theraineysisters knitting and so much more

March 28, 2017

From Sally — A Bird in the Hand . . .

Filed under: Updates — surly @ 1:26 pm

I have nothing grand to share — nothing that will compare with Susan’s last two project posts.  But it’s not a competition, right?

I’m almost finished with a sweater.  I would be wearing that sweater today if I hadn’t been sidetracked by a lovely hat that reminded me of a favorite poem:  Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird by Wallace Stevens.  My favorite stanza is the last (although I love them all).

It was evening all afternoon.   
It was snowing   
And it was going to snow.   
The blackbird sat   
In the cedar-limbs.

My hat has fourteen birds, not thirteen.  Close enough.

The pattern is Passerine designed by Erica Heusser.  I knit it out of two shades of Tosh Merino Light, which I had in my stash:  Well Water and Composition Book Grey.  I love the tonality and the mood the two colors created.  (I only wish the Well Water hadn’t gotten so very thin in a few spots.)

I made a few modifications.  The pattern tells you to cast on with your contrast color and then, on the first row, start 1 x 1 twisted rib using the main color.  I knit one row plain in the main color before starting the ribbing.  The reason for this was to avoid purl bumps in the contrast color — you get a sharper, cleaner line.  The row of plain knit disappears once you start the ribbing.

Next, I used Susan’s invisible stranding technique from her It’s Not About the Hat pattern. One advantage of having Susan as a sister is that she even drew out the extra stitch lines for me.  Thanks, sis!  I also used Susan’s shaping from her free One Day Hat pattern.  I wanted a closer fitting type hat rather than the slouchier look in the original pattern.

As for photos, well, it’s hard to take a picture of a hat on yourself!  So I have one not so great photo.  I’m traveling to meet up with friends tomorrow.  If I can persuade one of them to act as a model, I might be able to get some better pictures.

11 Comments »

  1. This pattern is my favorite in the Mason Dixon Knitting March Mayhem 2017 bracket! https://www.masondixonknitting.com/mdk-march-mayhem-round-4-vote/

    Comment by Janetcc — March 28, 2017 @ 1:59 pm

  2. Lovely!

    Comment by Amy — March 28, 2017 @ 2:18 pm

  3. From Susan — I voted for Passerine, too!

    Comment by lv2knit — March 28, 2017 @ 2:56 pm

  4. Love that poem so much. Beautiful hat and lovely colors.

    Comment by Elisabeth — March 28, 2017 @ 3:03 pm

  5. I’d love to see a picture of the inside too!

    Comment by Peggy Hagberg — March 28, 2017 @ 3:33 pm

  6. That’s a lovely hat. The colors are so moody too.

    Comment by technikat — March 28, 2017 @ 5:48 pm

  7. What a gorgeous hat, Sally! The colors work so well together and no puckering, no see through on the stranding! Thank you, Susan for the technique! The poem is amazing even though I am not strong in this area. I read the article on Walter Stevens – very interesting. To think he was an expert insurance lawyer AND an amazing poet. Thanks for the link to the info.

    Comment by Kathy W. — March 28, 2017 @ 8:00 pm

  8. I’ve had that hat in my favorites list for a while — Yours is beautiful.

    Comment by Pam — March 29, 2017 @ 2:38 am

  9. Totally, totally charming. And sidetracked-worthy! 🙂

    Comment by Chloe — March 30, 2017 @ 10:32 am

  10. That question mark was meant to be a smiley face. Gosh darn!

    Comment by Chloe — March 30, 2017 @ 10:33 am

  11. Thanks for providing the link for the invisible stranding technique. I was looking for it before I made the Passarine hat but couldn’t find it. So I made the hat and it is okay but could be so much better. Just bought the pattern with instructions so now I can try it again! Thank you for sharing the information. Your hat is perfect!

    Comment by Delores — April 19, 2017 @ 2:42 pm

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