Crofthoose hat version 2

I made this sweet hat last year but it came out too small, so I have made it all over again and now it fits!

I only had to change three things to get the hat to fit.

1)  I went up half a needle size.
2)  I put away the circular needle that was the exact length required and instead used a longer cord on the circular needle and used the magic loop technique.
3)  After every few stitches I would stretch out the knitting on my right needle, give each stitch a bit of space inbetween one another.

Cosy Cable Cardi

I am so proud of this cardigan!  It was both a joy and a challenge to knit.

Every step of the way it was interesting and I always had a sense of accomplishment as I watched the cables intertwine.

This is such a beautiful pattern.  It is called "Rowe" and was written by Michele Wang when she worked with Brooklyn Tweed.

Here is the story of how I chose my yarn and colour.

I had read a number of reviews on the specified Brooklyn Tweed yarn called Shelter.  Many praised it heavily for the sumptuous colour range (40 colours) and of course it has a "coolness" factor because of the minimalist style of photography and the company is headed by a male knitter.  But it also has many negative reviews that say the yarn breaks easily under normal tensioning whilst knitting.  But my main reason for not using the specified yarn was the inhibiting price.  £12.50 for 50g.  For my size I would have needed 19 of these = £237 for the jumper!!!!  Yikes!
So instead I found Knit Picks Wool of the Andes.  It is also a worsted weight yarn but is only £1.79 for a 50g ball.  Which means the total price of the jumper would be £34 !!! (plus free postage to the UK) Plus there were only positive reviews on the yarn strength and the best part was 101 colour choices.
So I spent hours pouring over the sample colours and decided to order a few of my favourite colours.  I needed to see them up close and swatch them.

My top 8 favourite colours

In the end I narrowed it down to these two - Dove Heather and Mineral Heather.  So I knit up a sample swatch and carried them around with me for a few days, looking at them in different lights.
Mineral Heather was the winner!

My guage matched the pattern and so I started on the sleeves, then the fronts and finally the intricate back piece.  

The collar took a very long time but I stuck with it and enjoyed a few TV box sets whilst knitting the ribbed collar.

I am really impressed by the yarn and the pattern. I would even go so far as to say that I would happily knit this up again.