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.

Almost forgotten

 I realize I have not blogged for a very long time. I have not stopped knitting, there have just been some really big changes going on for me and my family. Here's what I almost forgot to share.

Another Grrlfriend Market bag. This one was for my sister, Mrs. B.

I decided to try out Susan B. Anderson's pattern for worsted weight socks. These were for my Mum.

My lovely knitting group friends threw me a party, and sent me home with three bags and a basket full of knitting goodies.

Knitters truly are the best kind of people. I love them!

My second time knitting an Owls sweater. This one was for my sister, Mrs. M. She turned 40, so it was a special gift. This photo was taken before I sewed on the button eyes. I gave her white eyed owls in contrast to my black eyed owls.

So the big changes involved moving, which is why my knitting friends threw me a party.This is my house not long before it sold. We lived here for five years, and in the area for more than 6 years. That is the longest I have lived anywhere since I got married. It was not part of my plan to ever leave, but life doesn't always go the way we plan.

This is my new view. We have gone from east to west. It's going to take some getting used to, but I will knit my way though it.

Happy Birthday Mrs. B.

 Four years ago I started sending out handmade birthday presents to my sisters, starting with Mrs. B. Well her birthday has rolled around again. I asked her if there was anything she wanted, but she said to surprise her. I went with this 'A Very Braidy Cowl' pattern. I knit it up in Lion Brands wool-ease in the Dark Rose Heather colourway. I'm totally in love with this pattern. It's made with really big cables that give it it's distinctive look. I used a live cast on and Kitchener stitched it together.

 I want, no, need one of my own! So now I'm on the look our for the right colour for me. I'm very fond of mustard.

Thankfully, her birthday present arrive on time and she is already wearing her new cowl. Happy birthday Mrs. B. I love you.

Knit like you mean it!

 The first thing I have to share are these mittens, knitted for my sister, Mrs. B, birthday. They are to go with the hat I sent her last year. The pattern, 'house mittens', is from my trusty Charmed Knits book. I managed to figure out the joggless jump on the second mitten. This is for when you are knitting stripes in the round. It makes for a much better looking stripe. It was definitely something I needed to learn, because stripes are fun to wear!

Next is this hat made for my sister, Miss C. She was over for Christmas and asked me to knit her this hat. I just didn't have the time. There is never enough time to make all the things I want to. I have over 70 patterns on my queue on Ravelry. But I digress, I found the time and the yarn left over from the manly socks was enough to make it. The pattern is from Stitch 'n Bitch though you can find the pattern for free from here. I've made this hat for both of my little girls. It's a fun and simple knit. Sorry about the rubbish photo. I'm no photographer!

The third thing I'm sharing is what I'm most excited about. I've had this pattern bookmarked for such a long time, but I wasn't sure about knitting cables. I decided it was time to go for it. It is based of a hat worn by Hermione in 'Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince'. I was going to knit it up in a heather grey, just like the original, but then I saw the colour of this yarn, and decided I had to have it. It's Berroco Vintage, like the manly socks and the kitty hat. I like this stuff. The pattern was really great, the only thing I would say is if I knit it up again, I would decrease the amount of rows between each cable as it is a little deep for my head. It just wants to slide over my eyes. But other than that, I love it. I love knitting cables, so there will be more of them to come.

What are you knitting/crafting right now? And what has been in your queue for way too long. I hope you will give it a try and find yourself suprised at how easy it is:)