Latest Koolhaas

Koolhaas number two is safely completed now and I love the pattern so much I immediately raided the stash and cast on Koolhaas number three in Rowanspun Tweed. I had made a large sweater for my husband in the yarn years ago, neither of us ever really liked the look of the finished object but the left over yarn (of which there was a suspicious amount) has been calling for use ever since.

The finished hat (in man's size) is huge. Why? Not because men's heads have suddenly grown but because I made the rookie error of not doing a gauge/swatch in the new yarn. I may be forced to either felt it (which wastes all those lovely stitch details) or frog back to a woman's size. My practical husband suggests wearing it with the edge rolled up, which actually looks pretty good.

So naturally I have started on Koolhaas number four now, in Patons Classic Wool Merino, dark grey. I made a My So Called Scarf in the brown variated colourway and loved the fibre. The hat is for my brother the architect living in the Netherlands, since the pattern is based on the work of a Dutch architect.

Hat

The first Koolhaas hat is finished and I'm pleased with it. The second one is not going so well, due to a mixture of arrogance, inattention and over-optimism.

There was some yarn left over from the ball I was using for the first hat, which I made in the woman's size, so I decided to make a man's size one. By the end of the ball it was clear that there would not be enough to finish at that size. Around the same time I realised I'd skipped a row about half way through the piece. I'm not quite A type enough to frog it back to the error and re-knit, but close.

I'm also trying to work out how to start the shaping for the crown at an in-between size, which means doing it half way through an eight row repeat. I'll cobble something reasonable together eventually, but at the moment there's a lot of frogging going on.

Koolhaas

Started the koolhaas hat, designed by Brooklyn Tweed and inspired by the Seattle Library, the architect of which was Rem Koolhaas. It went on the needles a couple of days ago and is going well so far, slightly fiddly but not difficult. I sent a picture of a finished one to my half-brother the architect and he now wants one. Apart from anything else, it's a small project that can fit into a bag, or even a pocket. As a result I think it may be one I have a version of on the needles much of the time from now on.

Meanwhile I am nearly at the end of My So-Called Scarf #4. It is probably long enough already and will just need crocheting round the edges to finish it. I have yarn for another few of these. Obsessed, moi?

The wool/silk cabled sweater I've been working on since, oh, around 2005, needs an inch more on the neck at most. Other than that it's finished, sewn up and everything. I'll be brave and wash it after I cast off the neck, and see how it ends up.