Twisp of Fate

About this time last year, at a knitting event I have attended for many years, I was the big winner of a raffle prize.  It was 5 skeins of yarns from The Plucky Knitter (a very popular indie dyer) on their Snug Worsted yarn base (70% merino, 20% cashmere, 10% alpaca – a very yummy feeling blend).  They had picked the 3 colors and it came with one of their scarf patterns and was packaged in a Field Bag from Fringe Supply!

I had hit the jackpot, although the colors might not have been what I would have chosen.  There were 2 skeins of “Utility” (gray) 1 skein of “Take a Hike” (pine green) and 2 skeins of “Glamping” (cream with spreckles of orange and green), each about 230 yds.

That time of year is rolling around again and last month I decided I should do something with the yarn so I could take it to show off.  I started the scarf pattern they had provided, but became disenchanted with it when partway into the second color.  I was afraid I would never wear it (too heavy, I like knitted scarves from lighter weight yarn) and it wasn’t going to make good use of the yarn, especially the first color which is used very little.  So I tore it out and went on a search for another project.

This is where good old Ravelry really shines!  I searched for a vest made out of Snug Worsted and lo and behold, found someone had made Exit 4 by Bonnie Sennot from this yarn and used 4-1/2 skeins all in one color.  I had 5 skeins in 3 colors, but figured I could make it work.  It’s more of a poncho than a vest, being open at the sides and held together with 2 buttons on each side.

Exit 4 by Bonnie Sennott in Plucky Knitter Snug Worsted

But wait, there’s more!  When I was done I had enough yarn left to make a hat, or so I thought.  19 gms of the Utiity, and about 35 gms each of the other 2 colors.  So I went back to an old favorite I have knit a couple of times:  Crown of Leaves by Faina Goberstein.  This is written for a lighter weight DK yarn but I had notes from knitting it from worsted weight before.  So I did the decorative cast on over a US 10, then changed to a US 4 (instead of US 2) for the twisted rib, then a US 7 (instead of US 5) for the body of the hat.  I cast on for the middle size, then increased only 24 instead of 36 to knit the body in the smallest size.  And it fits!  I had enough gray to do the ribbing, green to do Chart A, and the confetti color to almost finish the top, although I ran out and switched back to the green and gray bits of leftover to finish it off.

And this is how much yarn I had left over from the 5 skeins:

and I still have my new Fringe Supply Field Bag for future knitting projects!