Snarkel Series - Top in Progress

Hat is taking too long too, which shocks me if only because I remember the last hat going really fast. I guess that's what happens when you look at your colors too much...

The idea behind the body of this hat is to use the solid blue and swap it out tapestry-crochet style for the multi-color yarn when it reaches its own blue sections, creating an awesome tye-dye effect in the striping. It gives me more control over the color layout of the hat, so it looks less chaotic and more purposeful as a result. It's a great way to use the multicolor yarn without it screaming "Store-bought yarn!", which can only be a bonus.

The drawback, like I said though, is that it slows me down because I'm still looking at the yarn too much. I'm hoping to finish this, but I

WREK Backpack Series - COMPLETE!

This piece took me too long to finish! Well, at least it's done, and it looks gorgeous... but OH was it painful to work on.

Final Yarn Count: Needed a little more black than I'd expected, but nothing beyond the 2 skeins of black I expected (just barely!) Plenty of white left over though.

Pattern Survival: The straps were altered towards the end because I was convinced the closure was off. The straps seem a little too thin now (and they're too short for the boyfriend's use -- oops) but they work.

Frogging Factor: Check your tapestry sheet. I messed up a couple of times on this bag, and had to rip out three rows at one point because the bottom part of the K was too thin. Ouch. Messed up in a few other places as well, but because they were blackspace errors I just left those in.

Comfort Level: Super comfy once finished, so long as the strap size is right.

Do it again? Not without a BIG incentive to do so. Single crochet all the way around for a tube that large? WAY too time intensive. The end result is awesome for sure, but the effort single crochet takes is an easy ticket to crampsville.

Legalese: I have the permission of WREK Atlanta to make this bag for my own personal use. You don't. Please ask nicely before reproducing the WREK logo, or better yet, make a bag with your own logo on it. :) As a bonus, your logo might be smaller and so you can save your hands some pain anyway.