Acorn with a pompom :: Crochet ::

Hello everyone! I was really happy to work on these pictures today - it reminded me of the good times of this weekend, and that despite everything we can have some happy times still. Sadly my Grand dad passed away last Friday, exactly a month after Little Baby MiH. It was all expected, the timing is less than ideal though - and this weekend away was much needed. 

Making hats for my cheeky monkey is also making me happy - seeing him making funny faces (or licking the fence, wtf?) is uplifting. And I love this hat on him. He loves the pompom of course - he shakes his head about to make the pompom shake. Also that crochet texture is amazing - I cannot actually believe I made this! 

 Pattern: Acorn by Kat Goldin (I already posted about it here)

Crochet hook size: 5.5 mm

Yarn: De Rerum Natura Gilliatt in poivre (I reviewed the ethics of the yarn here), the pompom is made out of Malabrigo Yarn Merino Worsted in pearl
Size: I made the biggest size for him (4+ rather than toddler size)

Modification: The pattern was available in LandScape. I had to add repeats of the pattern to make the beanie hat big enough - I am not sure whether it is a problem with the printing of the pattern or because of my yarn choice. Anyway I had t make 6 repeats in the end. I also make the puffs more prominent by adding yarn overs. And of course I added the pompom. 

This hat made me realise that I actually do like to crochet, and should be doing more of it. It also opened by eyes to the texture you can achieve in crochet - amazing, who knew! There is a whole world out there of crochet texture ready to be explored me thinks!

Gilliatt and Acorn :: Crochet ::

Happy Wednesday everyone! I have a new (hopefully quick) project to share with you today - a new hat for Baby MiH. He asked for one - with a pompom, the boy clearly has taste - and I was of course happy to oblige. I wanted to make Acorn by Kat Goldin as soon as I found the pattern in the latest issue of LandScape (it is a bit like Taproot but can be found in the UK!). 

So first I finished my double moss cardigan - it is currently blocking and waiting for side seams (ok, so not finished, but nearly there). I am actually really impressed I finished one project before starting another one - a totally new concept for me... I have not crochet for a while, and I have never really done texture work with a crochet hook - so yes, I ended up starting 3 or 4 times. But I am on a roll now, so I am hoping to finish really soon. It is getting cold, and to be honest Baby MiH does need a hat. 

It was also an opportunity to go into my stash of one skein and use some leftover of Gilliatt by De Rerum Natura (you can read my 'Yarn with Attitude' review here). I thought it may make the beanie hat a bit more boy-ish, and I love the tweed effect of the yarn. 

Hopefully Baby MiH will be happy with his new hat, enough to have his picture taken, here is a challenge and a half!

Yarn with Attitude :: De Rerum Natura ::

At the end of last year I came across this video (I have not been able to watch it to the end by the way) and it made me seriously consider the ethics of my yarn stash. And it did not look good, I never really questioned my stash before, and I seemed to have little information about it. It did not mean that all my yarn was unethical, but there was nothing telling me it was either. And it was nagging me a bit. 

I am lucky though, the yarn industry has jumped wholeheartedly into a kind of back-to-nature movement; an understandable leap, since knitting and crocheting are all about making your own products, after all. And there are yarn options out there that are kind to nature and knit beautifully - and are not too hard to find, whilst still being reasonably priced. And one option is to get my yarn from Solenn at De Rerum Natura. 

My current project knitted in Ulysse

My current project knitted in Gilliatt

The philosophy behind De Rerum Natura is simple - to offer a yarn of high quality that is respectful to the sheep welfare. The philosophy is based on the close relationship between De Rerum Natura and the sheep farmers. 

So how does it knit? I found that Gilliatt knitted a bit like BT Shelter - I reviewed Shelter here - without the stuff stuck to it. It is rustic but still soft (softer than Shelter in fact), and will show cable work beautifully. So that leaves you with a lot of pattern options! I have a real penchant for neutral colours, so poivre et sel is really up my street. But there are also vibrant colours on offer - and I love how Solenn's patterns usually use both. 

Le bonnet Korrigan

De Rerum Natura may be more easily accessible to European knitters - I am mostly thinking of customs tax here, but it may be worse in the UK than elsewhere (oh! those little red notices). 

From a practical point of view, I bought my yarn directly from the De Rerum Natura site. I had it sent directly to Britain (instead of asking my Mum to bring it back with her for once), without any problem.

De Rerum Natura colour kit

I would like to think that my whole stash will be totally be ethical ... and the more options I find, the more chances I have to make this happen at some point in the future. To a certain extent, it depends on the price tag attached to the yarn (especially for big projects). And it is possible that my neutral stash might be filled with De Rerum Natura soon.  

I am really keen to find other ethical yarn out there, so please share any that you might have come across in the comment box - and I will try to review others soon!