Knitting Update

I finished knitting my mother-in-law's Peacock Tail and Leaf scarf a few weeks ago. Blocked it about a week ago and wove in the ends today. This is the second time I knitted this pattern and it's a relatively simple one if you are comfortable with lace. This one went quickly with very few errors to correct along the way. There is something to be said for knitting a scarf you have already knit before.


Pattern: Peacock Tail and Leaf Scarf by Nancy Bush
Yarn: 2 skeins of Schulana Kid-Seta in Color #13 (70% Kid-Mohair/30% Silk/ 25g/ 210m/ laceweight)
Needles: Size 3
Modifications: Added two repeats of middle lace pattern for a little additional length.


Then I decided to knit this hat.

The pattern is called Courtyard and I spotted it on Ravelry a while back and fell in love with the twisted stitch pattern. I want to make a boatneck shell featuring this stitch pattern and thought that knitting the hat would be good prep for that. I really wanted to do a bright marigold yellow and white (inspired by one of the hats on the Ravelry page). The only yarn I found that I liked in these colors was full o' sheep yarn by Stitch Nation. Although this yarn worked fine for the hat, it was too itchy for a shell. I like the way this yarn looks--and the colors are lovely--but I didn't really enjoy knitting with this yarn. Can't tell you exactly why.


Pattern: Courtyard by Melissa Thomson
Yarn: Stitch Nation by Debbie Stoller Full o' Sheep (100% Peruvian Wool/ 100g/ 155yd/ 142m) One skein of Little Lamb (white) and one skein of Honeycomb (yellow). Had between 1/2 and 1/3 of each skein leftover.
Size: Larger size. Probably could have gotten away with smaller size for my pea head.
Needles: Size 6 for ribbing. Size 7 for rest of hat.
Modifications: None.


Since I didn't love the yarn I used for the hat, I went to my local yarn shop and looked through the tons and tons of yarn options. After much debate, I decided to go a different route. I chose a 4ply in a white and a pale blue. I think it will be a much subtler combination, but nice all the same. The yarn is very soft--baby cashmere merino silk--and will feel nice next to my skin. Here's a picture of my swatch.


It's a 14" circle that is about 4 inches tall. I knit it in the round since I plan to knit my boatneck shell in the round. This will be my first real design project so wish me luck. I'm going to try and work out the numbers tonight. Can't wait to cast on!

Caps for Good

Finished three little caps to mail in for Caps For Good. They will be accepting donations postmarked through February 28, 2011. It's not too late to make a few yourself. I made all three of these from one partial skein in my stash. Here's a link to my original post for more info.

Happy Creating for Good, everyone!


Pattern: Caps for Good free knitted hat pattern
Yarn: Less than one skein of Plymouth Encore from my stash (Worsted Weight washable Acrylic/Wool Blend)
Needles: Size 10 doublepoints
Gauge: 4 st per inch
Mods: Knit in the round instead of flat. Only real change, all Purl rows became Knit rows.

Calling All Knitters: Create for Good

Despite all the life chaos, I am still knitting. I am almost finished with my niece's Coraline. I just need to make the button loops. Will hopefully get those done tonight or tomorrow night so I can post some pictures.

I was about to cast on for Tang, a lovely turtleneck sweater for me, in the lovely yarn my mom bought me for Christmas, when I got a post from my friend Natalie about Caps for Good.

Caps for Good is a program that saves the lives of newborn babies in the developing world by giving them knitted or crocheted hats. Or as it says on their website:

"The Caps for Good grassroots initiative will be running from September 2010 through February, 2011 encouraging citizens of all ages to participate by making a cap and advocating and fundraising to provide newborn care in developing countries.

At the end of the program, caps will be distributed to pregnant women and new moms and their babies in Save the Children's programs in Asia, Africa and Latin America."

Anyway, I decided to knit up this quick little hat to send in.

The website is great. It has an action kit complete with two really simple patterns (one knit, one crochet), a tag to attach to your hat and a letter to President Obama about the program that you are asked to send in with your hat.

If you want to participate, go to their website and check it out. It's really simple. I followed the suggested pattern (except I knit it in the round instead of flat) and it was SO quick to knit. Size 10 needles, worsted weight yarn from my stash, and a gauge of 4 st to an inch make very quick knitting.

To help this cause, I am asking that all my knitting/crocheting friends take a night or two and make one or two or three of these little hats to pass on to a baby in need.

What a fun and simple way to Create for good!

I think the homemade gifts were a hit...

I had so much fun watching my nieces and nephews open their homemade Christmas gifts.


Michael with his Yoda doll.


Lizzie with her doll.


Lizzie in her knitted bobble bonnet.


Mary with her "Mary" doll.


Madeline and Reed with their dolls. Reed was particularly happy with his "Mr. Doll."


Joe with his Zorro doll.


And a last minute gift:
J with Fred (from Scooby Doo)--J had been asking for a "Fred" doll when I was working on the others. I told him it would have to wait until after Christmas, but then felt sad about that so I decided to try and make him in time for Christmas. I managed to get him done in about a day and a half which is quite a feat for me.

And finally, my sister-in-law sent me this picture of my nephew:
Oscar in his caterpillar hat. She said he'd been wearing it ever since he opened his present. He looks SO adorable!

Dear Blog, It's Me, Haley

Dear Blog,
It's me, Haley, the person who used to write in you on a regular basis. So sorry to neglect you. I can't believe it's been almost a month since I last visited. All I can say is that life has been busy. Will you ever forgive me? Are your readers still out there or have they moved on to greener pastures (aka blogs that are actually updated on a regular basis)?

I have done some traveling. We spent a week in Ohio for Thanksgiving and had fun with friends and family. I took pics, but none of them have even made it on my computer yet. We spent a crazy, busy 21 hours in San Francisco for an amazing 40th birthday party for my sister-in-law and brother-in-law. I didn't really slow down long enough to take any pictures, but great times were had by all. Now we're prepping for Christmas travel including a 20 hour drive with both boys and our dog Pepper.

I have been busy sewing. I finished all seven dolls.

I made a Yoda doll for my oldest nephew,
a Zorro doll for my next oldest nephew,
and a "handyman" doll for my youngest nephew.

I have also been knitting. I finished the doll sweaters for my niece's presents. I did about four different styles, but these two are the favorites for now. Still working on a shrug that I think will turn out cute with more time. I'm not thrilled with the sweaters (they probably would have been better in a lighter weight yarn), but will write up the patterns when I get a moment.


My nephew Oscar requested a "caterpillar hat" and as I still hadn't figured out how to make a pilot doll for him, I decided to make the hat as part of his Christmas gift.

I found an adorable little caterpillar toy pattern by Sarah Gasson and adapted it to make the hat. I will try to blog more details when I get a chance.

I also knit up this hat for my niece Lizzie. She needed a new hat and this one was too cute to resist. Need to blog details when I get a chance, but for now details can be found on Ravelry. J was nice enough to wear it for the picture.
I also finished this:
It's the Swallowtail Shawl made in it's smallest shawlette form. It's a gift for my sister-in-law Kristin, but as she is too busy to ready my blog I think it's safe to post a pic now. More details to be found on Ravelry.

In other life news, I've been busy getting ready for Christmas other fun things arriving at the end of December including B's move to Houston. He got a job there and starts the 28th. He's very excited to be returning to the beer industry and we're happy that his new job involves zero travel. Unfortunately, this means that I need to get my house ready to sell. It's a wonderful home, but we have let it get taken over by stuff and I am busy reclaiming it. Even as I type this I am thinking of all the stuff I have yet to tackle. This is the main reason I have not been blogging. I've been cleaning out closets and discovering that most of my storage space is filled with stuff we no longer need. It's cleansing, but time consuming. Must go get back to work. Will do my very best to not desert you again in the chaos and cleaning.

So if anyone has any advice on good areas of Houston or good suburbs of Houston, please post a comment. We can use as much advice as possible.

And since it looks like Christmas cards are going to be lost in the shuffle, please know that I am thinking of everyone this holiday season and wishing you a joyous holiday filled with love and laughter!

Turn A Square, and Another and Another

For a while now I've been kind of wanting to knit Turn A Square by Jared Flood of BrooklynTweed. I just liked the simplicity of it and the fun way the Noro stripes worked out. However, living in Texas, I didn't have much use for one. However, I recently heard of an opportunity to do some charity knitting by knitting some men's hats...and, of course, I thought of the the Turn A Square. I had about a skein and a half of gray Wool-Ease leftover from my Berry and Bramble Cardigan and a little bit of Noro leftover from the Entrelac Scarf. However, I was afraid the colors were a bit girly so when I saw Amazing at Michael's a decided to pick up a skein of that instead. Anyway, I knit one hat and really liked it and decided to keep going. I've now completed three and I think I might have enough yarn to make one more.

Pepper decided she needed to check out these things in her backyard.

This hat is truly a pleasure to knit. The pattern is clearly written and simple to knit. I learned how to do jogless stripes which was really easy and very rewarding. The fun of watching the Amazing stripes change was motivating and kept the hats interesting.

This photo shows the progression of the yarn color changes. The hat on the left is the first hat and the hat on the right is the third hat.

I highly recommend this pattern. I never make three (or four) of anything. These were so relaxing to make and used up very little yarn.

And, of course, I have three boys and three hats so they had to model them for me.

Pattern: Turn A Square by Jared Flood (BrooklynTweed)
Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease in gray (about 1 1/2 skeins makes 3-4 hats)[80% Acrylic/20% Wool/ 3 oz/ 197 yd]; Lion Brand Amazing in Arcadia (1 skein makes 3-4 hats) [53% Wool/47% Acrylic/ 1.75oz/ 147 yd]
Needles: Size 7 16" Circular and Doublepoints
Modifications: None



So fun! Now I'm pondering a nice Turn A Square sweater. Can't you see these stripes on a simple raglan pullover?

Knitted Goodies

My good friends just had a new baby girl and I am so happy for them. I just had to knit some little girly things for her. So I made this little hat.


The pattern is from Itty-Bitty Hats and I've always wanted to make one, but never thought about it when I had a little girl in my life that was the right size to wear one.

The pattern was a little bit of a pain in that the petals are knit separately and then sewn on. I'm not a big fan of finishing. Otherwise, a great knit--and it turned out really adorable!

Pattern: Upside-Down Daisy Hat from Itty-Bitty Hats by Susan B. Anderson (available free here)
Size: Smallest
Yarn: Blue = Caron Simply Soft, White = Caron Simply Soft, Green = Softee Baby
Needles: Size 7
Modifications: None

I decided I also wanted to make a sweater. Even though it is now in the 80s in Texas, this baby lives in Northern Ohio where it is much cooler. I found this pattern on Ravelry and decided to adapt it for a nice little baby girl sweater. I really like the way it turned out. I haven't knit for a newborn in a while so I hope the size worked out okay.


Pattern: Green Zebra Baby Sweater by Dove Knits
Size: Smallest (3 months)
Yarn: White = Caron Simply Soft (Worsted), Green = Softee Baby (Sport, doubled), Pink Marl = Softee Baby (Sport, doubled)
Needles: Size 7
Modifications: The original pattern is a striped sweater using intarsia for the button band. I did a solid sweater and added the flower bud pattern in the yoke.


The flower bud pattern is from p.91 of Style Your Own Kids' Knits by Kate Buller. The sweater pattern said to work six rows even between yoke decreases, but I only worked five so the decreases would stay on the right side. I had to go down a needle size to get gauge. The instructions say to do button holes every 12 rows. I did the last one (the seventh) after 14 rows to make it closer to the top of the sweater. If I did this again, I might space out the buttons more so there were only six. Overall, the pattern is a nice simple worsted weight cardigan knit from the bottom up with a yoke. There was very little finishing which was nice!

So, yes, I do still knit :). I also working away on my sister's Slanting Gretel Tee. I didn't finish it for our birthday, but hope to finish it before I head to Virginia next week. Wish me luck!

A Little Knitting

Here's a little FO, another Vine Lace Baby Hat. This one is a preemie size that I made to donate to our local NICU. I like this pattern, but hated working on the little size 2 bamboo doublepoints. I felt like I was working with toothpicks. I don't know if it's just me, but whenever I work on small bamboo doublepoints, I end up with at least one needle that is bent or curved. Anyway, here's a picture and the details.


Pattern: Vine Lace Baby Hat by Sandi Wiseheart
Yarn: Click by Sirdar in White/DK weight wool-acrylic blend/less than one skein (leftover from the Pinwheel Blanket)
Needles: Size 2 Doublepoints
Size: Preemie
Modifications: None

Knitted Photography Props

One of my new friends in the neighborhood is a photographer. She recently asked me to knit her a few photography props. I don't usually take knitting orders because there are so many things I want to knit and I never have enough time to knit them all. However, the items Nancy wanted were quick knits so I decided to do it.

First, I made her this "cocoon" which will be great for little newborns. Although I could have made up a pattern pretty easily, I found this one on etsy and I was so excited by the fact that the designer was giving permission for all uses of her permission (even for making and selling) that I bought it. I love designers with generous spirits. I adapted the pattern by casting on less stitches. The cocoon was really quick and easy to knit.


Cocoon
Pattern: Baby Cocoon by 4asong
Yarn: Lion Homespun (Barley): less than one skein
Needles: Size 15 16" circular
Modifications: Cast on less stitches.

My next project was a "boy hat with ties." I chose to do a very simple version of helloyarn's top down bonnet. I made one for J when he was little and loved it on both him and N.


Boy hat
Pattern: Top Down Bonnet by Helloyarn
Yarn: Bernat Softee Baby (less than one skein)
Needles: Size 3 doublepoints
Size: Child
Modifications: I did not do ears or a face.


My third project for Nancy was a "girly hat with ties." I chose to use Sandi Wiseheart's free pattern Vine Lace Hat. This hat didn't originally have ties, but I just added them by picking up 3 stitches on opposite edges of the hat and knitting i-cord for about 10 1/2 inches. I followed the directions for the 3-6 month size hat, but was worried that it was too small. So then I made a second hat (but knit this one for 4"--instead of 3"--before doing the crown decreases). Overall, this is a fun little lace project and I enjoyed making these hats.

Girly Hat
Pattern: Vine Lace Baby Hat by Sandi Wiseheart
Yarn: Cascade Yarns Pima Tencel (a little more than half a skein per hat--I had to break into a leftover partial skein for part of the second hat)
Needles: Size 4 doublepoints
Size: 3-6 month
Modifications: Larger hat is knit for 4" before decreasing for crown. 3 stitch i-cord added for ties.

I have one project left--an "egg" which is similar to a cocoon, but more egglike. Just need to go find the right yarn.

Nancy is a wonderful photographer so if you're in the Dallas area, you should consider her for your next photo shoot. Check out her website here.

Tales of a KNITTING mom

Oh yeah, knitting. I've been doing that too...between all the mommying, I have been knitting. Here are a few knitted items to prove it:


Shedir Hat (FREE pattern here. PDF. Scroll down--Shedir is the second pattern.)
Yarn: Rowan Calmer (one skein) (This was the recommended yarn and I'm glad I used it. It's really soft and stretchy which is necessary for this hat to fit properly. Nice to work with.)
Needles: Size 3 (16" circular and doublepoints)
Modifications: None

I made this hat for my cousin Christie because her latest cocktail for chemo has made ALL of her hair fall out. The first cocktail she tried made some of it fall out so she was shaving her head, but this new mix made the rest fall out and she mentioned her head was cold. So I, of course, had to knit her a new hat.


This pattern was mentioned to me a while ago and I've seen tons of them on Ravelry, but I was always a little overwhelmed by it and avoided it because it looked so tedious. 128 stitches on size 3 needles with LOTS of cables and twisted stitches just didn't sound like fun. But I actually really enjoyed knitting this hat. The cables and twisted stitches have a nice symmetry and rhythm to them which make the pattern easy to remember and thus fun to knit. I am happy to report that as far as I know there are no mistakes on this hat--and I only had to rip out and redo part of one row after I apparently hallucinated while reading the pattern and made up my own stitch for one of the chart abbreviations. I guess I was up a little too late that night.


Anyway, thanks to all of you who have been keeping Christie in your prayers. She could use a few extra right now as she's having a lot of respiratory issues (related to one of the drugs in her chemo cocktail). Unfortunately, chemo attacks the good stuff as well as the bad in your body. So if you have a little extra prayer time, please send some her way. Thanks!



Ike-a-saurus
Pattern: Knitted Stegosaurus by Jacob Haller (FREE pattern here.)
Yarn: Red--Caron Simply Soft (less than one skein), Yellow--Baby Bee Pitter Patter in babygold (a very small amount)
Needles: Size 5 doublepoint
Modifications: I knit this entirely in the round on doublepoints instead of knitting it flat and then seaming. I also picked up stitches and knit the legs directly onto the body. I totally changed the pattern for the legs to accommodate this. I also knit the scales in the round by doing a figure 8 cast on and then knitting both sides at once. Because of this, my scales are in stockinette stitch instead of garter stitch. I only did one row of scales instead of the two in the pattern. I put more details about both of these on Ravelry.


I knit the Ike-a-saurus for baby Ike. I plan on making two more (one for his brother and one for his sister). Baby Ike is doing better these days (he's out of the hospital), but he still has a lot of struggles that he's dealing with including a lot of feeding issues so please keep him and his family in your prayers.

In other knitting (no prayers needed) news, I'm knitting this sweater for my nephew. It's a topdown raglan crewneck cardigan.


I need to get busy or it will be too hot to wear it by the time it is finished. I'm hoping I'm making the sweater large enough that Oscar will be able to wear it next year too.

I also finished another little knit, but I will have to blog about that later as it's a surprise for someone who reads this blog. Hee hee.

Happy Monday, everyone!

I Hope Harvard Will Be the Right Fit

Months ago my sister-in-law mentioned that she would love for me to knit a hat for her son Oscar (my 19 month old nephew). As she had no specific requests in terms of style and color, I have thinking about the hat off and on with no actual work on it--until I finally slowed down long enough to look at the Winter 2008 Interweave Knits and saw the Harvard Square Cap.


I thought it looked like a fun pattern and decided to adapt it to (hopefully) fit my nephew. I was told his head measures 19". I looked through my stash and found some fun worsted weight yarn, decided it looked comparable to the yarn used for the "Aran" version of the hat, realized that if I cast on 96 stitches instead of 108 I should get a 19" hat and went for it. I wasn't sure when to start the crown shaping and ended up starting them around 5".

I really enjoyed making this hat although it was somewhat slow going at first as I figured out the right rhythm for the stitch pattern. The pattern says to "strand very loosely--so loosely that it seems excessive." So this is what I tried to do. At first, I think I was being excessive because the contrast color stitches looked a little wonky, but I then found a good tension that turned out perfectly.

This is a picture of the inside of the hat. You can see how the blue is loose at the bottom, but lies nice and flat for most of the hat.

As I got into the hat, it actually knit up quite quickly. I enjoyed this pattern and hope that the hat will fit Oscar. It's too tall for Norm and too tight for John so I don't have any great modeled photos. I love the way the two yarns look together. The green is more woolly and the blue is more shiny so they contrast nicely. I think this yarn/stitch combination would look great on a child's pullover sweater--maybe one of these days I will make one.

Pattern: Harvard Square Caps by Sean Riley (Interweave Knits Winter 2008)
Yarn: Plymouth Encore Worsted (75% acrylic/25%wool, green--less than one skein) and Caron Simply Soft (100% acrylic, blueberry--less than one skein)
Needles: Size 4 16" circular, Size 6 16" circular and douplepoint
Modifications: I cast on 96 inches to get a 19" hat. I started the crown shaping when I reached 5" from the cast on edge.


Even though the hat looks ridiculously tall on N, I couldn't resist sharing this picture. He just looks so happy. (And, yes, he is chewing on a dog toy!)

And I'm Still Knitting Too

It's been a while so I thought I'd give a quick knitting update. Despite the two boys and the two dogs and all the drama, I am still managing to knit some. Here are my two current projects:

This is a Wonderful Wallaby (Size 4) that I am making for J. He had a size 2 one that he wore all the time when he was one and two. I just got to the hood part. J just told me he doesn't want a hood so this project is on hold until I decide how I'm going to finish off the neckline.

This is a close-up of the Wallaby. I thought the yarn was fun with the variegated thread wrapped around cotton. I got it on the bargain table at my knit shop.


This is my next project I started since the Wallaby is on hold. It's for my nephew in Oregon. It's the Harvard Cap from the Winter 2008 Interweave Knits. I've been getting this magazine since Fall 2007 and this is the first pattern I've done. Crazy, but true. I am following the directions for the Aran weight pattern, but only cast on 96 stitches to get the 19" size I am going for.


Also, inspired by Yarnhog, I bought a copy of Vogue Knitting Holiday 2004. I am hoping to make myself this cabled cardigan (but I will probably try to do a zipper instead of the toggles). I've had the ambition to make myself a cabled cardigan for a while. We'll see if I ever slow down long enough to actually do it. I'm really excited about the magazine as there are some other fun things in there that are now "on the brain" and may eventually end up "on the needles."

And if you are looking for past issues of knitting magazines, I highly recommend Rosie's Yarn Cellar. They sell magazines at cover price with NO shipping. Very exciting!

That's all for now. I hope to start teaching my neighborhood friends to knit sometime in February. Right now I'm just gathering up some resources. I plan to teach them in groups of five and then do follow-up "open knit" nights. Ought to be fun!

My good friend Nicole comes in town tomorrow with her son who is J's age. He's woken up crying from his nap for the last two days because they weren't here yet. They are driving up from Austin and we can't wait to see them. It ought to be a fun weekend.

Take care and have a good one!