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making of a musselburgh

I was dreaming of the past.

I was recovering from the trauma of knitting a lace weight Thinking Cap and was knuckles deep in an all consuming Oslo Hat phase when I first saw the Musselburgh pattern. Curious about its construction, I bought the pattern in 2020 and subsequently tucked it away for the future. I finally got around to making my first one a year or so later and just now another. I can’t help but love an unfussy looking hat, and I say “unfussy looking” fully knowing parts of these hats are fussy as hell. There is a beautiful satisfaction for me in a knit that is minimal and unassuming, almost like you could run out to any shop and pick one up ..but you can’t, you never could, never this color, never this fit, never this custom, never on a hot summers day. Only if you’re a knitter, a maker, a crafts person do you know the time and attention it took to get here. Only then could you, if you wanted to, spend more time and more money than most would making yourself one. That’s one of the best things, it’s why skill costs money, and if your getting my skill for free, it’s because I really like/love you. Otherwise it’s always a no.

This pattern is an any yarn, swatch/check gauge as you knit hat. It begins with a center out/pinhole cast on, working increases for the crown of the hat (this bit need some focus), hours of knitting round and round for the body (super easy part), then decreases again for the opposite crown (again needs a bit of focus). Resulting in a long rounded tube that gets stuffed inside of itself to form a hat, double thick with a fold up brim. I save the beginning and ending sections for semi quiet times when I can pay attention and leave that breezy middle section for anywhere, anytime mindless knitting.

I started by weighing my freshly caked yarn, 108g. I did this because I only had one skein of this cute pink yarn and the adult large size that I wanted to make required 100 more yards than I had. I decided I would just shorten the middle section so I didn’t accidentally run out of yarn. To do that accurately I weighed my yarn after finishing the beginning increases, 98g. Then taking the starting weight and subtracting the current weight (108g – 98g = 10g) I now knew the increases used 10g of yarn and I needed to be sure and save the same amount (10g) for the opposite end decreases. This let me confidently knit away on the middle, weighing the cake occasionally as I crept closer to that 10g mark, switching over to decreases once there. I think I would still do this even if I had enough yardage, it really utilizes every bit of yarn. You could also incorporate other colors to make up the difference, the pattern has lots of tips and suggestions for color changes, stripes and the like.

I cast on with the larger of the recommend needle sizes for my fingering weight yarn, you should go with a size that gives you a fabric you like. Remember it will be double thick all over and four times thick if you fold up the brim. I chose a US#2 / 2.75mm and was getting 8sts per inch.

I also started with dpns, then switched to 16″ circulars for the body, then back to dpns. This was the least frustrating for me, I tried Magic Loop for the cast on and struggled.

The Musselburgh pattern is available on the designers website ysolda and ravelry.

Yarn is deep stash Madelinetosh, back when sale skeins were $13 and they would offer odd singles of one off colors. This is pretty bubblegum meets Molly Ringwald has no name.

Currently I’m feeling very sentimental, a smidge hormonal and embracing my baby era, not like having babies, fuck no, baby era as in I can’t put my emotions to words, so I just start crying. I’m also itchy, rosy cheeked and newly 50. Don’t worry I’m good, but it’s a weird time to say the least.

💕

shawl in reverse

Gosh I think it was way back in 2019 when I was asked to crochet a sample shawl for Lavender Lune Yarn, I remember being completely smitten with the hanked skeins, they were so beautiful like an impressionist woody floral. I had no clue how it would crochet up, it turned out nothing like I expected, it wasn’t bad, but it also wasn’t as incredible as when it was undisturbed in the hank, that peony pink was but a stitch here and there and melted away into the background. Years later I’m still terrible at anticipating how variegated yarns will work up (why always splotches or zigzags?!?) but I also have zero regrets that younger me bought a few extra skeins of that pretty yarn. 💘

Pattern: Vintage by Katya Novikova. (Ravelry Link)

Hook: Cream Streamline Resin Hook (also pictured above is the cafe hook, both retired colors) by Furls Crochet.

I’m going to try and be more in these spaces (online, not farm fields, well maybe farm fields) especially this one that I actually pay for.

The fear, sadness and anger I feel for all of the unbelievably horrible and stupid things that continue to happen in our country/world is helping me to show up and do things right now to try and make it better/easier where I can, let’s go friends. I don’t like being uncomfortable and it’s getting real fucking uncomfortable around here.

vest

My heart is in it, and I can’t wait to be the cutest thing ever this fall. A little while back I preview/test knit the Pelica Vest for Rosa Pomar and to quote Rosa “The inspiration for this design came from two traditional garments I have long admired: The Portuguese samarra or pelica, the sheepskin vest worn by shepherds in the Alentejo, and the Austrian boiled wool lodenweste.”

I was romanced with its creative construction and thoughtful details: Rustic garter stitch surrounded by a tailored rolled edge, that built in i-cord adds a supportive clean finish all around, no seaming, all the cozy layering options, simplistic buttonholes.

(Available on Rosa’s website Retrosaria and Ravelry.)

Paired up with my favorite linen sack dress, classic hobbit, but also kinda tender.

It was a private test so I wasn’t able to show too much of anything anywhere at the time, and then as I sometimes do I just submerged into myself for months ..but I always enjoy taking photos, so I still did that a little bit, let me show you.

I find working shots utterly beautiful, I’m not entirely sure what it is about the composition that makes them a favorite, but when they hit just right, it changes my brain. I also really love to see everyones tools, notions and supplies, bonus if it captures a corner of mundane life or a blurry pet in the background.

The key for me is not too staged, but honestly still a little staged. Keep it simple, just the sweetest eyelet curtain, late day lowlight and a half way there vest.

Wooden buttons, structure and little painted peonies.

Wet blocked and air dried a few hours, then tossed in the dryer for just the slightest tightening up.

I know you wouldn’t normally do that to wool, but between adjusting and re-adjusting the damp vest into shape, I stretched out the garter ridges, a little felting was exactly what it was asking for. The fabric squeezed right back into place, garter, I like it best dense and plump.

The start of my three piece suit.

Short version – 20½”

Four buttons and practically perfect ..it literally just is, every single version of this vest I’ve seen around is just as wonderful, I love that in a pattern.