All hands on deck!

Yes it has been more than a month since I last posted, but I was working on a couple of gifts I could not post about and then a couple of weeks ago I received word that my charity group, Hats for Sailors has been challenged to supply a carrier this year. A carrier! That is 6,000 hats. Needless to say, our little group has been busy spreading the word, hoping to grow our group of knitters and crocheters and the response has been amazing. People have been sharing our posts on social media, I'm getting lots of requests to join our Facebook group, we have lots of new faces in our Ravelry group. Things are hopping.

The only downside? I've ordered lots of new yarn. lol Which will not do much for my personal stashbusting challenge numbers. However I do have some recent finishes I'd like to share. The first is from last month. I thought I would have other hats finished as well and would have shared them as a group. Oh well, that didn't happen, so now I'll add it in with this batch.

I wanted a larger hat so I cast on 88 stitches, although it could have been less. The yarn is both Cascade 128 and Cloudborn Bulky and is soft and stretchy so it will appeal to someone with a larger head, or who likes a looser fit, or perhaps someone with lots of hair.  The yarn vendor for this purchase, HollyPKnits on Etsy has been very supportive of my charity work. 

This month's hats included a machine knit, one WIP finish and a quick knit I started and finished in a day. 

Made with Cascade 220 on the Addi King knitting machine. I cast on with waste yarn then cranked 70 rows, hooked on for cuffed brim, then cranked out another 100 rows (I think) for remainder of hat. It fits me, although its a bit tight on my husband.

Made with Chic Sheep, this is a pattern I designed and am still working on writing up. I've had a few people test knit it for me so it is simple a matter of working through all their notes and finalizing everything.

My favorite finish of the batch. Two yarns held together (Stunning Strings Plump and Shibui Sock) and worked up quickly in the Favorite Ribby pattern, available for purchase on Ravelry. It was a good  purchase since this is my fifth hat and I'll be making more. I started another already and am about halfway done. lol

I wound a bunch of yarn this weekend, and expect to finish several more hats during the week. Look for lots of hat posts over the next couple of months. I've already made 19 hats already this year and my personal goal is 60, which doesn't seem impossible, but..... Wish me luck.