Seeing Double

I feel like maybe I've used this post title before but a quick perusal of my old posts says I haven't... hmmm. Still feels too familiar. Oh well, I'll get over it.

I know there are knitters out there who bristle at the thought of making the same pattern twice and, for the most part, I am in agreement with this school of thought. But there are a couple patterns that are just so tremendous I have no problems knitting them more than once.

Case in point: Foliage from Knitty. I knit my first one about a year ago and I loved knitting it. The pattern was interesting but not difficult to follow, quick to finish and the hat itself always garners a compliment or two when I wear it.

So when I needed to make a hat as a donation for a fundraising auction this February I pulled out the pattern again and whipped this up:


The yarn for Foliage #2 is also Malabrigo Chunky, this time is Verde Adriana.

The auction raised money for Jerboa Dance, a modern company here in Seattle that is run by one of my very good friends, Jaime. Jaime always admires my knitting so back in the late fall I made this for her:


Dean Street Hat by Nina Dayton. The yarn is, you guessed it, Malabrigo, this time the worsted weight merino in Holly Hock. This is a fantastic pattern. It is also a quick knit and while it looks cabled, it doesn't require a cable needle as it employs a twist stitch instead. I was lucky enough to be a test knitter for this pattern so I was one of the first kids to get to play with it.

I like the pattern so much in fact, that I made another one for the auction:

No, you're not seeing double and I didn't make a mistake and link to the same project twice. I made a second hat in the very same colorway. And, surprisingly, still fun to knit and not boring at all the second time around.

I wanted to offer a "set" for the auction so to go along with the hat I made a pair of Fetching in the Holly Hock Worsted to match.


And, in case you're wondering if the theme would continue, yes, this was the second time around for this pattern as well. Here is my original set, made for me last year:


Yes, they are incomplete at the time of the photograph, but you get the idea. The yarn is... wait for it... Malabrigo Worsted in Dusty (yes, I do occasionally use other yarns... just not very often). I am much happier with the more recent set. I learned the first time that I don't like the picot bind off (floppy and loose, just not neat looking) so the second time I opted for a decrease bind off instead.


Much better!

In non-knitting news, Matt continues to grow so that I get more and more questions from strangers asking if the kiddos are twins. (See, brought it back to the theme- clutch writing I tell you.) I started getting this question from people a year ago and thought t was completely ridiculous at the time. Now? Not so much. Poor little Gwen "towers" over her baby brother by a mere inch and I think he now has an ounce or two on her in the weight department. And there is no denying that they are very similar looks-wise:

Um, yes, this last little section is to indulge the grandparents... ;)

Happy First Day of Spring!

Pooh. What Happened to the Sun?

Looking outside today it is hard to believe that just a little while ago it looked like this:

Glorious!

This was a couple Fridays ago and I took advantage of a babysitter to steal a little time for myself during the day. I grabbed my lunch and headed down to Golden Gardens to enjoy the sunshine. It was still pretty cool temperature-wise but I could feel Spring waiting in the wings.

I think Spring got stage fright because it is nowhere to be seen now. Oh well. At least I got to indulge for a couple hours...

And what did I do with those hours? I worked on this:

This is Thermis by Kristen Patay.

And here it is completed:

I used Malabrigo Merino Worsted in Natural (unbelievably soft!!!) and my trusty Addi Turbos in size 6. The buttons came from The Fiber Gallery.

I love it! And really, if it isn't going to be Spring- could it be just a little colder so I can use this? I hate to think I'm going to have to put it away until the fall :(

And just to spite me for maligning it, the sun has come out as I put the final touches on this post. Go figure.