New Project Excuses

a little note from Future Charlotte: This post was written on my "rebound blog", when I thought I could be all fancy and have a proper website. Long story short - running a website is expensive & time consuming, and I just couldn't do it. After a little bit of grovelling, my blogger allowed me to come back - phew! So, just as a warning, this post might reference & link to said rebound blog, and you can click here to be check it out if you so desire. Now I'm going to hand back to past Charlotte...


I've been spending a lot of time lately creating content for the website (I'm blogging daily, as well as releasing podcasts & YouTube videos), so I've been spending very little time knitting. This week I'm trying to get myself more organised so that I get more knitting done!

So, this week I actually have a couple of projects to share with you! First up we have a Mitered Blanket.

As I said in last weeks podcast, I saw the wonderful Tami post a picture of her mitered blanket on Instagram. Now, this doesn't happen very often, but the moment I saw it I wanted to make one myself. I quickly logged into Ravelry, had a dig around, and managed to find myself a pattern called Knitted Patchwork Blanket by Martine Ellis. This pattern uses leftover sock yarn to create cute little diagonal squares!

Ok, so you might be think, "but Charly, you already have your Beekeeper's Quilt waiting to be finished," and you'd be right... but...(quick pause while I think of an excuse for casting on another project) ...but...I don't have any stuffing for my hexipuffs! So, I can't kit anymore until I get more stuffing (lame excuse, but hey, it works in my mind!)

So, back to the blanket, I am making it for my lovely dog, Lilo, as she loves to cuddle up in a blanket and she doesn't have one of her own yet (shocking! bad knitter). As I said, I am using sock yarns from my stash to knit it, and I am really liking how it is turning out!

I am using 2.75mm bamboo needles (which I bought in a 11 piece set for £3 - bargain!), so each square measures about 2x2 inches. This project is going to last a little while, which is great because I'm really enjoying working on it. It is great for when I'm not feeling well enough to follow a pattern!

The project I have been working on ferociously this week is my Leaf on the Wind socks (which I briefly mentioned yesterday). These are for the Sock Knitter's Anonymous May 2014 KAL, and the category I chose to knit was Flora & Fauna. I instantly fell in love with this pattern by Purrlescent, and casted it on straight away. It is a toe-up pattern, which I must admit frightened me a little bit, but it turns out knitting toe-up is really simple.

I love the leaf lace pattern that grows up the foot and eventually swirls around the leg. Knitting these has proved to be a great aid in taking my mind off of my pain, so I will definitely be knitting more lace socks in the future.

This morning I finished sock 1, and after I've published this post I'll get stuck into casting on the second one. I don't want to develop Second Sock Syndrome with these beauties.

I am using Stylecraft Life 4ply in Aqua, which is a wonderful budge yarn I have plenty of in my stash! I am knitting these for my Mum, and she doesn't know it yet, but she has been helping me with the colour choice and fit the entire time! So hopefully they will be a perfect fit for her. I won't show you what the finished sock looks like yet, you'll have to wait until I've finished the pair... (oh, the suspense), but this is what it looked like halfway up the leg!

So, that is it from me this week! If you want some more WIP Wednesday fun, why don't you check out these other posts by wonderful knitters and crocheters around the world!

Until tomorrow, then, my lovelies. Have a great day! x

Looking Back, Looking Forward

a little note from Future Charlotte: This post was written on my "rebound blog", when I thought I could be all fancy and have a proper website. Long story short: running a website is expensive, time consuming, and I just couldn't do it! After a little bit of grovelling, myblogger allowed me to come back - phew! So, just as a warning, this post might reference and link to said rebound blog, and you can click here to check it out if you so desire. Now, I'm going to hand you back to Past Charlotte...

I was unable to take part in Knitting & Crochet Blogging Week last year, due to family circumstances, and I was absoloutely gutted. KCBW is the highlight of the blogging year, in my opinion, and not being able to take part was highly disappointing. Later in the year, though, I will complete last years topics, so I can at least say I did it, despite being a year late.

So, let's have a look at the coming year for An Accidental Knitter. When I write Year 6's version of this post, I hope my crafting will have improved ten-fold. I tend to be drawn towards smaller projects, such as hats, socks, etc, so next year I hope that I will have several large projects completed. Such as shawls and cardigans.

My Nelumbo shawl, blog post coming soon. 

In terms of skills, I'm hoping to learn how to do Entrelac and improve my Intarsia (which, to be rather blunt, sucks at the moment). With those skills in mind, over the coming year I'd love to make Entrelac Socks and Stitch Surfer Socks (I love making socks, did you know that?).

There are a few things in my Ravelry queue I would love to finally make this year, the first being Birchwood Mitts by our host of the week, Mimi Hill (A.K.A - Eskimimi Knits). I've been pining (no pun intended) to knit these ever since they were released, and this year I'm finally going to get myself organised and make them

With FROZEN taking over the life of my myself and my nieces, making these awesome Elsa & Anna dolls is a must. They would be a perfect addition to the Toy Box when Tilly & Daisy come to play. As I am a huge Disney fan, I'd love a FROZEN item for myself, and that will come in the form of Princess Anna's mittens, from the movie. I'm really looking forward to wearing them this winter.

When it comes to the blog, I feel like I've already made a lot of progress this year. I have a shiny new website, which I love. It feels so much cleaner, and having such a nice space inspires me to log in everyday and write.

My eventual goal is to blog every single day, whether I will reach that this year, or next, I'm not sure. But I'm going to work as hard as I can to achieve it. Once I get a new computer (this one is very old and broken now, it doesn't allow me to do much at all), I will be able to ge myself back into Podcasting & YouTubing. I am most excited for the latter, to be honest. I have to so many ideas for blogs, comedy sketches, tutorials, etc, all to do with knitting and crochet, I can't wait to share them with you all.

So, in conclusion then, I wanted to say a huge thank you to Mimi for hosting this wonderful week once again. I can't tell you have much I appreciate the work you put in to create such a fun experience for us all. I'm so pleased I was able to take part, and I hope that I never miss a year again! I'm sad that it is drawing to a close already, but I have learnt so much this week, and been struck with so many blog post ideas for the upcoming weeks.

Thank you again, Mimi! And I will see you all at the same time tomorrow morning.

In this, the final post of blogging week, I was tasked to look back on the past
year, and to write my hopes and dreams for the year to come. This is what I came up with.

Views of Others, Views of Yourself

a little note from Future Charlotte: This post was written on my "rebound blog", when I thought I could be all fancy and have a proper website. Long story short, running a website is expensive and time consuming, and I just couldn't do it. After a little bit of grovelling, my blogger allowed me to come back - phew! So, just as a warning, this post might reference and link to said rebound blog, and you can click here to check it out if you so desire. Now, I'm going to hand you back to Past Charlotte...

Which Knitter Do You Admire?

Stitched Together's Whipporpoorwill Shawl

You don't have to be a reader of my blog for long to know that I am a huge fan of the blog, 'Stitched Together.' I began reading her blog back in the summer of 2011. Within a year, Chrissy started reading and commenting on my blog as well. I have to admit that made me incredibly excited, as I esteem Chrissy as one of the best knitters and bloggers on the Internet. 

There are many reasons why I love Chrissy and her corner of the Internet, but I'll try and compress them into a few short paragraphs.

Firstly, her writing style. She writes as if she is just chatting to you over a cup of tea, and that, my friends, is a sign of a good writer.

Secondly, her projects. Chrissy is incredibly talented when it comes to making things from yarn, and making yarn itself. She has tried her hand at knitting, crochet, sewing, spinning, pattern design and yarn dyeing. Which is, you will admit, a great collection of skills to have. I love all of her projects, but I especially love her knitting and spinning.

I have to admit, there is one thing that brings out the green-eyed monster when I'm reading Chrissy's blog, and that is her stash. She has such a diverse collection; sock yarn to chunky, bright to soft colours, hand-dyed to commercially dyed. I want it all. 

Last year Chrissy launched a new endeavour, her Podcast! I love to listen to it while I'm working away on my own little projects. Her podcast in fact is what inspired me to start my own (which will be coming back soon, I promise!)!

If you aren't following her, I highly recommend you do so. I promise you won't regret it!

What Do Others Think of Your Knitting?

My eldest niece, Tilly. Photo by @sarebegara on
Instagram

I never truly believed I was good at knitting, despite having people lovingly tell me so. If anyone does ever compliment me on my knitting, I always brush it off, saying, "Oh, thank you... it's very easy to make. If I can do it, anyone can!" Which is quite a rude response, I've come to realise. Someone is complimenting me, so by me brushing it off, I am basically saying their opinion is wrong, which is incredibly rude!

I finally realised this towards the end of last year, and since then I have been trying my best to just accept the compliment graciously.

For the most part, I have a good response to my knitting. Occasionally I will get someone who doesn't appreciate the craft, and teases me about it. But, I don't mind. That is just their opinion. If they get cold in the winter because they find knitting is stupid, then so be it. 

I do have two big fans though, when it comes to knitting, and they are my nieces, whom I absoloutely adore. Tilly is 6 (this month), and Daisy is 2. They are my favourite little humans in the the entire world. Both of them ask me for knitted gifts, but mostly they ask to help me with my knitting. 

My youngest niece, Daisy. Photo by @sarabegara
on Instagram.

Daisy is the most interested of the two, and though I will endeavour to teach them both how to knit, I think Daisy will be the one to adopt it into her everyday life. She loves it. Whenever we talk on the phone, she always wants to know what I'm currently making. I take her to the yarn shop with me every now and again, and if she could, she would stay there for hours. She'll give her yarn recommendations, and what she thinks I should make with it. If there are other customers in the shop, they'll always "ooh", and "aww" over her enthusiasm for the craft. The first time I ever took her with me to the yarn shop and needed to leave, she began to cry because she wanted to stay and look at patterns. 

A couple of weeks ago, along with their Mum (my eldest sister), they came over for tea. They both proceeded to take me by the hand and lea me to my room and knit with me for about 45 minutes while watching Barbie's Dreamhouse. During that lovely time, they told me that I was the Knitting Princess of the world. They originally decided upon Queen, but they came to the conclusion that Queen might be too much responsibility. 

So, on the whole, people like my knitting. More importantly though, I love my knitting. it is such great fun :D

Today I was given the task of writing about my favourite crafter, &
why I love them so. I also had to write about what others thought about
my knitting. This is what I came up with.

How to Be: A Knitter

a little note from Future Charlotte: This post was written on my "rebound blog", when I thought I could be all fancy and have a proper website. Long story short - running a website is expensive and time consuming, and I just couldn't do it. After a little bit of grovelling, my blogger allowed me to come back - phew! So, just as a warning, this post might reference or link to said rebound blog, and you can click here to check it out if you so desire. Now, I'm going to hand back to Past Charlotte...

If you need to make the info-graphic larger, don't forget you can click on it :)

Today I was tasked with making something completely different for my blog.
I realised I had never made an infographic before, so this is what I came up with.

A Conversation Between Needles & Their Owner

a little note from Future Charlotte: This post was written on my "rebound blog", when I thought I could be all fancy and have a proper website. Long story short - running a website is expensive and time consuming, and I just couldn't do it. After a little bit of grovelling, my blogger allowed me to come back - phew! So, just a warning, this post might reference & link to said rebound blog, and you can click here to check it out if you so desire. Now, I'm going to hand back to past Charlotte. 

"HI! We are the KnitPro Spectra Trendz Interchangeable Needle Set that our knitter, Charly, got given last summer. She had been wanting us for a long time, as she has a lot of pain in her hands now, and she finds us lovely and warm to hold which means she can knit for longer! Another plus is that we are so BRIGHT and CHEERFUL, we really command a presence in the room. We are often told, though, that we are quite loud to be around. Charly doesn't mind though, so that's all that matters."

"Oh, here comes Charly now!"

"Hi Charly!"

"Oh, hi guys. What are you doing out of the drawer?"

"We miss you Charly... we want you to play with us!"

"I'm sorry guys, I can't at the moment. I'm trying to knit a huge lace shawl, and I'm afraid I already chose a different set of needles."

"Ugh! You aren't using those Addi Clicks Lace needles, are you?!"

"Well, yes I am actually..."

"But why?!" They're such snooty noodles. They parade around the drawer as if they own the place, and they such posh accents, they talk as if they're the royal family!"

"They are posh needles, though... Have you seen how expensive they are to buy?"

"Oh, yes. It is all they ever talk about, 'Oooh we're so luxurious, we cost £100 to buy brand new. Oooooh.' Why are you using them anyway?"

"Well, it is a large lace project, and that is what those needles are designed for, so..."

"Oh, so we're not posh enough for you, eh?!"

"Oh, c'mon guys, you know perfectly well that you are my favourite! But, you're just not as well trained as the Addi's to knit lace, that's all!"

"Perhaps we would be 'as well trained', if you didn't keep breaking us!"

"Those were both accidents! I would never harm you maliciously! ... Okay, you guys are perfectly right, you need training n the art of lace, why don't I switch you with the Addi needles?"

"YAY! Oh, thank you Charly!"

"You're welcome, but you guys need to keep quiet, as I want to finish reading The Fault in Our Stars!"

"So, this afternoon, Charly switched us with the Addi Clicks Lace (you should have seen their snooty little faces, it was a picture to behold!) and we listened to an audiobook as we knitted away. Charly ended up weeping into her knitting, as "the book was so beautiful, and said", so we comforted her."

"Today was a good day."

This post was apart of KCBW2014. Today I was given the task
of writing a conversation between myself and one of my tools. This
is what I came up with.

Experimental Photography

Today we were challenged with editing a photo of our knitting. I had an awesome
photograph idea, but due to a family emergency I couldn't take it :( So, I'll have to
do it next year instead. This was my back up plan!

Ice Cream's Dating Profile

a little note from Future Charlotte: This post was written on my "rebound blog", when I thought I could be all fancy and have a proper website. Long story short - running a website is expensive and time consuming, and I just couldn't do it. After a little bit of grovelling, my blogger allowed me to come back - phew! So, just as a warning, this post might reference & link to said rebound blog, and you can click here to check it out if you so desire. Now, I'm going to hand back to past Charlotte...

Hiya, my name is Ice Cream! Wow, so much to tell you, so little webpage. Okay, where shall I begin...

Well, lets start with the basics. I am 11 months old (my 1st birthday is coming up soon, I'm so excited!) and I currently reside with my owner of 10 months in the South-West of England.

I was created by a knitter called Charly, for her elder sister, Sara. Charly made me using an incredibly simple sock pattern, but she made up for that by using a fun yet luxurious yarn called Happy by Wendy. 

If I had to describe myself in one sentence, it would be: "A happy, fun par of socks to be around, who aren't afraid of acting a little crazy."

There are so many things in life I love, so it is going to be hard to fit it all in one paragraph, but lets give it a go. My all-time favourite interest in life, is playing Rounders & Tennis during the wonderful Summer days. If the weather restricts me to inside the house, I love to curl up on the sofa with my owner & watch The Shaytards on YouTube.

Despite being quite a loving knit, there is one thing I really hate, and that is slippery floors. As I am made from Bamboo yarn, I am silky soft to touch. Pair me with a slippery floor, and I slip and slife all over the place! This can be both amusing and dangerous.

As my striping suggests, I embrace change. In five years time I hope to be trekking across the GR20 in France. This demanding 15 day trek has been on my bucket list since I was 3 months old. You trek across a multitude of different landscapes; forests, glacial lakes, snow-capped peaks, plains, grainite moonscapes, and much more.

I'm looking for a partner who will happily join me on adventures around the world, but who is also perfectly content to relax at home in front of the TV. I'm ideally looking for a piece of Knitting or Crochet who lives in England, and isn't afraid of a bit of crazy fun in their life.

Today I was asked to write a dating profile for one of my F.O's.
This is what I came up with.

A Day in the Life of Polly Jean

This post was apart of KCBW2014. In this post I was given the task of
writing about a fictional day of a WIP. This is what I came up with. 

Screams and shouts of people in pain echo around the room, occasionally interrupted by an announcement over the tannoy. Unable to bear it any longer, I spring up from my hard plastic char and, with my head down, power my way through the maze of waiting rooms. Finally finding the revolving doors, I burst through them. I'm thrust into shockingly cold air, which finds its way through every gap of my clothing until I'm left shivering to my core.

I roughly place my hand onto the wall, and my nails dig ino the shoddy brickwork. My other hand rubs my chest, which feels like it might implode at any minute, and I try to calm my breathing down. Once I'm no longer panting like a boiling labrador, I slide myself down the wall until I land flat on my arse.

I must look like a crazy person. My thick brown hair is sticking out in all directions, and I have the complexion of a dying vampire. I probably look like I'm on drugs; my eyes are as large as saucers and it doesn't help that they're darting around like a paranoid rabbit. My eye "bags" are more like suitcases and I haven't showered in 2 days.

As my bum slowly freezes into the snow, I attempt to make sense of the events of the past 24 hours.

It had started like every Tuesday does, with the realisation that I have the day off from work. After a quick celebration in the kitchen while making myself a cup of tea, I snuggled back into bed and pulled out my latest WIP, Polly Jean by MJ Kim. With spring well on its way, I was using a zesty lime coloured yarn, which never fails to cheer me up. I knitted away on the foot for a couple of hours, while listening to the Stitched Together Podcast.

At about 10am, I got a phone call from my Mum. She sounded really panicked, and said that there was an emergency, and I needed to get to her house as soon as possible. She refused to give me any more details, so I was freaking out on the inside as a torrent of possible awful situations flooded my mind. Getting dressed in a panicked manner was difficult to say the least. I managed to get myself tangled inmy jean, spun around and then fell flat on my face. I lay there for a minute to catch my breath, and make a mental note to Vax the carpets at some stage.

Grabbing my large handbag, I ran around stuffing things inside it that be needed in this vague emergency. Make-up and knitting were a priority, of course, as well as keys and a banana.

Just before running out of the door, it struck me that I hadn't fed the dogs yet, so with my panic rising, and to the dog's delight, I just poured a mountain of biscuit in the middle of the kitchen floor.

Bursting through my front door, I slipped and slid down my garden path, trying to walk as fast as I could without incurring my own emergency. Five minutes after the phone call from Mum, I was in my small Ford Ka, speeding off towards her house, which was about 20 minutes away, as she lived on the other side of the Tamar River.

I zoomed down the dual carriage way, music blaring so I could concentrate on that rather than the fact my Mother's house might be on fire, flooded, or they might be held at gunpoint by some crazed Cornish recluse. Finally, reaching the Plymouth Toll Bridge, I flung my £1.50 at the rather suprised toll collector who had the sense to raise te bar before I rammed it down myself.

It was when I was on the bridge that the trouble really started. Towards the end of the bridge I could see a queue beginning to from but despite this, I still had my food down trying to get to my family as quickly as possible.

A lot of people explain car accidents as happening in slow motion, and that is exactly what happened. Once I reached the middle of the bridge, a small blue car two cars in front of me, braked suddenly, skidding across the lanes, finding himself on the other side of traffic. Thi was when the slow motion kicked in. Stomping my feet on the brakes, I swerved into the car in front who had done the same, creating a domino effect behind me.

As the air bag deployed, I closed my eyes, my last thought being of my Mum.

I drifted in and out of consciousness for the next couple of hours. I became aware of firefighters cutting me out of my car, who reassured me that I was going to be okay. My next memory was of having my eyelids pulled open by a young Dr, who, while shouting to wake me up, shone a bright light in my eye. I proceeded to sob for my Mother as they tried to restrain me from jumping off my geurney. My head flew back and I was once again thrown into darkness.

I woke up to the beat of my heart monitor a few hours later. Feeling a presence in the room, I opened my eyes to find my Dr scanning over my notes. She explained to me that I suffered a concussion, whiplash and I'm covered in huge bruises. Other than that, she said I was incredibly lucky, and I would be able to go home in a few hours.

I was given my handbag, and immediately pulled out my knitting to work on my socks. It wasn't until I was discharged that I remembered about my Mum and her emergency.

So, here I am now, outside Derriford Hospital, frozen in the snow. Pulling my phone out, I find many missed calls and text messages from my Mum. I click 'return call', and as I do so I hear my name being called.

"MUM!"
"Oh Charly, what on earth happened to you?! Are you OK?!" she asks as she flings her arms around me.
"I was in a bag car accident, but I'm OK. I'm incredibly lucky." I reply, nussling my head into her shoulder.
"No, oh no, this is all my fault, I should have just told you that I had a surprise for you, I'm so, so sorry." She says through heavy tears.

So, we stand there, embraced under the snowfall. Happy to be safe in each other's arms.

THE END.

Green Eyed Monster

I am not a jealous person. In fact, it is quite rare that I feel jealousy towards someone. If I ever do feel a twinge of envy, on the whole it is because the person in question has children, and I really want kids. Lots of 'em. Now, I'm not saying I am jealous of every single person on the planet who has children, definitely not. What I mean is that every now and again, when I'm feeling low & I see a lovely, happy family I think to myself, "Man, I wish I had that."

But now, though, I have noticed something else bringing the green-eyed monster in me, and that is knitter's stashes.

No, not that kind of stache, silly.

This is Stitched Together's stash (A.K.A Chrissy), so I'll be writing a
post all about her next week. So stay tuned!

This kind of stash.

I don't have to scroll through someone's stash on Ravelry for very long before I begin to feel a little envy for what they have. Especially if it is hand-dyed yarn. Honestly, I swear that stuff is a knitting drug. Once you try it for the first time, you just want to spend all your money buying more.

Like most knitters and crocheters, when I first started with the craft I didn't see any point in having a stash. I used to just decide on what I wanted to make and buy the yarn/

That logic lasted for all but one project. I soon came to realise that knitting the project was not the only enjoyable part of the process, actually buying the yarn was fun too!I quickly discovered that the best way of going about choosing a project to make was to choose the yarn first, then find a pattern to use.

I recently got a new bed, and it has three huge drawers underneath of it. One of them is not being used for yarn and, guess what, IT IS FULL! It makes me very happy to pull it open and see all this yarn before me, knowing that I have so much choice in terms of what projects I can make. 

Most of my yarn is cheapie acrylic stuff, but as long as you pick particular brands you do get some lovely yarns. Stylecraft has really upped its game, and its Special 4ply & DK ranges are among my favourites to knit with. When I get a bigger budget, I'd love to be able to start stashing away hand-dyed yarns from places such as Candy Skein and Gnome Acres. Also to buy more expensive commercial yarns like Arteseno. 

Until then, however, I'm perfectly happy with my stash. I'm looking forward to seeing how much it'll grow over the coming year, perhaps even a few hand-dyed skeins will make their way in there.

So, dear reader, do you have your own personal stash? If so, what is your favourite yarn hidden away in there?

I'll see you guys at the same time tomorrow, when Knitting & Crochet Blogging Week kicks off - wahooooo! I can't tell you how much I've been looking forward to it! If you aren't joining in, I highly recommend you do so, it is a bundle of fun!

Lookin' Out of My Back Door

There are a few factors that are involved in my choosing of what to knit that day, the biggest one for me, is the weather. This may sound weird, but please, hear me out.

I have a lovely window right by my bed, which looks out onto our back garden and a few fields (this is the country - there are fields everywhere!). So, as soon as my eyelids flutter open in the morning, I open the curtains to admire the weather for the day. Now, if you don't already think I'm weird enough, I love any kind of weather. If I had the health to do so, I'd be out all day every day, rain or shine. I just love being outdoors.

Unfortunately, at the moment my health is at the point where I can only leave the house once or twice a week. As I am inside the house all the time, the weather doesn't affect my day at all.

So, one day last year, I decided to work on a project that complimented the weather we were having outside. "WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?!" I hear you ask. Okay, so this is how it works.

In the early years of my life, I watched the Teletubbies so
much that I thought that was what the sun *actually*
looked like...

If the sun is shining and its warm outside, then I'll work on a bright coloured project, or one that has some kind of link to summer. For example, working on a strawberry baby hat fit the bill as it is both bright, and a fruit that is most readily available in the summer.

Why do people in RomComs always kiss
in the rain? You'll catch pneumonia, since
when was that sexy?!

Now, if it is raining, cloudy or windy, you have to knit a comfy project. Either it must be a warm/soft/chunky yarn, something big (like a blanket), or a project that you would wear in such weather (ex- working on a scarf).

Now, you may think that it is an insane way of picking up a project, and that's fine if you think so. I do know others that do it though, so I don't feel as crazy as I probably should do.

How do you go about chosing a project to knit (or crochet!)? Tell me in the comments below! I'll see you all at the same time tomorrow, until then I'm off to watch The Notebook...

Knitting Hats in the 1920s

a little note from future Charlotte: This post was written on my "rebound blog", when I thought I could be all fancy and have a proper website. Long story short - running a website is expensive & time consuming, and I just couldn't do it. After a little bit of grovelling, my original blog allowed me to come back - phew! So, just as a warning, this post might reference & link to said rebound blog, and you can click here to check it out if you so desire. Now, I'm going to hand back to past Charlotte...

I recently got my haircut, about 12 inches to be precise, and I have found that with my new 'do', I suit hats! Yay! For years I've made all these hats that I wanted, but could not wear, and now I can keep them all for myself - mwuahaha!

Ahem. That took a rather dark turn rather quickly, didn't it? Anyway, back to hats. So now I can adorn my small head with hand-knits, I was overwhelmed with the choice on Ravelry. I could not decide what to make. It then occurred to me that there might be something in my Ravelry queue that a 'past me' wanted to make.

knitting the hat inside out

It was then I laid my eyes on my favourite hat pattern of all time - Regina by Carina Spencer. This 1920s style cloche was right up my alley.

I dove straight into my stash, and found two skeins of Stylecraft Special DK in Magenta & Camel. I was dubious at first of pairing them together, but decided to take the risk.

The construction of this cloche was incredibly interesting, I learnt so much from making it. It does sound complicated, but I assure you, it is easy when you are actually knitting it. First of all, you don't need to do a gauge swatch. Amazing, right?! You begin the pattern by knitting an i-cord, then pickig up stitches in a certain way so your i-cord becomes a loop. Using that loop, you kit the band of the cloche. You do this by simply working a thin length of rib. Once you have done this, you increase in a certain manner so as to create a fan.

After casting off, it is time to change to the main colour. Pick up the stitches so that you are knitting the hat inside out (thi saves you having to purl constantly, making the pattern that much faster). After you have finished knitting the hat, turn it rightside out and sew the fan onto the hat (this was the trickiest bit, in my opinion).

Then - ta dah! ou have yourself a wonderful 1920s cloche. I can't tell you how much I loved making this, and wearing it. I love it so much that I knitted a newborn baby version of the hat, which I will show you after Mimi's Blogging Week has come to an end.

My version of the Regina. The camel yarn didn't photograph as well
as I had hoped. It comes out as a Mustard colour in these pictures.

I would love to make a few more of these in different colours... I'm hoping this winter I will have plenty of hats for myself. Perhaps even a few cotton berets for the summer. Oh, goodness, now I want to knit a hat. I'll see you guys tomorrow, for now why don't you head on over to Tami's place and check out more FO Friday posts?