Fiber Friday: A Hat for the Husband

FINALLY!

I spun this yarn back when it was Winter with the intention of knitting it into a hat right away. Handspun yarn, however, does not come with a label as per its size and recommended gauge, so i had to figure that out. Figuring out gauge is not something i excel at. Knitting up squares of yarn to be “wasted” is not something i’m keen on. But, try try again, i knitted up a mini swatch and did the math about a thousand times until i came up with 159 stitches for a 23″ hat with k3/p3 ribbing around the cuff.

Note: i figured out the gauge once before and cast on some number of stitches, and immediately began second guessing myself, thinking the hat would end up too large. So i ripped it out. Started again. About 3 times.  NOW i am sticking with this hat, but i’m still majorly second guessing myself. Should i have done the swatch in stockinette? Did i do my math incorrectly? There was a fraction of  a stitch that i rounded off: did i round it in the right direction? My husband already has a hat that is too large. It is the first hat i ever knitted, so he likes it because of that. He’d prefer a second hat that fits.

Working with handspun yarn is extremely rewarding. I love the feel of the yarn in my hands. It is gratifying to use the yarn that i spent hours spinning to create a warm and beautiful garment. It is also extremely frustrating to work with, and i’m constantly wondering if i spun it with enough twist, cast on the right number of stitches, and if the yarn will last the test of time…. especially when i accidentally drop a stitch right away and end up with one little yarn by itself on the cast on edge….. darnit.

***

This week’s featured Fiber Friend is a friendy and snaggle-toothed alpaca! This guy is one of our moth repelling/pincushion pals and is on his way to Eugene for the Black Sheep Gathering! If you want him, you’ll have to find him there, in the Stash LLC booth OR custom order your own from my Etsy page. I just love his little top knot, don’t you?

Do you knit with your handspun? Do you love working with it, or find it frustrating to ‘figure out’ the gauge every time you knit with it? Do you have any tips for me in alleviating my frustration??? this post can be found at the Simple Lives Thursday blog hop.