the Joys of the Season
thank you so much Meg!
YES! I’m a little slow on the uptake, but lately I’ve been discovering first-hand what all the fuss is about. The adorable HappyBean herself, (hi Meg!), sent me some of her gorgeous handspun yarn and I’ve been knittin’ it.
The bitter cold is doing strange and wonderful things to my brain. I am actually getting a LOT done. My theory is that when you are forced to lurk inside, the Cabin Fever just might give birth to some glorious whim. SUDDENLY! You are furiously writing or stitching or composing or cooking – the weather just might free(force) you to create…
It is not unusual, when the cold spell lands, for me to grab multi-strands of yarn and combine. I don’t do this other times of the year but in the deep winter it’s like grabbing for the covers in the early morning chill and favoring your ears with their warmth.
My Ears.
Possibly the most vulnerable part of my body when I’m working outside. (Now nose and fingertips, do not whine – you are sissies too!)
So it became the plan to craft a chapaeu that would honor My Ears and warm my little head…
I mixed one strand of aqua worsted weight handspun with one strand sportweight Dale Sisik (chartruese) left over from these and knitted an earwarmer. I was going to stop right there but something made me tour the Stash and look what I found…
So some more Mixing was unavoidable – and here’s something I haven’t done before – changed up from a much smaller gauge to a larger one in a different section of the work. EXCITING stuff to be sure but something that took a couple (cough) tries to get the proportion right.
I still have to finish the top of the hat BUT a dilemma remains – POMPOM noPOMPOM?
Ah yes, the dilemma – I say pompom! ;)
Lovin’ that yarn!
Pompom
Pompom. Definitely pompom. You GOTTA!
No. I’m sure looking forward to seeing this.
My vote is for three pompoms. If you’re gonna do pompoms, you gotta mean it.
Tassle! ;)
No to pompom. Yes to tassel at the end of a bit of i-cord. I have a hat like that and the tassels are a fun little addition.
Hard to say without seeing the whole hat, but I’d go for three pompons or three tassels. (I made myself a silly hat last year with three big fat tassels on three different lengthed (hey, I can make up words if I want!) cords. I just feel cute as a button and winter hats are all about feeling cute. The cuter you feel, the warmer you are. My theory of winter knits.
I think this is my first time posting here but I’ve been reading and enjoying your blog for some time.
No on the pom pom. But the tassle might be cute…
The color of that yarn is screaming POMPOM ME BABY. Try the pompom; if you don’t like, you can remove it afterwards.
xoxo,
B
I’m gonna have to say go with the pompom. Maybe two. Like little fluffy ears. :D
Great hat! Lovin’ that sort of Medieval-look ear and back of neck warming coverage :) Yay warmth!! He he – you could try both, pompom topknot with tassel spraying out & flowing like a fountain of beautiful thick n’thin rainbow shiny prettyness. Looks like some couture headgear goin’ on there in any case :-)
I vote for some rasta-looking braids of the handspun yarn. Very chicknits!
I’m not sure about pompoms, but that photo of the yarn-wielding mannequin is amazing.
No pompom — tassel or weird I cord things or braids, yes.
With the fabulous thick and thin yarn I think you’ll need to do something to close the inevitable hole in the middle. That’s what pompoms are for, really.
I like the tassel-fountaining-up-from-pompom idea, but I suppose you could have an I-cord with three pompoms along/around it. Plain I-cord is good too.
I think tassels on cords are fine on long pointy stocking caps but not on beanies.
I love this blog. My daughter an avid knitter in Portland, OR is crazy about this site and got me hooked! She’s coming for Christmas in Chicago and we’d like to do an Indigo dyeing project. HOWEVER, we can’t find lye in a small amount. Does anyone know where we might find it in the Chicago area?
Thanks and have a great holiday!