Chapeau Bleu

Pattern: Op Top by Alexis Winslow (my project: Chapeau Bleu)
Yarn: Caron Simply Soft
Colorway: Dark Country Blue & Light Country Blue
Needles: US 5 circulars (Addi Turbo and Knit Picks Nickel Plated)
Size: Average hat size
Dates: September 20, 2011 to August 9, 2012 (hibernated for 8 months)
Skills: Casting on with two colors, color stranding, decreasing (K2tog) and color chart reading

Notes: Holy moly, this hat was labour intensive. Yes, with a “u” labour intensive. I did the color stranding by holding the light blue yarn in my left hand and the dark blue yarn in my right and knitting in both of American style and Continental style (of course depending on what color I was using at the time). This took a little more concentration than usual especially since I was trying to even out my gauge between the two styles (#unsuccessful). Therefore, this project was very slow going. The speed of this project wasn’t helped any by my Addi Turbo needles…as I mentioned here, my Turbos were everything but turbo and are super blunt. I didn’t notice this until I switched over to my Knit Picks needles to magic loop the crown of the hat and started speeding up. Thank you Knit Picks circulars!

If you’re looking for a beginner’s color stranding project, I highly recommend this hat. Albeit labour intensive, it’s actually very easy. You’re only dealing with two colors and the chart is very simple to follow. Do it! Do it!! Do it!!!

Oh! Just because it’s cool lookin’, here’s a shot of the inside of the hat so that you can see what the stranding looks like.

StashDash 2012 > 103 grams

Due to the crazy Jamaica/America domination of the sprint races in Track & Field of the Olympics, my friend Junko decided to join us together as one team – Team Jamerica. Cause really, it feels like that right?!

Go Jamerica!!!!