Snow White Rose Red

I've been beavering away finishing this lovely Rose Red beret over the weekend. All finished but not blocked yet. But I thought you'd like some photos of the progress anyway. It's been a little while since I knitted the red one and I'd forgotten what a lovely pattern this is to knit. Watching the pattern progress is fascinating and all the details just 'fit' so well together. It inspires me to rush away and design my own but it's also a little scary as it sets a very high benchmark, don't you think?

The next challenge is the Gretel cabled beret or the mittens in the new Vogue Knitting magazine for fall. The bobbles and cables look lovely and I think they could have excellent potential for christmas presents. I know, I know, but do you know there is only 4 months to go? If I want to make things this year I should have started already!! Mild panic!

Maybe this snow white can be first on the Christmas Pressie Pile of Achievement! I've also come to the decision that although once I was a tight knitter - think squeeking needles - I am now decidedly relaxed and may have to start dropping down a needle size to compensate! I was getting concerned that the purl stitches meeting the plain were a bit on the loose side. Not that anyone will probably notice but it didn't seem to keep its tension as well as the rest. Hopefully blocking will even it out so I will be happy with it. I could always knit another one on the smaller needles to compare the results...... I know, christmas list first..... But it could join the Pile of Pressies :-)

So, gretel beret, another rose red beret, Vogue mittens x 3, no make that 6, and some so-called scarves. And Ysolda's got another hat pattern coming out soon. Better be making a start!

Roses are red and verity's are blue!

At last, at last, the beret's are finished! I've really enjoyed making them but I think I need a rest from hats! But I am really pleased with 'Rose Red'. This Ysolda pattern is even more fascinating than the Verity pattern and I enjoyed that immensely. I think using Cashmerino yarn might have helped the look and the overall feel.

I just love the cabling that goes all the way to the bottom. This did take quite a bit longer than the verity and I ended up getting distracted trying to watch television and having to take back sections. But, it's all a big learning curve!

After subtly (or not), trying to guage whether my friend would prefer the petrol verity for her birthday, I realised that the tactile aspect is so much more important than a lovely looking hat - she loved the pattern, she loved the colour, she loved the cookie button - but the feel was "not as nice as the cashmerino". A lady with excellent taste!
Now my quandry was - birthday in three days, beret to knit, soft yarn to find.... Ah Ha!! Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk! Okay, it's DK but knitting the large size should work???

Long story short - it did! Not as full as I would have liked and definitely a lot neater that even the magenta DK verity but still a lovely, soft, verity beret. I don't think I would use the alpaca again for this pattern but it would be nice on the rose red or another pattern with more structure to help it keep its form.
(sorry the pictures are so poor - only managed to finish near midnight and had to wrap then and there, so artifical light was all there was.)


I took a picture of the yarn before I knitted for my Ravelry stash so you can get a better idea of the final colour - a bit bluer without the yellow cast.


The only issue I have now is that I intended to use this yarn to knit a rose red for my sister to replace the purple verity with the tight headband. Oh, dear! Does that mean I will have to buy some soft, yummy yarn? I'm sure I've seen some gorgeous hand painted merino on Ravelry......

Rose Red

This lovely hat designed and made by Ysolda is Rose Red, my knitting project of the moment. I am including the original picture as mine is nowhere near finished yet but it gives you an idea of the complexity and balance of this pattern. If you want to look at it in more detail or try knitting it you can buy it here. I would highly recommend this as an elegant, considered design that looks complex and gives you a feeling of achievement - and a damn good looking hat when you've finished. (People think you have awesome knitting skills!)

Anyway, this has also shown me just how rusty my hand knitting skills are! Using the knitting machine enables me to see structure and form more easily but I'm having to remember abbreviations in hand knit that I took for granted before. It's like you still understand the structure and what it should look like but the sequence with the needles isn't flowing quite as smoothly as it once did. So, these hat patterns by Ysolda are gently breaking me back into hand knitting.

I'm checking everything - YO for instance. I thought I knew this one at least but since I mucked up SSK and had to look online for a video, I began to question myself and decided to check how much of my knowledge was a bit faulty. So I discoverd that YO is done differently if you follow with a Knit stitch or a purl. Thank you Knitwitch for your online videos! Now my hats are looking more like the pictures!

Progress so far.....

See? Now we have perfect crisp YO's and in the next section we will have lovely SSK's! They will be beautiful! I also went out and treated myself to some Debbie Bliss yarn to knit this in - A darker red Cashmerino DK. It is so soft to the touch and makes you value your knitting that little bit more. If this one works out then I will use this or Ysolda's verity pattern for the next pressie on my list. I also got some Alpaca silk - again debbie Bliss - in a green/blue shade. Aaahh.... such lovely colours and so soft! So keep a look out in the next week for that one too. Maybe Ysolda will have written another hat pattern by then?!

I am also beginning to use Ravelry more now, so you can also check any progress there too if you are already a Ravelry member - registered as tootiefruitie!

Until then, happy knitting!