Category: Knitting

Saying Good-bye to 2025 and Another Year of Knitting in the Books

A look back at all the knitting projects I’ve completed over the year. Also, what is already in the plans for 2026.

The year of 2025 is coming to an end and this is when I look back to see what I’ve accomplished in knitting projects.

Because I list nearly all the projects I knit on the Ravelry site, all I need to do is go there and grab my list. They have something called the Ravelry Project Challenge. Each year I make a guess (they call it a goal) as to the number of projects I’ll complete before the year is up.

This year my goal was 10 and I’ve finished 11. That number will rise and be at least 12. I’m nearly done with the Magnolia Chunky Cardigan (It’s finished and I love it).

Knitting Projects Completed

This year I knit a few little neck-warmer scarves, a couple of beanies, and a few sweaters. Some knits were re-makes of a favorite pattern, and others allowed me to try out some new yarn.

rust red Sophie Scarf
Sophie Scarf
dual loop beanie
Dual Loop Beanie
Warm up pullover using Peace Fleece wool yarn
Warm Up #2
Ran out of yarn
Scarf No.4
Fair Isle tube hat knitting in navy blue and off-white.
Doublemassa Hat
Solvi sweater finished
Solvi Sweater
Warm Up sweater pullover in black tweed
Warm Up #3
Birthday61 sweater in beige hanging
Birthday61
Sophie Scarf in white
Sophie Scarf
The weekend Hat knit in beige camel yarn.
The Weekend Hat
Sophie Scarf knit in army green color
Sophie Scarf

I was on a roll with the Sophie scarves! I hope to be wearing this little scarf when the weather turns colder and I walk in the morning. The green one was mailed to my daughter in New Hampshire.

Scarf No. 4 – the name of the scarf – was lots of fun to knit, and I love it. I see another of those in my future.

The Dual Loop Beanie came out great, but I wish I’d used a different yarn. I’m knitting another one using tan Camel yarn.

The long, colorwork Doublemassa hat was also mailed to my daughter. She laughed at how big it is, but says it sure keeps her warm! I’ve wanted to knit that hat ever since I first bought the“Hat’s On” book (Amazon paid link).

I had fun knitting another Warm Up Sweater in bold stripes using Peace Fleece wool. Then, I knit a third Warm Up in black tweed. The Warm Up pattern is simple, and it is very easy to make changes to suit your wearing needs.

I did not have fun knitting the Birthday61 sweater … because it took forever! I would never knit that pattern again. I had to shorten the sleeves before I lost my mind. And, it came out small. So that (very long) project was a fail for me. But, because it was soooooo slow going, everything else I knit now seems FAST! So, there’s that.

This past year I also tried some new camel hair yarn. I also splurged and used cashmere for the little scarves.

For the new year, I plan to cast on a cable sweater pattern. I have not decided on a pattern yet. It’s between The Bookclub Cardigan, by Sari Nordlund, Auguste Cardigan, by Johanna Gehrisch, and a few others.

Cardigans are my favorite type of sweater to wear. Not necessarily to knit, because of the button bands. I plan to find a few more interesting patterns to knit in 2026, and of course I will share my finds with you, dear readers. Thank you for reading, leaving valuable comments and suggestions, and sharing your own knitting experiences.

Knit on… and have a wonderful Holiday Season! See you in 2026.

More to Read

Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.

Year-Round Camping in Florida; Enjoying Nature While I Knit

The peaceful days of camping in the wilderness go perfectly with knitting. What could be better than having coffee outside, with knitting on my lap? We camped twice in the last month and here is a look at the knitting projects I took along.

I live in Florida where we can camp year round. We take our travel trailer north to the Ocala National Forest and enjoy the natural springs, or old Florida settings which are free of traffic and commerce. Sometimes, out in the woods, the internet is sketchy or nonexistent.

As an older woman I am perfectly able to live without access to the internet, at least for a short time. I do work online, but it can wait a few days. Camping for me means relaxing around the campfire, bike-riding, and knitting. Usually my two cats don’t go with us, and that is a form of freedom in itself!

red dirt bike with rider

During this trip, my son took off on his dirt bike, and I worked on my recent knitting project. I’m knitting a fun, little project with wool, which I will use when we camp!

knitting project, seating pad, in colorwork with black cat
Seating pad project and Fontana my cat

The item is meant to keep your bottom warm while taking a sitting break in winter. The SkiBUM Felted Seating Pad comes with a color-work graph. I began by following it, then changed to more simple designs. I do a lot of knitting while riding in the truck. The bumpy ride makes it difficult to follow a chart.

My wool chair pad will be used when we camp. My folding chair has no padding. During cool nights around the fire, my butt was cold! I was using a little foam seating pad for some insulation. The wool felted pad will also be used when eating at the picnic table. I’m sure I can use it year round on our trips. This project is perfect for using up some wool stash! I’ll be writing a post about it soon.

Two Weeks Before This

We also camped on the days following Thanksgiving. During that two day trip I worked on my cotton top (Knus Light) while enjoying the grassy woodland view from our campsite. I saw a lot of Woodpeckers and heard Carolina Chickadees. From over by the lakes, the calls of the Sandhill Cranes could be heard all day long. Lots of deer crossed our path while bike riding. This area is full of wildlife.

Mornings were a little chilly, so I wore my fingerless mitts (Stellar Parallax pattern). I LOVE it when I can wear my hand knits.

Our campsite for 2 nights
Knitting in nature while wearing fingerless mitts.
Knitting the Knus Light top

I really enjoy this cooler weather. Getting outdoors, without sweating, is such a treat. It won’t last long.

Advice For Knitting on the Go

Be sure you have all the items you may need! Needles and yarn of course, but scissors, a crochet hook (for those dropped stitches), stitch markers and holders, and embroidery needle, in case you finish and need to weave in some ends. I like a simple project for the ride, and maybe one other for day knitting. We always have more than one project on the needles, right?

Thanks for reading. Here are more knitting stories.

Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.

Camel Yarn Weekend Hat Project

A simple ribbed hat pattern with enough brim folds to keep ears warm. The Weekend Hat is a pattern by designer PetiteKnit.

Petite Knit has a few hat patterns that I’ve saved in my knitting library. While searching for a good pattern to use with Camel yarn, I settled on the Weekend Hat.

This is a fairly simple ribbed hat. I couldn’t decide if I wanted to spend money on such a simple hat pattern. Why couldn’t I figure this out myself? I’ve knit many hats, but this one includes rows of knitting that designate where the hat folds. And this brim folds twice for keeping ears extra warm.

But for less than $6.00 I can follow a pattern and have the hat come out correctly, with no figuring on my part. Also, I enjoy supporting designers for their hard work.

This hat comes in six sizes – but… size 0-1 years measures 18-19 inches in circumference. This seems quite large to me. However, using a thinner yarn with smaller needle size, would keep the hat smaller. This size information can be found on the hat pattern page – you don’t need to buy it first. (Link below)

The hat sizes change as follows: Cast on numbers are the same for 0-3 years. Also the cast on is the same for the ages 3-9, small and medium, but the length (height) of hat changes. The Large size has a larger cast on and is taller.

Buy the Weekend Hat pattern Here

Using Camel Yarn for the First Time!

Pascuali Camel DK yarn ball with tag
Camel yarn: color 11
Weekend Hat knit with undyed camel yarn
Changed needle size

Choosing a Needle Size

The knitting needle size suggested for this hat is a size 4. I cast on (I used this join to knit in the round) and began knitting using this size. It seemed too small, and after about an inch, I measured the stitches. Sure enough it was smaller than intended.

I wanted to go up one needle size but did not have a 16″ circular needle in size 5. So, I used my size 6. The camel yarn ball lists sizes 6-7 as the size to use with this yarn. Listed as a DK weight, this yarn is quite thick, and seems closer to a worsted weight to me. So, a size 6 needle seemed right.

The Yarn

It is a chainette construction yarn. Instead of plies, the strands are combined into a chain that is light and airy. Read more about the benefits of chainette on this page. Once it is knit, you will not see the “chain” texture. I was successful at spit splicing the yarn, but it took a lot of rubbing. This hat took 3 plus balls (buy 4) of Pascuali Camel DK yarn. I had quite a lot of yarn leftover, so the hat could have been made longer, or larger around. I knit the size Small.

Double folded brim while knitting hat in ribbing
Weekend hat knit with camel hair yarn
One fold, with second fold line showing.

As mentioned above, this hat will have a brim that folds twice. For this reason, the cast on edge will not show. I did a long tail cast on, and even though I began the hat with a small needle, it all worked out fine.

I knit size small and the hat fits me, although it is not for me. I was knitting for someone who has a small head.

Full length Weekend Hat on drying mats.
Full length with 2 fold lines
Weekend Hat drying on blocking mats.
Folded

I had enough yarn to make the hat longer / taller, but it would not have been necessary. I think it ended up the perfect height.

I took this quick (and non-perfect) photo wearing the hat. It shows how there is a little point at the crown.

Weekend hat knit using camel hair yarn in a natural beige color.
Wearing the Weekend Hat, hand knit beanie project.

Final Thoughts

The pattern is easy to follow and is mostly a 1×1 rib except for the few rows that make up the fold lines. If you would rather not include them, it would be easy to leave them out. Also, some Weekend Hat knitters knit the pattern but did only one fold for a more normal brim.

I suggest that you consider using the needle size suggested for the yarn being used. I did not knit a swatch to check gauge. My Camel yarn was closer to being a worsted weight and needed a larger needle.

This was my first project using Camel hair. I loved the feel of the yarn, which was soft and strong. Unlike sheep’s wool, the hat did not change much after washing. It also took three days to dry – but I live in a very humid place.

Now that I have finished knitting this hat, I can recommend the pattern. For the first time ever, I used Magic Loop to finish the top of a hat. I’ve used Magic loop for sleeves, but never for a hat. Small circumference knitting is always my least favorite thing to do.

If you are looking for an easy hat to knit, that covers the ears with many layers of warmth, I do recommend the Weekend Hat. I will be knitting it again using another Camel yarn. Be sure to watch for that yarn review.

More to read…

Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.

Binding Off Troubles On The Simple Stripes Pullover

I had a little trouble while doing the tubular bind off on my newest sweater project.

The Simple Stripes sweater pattern is done is rows of color. A pattern like this is fun to knit, and a great way to use up leftover yarn. In my case, I decided to use some wool yarn that I wasn’t thrilled with.

All was going well while knitting this pattern. As I reached the bottom part of the body, I added a strip of colorwork. Then, for the hem I decided to do corrugated ribbing. The pattern calls for a folded hem that is sewn and I didn’t want to do that.

After the corrugated ribbing was finished, using Uradale’s dark blue and dark brown, I was not sure of the best way to bind off. I searched for suggestions and found nothing too helpful. I ended up doing a knit one, purl one row in blue only and then did an Italian style, sewn bind off, using the blue.

When sewing a tubular bind off, a long tail of yarn is needed. With wool, I don’t mind using a shorter piece of yarn because all wool I have worked with spit splices nicely!

As I got close to the end of the yarn, I did a spit splice to attach more blue yarn. It seemed okay, but as I knit along and got to the splice, it pulled right apart. This left me with a short piece of yarn that would not splice to itself.

Broken yarn while trying to bind off using Uradale yarn

I’ll tell you, I was a bit ticked off about this. I tried again to splice the yarn, with no luck. I looked up some other ways to attach yarn together, but most of them needed two longer ends. I only had about an inch. I have never un-done a bind off, so that was not an option.

I was so completely OVER this yarn. I went to my wool stash and found some Rauma in dark blue that nearly matches. I KNOW that Rauma will splice. I took the end apart, separating the plies and wrapped them around the Uradale piece. I did the split splice hoping it would hold. It seemed to stay attached. I marked the area with a stitch marker to keep an eye on it.

From there, I continued my tubular bind off without any further problems.

Sewn hem bind off on Simple Stripes sweater

The body is finished, and I plan to use Magic Loop for the sleeves. I may add some colorwork to them as well. I will definitely not be using Uradale yarn for the cuffs and bind off.

I did try on the sweater once everything was complete, and the fit is very good. As always, everything will look better when it’s washed and blocked.

I played yarn chicken with the green for the colorwork, and just made it! That olive green color was a bit of Tukuwool that was leftover from something long ago.

body knitting of Simple Stripes
Body
Cutting it close with green yarn amount
Yarn Chicken!
animals divider fox, mice, hamsters

What are you knitting? I’d love to know.

Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.