Hooray! I finished a project to show you! And I have a related knitting tip to share about one of my favorite knitting tools.

But first a pandemic brain fog incident to give you a chuckle: The other day I started unloading the dishwasher of the dirty dishes and putting them away. Didn’t get terribly far before I realized it. I think I put everything back in to be washed…

(I’m blaming it on the pandemic, but it could also be because I’m about to turn 51.)

The Finished Object

Full disclosure: this finished object is not either of the two projects I showed you on the last WIP post (click there to read it). And it completely broke my rule about not starting any new projects until I have finished my 20+ works-in-progress. And it broke my amendment to the rule that said if I finished a couple pairs of socks, I could start the Forest Path socks that I am so excited about.

But seriously….

…how could I not? This is Beloved, an adorable bonnet/hat by Tin Can Knits! (“Bonnet” for the baby size, “hat” for all the other sizes because it feels weird to call an adult hat a “bonnet”.)

I stumbled across this pattern somehow on Wednesday. Oh, I don’t know…it might have been when I was looking at the new patterns on Ravelry, which I probably shouldn’t be doing when I’m trying not to start anything new, but…whatevs.

I knit it up yesterday, started and finished, in four hours! I used Periwinkle Sheep Watercolors fingering weight yarn (in a color I can’t remember because I lost the band) held double, to make it equal to a DK weight.

I am a fast knitter and this was the smallest size (for a baby), but still it would be a pretty quick knit for anyone I think. Also, I added the tassel. The pattern didn’t call for it but I thought it needed a little pizazz.

Do you like this hat? I’m thinking of teaching it on Zoom through my LYS! Even if you aren’t keen on that hat, the pattern has lots of great techniques to learn.

So, in the spirit of this-doesn’t-count-because-it-only-took-four-hours-and-I-started-AND-finished-it-in-the-same-day, I’m going to call this a success and not count it as a barrier to getting other projects finished. My knitting, my rules.

(I am pretty close to finishing one of the other two projects.)

Knitting Tip

For this hat, I’m using the contrast color of my Together Apart work-in-progress shawl. For that project, I only needed a very little bit of this color, so I thought it would be perfect to use some of the rest of the skein for this hat.

When I was done with the hat, it seemed like I might even have enough yarn left over to make another one! But I wasn’t sure. So, I brought out my trusty Smart Weigh Digital Pro Pocket Scale .

I’ve talked about this scale a couple of times and what a great knitting tool it is. The most recent post is here in the 4 1/2 Reasons You Need a Yarn Scale post. This would definitely tell me if I have enough yarn left to make a second hat.

Step one: weigh my finished hat…

34.9 grams (that’s about 1/3 of my 100g skein).

Step two: weigh the remaining yarn…

63.8 grams. YES! I can totally make another baby hat or I could make one of the larger sizes since I have almost enough to make two baby hats.

If you are interested in this scale, go up there an click on the link. They are inexpensive ($12-$15ish?) and sooooooo worth it.

Do you have a yarn scale and do you love it as much as I do?

Got any pandemic brain fog chuckles to share?

Please scroll down and share in the comments below!

P.S. This weekend is when the NYS Sheep & Wool Festival (aka Rhinebeck) would be held. They are doing a virtual event. Go here to register and support the booths you would normally stop at!