A Very Warm Hat

  I wanted to get a little experience with stranded knitting to build up my confidence. I'm not a brave knitter, I take forever to get round to trying a new skill. This hat was for my sister Mrs B. Her birthday was back in March. One day when we were out together over Christmas, she mentioned that the last hat I made for her wasn't warm enough. I decided she needed an nice, bulky, warm, hat. The pattern I used is called Chance of Flurries and is free. I knit it up with Cascade Yarns Baby Alpaca Chunky in white, and Mirasol Yarn Sulka in raspberry. Alpaca is supposed to be even warmer than sheep wool and less itchy. I bought myself some pom pom makers, because this hat needed a big pom pom! I've not had much luck making pom poms before, so it was totally worth the purchase. I got my little Miss I. to model the hat, and then sent it off to England. She was having a funny five minutes while I took the photos, so they make me giggle a little.

Everything since The Witch

 I haven't knit anything for the past few weeks, but when I look back at everything I made in December and January, I realize I got a bit burnt out. Take a look at it all and you understand why I've been taking a break.

Three fun, and bright bibs for a baby boy. The pattern is available here for free. They were knit using dishcloth cotton from my stash.

My little Miss M. wanted a purple beret for Christmas. I finished that on time, and the coordinating scarf came a few days later. Both free patterns, just follow the links if you're interested. They were both knit in Lion Brand Wool-Ease.

 Another baby, this time a girl. I thought this cardi was quite feminine even though the pattern is called Baby Boy 5-Hour Sweater. It's available as a free Ravelry download. It's made in Knit Picks Swish Bare. I enjoyed shopping for the buttons at a local thrift shop. While I was there I got chatting with a woman whose daughter in law, like me, is from Bournemouth. What are the chances of that !?!

This baby girl hat drove me a little crazy. It was supposed to have little bear paw mitts to go with it, but I only finished the hat the morning of the baby shower, so the mitts never happened. The pattern is here for free if you are interested. It's not the greatest pattern, though it is cute.

I decided I needed a new hat for me. It's been a long and snowy winter here. I've had to dig out my driveway more times than I can remember. This hat keeps my ears nice and warm. I've used this pattern before for a friend. It's called Hinagiku Hat. It's a free Ravelry download. My friend posted a picture on facebook in which she is wearing hers, and I decided I really wanted one for myself. I knit with HiKoo yarn that was given to me at a yarn swap. I love the colour.

Well, I need to get my motivation back, since birthdays are looming, and there are a couple of really important ones this year. I'll be back soon.

Hats, hats and more hats.

 Here are a bunch of hats I've knitted and given away recently. The four in this top picture were for a sister-in-law and her three kids. The girls got my modified version of Hermione's cable and eyelet hat. The pattern is available for free here. You can find my modifications on Ravelry.

The forth hat was for the boy in the family. The pattern is also a free one, it's available as a Ravelry download. It is called the Strib hat. I used Lion Brand Wool-Ease yarn for all of them.

 This next hat was for a baby shower. I've made this one before, for one of my nephews. It's a great hat. It's called the Striped Elf Hat and is a free Ravelry download. They yarn is a mystery. I got it at a yarn swap at my knitting group.

 The hat is super stretchy. I tried it on my Little Miss I. and it looks so cute on her.

I've got a few more knits to share with you that were Christmas presents, and then it's all about baby shower gifts. I think there must be something in the water. I'd better not drink any!

A month of pink knits

 May was a very pink month. Starting out with some pink socks for my Mum's birthday. They are knit up in in Zitron 6 ply yarn. I used the Susan B. Anderson's pattern for how she makes her socks again. This yarn was a little thicker/heavier that than yarn I've used for socks before, so hopefully they won't be too big. I figured if they are, they will make great house socks, as they are very warm.

One of my little ones wanted to get in on this picture.

 Next up in this month of pink are these fingerless mitts made for my sister Mrs. M. They are to match her Meret I made her last year. I added thumb holes and a little extra ribbing at the beginning and end of them. I love how they turned out.

 I'll end this post with possibly my favorite knit of the year so far. I can't remember where I first saw this idea, but I immediately knew I had to find someone to make it for. It's a Boobie Beenie, you'll find the free pattern here. It's a really simple rolled brimmed stockinette hat. I knit it up in Classic Elite Yarns Liberty Wool. It's a really soft, washable wool. I gave it to my friend who is expecting in July. She is a fellow kniter, and a breastfeeding mama. I wish I had seen this pattern when my kids were babies. I would have loved one.

 I'll have more to share with you soon. Keep happy everyone and enjoy your summer.

Hinagiku Hat

 As the title of this post would suggest, the pattern for this hat is called Hinagiku. I have no idea how to pronounce it, so don't ask. The designer is Japanese, so that should explain it. It's available as a free download on Ravelry. I love the way it looks and fits. I knit it up in Berroco Vintage DK. The colour is so pretty and is very much loved by the recipient and her daughter. I sent it to a friend of mine, Mrs. S. She used to go to school with me, but we didn't really become friends until we went to collage together way back in 1995. They say opposites attract, and I think that happens with us. While she worked hard, I slacked off. We shared a great love of Alanis Morissette though, so our friendship was formed. I believe good friendship is rare, and so it often makes me sad that so many of my favorite friends live so far away. At least I get to see her every now and then on my trips back home. I know she has been waiting for a hat since I saw her last summer.

The great texture in this hat is created using the daisy stitch or the star stitch, as it is sometimes called. I admit that this was a little tricky at first, and I ended up ripping it back and starting again more than once. After watching a couple of youtube videos I got it down. It's not a fast stitch to knit, but it looks so great. This yet another gift that I plan on recreating for myself in the future. I even think there is some yarn in my stash that I use for it. It may not happen for some time though. I have to get finished with my mothers birthday present and fast! So I'm heading back to work. Laters!

Uncertain

I'm not ever sure if I'm going to keep this blog up. I'm not a very decisive person. So for a few weeks I think I'm done with it; and then I come back. I'll share with you what I've been knitting lately and think about this whole blogging thing for a couple more weeks.

This is called Morning Walk Headband Earwarmer, knit up in Lion Brands Wool-ease held double. I added the same knit flower I used on my Mum coin purse I made a while back. That pattern is available here.

Here is my second Meret. It's knit up in Lion Brand Martha Steward Crafts Extra Soft Wool Blend.

Both of these were made for friends named Mrs. G. One from back home in Bournemouth, and the other one is from my new home in Pennsylvania.

Right now I'm blocking a sweater I made for myself, working on a hat, and getting ready to make the binding for a quilt. There is something else knitted on it's way to a sister in England. So while I'm trying to decide if I'm going to keep up this blog, I'm defiantly staying busy. I hope you all are too.

Oh, I'll just share this link with you for a you-tube video I thought was pretty cool.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=QeGWxJDRQno
Enjoy:)

Re-makes

It's nice to find patterns you want to come back to. Sometimes it's because you really loved it the first time around. Other times you are trying to make it better. The three finished item I'm sharing today are all remakes. The first is the Hermione Cable and Eyelet Hat. This is my fourth time knitting it up. Each time I have made it slightly differently. Always searching for the perfect fit. With this one I am most happy. I feel like it looks and fits perfectly. I will write up my changes on my Ravelry project page if you are interested in them.

Second remake is this Aviatrix baby hat. I made one a little over a year ago to take to a baby shower. I thought I'd make the same things for a baby shower I went last weekend. I love this cute hat.

These Baby Booties were meant to go with the hat, but I finished them a little late for the baby shower. The mother to be will get them tomorrow, so no harm done. Perfect for a winter baby.

I have some other finished items I put in the post to England this week. When they are received, I will share. Hope you are all keeping warm, and getting lot's a creative things done.

Hot Head!

 This is Meret.

I made it out of Berrocco Vintage for my sister Mrs. M's birthday. I've had this pattern in my Ravelry queue for quite sometime. I do love a beret, and my sister does love pink. I really couldn't go wrong. What I love about this pattern is that there are so many possibilities. I wanted mine to look like the picture with the pattern though, so I followed the directions to make it just that way. I found the pattern was nice and easy for me to understand. I didn't have to look anything up, so it made it a really quick and easy project. I needed it to get done fast because I had to take a two week break from knitting and so this was left until the very last minuet. It still arrived a day late. In true British fashion, they are going through a heat wave right now. It seems to always do this. As soon as school gets out for summer the temperature will drop and the rain will arrive. Don't say I didn't warn you.

 So Mrs. M. has put it safely away for now. She will be sure to enjoy it once the winter comes though.

Slouch

 My Mum is a natural red head and when I was teenager I wanted to be one too. For quite a while I used to dye my hair. I'm not sure if I was inspired by my Mum as much as the character of Angela Chase on the T.V. show My So Called Life, which was and still is a particular favorite of mine. Anyway I've been thinking of going red headed again recently mostly because teal looks so good on red heads and I love teal right now. I'm not keeping this hat though. It gets to sit on the head of my beautiful 12 year old niece, Miss K. She has very luckily been blessed with natural red hair. I'm pretty sure she will look fabulous in this hat once the weather cools down a bit.

The patten can be found here and the yarn is Caron Vickie Howell Sheepish in Tealish. It is a really great patten that I will be using again. Although I love the colours the yarn comes in I'm not totally in love with the yarn itself. I have another ball of it in tealish and I'm thinking of making some matching fingerless mitts, but only time will tell.