I Love This Hat

The hat that I love is Quincy, by Jared Flood. This is just the latest of several Quincy hats I have made.

As usual, the details:

• Yarn: Lana Grossa Royal Tweed; 100% merino; 50 grams, 100 meters. The hat took only one skein, but it took all of that skein.
• Needles: US9 and US8. (5.5mm and 5mm).
• Finished size: A little large for the “model" but just right for a real person, especially one who does not like a tight hat squeezing her head (that is, me).

Squared

I like square doilies. I have looked at this one several times and finally decided it was time.

This doily has some interesting attributes at the beginning and end that I had not expected. I had expected the plain center part to be one row with yarn-overs at the corners, followed by one row plain. Wrong. It is  two rows with yarn-overs, one row plain. At the end, the bind-off as written is done with knitting, not with a crochet hook. I tried it as written but did not care for it, so I used a crochet bind-off. Perhaps with practice, I could master the knitted version.

The details:

• Pattern: Millpond, from Handmade Lace and Patterns by Annette Feldman. The book is out of print but readily available. Apparently this doily also appears in a Priscilla doilies book. It is not charted.
• Thread: Cébélia Blanc No. 20, one ball (50 grams, 405 yards) plus a small amount (less than 10 yards) from a second ball.
• Needles: US0 (2.0mm)
• Finished size: Approximately 20 inches x 20 inches.

A New Doily

I am a great fan of the doilies on Yarn Over; this one is Stor Rund Dug, which translates to Big Round Doily. In this case, Big Round Purple Doily (it really is round, although it looks cockeyed in the photo).

The details:

• Thread: Valdani 35 wt. cotton. Color Sweet Violets-Muddy Monet Collection. I love the colors of the Valdani thread; the variations in color are subtle but show nicely. I buy the thread from Debbie at DS9Designs; I want every single color.
• Needles: 1.2mm (US 0000).
• Finished size: About 15 inches diameter.

I am a great fan of variegated threads for doilies when the thread and pattern complement each other. I think variegated threads are especially good for scallop-y patterns, such as Feather and Fan, Old Shale and variations.

Let me also here recommend to you the Lacy Knitters Guild and the new Web site. If you like lace knitting, this is a place for you. Well worth visiting and membership.