I Hat Therefore I Am

A quick perusal of my projects page on Ravelry lead me to an interesting conclusion earlier today: I am not a knitter, I am a Hatter. With a capital H.

Of the 32 projects I've finished this year, a full 12 have been hats (that's 37.5% for those of you who are into math). You might think 12 hats is a full complement for a year. It is after all, one hat per month.

But no.

I have EIGHT (!!!!!!!) more on the needles. There is no other single category of knit items that even comes close to the dominance of the hats. Mitts are a distant second with 3 FO's and 4 WIPs. Or, if I combine scarves & cowls for a Neckwear category I have 2 Fo's and 7 WIPs.

Doesn't really matter. In my world of knitting, Hats Rule.

Ergo, I am a Hatter.

Who knew?

Still with me or did I drive you away with such minutia?

At any rate, I guess I like knitting hats. My kids certainly like wearing them:



Nottingham, Size Medium (Child)
Emerald Blue Malabrigo Merino Worsted
Size 6 Addi Turbos and Prym dpns


Toddler Republic Hat
Blue Surf Malabrigo Merino Worsted
Size 6 Addi Turbos and Prym dpns

I did cast on an extra ten stitches for the Republic hat as I was worried about it being to small.

The kiddos like them well enough. Now to put them away until it's hat season again.

So that's all the knitting for now. I also finished a square for a wedding blanket I am contributing to but I let it leave the house without taking a picture, oh well.

I need to work out some kind of balance between the sewing and knitting. As I do more sewing I get antsy about the knitting I'm not doing. Maybe once the shop is a bit more established I'll be better able to strike that balance.

In the meantime I've made bunches of zippered pouches like these:


And today I added a whole new bag style to the shop.


More of these project bags to come as the weekend progresses.

Until next time, enjoy the long weekend and have a fun (and safe) Memorial Day.

Oh, and, Happy Birthday Todd!!! (a day early but he doesn't read this blog anyway... but just in case...)

Bottom of the Barrel

I've got nothing today.

Well, that's not exactly true. I've got stuff.

Like this:

Star-Crossed Slouchy Beret (for me)
Malabrigo Merino Worsted in Vaa

Or this:

Deja vu! The second one was for a friend of mine. Still Malabrigo but the colorway is Taureg. This one is blocked, mine isn't. A nice knit. Obviously, or I wouldn't have made it twice no matter how Kristen might have "begged."

But really, the muse? She has left me and I just can't get motivated to try to say anything even remotely clever or amusing.

(note: if you don't feel that I am normally even remotely clever or amusing, please do not burst my bubble... I like my little fantasy world)

I want to share. I have lots of things percolating in the brain but sitting down to type? No appeal. I blame my laptop. It gave up the ghost a week ago and I haven't been the same since. Which is odd. I despised my laptop. It made me crazy (slow and cranky it was!). But. It was mine. And now I am forced to squat on my husband's old MacBook.

sigh

Not the same. I miss you cranky, slow, infuriating HP!

Anyhow. More soon. I made a hat for Gwen which is quite cute- I just have to get her to take a picture in sans that awful Fake Smile she has going right now.

Bleh. No good pictures unless I ambush her and that is hard to do if you want her to model something. She might be three but she's no dummy. "What? Oh, I know it's 65 degrees Sweet Pea, but I think you should wear this new hat Mommy made you anyway..." Uh huh. Like that's gonna fly.

And, Thank you! to everyone who has said nice things about my little enterprise. Everyone has been supportive and I've even managed sell a few things. I'm working on a few things and hope to have some fun new things to share next week. (I wonder if I could work "things" into this paragraph again? Oh look! I just did.)

And (last item I promise) in case I get all wrapped up in life and forget to post before Sunday: Happy Mother's Day to all my mommy friends and most especially,

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

I have no idea how you did it and every day I grow more in more in awe of you (and Daddy, too) for the way you raised the three of us- thank you, thank you, thank you! Love you!

Successful Hunting

Egg hunting that is. Saturday we took the little ones to the Bunny Bounce at Woodland Park Zoo.

Gwen moved up from the Toddler area to the "Big Kid" area so I was a bit worried she might have trouble holding her own.

I need not have worried.

Everyone had a good time and we topped off the egg hunting with a turn on the carousel.

I haven't said much about it here but I have been doing a lot of sewing. Here is my favorite creation to date:

Simplicity Pattern 2674

Gwen's Easter dress. Cute blue (her Favorite color) "Baby Bunny" fabric is from Lakehouse Dry Goods.

My only modification was the placement of the ribbon, not a big deal. I thought the pattern was well written and explained. My only criticism would be the lack of detail for setting in the sleeves... That was the hardest part and had virtually no detail... or it could have been my lack of sleep catching up with me. At any rate, I am pleased with the dress and Gwen loves it so all is good.

Even if she is a total goof ball.

Spring has Sprung?

Mother Nature is ignoring my (not so) silent pleas to end the cold dreariness and bring on the sun, already. Damn her. I am so very ready to don some fresh spring togs and enjoy the sunshine. At least today we have not had any of that lovely slushy mush that greeted us yesterday morning.

It has occurred to me that Mother Nature is perhaps withholding my spring until I perform a Spring Cleaning of some sort. Little does she know who she's playing chicken with... Bring it on Mommy Nature!

In lieu of any real spring I have been trying to manufacture one instead, or at least some springy items.

Cherry Garcia by Adrian Bizilia
Malabrigo Chunky Merino in Brisa
Size 10.5 - 16" Addi Turbo Circular

This was a super quick knit: one day, cast-on to bind off. In the Malabrigo Chunky the cowl is super soft and squishy. It will definitely keep the winter (or spring) chill away.

Zune Cozy by Michelle Mooney
Malabrigo Merino Worsted in Vetiver (green) & Paris Nights (navy)
Size 5 & 7 dpns

So admittedly not as springy as the cowl but it does house my happy pink Zune so that counts right? Another quickie knit (I am clearly in instant gratification mode), I think this took me a couple hours at knit night so under non-distracted circumstances I'm sure it could be cranked out lickety-split.

Now here is something genuinely springy:

Flowers! I adore fresh flowers and wish I could afford to have arrangements in my house all the time but alas... perhaps when I win the lottery. I made the above arrangement yesterday at my MOPS meeting (Mothers of Preschoolers). I had such fun. Normally I indulge in a riot of color when I put together a floral arrangemnet but yesterday green was speaking to me and I decided to try the monochromatic/tone-on-tone look. Pretty darn good if I'm allowed to toot my own horn.

That's Beezer the Cranky One in the background. She is a floweraholic. I have to make sure to put any and all flowers out of her range or they become a kitty snack. And I do mean Any and All. She has been known to consume silk flower arrangements in their entirety. Yup. Silk flowers. Not quite the brightest bulb, our Beezer.

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.

New Year, New FO

I thought I'd start the year with some knitting content.

I'll pause while you all stand back up from the floor...

OK, here it is:

This was a Christmas gift for Todd and I am inordinately pleased with it. The pattern is VERY loosely based on an Irish Hiking Hat (Ravelry link). Loosely as in, "I cast on the 96 stitches the pattern called for and did a cable and rib patterned hat." Everything else I changed: order of the ribs and cables, width of the cables, height of the cables, the decreases... you get the idea.

The yarn is Malabrigo Worsted in Pearl Ten and I knit the hat on a size 8 Addi Turbo 16" circular and dpns.

I like the hat a lot but mostly I am pleased as punch with the way I worked out the decreases:

They make a fun, swirly pattern!

Should anyone be interested in the alterations I made, let me know- I actually took copious notes (shocking) so I know what I did.

December?

Um, what happened to November? I swear I was just dressing the kiddos up in Halloween costumes yesterday.

I hope you all had scrumptious Thanksgiving dinners and survived the madness that was our retail establishments this past weekend. For our part we had a quiet turkey dinner at home with all the fixins'...



...and pie of course!



And we limited our post-Thanksgiving shopping to getting a Christmas tree so we have nary a stubbed toe to show for the Black Friday craziness.

I have been knitting up a storm recently but many of the items will be winging their way to rest beneath Christmas trees so I cannot share them here yet.

So instead I'll share one of my favorite projects from this past year that I haven't shown you here yet.

Pattern: Faberge Cowl by Nina Machlin Dayton (pattern available on Ravelry)

Yarn: Malabrigo Merino Worsted in Vetiver

Needles: Size 7 Addi Turbos (20" I think, maybe 16")

Beads: Size 6/0 Japanese Seed Beads

I knit this as a test knit for Nina and I love it. The beads add just the right touch (they are place with a crochet hook instead of pre-stringing the beads). This is a fantastic pattern: clear instructions, a fun, interesting knit, and beautiful result.

A Little Math

So looking over things I discovered some disturbing math. I've only posted here 11 time in 2008. That's 1.1 posts per month but that isn't what disturbed me (although maybe it should).


You might think that no posts on a knitting blog might mean no knitting:

0 p = 0 FO

But that isn't the case. In fact, the opposite is true. Since the beginning of the year I've completed 23 knitted items.

11 p = 23 FO

Even if I had managed to put a finished object in each of my paltry posts (I didn't) I still would be 12 FO's behind when it comes to sharing. In reality, I think I have 18 or so FO's to share.


That's a lot. Daunting almost.

But I shall not be defeated.


As I have nothing clever or profound to add I'll just get straight to it. I was going to do this chronologically but I am missing some pictures so it'll have to be haphazard.


Last week I decided the kiddos needed Pumpkin Hats and so, voila!




Pumpkin hats. This is the Little Pumpkin hat (Ravelry link) from Itty-Bitty Hats.
.
I used Malabrigo Merino Worsted in Glazed Carrot, Sapphire Green, and Marron Oscuro and knit them on my trusty size 7 Addi Turbos and dpns. The pattern goes up to a 1-2 year size but my little ones have not so little heads so I opted to use a worsted weight yarn instead of the called for DK weight. The hats are a little big but they'll fit for several years- better big than too small :) This is a quick knit, each hat took me less than two days to knit so I'm sure some of you speedier knitters out there could crank these out in no time. Overall, I am very happy with the results and hope that the weather this fall is cool enough that they get lots of use.


And while we're on the subject of hats, a while back (April!!?) I did a test knit for a friend of mine from Ravelry.



This is the Warwick Hat by Nina Machlin Dayton.


I made the child's small size but Matt has since outgrown it so I guess I need to make another one (in a solid color this time). The yarn is Malabrigo worsted again, the main color is Lime-Blue and the contrast color is Lettuce. And once again I used my Addi Turbos (size 8) and dpns. The hat is knot from the top down and has this cool contrast braid detail at the top and down at the brim. I'm bummed it's too small now...


So that's it for today. I don't want to over-do it. See you soon with more FOs and if I ever get caught up with those maybe I'll show you what I'm working on now... what a concept.

Fully Vested

I finished my gift for Todd just in the nick of time, threw a ribbon around it and handed it over to him minutes before our anniversary ended.

This is the Subtle Stripe Vest by Lara Killian. The yarn is Cascade 220 Superwash in a Green/Blue/Grey with flecks of gold (#867 I think- it is a great color). I used my trusty Addi Turbos in size 5.

This was my largest garment project to date and I am pretty happy with the results. The vest is exactly what I wanted: simple, but with just enough detail to keep it from being boring. If I make this vest again I will pick up more stitches along the armholes and neck than the instructions indicate because I felt the ribbing was not as “dense” as I would have liked in an ideal world.

I also need to add that I liked the yarn more than I thought I would. While I would never call it soft it never bothered my hands and was quite tolerable. I anticipate using it again in the future. I feel like I am the last one on the Cascade 220 bandwagon but better late than never, right?

Still more crazy weather!

We went out to brunch this morning and as we sat there big fat flakes started pouring from the sky... Insane. Did Mother Nature lose her calendar?

The kids were sick all week:noses running like faucets, huge hacking coughs, ear infections, and yes, throwing up. Good times. I'm a little worn out from all the associated tasks and the increased crankiness so I'll apologize for my incoherent post ahead of time.

Since the little ones were sick, I was stuck in the house most of the week so I am suffering from cabin fever and I am really looking forward to getting out to see the Yarn Harlot tomorrow night at Third Place Books. I haven't picked up her new book yet but I plan on getting it tomorrow as well. I'm excited to reading the book since her books always make me laugh out loud. Unfortunately, I realized tonight that I do not have any socks on the needles... Going to see the Harlot without a sock to work on. Yikes. Possible heresy. I may have to rectify the situation before tomorrow night. Hmmmm.... what to do? What to do?

When last we talked knitting I was stalled on the cardigan I was knitting for Gwen. I'm still stalled. I guess I have Second Sleeve Syndrome. My goal is to get the sleeve cast on this week. We'll see how that goes, I'm not holding out any great hope...

I think I had also just cast on for my Foliage. I am happy to say that that particular piece of knitting is no longer a WIP but a lovely Finished Object! Hooray!

Foliage from Knitty knit in Malabrigo Chunky on Size 9 & 10 Addi Turbo circulars and a set of size 10 dpns.Finally, a hat for me. ::happy dance::

Today's Post is Brought to You by the Number 2

I've got a lot going on right now and most of it is irking me so let's get straight down to business because if I get off topic, well, let's just say War & Peace might start looking like a novella. So not a lot of chit chat, just the bare bones of a post.

The theme for the day is things that come in pairs...

First up, Socks!
Try to ignore the bin of awful acrylic craft yarn in the background. It's left over from my pre-knitting days when I "crafted" and didn't care (or know) about 100% merino and such. It was hard enough to get the picture while bending over and hanging upside down, I decided not to retake the photo to edit out my past yarn indiscretions...

These are my finished Toe Up Socks from Shibui Knits. I used Shuibui Sock in Orchid and I used a variety of Lantern Moon Sox Stix (#2 for the main body of the sock, #1 for around the ankles, and # 3 for around the calf). I shortened the leg length because I usually wear short socks and I don't really like having stuff around the middle of my leg. If I had to do it again I would use #1 needles for everywhere but the calf because they are bit looser than I would like. Overall I am very pleased... I admit I was a bit worried at first since these are 100% merino wool and I have a wool sensitivity but I am happy to report that Sock is so soft that I have worn them for whole days with nary a twitch or itch!

And next, Mittens!

Baby mittens - which means they are automatically cute (the Second Law of Babydynamics). I made these using a free pattern I found on Ravelry (surprise) "Baby Mittens" designed by Kaitlyn Wong. The yarn is Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino in a light blue, #202 I think but the ball band is upstairs and I'm lazy. I knit these on my fabulous Addi Laces, US #3. The pattern was really clear and well written but if you are looking to make mittens for a really small baby you might want to use something else, these are a bit big on Matt now (almost eight months!) and also fit just fine on Gwen (two). My gauge was a little larger than called for but not that much. I tried two new techniques in this project: two strands held together and magic loop. Neither was difficult but I found magic loop to be pretty fiddly with such a small item. The two strands makes for a nice tight fabric that keeps Matt's little mitts warm and toasty.

So a pair of finished objects! I was going to show you my Lace Edge Cardigan (Debbie Bliss, Simply Baby)- I've finished the body and moved onto the sleeves (another pair) but I think I will save that for next time.

I'll leave you with my favorite pair because Grandma reads the blog and we like to keep Grandma happy, even if she just lurks and never comments...

Matt being Matt, which in my book equals adorable but I'm biased.

And Gwen, checking out the spring Interweave Knits. Of her own accord. Can you stand it? We'll have her hooked on fiber before she knows what hit her.

She Still Knits!

Hey, check it out, I'm posting twice within eight days- that must be some kind of new land-blog speed record... or something.

I feel so out of practice, I'm not sure I even have any command of grammar anymore... in fact, I was trying to multi-task and watch Barefoot Contessa while I typed this up but I'm having a really hard time concentrating so I had to put BC on hold. Sorry Ina!

On Sunday I went to a baby shower given for my good friend from dance, Jen, and I gave her this:

It's the Geordie Stripe Yoke Jacket from my favorite knitting book (everyone say it with me now) Natural Knits for Babies and Moms. I used Blue Sky Alpacas Dyed Cotton in Periwinkle (2 skeins) and Pickle (1 skein) and Crystal Palace Bamboo Straights (5's and 6's). I adore the buttons... I got them at Acorn Street Yarn.

Love how this sweater turned out, I'll definitely be making another one at some point. It was not difficult at all but was not boring to knit. It took me forever but only because I did not work on it for a couple months at all and then once I had the knitting done it sat around for another month before I seamed it.

I was thrilled when she opened it and the whole party ground to a halt for several minutes with everyone ohhhhhing and ahhhhhhing over it and asking me to make one for them- it is so gratifying when a handmade gift is appreciated :)

I also had a little crafty fit the day before the shower in which I produced this:

A diaper cake! I have seen them before at showers and what-not and I had some newborn diapers lying around so I made a quick run out for some blue tulle and brown ribbon (Jen's theme colors). The cakes I've seen before featured diapers that were rolled up individually and then taped together but that struck me as being difficult to take apart so I experimented... not bad for a first attempt if I do say so myself.

So that's it for now, I have a couple more things to share so you might be seeing me a bit more regularly... and for those of you who might worry that my copy of Natural Knits might get lonely now that the Geordie is done- never fear! I already have another project on the needles... It's almost like a Julie and Julia thing for me with this book- I just feel this compunction to make (almost) everything in it.... too bad "Katie & Louisa" doesn't have a better ring to it...

**note: Blogger's spell check seems to have already gone to bed for the night so I apologize for any spelling errors! I tried to proof but, well, it is past my bedtime**