Quickie Hat

There are a couple of office grandbabies coming in January. I know one is expected to be a boy, but I think (I think) one is expected to be a girl.

I had seen the Lion Brand Baby Wool at Joann's so the other day I used my coupon and bought a ball.

It is superwash and felt pretty good in the ball.
I chose the Alpine Meadow colorway which is mostly yellow with a bit of green and blue.

I am not really getting home before dark now and my photos are suffering, but this gives you an idea.

It did not feel overly soft once I got it knitted, and after a soak, it was fairly lifeless. While still damp I tossed it into the dryer for a bit and that seemed to work out just fine.

Once again I went to the Children's Cotton Hats pattern from "Last-Minute Knitted Gifts". I find that pattern to work up super quickly without a lot of fuss. The top decreases do create a bit of a point, but I'm going with the idea that it just makes it more elfin and adorable.

ix-nay the iddly-fay

After this, I'm going to swear off fiddly for awhile.

Back before Christmas I bought the Interweave Knits 2009 Holiday Gifts issue. I had seen the preview and fallen hard for Susan Lawrence's Little Entrelac Bags.

You know me and bags. Doesn't take much.

I had almost a full ball of Noro Kureyon left over from another bag.

Christmas came and went. [At least I think it did. It all seemed to happen so fast.] I never seemed to get the time to try the little bags. Every once in awhile I'd pull out the magazine, glance over the instructions, get scared, and move along to something else. For some reason this weekend I decided to give it a go.

I think I'm about halfway through. I emphasized 'think' because I get so turned around flipping this thing back and forth and wrapping and turning. I've never done entrelac so it is all pretty much guesswork, but I figure it is a really SMALL bag and it is going to be felted. I'm hoping any stringplay irregularities will fade to the background in the felting process.

Speaking of fiddly, I got the Twined Hat finished. It really wasn't fiddly, but it did require a LOT of untangling. I didn't mind. It was loads of FUN to knit. I know I'll make more in the future.

Finished it just in time, too. Temps this weekend were in the 60s! Aw, well. I don't play with string around here to be useful anyway.

Binary Knitting

Well most knitting is binary I suppose, composed of 2 elements; knit and purl. But in the case of my latest obsession project, I'm referring to knitting with both ends of the string at the same time, Tvåändsstickning or Swedish two-end knitting.

There is one book on the subject in our public library system, "Twined Knitting" by Birgitta Dandanell; published by Interweave Press (of course!). I've checked it out and skimmed it numerous times. Like most Scandinavian knitting it looked lovely and wonderful and seemed fairly complicated.

So how did I wind up trying it? Two words.........SHOP SAMPLE.

You know what I'm talking about, right? You go off to visit your LYS (or in my case, my not-so-local LYS). You don't need anything. You are just going to browse. Before you know it, you've found something you cannot resist.

That's exactly what happened to me.

For someone who professes not to want a stash, I have rather too much yarn already in the house. And I'm talking good yarn. I have plenty of books and patterns as well. In fact, in the whole string+pattern+time=FO equation, string and pattern are not the problem. Which is why, as you might expect, I left the shop with new string and new pattern and, because I dithered so long and tried to talk myself out of it, less time!

In all fairness if you had seen the SHOP SAMPLE, you would have done the same. It was amazing.

It was a very simple looking hat. It was just tossed casually on a table. I picked it up and it felt so soft and I was immediately intrigued. It looked as though it had a garter stitch hemmed edge, but when I looked inside I could find no hemming. The wrong side looked different as well so I asked, "uh, is this twined knitting?" And it was.
I put it down and walked away.

A few minutes later I asked if there was a pattern. Oddly enough there was. I studied the pattern. I looked at yarn. Once I found that lovely blue-green wool there was no going back.

I'll be rereading that "Piecework" article shown in the top picture. It is from the Jan/Feb 2007 issue, a knitting special issue that is no longer available. The 2010 knitting special issue is still out so RUN out and get it if you haven't already or a couple of years down the road you'll be kicking yourself.

To see some great pictures of this hat and close-ups of the inside, see's Pat's here. And to see some terrific examples of twined knitting, see Asplund's Flickr set here (links to his blog as well.)

Put a bonnet on that baby

Episode 2 of "Return to Cranford" airs tonight. No need for me to run to the TV, I've gotten used to watching online.

That is Imelda Staunton in the front there as Miss Octavia Pole. She may just be my favorite. Always in a hurry and always with an important bit of news to impart. Love her!

Wonder what all the excitement is about this time?

Could it be she's heard that I finished the old-fashioned baby bonnet?

Finished the knitting at least. I still need to find some nice ribbon to attach as ties. (and those Cranford women know a thing or two about ribbon.)

The pattern is from "Knitting in the Amanas" by Susan Strawn Bailey from the Sep/Oct 1997 "Piecework" magazine (out of print).
Fortunately, this wonderfully written and fun-to-knit pattern is once again available in Interweave's special issue "Knitting Traditions 2010" (along with 42 other patterns).

It is an adaptation of an early 1900s bonnet from the Amana Heritage Society in Amana, Iowa and you can read more about the religious community that settled in Amana at the link above .

As soon as I started knitting this, I knew I wanted to try it again, only knitting the leaf motif all the way around and letting the star become the bottom of what would become a reticule. I'd just need to do an eyelet round near the top for the drawstring and line it.

Sometimes I get in as much of a hurry as Miss Pole!

I rushed to my LNS for some pearl cotton and set to work. As soon as I finished the star bottom, I realized I had not nearly enough thread and it was coming out larger than I wanted.



"Behold the work of the old - Let your heritage be not lost. But bequeath it as a memory, Treasure & blessing. - Gather the lost & the hidden & preserve it for thy children."
Christian Metz, 1846 leader of the Community of True Inspiration

27 and sunny

You would think with the weather this cold down here, I'd be more inclined to whole mitts and not fingerless ones!

Oh, well, I have my hat to keep me warm, I guess. Besides, I couldn't resist knitting these wonderful baby fan fingerless mitts [Ravelry link] just one more time and I'm not even sure yet if this will be the last pair. They are that much fun to knit.

For this pair I used KnitPicks Gloss fingering weight yarn in color Porcini leftover from the Miralda shawl. Since it is 70% wool and 30% silk, they are light but still quite warm. Just looking at them makes me want to start another pair!

The Felted Bucket Hat has been worn two days already. If you need a quick hat and don't mind an extra run of the washing machine, this is the project for you.

Oh, and I almost forgot to post a picture of the first pair of mitts after they were off the needles - they were mailed off to a friend.

New leaf arrived

Keep a green tree in your heart and perhaps a singing bird will come.

Chinese proverb

The Evergreen Bag is finished except for one lone i-cord drawstring. As I was working on the first drawstring, I learned a new grandson had arrived to a coworker. A new leaf on his family tree. Well new baby means quick cap, right?

I looked around the internet and found the Greenleaf Hat and thought it would fine with the Berroco Vintage and I had plenty left from the bag. From this photo angle the leaf looks a bit too big, but doesn't seem quite so much in real life.

I used a bit of the green at the start of the roll brim before switching to the blue and the switched back to the green, of course, for the leaf.

All in all, a quick and satisfying knit and I'll definitely keep this one in mind for future baby gifts.

Satisfaction Guaranteed

A quiet evening on the cul-de-sac. No fireworks to be heard yet.

As I sat and watched the PBS American Masters special on Garrison Keillor, I finished up the little Evelyn Clark baby bonnet; a thoroughly satisfying and easy knit. [it's called i-cord for a reason after all!]

But speaking of fireworks, I expect that Mary is already aboard the Intrepid and will be soon watching an amazing display.

Happy 4th of July to you wherever you are.

So fun, so clever

The Evelyn Clark baby bonnet is finished.

I spotted this little cap made up in a booth at Stitches South and just knew, deep down, that it had to be an Evelyn A. Clark pattern.

I was able to find out that it was included in the Vouge On the Go series - Baby Knits Two.

I dithered a bit about buying the book since I was really only interested in this one pattern. But (you may already know) Evelyn's designs are my one weakness.

As soon as I found out my LYS had the book, I caved.

The back crown is my favorite part. Isn't it sweet!
It is worked in short rows. The 91 stitches worked flat for the lace part decrease on either side of the center purl stitch and, with the magic of short rows, draw the panel down and in until there are just 7 stitches left! So clever!

I used leftovers of Regia Silk from when I made the other bonnet. It's perhaps almost too soft for this one worked on size 2 needles. Next time (oh, yes there will certainly be a next time), I'll probably use the Dale Baby Ull called for in the pattern.

I can hardly wait to make another!

This is my brain on knitting

Hum..... looks suspiciously like newsprint, huh?

The time has come to block the lace hat but I had no fancy blocking form.

Mary cleverly suggested I search for a bowl the size of my head, then cautioned me not to get my head stuck in it, then encouraged me to be sure to document it for the blog if I did. What are friends for?

No bowls seemed the proper size or shape so I began fashioning one from yesterday's newspaper. The AJC has undergone some radical changes lately. Even the masthead and font have changed. [have I mentioned that I don't like change?] Anyway, it took a whole day's paper to make my head. Either I have a large brain or they've seriously reduced the paper. [hint: they've seriously reduced the paper.]

While we're waiting for my hat to block, perhaps you'd like to amuse yourself with facts about the brain. [I confess I just skimmed this article.] Or maybe you'd prefer some games for the brain? [I only tried Ooze and was a dismal failure, but I did better at What Was There.]

While searching out brain links for you, I learned that the brain is the crown jewel of my body and/or the boss of my body and runs the whole show. Well that was good to know because I got to tell you, lately something has been the boss of my body and it hasn't seemed like my brain!

DIScomfort

Before the bag, when I found the shawl DISappointing, I decided to try another Vine Lace Baby Hat.

I really love knitting this pattern with DB Baby Cashmerino, but it's pretty hard to find anywhere nearby. And when you seek a comfort knit, you want it right then.

Since I was pretty sure that the mother of the intended baby would treat it like an easy-care item, I thought it safer to go with something that could really withstand the usual washer/dryer treatment. I found this Berocco Comfort DK. It's 50/50 nylon and acrylic, but it felt fairly soft and the price ($3.50/ball) made it cheap enough to try.

DISappointment #1: See that yarn barf? Maybe a quarter of the yarn came out in such a tangled mess when I tried pulling the center end, that just after this picture was taken I yanked out the needles and with GLEE tossed the whole thing into the wastebasket.

DISappointment #2: The next day, calmer, I head over to Ravelry to see what the word is. I read lots of postitive things about it making nice fabric and good stitches. I reconsider and pull it out, cut off the tangled mess, and cast on again only to find that the stuff SPLITS worse than anything I've ever knit.

DISappointment #3: I'm almost halfway done with the hat (which would have been done in one evening if I had had yummy yarn) and there's a KNOT in the yarn. Bah!

DISbelief: Now that's it's finished, I'm pleased.

Since it's a washable non-wool yarn, it is suitable for the preemies (lace club's service project). This one (on size 2 needles) pictured here on a little hedgehog friend fit a large apple and it is wonderfully soft.

I might even consider the worsted weight for a completely carefree baby blanket. Am shocked!

Electric Back-Patter

Emergency FO.

Time to get out the Electric Back-Patter.

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How is your Christmas To-Do List?

I had a few things on mine today, the most pressing of which seemed to me to be finish up the cards for mailing tomorrow.

But I was tired. And cranky. And irritable. (Is that the same as cranky?)

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All I really wanted to do was knit. Luckily a coworker's daughter went into labor today. Well, luckily for me. I've never met the soon-to-be-mother, but a baby hat seemed in order. And although I don't really have much of a stash, I happened to have this pink superwash yarn on hand from when I had tried to reintroduce knitting to my mother-in-law. So I came home and whipped out the baby cap from "Last-Minute Knitted Gifts". That one has an I-cord instead of a ribbon and mine may too soon, but I'm auditioning this polka dot grosgrain for the photo op.

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I'm beginning to relax and feel better. It helps that my husband is in the kitchen making my breakfast for in the morning.....Seven Layer Cookie Bar. What? You don't eat that for breakfast? You should try it.

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So, anyway, Gold Star for me. In addition to the little cap above, I also managed (all by myself; without resorting to the manual) to get the time changed on my cell phone. Apparently am Technological Genius. In our house whenever I show off something I've just finished, my husband often says "let me get out the electric back-patter".

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Am feeling much better and may even get those cards finished up before time for breakfast.

;)

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How do you like the little "vintage" Santa? He's a never-burned candle I bought with my own money when I was 9. The price sticker on the box says 62 cents. He got a little too warm one year over the summer and so he leans a bit now. But it wouldn't be Christmas without him!

Red Light Special Hat

Pattern: Red Light Special hat

by BrooklynTweed

Yarn: KnitPicks Telemark

Deep Navy, Alpine Frost, Pesto, Grey Wolf

Needles: Size 6 dpns

a set of cheapie Susan Bates and one lone bamboo

why, oh why don't Bates come in sets of 5??

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A nephew specifically asked if I'd knit a hat. I sent him a few online pattern links and he chose this one. Secretly it was my favorite as well. I loved the warm colors of Jared's, but the nephew asked for blues and greens. I really dithered over the color choices and, in retrospect, feel that the light grey is really too light, but I'm OK with it. (I doubt the nephew will care.)

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My biggest challenge was getting the nerve to try the provisional cast on and the turned hem. The pattern was wonderfully written and, thanks to the full paragraph that Jared devoted to the wet blocking, I even did that exactly as he said. [who knows how long it will take to dry!]

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I hope it fits. Overall - especially now that it's DONE - I'm pleased. I'll send it off to college to the nephew and will go back to some comfort knitting.

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The KnitPicks yarn made this a very affordable project. The hat took almost the full ball of the main color, Deep Navy, but there is quite a bit of the other, especially the light grey and lighter blue; certainly enough (I think) to do another hat with just one more $1.99 ball of Deep Navy.

a little fall color there in the background - a pot of mums my Mother gave me!