Yarn Alert and Other Ramblings.

Well, I really have been looming since March 20, but I've run into a few snags (pun intended) along the way! I've been trying to knit three chemo hats for a friend's mom who has cancer, so I chose this ultra soft yarn called, Lion Suede Prints. This is such a beautiful yarn, but has been the yarn from hell to work with. I started a hat with it, and the stitch was so loose, that I had to do a flat stitch, then I placed the project in my yarn bag so kitty wouldn't mess it up. When I went to go take the hat out of the bag, the yarn was a complete mess that wrapped its way around the loom. I stayed up until around 3:00 a.m. trying to unravel things but to no avail. The whole project was frogged. I took it to JoAnn's to show them what happened to the yarn, and they exchanged it for another skein. I was surprised and thought, how nice BUT, I still need to work with this yarn. Ouch!
After I started the hat over again and was almost ready to finish it off, I came back from work to discover the whole project was on the floor extending down the hall, into my bedroom and the Suede yarn in a mess. I was in shock. I'm not sure who the culprit was, Bean the Chihuahua or Rajah the cat. I managed to get it all unraveled. I think I needed an unraveling myself!

I've gotten as far as knitting these two hats. The one with Fun Fur actually looks better on the purl side, so that may be a do-over, and the other knitted with the Lion Suede turned out a little long. I used a garter stitch for the brim and then flat stitch, then switched to a "U" wrap stitch for the crown since my fingers were about to fall off from trying to get the loops over the pegs while doing the flat stitch. This has certainly been a learning experience.

On a lighter note, I purchased my first upgrade loom today from Decor Accents, Inc. It's the fine gauge adult sock loom. I can't wait to receive it and start making some socks.
Tomorrow, I'll visit Cindy in Salt Lake of CinDWood Crafts to purchase some hat looms. I don't want to attempt making another hat with the Lion Suede unless I'm working with a smaller gauge. The 1/2" gauge should be what I'm looking for in a hat loom so I can work with some finer 4-ply yarns yielding a tighter weave.