more hats since I last wrote here - this red one is to replace the one I'd made in January for a lady in Northern Ireland; it'll probably be the last one I make in this colour as Wendy discontinued it ages ago. I did do a stock-up on the yarn when I found out, but now I only have the green shade left; it's a shame as it would be one of my favourites for making hats.

I finished this grey/white/black hat last night and am really happy with how it turned out - it's made from a yarn made by Katia. It isn't a brand I use that often but whenever I have used their yarns I've been quite pleased with them.

Right now I'm working on a hat in the cream yarn (see my last post and the photo of the group of yarns) - it's a different one from Katia and is turning out nice so far. It's 20% alpaca, which makes it super soft and warm too.

I've made two hats in the King Cole 'Moorland aran' (also see the photo) as I had two balls of that in my 'stock' - I've donated one of them as a raffle prize for a local fundraiser and the other one will go in my Etsy shop. I can't decide whether to put a flower on the side of it or not so I haven't taken any photos just yet.

I had started to make a puff stitch hat in the turquoise Studio Donegal tweed  but I hit a bit of a problem with it....when I wrote the pattern I never wrote down exactly how I made the 'puff stitch' so I tried again this time, but I think I made 'popcorn stitch' this time instead of puff...it was coming up too bulky and heavy so I had to rip it all out :(

It's a lesson to myself though, to WRITE THINGS DOWN!!!

I've just looked back through my posts on here and this is when I started working on that pattern click here so maybe with these photos I might be able to work out just what I did..at least I know now that popcorn stitch isn't a good substitute.

It's really frustrating to have got about 1/3 of the way through the hat, not sure if it was going to work out or not, and then to have to rip it all the way back to the beginning again. Sigh.

I'm going to carry on making hats for a while, once I've worked through the ones in my basket I'll see what I want to move on to next!

Last Post of the Month

January has been a pretty quiet month in my Etsy shop - I've decided that this year I am going to make a proper effort to keep a note of what money I'm spending and how much I'm actually making through all this. So far it's not great! - not enough to live on  - it'll be interesting to see how it pans out over the course of a whole year, and to take into account my sales from the local craft fairs etc as well.

This is my little 'accounts' book -  it was part of my birthday present from a friend and I thought that I will put it to good use, even if I don't always like what it says!!

I've finished my scrubbie-athon and have been making cotton shower mitts instead...

They're something that I used to make for a while and then stopped - they aren't the BEST sellers but the other day when I was sorting through everything I found these cottons and thought they'd be perfect for shower mitts rather than yet more scrubbies. 

I still have one more to make but it's on the back burner for the moment as I have a customer on Facebook who wants to order a few things.

This is a cotton shower puff I've made for her

and a pair of plain wrist warmers in my favourite shade of yarn. She also wants another pair of wrist warmers (which I had already made and listed in my Etsy shop) and some of the cotton scrubbies (also already made) and then a slouchy hat too.

I've got these three made in a couple of days (working with chunky yarn is so much quicker than what I usually use) - I've sent her photos of these three hats but I need to get some more hats listed in my Etsy shop (and just as general 'stock') so I had a look through my wools and will be working my way through these over the next few days...

The only ones I've made slouchy hats from previously are the two studio Donegal wools (the big cake of turquoise and the one with the label on it) - so the other three will be a bit of a mystery. We'll see how they turn out; hopefully there will be photos!

Make Your Own Scrubbies!

I'm still staying firm to my resolution not to buy new wool/yarn until I've made a considerable dent in what I already have...turning a blind eye to the emails that come daily from Springwools, Deramores, PurpleLindaCrafts etc etc offering free postage and great discounts...I find it easier to just delete the emails without checking what the latest 'offer' is as I have so little will power that I often am tempted.

I'm taking a break from making wrist warmers for the time being and am working my way through my cottons instead...once I've finished making scrubbies I'm going to make a few cotton shower mitts as I don't have any left in stock and I'd bought some nice cotton online last year and it would be a good way to use it up.

I got the 'use it up' idea from a group on facebook - ZERO WASTE IRELAND (I'm a long way from being 'zero waste' but am trying to do my bit when I can) and posted a photo of my scrubbies on there & said that I could share the pattern (such as it is!) with anyone who was interested.

So here it is!!

I use a double knitting thickness cotton and a 4mm hook - my favourite brands of cotton would be Twilley's of Stamford's 'freedom sincere' or Rowan's purelife' but any dk cotton is fine :)

So, using a 4mm hook, chain 6 - join with a slip st into the last chain to form a ring.

Chain 3, then work 15 trebles around the ring- join with a slip st at end of the round.

Chain 1, then work 2 double crochet into each stitch - join with a slip st at end of the round.

Chain 3, then work 2 trebles into the next stitch, work 1 treble in to the following one and repeat (2 trebles in one st, then 1 in the following) to the end of the round -  join with a slip st.

Turn the scrubbie, then chain 1 and work 1 double crochet into each stitch around - join with a slip st.

Turn the scrubbie again, the chain 1 and work 1 double crochet into each stitch - join with a slip st.

To make edging make 1 double crochet into the stitches of the previous round - this gives the scrubby a nice  edge and helps them last a lot longer.

Sew in the loose ends securely. 

 Now off you go and make your own!!

I get about 7 scrubbies from a 50g ball of cotton.

You can of course, make them bigger or smaller or alter the stitches to suit yourself but this is what works well for me!

 I'm still holding strong on the 'not buying more wool' mantra - hopefully I will manage a whole month without buying any new stuff!

I haven't had any custom orders through my Etsy shop, which is a help really I guess, as I NEVER seem to have the 'right' colour/thickness etc in my 'stock' whenever anyone asks me to make a particular item.

My head has been a bit fuzzy lately - just hormonal/mood wobbles - so I've taken to making scrubbies for my Etsy shop again -- they've never been my 'best' seller as I guess a lot of other people make them, but they are a quick project for me to make when I'm feeling like I can't manage anything more complicated.

So I've made practically a rainbow of scrubbies! These are made from organic cotton (apart from the purple ones) - they are made from 'Freedom Sincere' cotton.

I've made a set in grey and yellow too - these are made from organic cotton and use only natural dyes too! (they are made in Rowan's ''purelife'' cotton)

I love it so much whenever someone new buys scrubbies - I am such a convert to them myself - it's a small change you can make to your daily routine that can have an impact on how lightly you tread on the earth. Before I started using them I used organic cotton wool to cleanse my face, and would compost it along with our regular household/garden organic waste...this is better than buying non-organic or just chucking it in the general waste bin (or flushing it down the toilet!!) --- BUT the cotton scrubbies that I make will last for ages.

I've been using mine now for years, and they are still holding up strong. They just go in the wash with our clothes, dry them, and they're good to go again :)

It isn't all scrubbies though - I did make this pair of wrist warmers last week, made from Rowan's pure wool dk - I prefer a bit more colour myself but hopefully someone will like them!! 

All Natural

As I mentioned in a previous post on here already this year, I've decided to try and work through some of the yarns that I've had in my boxes/cupboards for a while...of course with me, this is a mammoth undertaking and I've only started on the top shelf of my cupboard, but already I've found some treasures!

These two pairs of wrist warmers are made with Rowan 'Alpaca Colour' which is a dk pure alpaca yarn. Sadly since I bought it it's been discontinued, so I'm not sure how easy it would be to purchase now.

Each skein is just enough for one pair of wrist cuffs.

 I made these blue wristlets from a skein of Mirasol's 'Tahu' - a dk blend of baby llama, merino wool and angora - again it's another one where I can't remember where I bought it but it's lovely and soft.

I wish companies would make the skeins bigger though - again, this skein has just enough for one pair of wrist cuffs.

 And finally, this is Malabrigo's ''Rios'' - another double knitting yarn; this one is 100% merino wool and I bought it in Iceland (it is actually a Peruvian wool I think so it's well traveled!)

I reckon there will be enough for the pair of wrist warmers AND a pair of wrist cuffs from this skein.

I'm continuing with my 'use it up' mantra and am just about to start on some plain wrist warmers made with Rowan's pure wool dk (in navy blue) - I'll take photos when they are finished :)