UPDATE: Cap knit from Alpaca Farm Yarn

[MoniDew]

I went to the opening day of my local farmer's market this morning, wearing one of my handknit sweaters. As I wandered, I spied a booth displaying natural-fiber yarns. I made a beeline there shouting, "YARN!!!!" at the top of my lungs, of course!

There, I discovered a co-operative of women who were raising alpaca for fiber, but nary a knitter among them! (HOW is this possible, I ask you?!) I made what I was to find out was their very first purchase. And, as such, recieved a 50% discount FOR LIFE! :D

They admired the sweater I was wearing and asked if I had ever sold my knitting. I said that I typically knit for family and friends. They said that they could use a demo knitter during farmer's market and would I consider it. WOULD I?! :p OF COURSE, I WOULD!

They also said that they had a couple of gentlemen stopping by wanting to make a purchase, but had no one to knit for them, and would I consider freelancing my skills for those who needed a knitter. WOULD I?! :p OF COURSE, I WOULD!

And, oh by the way, each of the ladies really should have some kind of garment made from the yarn they sell to demonstrate its many uses. Would I consider doing that, too? WOULD I?! :p OF COURSE, I WOULD!

I had a really great morning!!!!!

[Cynthia]

that is fantastic!

Was this in BA or the Cherry Street market?

[MoniDew]

Cherry Street. Pretty far away for me, but it looks like I'm going to be there a lot more often!!! LOL!

[Cynthia]

its a fantastic market - and if you can get your foot - or your needles (and maybe a cuppa) in the door, you'll be set.

so happy for you.

[MoniDew]

Thanks so much! The fiber ladies were kind enough to attempt to get me into the market as a vendor. But, no-go. They've signed a non-competition agreement with Cafe Cubana next door, since they are the only bathroom facilities near the grounds. Ergo, no coffee/tea vendors in the market. They tried!!!

[onesmallshift]

That's really exciting and I'm kind of jealous! :) 50% off alpaca :eek: Even if they can't sell your tea can they advertise or provide information about your business?

[MoniDew]

oh, yeah! I was just saying to my husband, 'that doesn't mean we can't give it away!!' I could keep sample sizes around, hand out cards, or bring a pump pot full, "just for us girls," and "oh, by the way, shopper, do you need a refill? It's sure is chilly out!"

sneaky!

[MoniDew]

Yarn porn:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w10/MoniDew/100_2742.jpg

I chose a caramel/chocolate twist, but they have several other all natural combos, in every color alpaca comes in (no dyes) ivory, beige, tan, buff, caramel, chocolate, grey, charcoal, etc.

[gardengirl72]

Congrats! That sounds like a lot of fun.

What are you making in the picture?

[MoniDew]

you're looking at the crown of a cap/hat

[gardengirl72]

Can you post a pic and pattern when you are done? Thanks

[MoniDew]

Cap is knit in the round. I start with dp's (double pointed needles) and switch to a circular needle (aka "circ") at some comfortable point. You'll have to use what is known as a "magic loop," which is when you pull some of the slack out of the needle's cable, in order to knit a small circumference with a long needle.

How many stitches you ultimately need will of course depend on how thick/thin the yarn is and the size of needle you use. But all caps start basically the same way.

In the following example, I am using sport weight yarn and size 3 needles. I knit rather loosely, and your knitting WILL vary from mine. (everyone's hands are different!)

I start with 8 stitches, a couple on each of the dp needles, which I then join to form a loop. My caps are octaganal, a shape that seems to work well for the human head, and for making a near-circle. You might like a 12-sided cap or whatever works for you!

Every other row, I add one stitch to the end of each of the eight segments. (that would be 1+1X8 for 16 stitches on the second row, 2+1X8 for 24 on the fourth, 3+1X8 for 32 on the sixth, etc, until you have 11+1X8 for a total of 96 stitches. The odd rows are simply straight knitting. You'll have a disk shape at this point and it should be around 6 1/2"-7" across to fit an adult's head. About here is also where I'll switch to a circ/magic loop.

Then I knit straight for several rows (I'm done adding stitches, increasing the circumference now. I'm just adding depth at this point) until I have about 6" of depth on the cap. I'll switch to k1p1 ribbing until I have about 7 1/2" or 8" of depth on the cap. Then, I cast off and weave in my ends.

This is a BASIC cap. If you'd like to use any sort of stitch pattern with this, you'll begin that when you are finished adding stitches and are simply adding depth to the cap.

[MoniDew]

After considering what my personal advisors (friends and family) had to say about knitting for financial remuneration, I asked the Alpaca ladies what they were considering to compensate me for my time.

They said, nothing. They just thought that since I love to knit, I'd want to do it for free. :eek:

I told them at the beginning that I needed a moonlighting position that wouldn't conflict with my home business, but that I needed desperately to bring in more income. :confused: Does that sound like free to you?

So, we had a serious miscommunication and now the deal's off. (But I still get my 50% for life discount. That's nice.)

[birthblessed]

You should see what the knitters at the Anchorage farmer's market bring in. Yowzas. Single garments are hundreds of dollars.... but it is a special Indian pattern they use and they keep it guarded.

[Cynthia]

kind of unrealistic to think you'd knit for free. Glad you got that figured out quickly.

How are the dogwoods?

[MoniDew]

Can you post a pic and pattern when you are done? Thanks

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w10/MoniDew/100_2940.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w10/MoniDew/100_2952.jpg

and the almost cooperative son it was made for:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w10/MoniDew/100_2953.jpg

I wound up making it double thick. I had enough yarn. And, instead of finishing it off in ribbing, it turned out the "straight" style that skater boys love. He loves the color - inspite of the grimace he's making. LOL! (While I'm taking this picture, he's saying, "the things we do for mothers..." Seriously!)

[MoniDew]

How are the dogwoods?

Dogwoods? Are you speaking, generally? As in, how are the dogwoods this year?

In which case, I would say, "lovely!" We saw beautiful dogwoods in bloom at Honor Heights Park, during the azalea festival this year. Took tons of pics! They turned out looking fantastic! And I'm not even close to a good photographer.

Here's one of the shots I took, gazing up through the blossoms.

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w10/MoniDew/100_2817.jpg