Zombie Buckets

That last yarn I made was destined to hit the needles right away. The colors came out great, and the yarn is well balanced and even. You'll recall it's a 3 ply, which I think looks great worked up in stockinette rather than garter stitch. I had plenty of yardage, the gauge knit up nicely to 4.5 stitches on a #7 needle. All signs pointed to a hat, and maybe end up with yarn left over! Yay!

This pattern, A Better Bucket by Amy Swenson has been in my queue for ages. I even bought some bright Malabrigo for it but then never got around to knitting it up. Well, Shannon was wearing a cute tweed version up at Rhinebeck and that triggered my memory to go back and look at the pattern again. After winding and then swatching during the weekend subway rides, my plan was set.

Two days later a new favorite hat is born! I was so excited about it I skipped the necessary blocking stage to wear it today. I had to travel out to Long Island so while waiting to be picked up from the Farmingdale LIRR station, I used the beautiful day to snap some action shots of the hat in the field.

This pattern represents my first attempt at Provisional Cast On. It took about four or five attempts to get it sort of right at the start, but I think I have the hang of it now. I was wondering when I would have the occasion to use something other than the standard Long Tail Cast On, which seems to be the only method I really know! Hm. I have to expand my skills.

And this is also the first time I've ever hemmed my knitting. I chose some stash Cascade 220 for the inside brim, just for contrast and to conserve the handspun yarn. The hemming was interesting. I got a bit obsessed in making sure none of the provisional live stitches ended up twisted. Most of them did, no matter how I approached them, so I had to go back and carefully turn them around. That one phase took longer than the entire rest of the project combined. More practice needed! But I am pleased with the way the hemmed edge looks now and am glad I am so obsessive with this stuff. Because it does matter!

The yarn striped up so wonderfully! The original pattern calls for a button on the side, but honestly I don't know that this one needs it what with all the color going on and all.

This hat will get serious rotation in the coming months. It matches my down coat and my carryall knitting bag (packed with super secret educational materials these days...), and it's a nice change from the beret and beanie styles in my collection. Can't you just picture me tromping around Brooklyn wearing this jaunty hat?!