Hats and Socks

I got 4 mitts, 2 pairs, out of a single ball of hand spun yarn, with a little bit left over. The double kit fabric is thick enough to be cushy and warm, but not so thick as to be uncomfortable. Since I'm working on such things, I dug out a very old WIP (Work In Progress) and decided that the best thing was some Frog Stitching. This WIP was a Stahmann scarf that I was trying to knit up in hand spun quiviut but I just didn't have enough yarn to make it. This was the 2nd thing I'd tried to make from this small amount of yarn. I kept thinking I'd get some more fiber and spin up matching yarn, but well, it's been several years now and it isn't happening.

So Frog Stitched it, rewound it into a ball and started knitting a hat. I'd hoped to have enough to make a fine cap with ear covers, but no joy. Then inspiration struck. I remembered a similar weigh of yarn that I'd spun up not long after I got my first spinning wheel, the Lendrum. It is a fine white yarn of 50% superfine Merino wool, 30% Bombyx silk and 20% angora. After poking through my boxes of fiber and spun yarns I found it! Amazingly enough it is an exact match to the quiviut. I'm not sure I could have spun it that perfectly to match if I'd been trying. Ironic I did them the same at totally different times over several years. Running your fingers across the join between the 2 yarns the texture is the only thing different, and that's not by much.

I decided that I'd make a reversible, doubled hat. It's over 1/2 way done now, and I expect will use up nearly all of the angora blend. The taupe/brown of the quiviut should look very nice with a nice fluffy white brim.

I've also been working on the socks using Cat Bordhi's new book, "New Pathways for Sock Knitters: Book One". I'm using I think it's Riverbed, where the shaping is under the arch of the foot. The socks really feel good on my feet, hugging in on the area where they are usually a bit loose.