Truth Finds Honest Tam
The "Truth Finds Honest" name comes from a modern-English translation of the epic poem, Tam o' Shanter by Robert Burns. I happened across the poem when I was looking for names for all of these tams, and I'm planning on trying to wring out a name from each stanza of the poem.
The yarn for this week's tam is slightly crazy handspun, that is something between heavy worsted-weight and bulky, but who knows, really. Fishermen's Wool by Lion Brand would probably work instead, as would Lamb's Pride Worsted. Any yarn should not be too scratchy, since the brim of the hat rests on the forehead. Yarns with a large percentage of acrylic or other synthetic material should be avoided, since they might not block out well.
Basically, this is an exercise in using a very slightly different gauge and larger needles to make a tam that has a very different character from the one before it.
Oh, and I already broke my promise to you. I was so excited to see this hat blocked out, I forgot to take a picture before I blocked it. So, just imagine that you have seen a photo of it looking kind of puckered up and sad.
Also, for those of you who spin, does anyone have any great tips for storage bobbins? I've been modifying toilet paper cores so that I can use a ball winder to simply wind off lengths of yarn (or pulling yarn directly from the ball winder to ply). A friend of mine uses those little columns from the cake-decorating aisle as storage bobbins. What strange, unusual, or cheap equipment do you press into service?
Chat
It was great talking with Daniel. I love his upbeat attitude and I hope I get to take a class from him someday.
Links
- He said America's Knitting Book but I think he meant Knitting in America.
- You can find out more about the Portuguese knitting style and buy a hook here.
- Pre-order Knitting from the Center Out.
- How to Make a Yarn Swift Out of Tinkertoys
- Knit-Purl in Portland
- This is the original Pi-Shawl.
- Knitty
