3.07.2008

FO: Estella

Pattern: Estella by Ysolda
For: Nadine (originally for me)
Yarn: 1 skein Classic Elite Waterlily in Lily Pad (green); 0.9 skeins Classic Elite Waterlily in Goldenrod (yellow)
Needles: US size 5 and 7 Knit Picks Options
Timeline: started 02.28.2008; finished 03.01.2008

After finishing up Nadine's new Droplet Hat, I decided that I needed another hat for myself. I've been wanting to make this hat ever since I made Gretel (which I still adore, by the way), so I grabbed these two balls at The Fold.

I made a lot of changes to the pattern, but they were pretty much all because of mistakes I made. First off, I did the tubular cast-on back and forth because those were the directions I had on me and my brain was too clouded by cough medicine to remember to do it in the round. It left me with a small gap to stitch up at the end, but it wasn't a big deal and I don't think it's noticeable.

I also screwed up a bit after the ribbing. I need to remember that “inc 1” in Ysolda’s patterns actually means “inc 1 in the next stitch” or “kfb” or something. I ended up going from 80 sts to 160, but I was only supposed to have 120. Boo! I didn’t want to tink back, so I just k1, k2tog, k1 on the next row. Once again, not noticeable.

Due to the aforementioned big head, I really wanted to make sure I used every bit of this yarn, so I added 1 pattern repeat of the star stitch chart to the main part of the hat. I ended up running out of the green, so the last two green rows were done in the yellow. Oh, and I k2tog for an extra round at the end so that I tied off 5 sts at the end instead of 10.

Classic Elite Waterlily is a really nice, springy yarn. The springy-ness reminds me of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran, so I think it would be a great substitute yarn for a pair of Fetching. What really drew me to it, though, was the slight change in the strength of the color in the ball. It's really subtle and gives the yarn depth. Lovely, lovely stuff.

On a sort of sad note, the thing that drew me to the yarn initially (the subtle changes in the strength of the color) pretty much completely disappears in this pattern. I can see it at the very top (all yellow) and the brim (all green), but the star stitch pattern just doesn't lend itself to appreciating such subtle gradations. It mostly just looks like sections of the hat are wet. Ha!

The springy nature of the yarn that I mentioned above made for fabulous knitting, but didn't get me the drape / flop that the recommended yarn would have. It also doesn't have a halo or any fuzziness to it, so it really does look like a different hat pattern. And finally...how did I not notice that I was buying yarn in total 60s kitchen colors? I mean, avocado green and mustard yellow? Sign me up! I don't have a problem with it, really, but it just isn't a combo I would normally pick and I'm surprised I was oblivious to it until I was a couple of repeats into the color pattern.

OK, so...I blocked this over a big plate to open up the fabric and make it bigger. And then I tried it on and, while it fit, it just didn't have enough slouch for me. How many times do I need to learn to check my gauge? The pattern calls for a gauge of 18 stitches to 4 inches in the 2 color star stitch pattern, but I ended up getting closer to 20 after a rather severe blocking. I know I'm a tight knitter, so I'm not sure why I just kept knitting this when I knew it was looking too small. Maybe because it was "just a hat" and I knew I'd have it done in a couple of days? Oh, well...if Nadine likes it, it's all hers.

Finally, this is another wonderful pattern from Ysolda. I'm tempted to buy the recommended yarn (Mirasol Miski) and make myself one that, you know, fits. Of course, I just noticed that she has another hat pattern (Verity) up on her site, so that may jump ahead. If next winter is anything like this one, I'll definitely be using it a lot.