Hobbit Hat or Tea Cozy and More on Energized Singles

After spinning a bobbin full of yarn, it is so much easier to knit or crochet something when the wool is not removed from the bobbin and plied or the twist set.  If the twist is not set, the yarn is referred to as energized.  I have recently posted on energized singles and you may want to refer to those posts.  Usually, I crochet with energized singles.  In this case, I knit a hat in one piece and seamed the pieced together.  As you see, a normal triangle is not made.  It was not curved this way due to my knitting expertise, it was the use of energized singles.

Once I sewed the seam, the hat became more of a triangle, unless the stitches are followed. The stitches do not go straight up and down like normal knitting.  They curve to the right.  I added locks to the top of the hat, crocheted along the bottom of the hat, and brushed up the knitting to make the hat a little fuzzier.  I also gathered the seam which allowed for the top to curve down.  The type of wool I used to spin this hat with is Cotswold I purchased from Nistock Farms.  This wool was not cheap, but it was covered and much cleaner than most raw wool. Usually wool has bits and pieces of pasture, not to mention a little poo.  I buy most all of my wool raw (unwashed) from a farmer.  I then wash, dye, comb, and prepare the yarn to spin.  I could buy processed and colored wool, but that would take the fun away from the prep, not to mention all of the variations that can be done in the prep.  This yarn was spun thick and thin with some of the lock curl showing in the yarn.

I could stop with the hat at this point, but if the hat is for me, I can't put Cotswold wool next to my skin.  This would make a cute tea cozy also, but I would still want to line it for optimal warmth.  It has been a while since I posted about lining hats with fleece.  Not wool fleece, but the fabric fleece used to make blankets, scarves, jackets, etc.  Originally, I thought I should line the complete inside of the hat, but all that is needed is a band that covers the area of the hat that touches skin.  Here is how the hat looks at this time.  What do you think?

Thank you for viewing!  Dawie

About This Time of Year...........

About this time of year, businesses bring out pumpkin spice or pumpkin pie flavored ice cream, pumpkin fragranced items, pumpkin pies, pumpkin fabric, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin colored yarn, pumpkin spice everything!  I love it all!!!  If I remember right ladies, it is also a male aphrodisiac.  LOL  I had a skein of salmon colored yarn, so I thought I would make a crocheted pumpkin.  A plain pumpkin would not be enough, it had to have embellishment of some sort.  (I tend to over do, so embellishment is always necessary.)   I also had a skein of brown tweed yarn which had a few flecks of other colors, including orange.  I crocheted the pumpkin, sewed it up on the bottom, stuffed it with wool fiber, added pumpkin spice fragrance to the inside, crocheted the stem and vine, and pulled out some of the wool fibers here and there to add my embellishment.  If you are looking for something different and fun for the fall, you may want to make my crocheted.pumpkin spice fragranced, bobble pumpkin.  

I know this background blends in with the pumpkin, but it just says fall and I HAD TO USE IT.

To make my crocheted.pumpkin spice fragranced, bobble pumpkin, you will need one skein of wool or your desired yarn.  I used 50 g. ball of wool.  I also used size f crochet hook, but use the size that suites you.  For the stem and vine, you should be able to use a smaller amount of the skein, approx. 1/4 of it.   No gauge needed for this project.  Chain 35 stitches. You will crochet in the back of each crochet stitch throughout the project.   Row 1, single crochet into the second stitch from the hook.  (the chain one counts as the first stitch of the row.)  single crochet 5 more stitches, half double crochet 7, double crochet 7, half double crochet 7, single crochet 7, chain 1 and turn your work.  Row 2, single crochet in each stitch, chain one at the end of the row and turn your work.  Repeat these two rows until the desired size you want, or you almost run out of yarn.  End with Row1.  Single crochet on the right side of the pumpkin through the loops of the first and last row together to join the piece, making a ridge down the pumpkin which looks like the prior ridges.  You are probably asking which side is the right side.  There really is not a right or a wrong side.  One side looked more uniform, so I used that as the right side.  Sew up the bottom stitches tightly with a tapestry needle.   Stuff the pumpkin with orange colored wool, or any desired stuffing.  (For alternate materials, try ribbon, paper shreds, fabric strips, or lace)  Line the inside bottom with a small sheet of plastic or aluminum foil if desired.  This would keep any fragrance oil from draining through and getting on furniture.  Stuff the pumpkin with wool.  I used varied shades of orange and coral Cotswold wool, which has long curly locks.  Stuff the pumpkin as full as you desire.  Place one tablespoon pumpkin spice fragrance oil in the center of the pumpkin.  Cover over the oil with wool stuffing.  (You could use spices for an alternate to the fragrance oil.)  Attach the brown tweed yarn to  the top of the pumpkin edge.   (You could use green yarn as and alternate).  Crochet around the top with one stitch in each ridge.  You do not need to be precise.  No pumpkin top and stem is identical or perfect. Every 5 or so stitches, crochet two together.   Once you are down to 6 or 7 stitches, continue for a few rows without crocheting any more together.  You will have a hollow stem and you could stuff it with some of the wool or yarn if you wanted it to appear fuller.  Crochet the last stitches together at the end of the stem.  For the vine, I attached two brown tweed yarn pieces and chained approx. 50 stitches.  Then I twirled the stem so it would wind.  At the bottom of the stem, I attached it to the pumpkin side.  The stems do not lay flat, so let yours coil and let it lift off of the pumpkin.  Trim off any extra threads, if you have any and pull the ends into the pumpkin to make your work neat.  (You are almost done.)  With your crochet hook, pull out little wool bobbles from the lining randomly.  If they get to big for your taste, push part of the bobble back in.  Bobbles are an option and you may prefer your pumpkin without them, don't do this last step. 

If you notice a typo or you have questions, just give me an email.  

On a sad note, Larry's goat, Sassafras Van Goat, passed away yesterday in her pasture of green grass.   She is now in goat heaven and eating apples.  She loved to eat apples. 

Thank you for viewing and may you and yours be truly blessed.                                                        Dawn