Three Hats

In my first post this month, I mentioned I had made another Man Hat for charity but I noticed I had not posted a picture - so here it is.



I decided not to make one of the suggestions for July, instead I searched for a crochet pattern I could make with yarn in my stash. I chose Textured Unisex Hat crocheted on a size 6.00mm hook with Lion Brand's Vanna's Choice. The hat looked really big but fit me so I added a couple of rounds of single crochet on a size 5.00mm hook to make the edge fit better.



The knitted suggestion for August was Turn A Square by Jared Flood. I had knit this pattern before in 2011 and decided to knit it again for charity. It was knitted on size 5.00mm needles with Red Heart Soft from my stash.

A Tale of Two Socks

I know I’ve only just posted but as I have a photo, I’m quickly writing about my socks before something shiny appears. These socks have a bit of story behind them as it was a classic case of love the yarn, can’t find a suitable pattern.

The yarn is called Opposites Attract by Barking Dogs Yarn


This is how the dyer describes the colours: Fun pairs of one split skein! The idea behind these pairs is to get a pair of socks whose colorway has reversed itself. One sock will have a large area of a main color with other smaller accent colors. The alternate sock is just reversed as in one of the accent colors used in the first sock will be the main color with smaller accent colors.

This seemed a fun idea so I bought some; way back in 2010. There were fewer colourways then and I chose Liz & Richard for a couple of reasons. The colours duh. Of the choices at the time these two went together well and Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor were a British/American couple just like my spouse and me.



When the yarn arrived I knew there was no way I was going to make a pair of socks with it. Although the skeins were complimentary, I would not want different colour socks. So the yarn sat in my stash. After failing to convince a friend to swap for something of hers, we did some brain storming and decided it would work as a shawl(ette) and in August 2014 we started a mystery shawl pattern.



Both of us gave up pretty quickly although I did knit all the light blue and let it sit on the needles until May 2015 when I decided to use the yarn for a mystery sock pattern. I started off with the dark blue, loved other people’s socks, just not mine.



Now I was determined to use this yarn. The challenge for June 2015 in Sock Knitters Anonymous was Unusual Construction and I found just the pattern for the theme and my yarn - Pole Dance - each sock has both colours. To fit in with the trouble this yarn has been, I did not finish these socks by the end of July – the finish date of the challenge – I finished them in August.

Not As Long As I Thought

It feels like such a long time since I posted on here but I see that it’s only been a month. In that time one post was started and forgotten and 8 items have been finished. Impressive eh? Just not sure how I still have many items on the go!

I finished three hats, a cowl, 2 shawls, a toddler jacket and a pair of socks. I don’t have photos of all of them yet but I can show some off in this post.

I’ll just show these in order of finishing.

Firstly the jacket for a toddler.



The yarn is Cozy Soft Prints by Ella Rae which I bought on last year’s yarn crawl. I purchased two balls to make a toddler’s cardigan which should have been enough except I chose a pattern with a hood. (I should insert here that I took forever to choose a pattern because I wanted to make something different which is ridiculous really because I was just making a cardigan.) My friend had bought the same yarn on the yarn crawl and let me have her left overs. (She had made a hat.) With my two balls and her left overs I had just enough to complete the jacket.



Buttons were in my stash, from frogging this.

Next finished item was a hat for charity. It is another Man Hat. When I was away at the end of May, I took yarn to be able to make two of these. I cast this on when I had finished the first one and finished when I got home. The yarn and needles are the same except I used the Faded Denim colourway.

And then I finished a shawl. I had another skein of TOFUtsies by South West Trading Company that I had been given and as I liked this shawl so much, I decided another shawl would be ideal.



The pattern is Crooked Cathedral, available through Ravelry (of course). I had purchased this pattern in 2013 when it was on sale so I was pleased that I actually got to knit it. (I rarely buy patterns unless I am ready to cast on.)



I used size 4mm needles, I lengthened the first section according to pattern but not the second as I didn’t have enough yarn. I worked a beaded cast off. There was yarn left over but not enough for another row.

I have a poor photo of another shawl I finished. I’m showing it because I love this shawl so much. More information when I have better photos.



And another hat. This time because I wanted to try the pattern. One of my knitting groups meets every other Tuesday evening and I have started to go on a more regular basis. The organizer of this group is Heather of Ewe Ewe Yarns and her friend is Meaghan of The Unapologetic Knitter. Meaghan is originally from Calgary which must explain why she designed this hat. (Isn’t that a great photo of Meaghan BTW.)

I decided to knit this pattern because I have never knit two colour brioche: I certainly don’t need a thick hat. And if I’m going to knit something to try the technique and support a knitting group friend then it certainly makes sense to buy the recommended yarn and support another knitting group friend. I had never used Ewe Ewe Yarns before, so this was a good excuse.

This was a good learning project. I am disappointed with the neatness of some of my decrease stitches. I probably shouldn’t beat myself up about that as it was the first time of working decrease in brioche knitting. On the other hand, I am an experienced knitter and should know better.



And that’s it for photos. I still have to photograph a hat and the socks and get better photos of the shawl. I’ll try not to leave it so long.

More Graduation Gifts

Having knitted a gift last year for daughter of friends', husband asked me to make something this year for the daughter of other friends who graduated high school. She will be going to Cal Berkely so I didn't have to worry about warmth just something that looked nice in the right colours. Cal's colours are dark blue and gold. Neither of which I had in stash; gold didn't particularly thrill me anyway. At Common Threads I purchased some RYC Cashcroft DK to make fingerless mitts. Then followed the search on Ravelry for the right pattern. I finally settled on Cupcake Mittlets. I used size 3.25mm needles which is smaller then the size recommended for the yarn but I liked the look and feel of the fabric.



Having graduated from University last year, her older sister is off to law school in New Hampshire - definitely needs a hat. Her school colours are white and blue so a skein of white(ish) Plymouth Yarn Baby Alpaca Grande was purchased. This is the same yarn I used for my friend's hat. It is so soft and squishy and ideal for garter stitch. No problems choosing a pattern for this hat. I chose Qunicy, the fourth time I have made this pattern - I must love it!

This is the first one I made; and this is the third one.

The baby alpaca is thicker than the yarn recommended for the pattern so I cast on less stitches and knitted until it fit around my head. After picking up stitches I worked a round to adjust the total stitches then I worked the top pattern with five swirls instead of six.

Finished Baby Blanket

I finally finished and delivered a baby blanket.

Allegedly, this took me six and a half months to make but three of those months were procrastination in sewing the thing together.

The pattern is Learn to Knit a Log Cabin Blanket by Staci Perry and thanks to the joys of Ravelry I saw a project I liked which had changed the traditional log cabin format from a different colour on every strip to the same colour for each “round”. I chose white for the centre squares and three shades of blue for the other sides. I worked six white squares first then the next colour on three of them and then the next colour; and repeated this for the remaining three white squares.

When these were finished I decided that the remaining shade of blue, a navy, did not work well, so I had to try out different colours. (I did this by purchasing different colours and placing them next to the squares, not by actually knitting onto the squares.) I settled on red. In hind sight if I had wanted to have all shades of blue I should have used the navy for the centre squares and white for the joining strips. But that’s not important because I like the final result.

Why the procrastination in sewing the squares together? Because I knew the finished blanket wasn’t going to be perfect. Silly I know but there are certain parts on the blanket that I would do differently next time. And there is always a chance of there being a next time because I like this design but there are so many patterns available why knit one twice? (She says just having finished a hat pattern for the fourth time.)

The mother of the baby loved it which is the main thing.



The yarn is Lion Brand Vanna’s Choice and I used 5.5mm needles.

The other good thing about showing this finished blanket is that balls of yarn out now exceed balls of yarn in; which makes me happy. Now I just need the metres knitted/crocheted to exceed the amount in.

The Finished Items

Last time I said I had some finished objects and here they are. Three of them anyway.

Let’s start with socks. A friend in Canada gave me some wonderful locally dyed sock yarn. Checking previous posts, I note that I have been remiss in not posting details. So here are a couple of photos of the yarn. It is Kick Ass Sock by Two Birds Knitting Co. in the colourway Flue by Ewe.



One of the challenges for April in the sock knitting group was Food and Drink and I found this pattern – Effervesce by purrlescent. (Funny thing, only now checking the pattern info do I realize that both the yarn and the pattern come from people in Calgary.) Amazingly the pattern was free. I thought it would take me quite a while to knit because of the cables but it turned out to be an enjoyable knit especially once I worked out which way I like to cable without a cable needle.

I changed the heel slightly so that slip stitches followed the pattern into the heel, with purl stitches in between and three garter stitches at each edge.



The other two items are both hats for charity. I was away at the end of May into the beginning of June and rather than wait for my return to start an item for Operation Gratitude I chose a pattern and yarn and needles to take with me. The pattern was Man Hat which I knit with Bernat Softee Chunky Solids on 8.0 mm needles. It is a broken rib pattern so an easy knit with a bit of interest.



The other hat I started on the flight when we went away in the middle of April. When I fly I take a crocheted item with a plastic crochet hook so that if it is taken away there is only one loose stitch and it is not a problem losing a plastic hook. I started the hat on the flight out and had trouble finding the end of the yarn so I had way too much out of the skein. I also messed up the joining the chain so at the hotel I pulled it out and started again but I did not work on it as I was saving it for flights. I had two plastic crochet hooks just in case and I meant to give one to my husband but I forgot which was rather annoying as they were both taken off me at security on the way home. I had a bamboo hook in the same size which I took with me on the latest trip. It actually was a nice hook and worked well with the yarn I was using. I worked on the hat on both the outward and return flight and finished the hat. When I got home I could not find the hook and I can only guess that it fell out of my bag on the plane. So this hat has cost me three hooks!

The pattern is Tulips Hat and I used Red Heart Soft.

So Much To Say

But I haven't said it.

Different things pop into my head to write about for this blog but they don't make it into print. I also have some finished projects but they also haven't shown up here.

Hmm... I think just writing this is the incentive I need to take photos.

Watch this space.

Two Hats

My friend very kindly sent me a photo of the hat I made for her. She likes it and I am really pleased that it fits. The hat is squishy garter stitch so not tight at all.



And I have crocheted a hat for Operation Gratitude. This month the suggestions were both from bulky yarn and I have some in my stash so it was not hard to choose the crochet option - it is called Area Code Beanie and is available on Ravelry. It was a really quick project that should have been finished in an evening, except the extra round of double crocheted that I finished with became single crochet half way around.

The yarn is Charisma by Loops and Threads and I used a 8.0mm hook.

I Can Show Some Gifts

except I don't have photos of one of them.

One of my friends is moving across the country so yesterday her and another friend and I went to lunch as a sort of goodbye lunch. Sort of as in the sale of her house fell through so she does not know when she will be moving. We decided we would just keep having lunches until the day actually arrives.

But as this was her "official" goodbye lunch, we had gifts for her. The other friend gave her different yarns with colours to remind her of different parts of California. I thought that was a really good idea, memories when she knits them.

I made her a couple of things. As she is moving to the east, she will need cold weather clothing, so I knitted a hat. I have made loads of hats but I wanted it to be a pattern I hadn't knitted before. You think it would be easy to find a pattern but for some reason it wasn't. I finally settled on a pattern from a book I happened to have checked out from the library - Circular Knitting Workshop: Essential Techniques to Master Knitting in the Round by Margaret Radcliffe.
The pattern is Jogless Garter Stitch Hat, which is knit in the round from the top down, in a helix pattern, so that there is no obvious seam. And I don't have a photo of it. The best I can do is a photo of the yarn. I used Baby Alpaca Grande by Plymouth Yarn, bought especially as I did not have anything suitable in my stash.



I loved the joglessness (love that word too) of this method of knitting and will try to remember for other patterns in the round that are other than one colour stocking stitch.

I also made her a project bag. She enjoys watching Downton Abbey and I found some special fabric on line with Downton Abbey on it. Rather than buy a set of five fat quarters where I would only use three, I bought 3 half-yards of fabric and made a slightly bigger bag. The third fabric had a stocking stitch knitted print.

The Needles Are Occupied

The problem with having too many projects on the go is that you can spend all your time knitting and still not have a completed project to show off.

I did finish three things in April but one is a gift so no photos yet, one is the black shawl show at the end of this post, which leaves one item to show today.

My completed hat for Operation Gratitude.



The pattern was free on Ravelry when we started the knitalong but now costs $4.00. I used yarn thicker than the pattern so used the appropriate size needles and cast on 8 fewer stitches; I also worked way fewer rows and did not work the eyelet rows at the top.

I am pleased that I finished a charity project despite too much not finished. We went away for a week in the middle of the month and I started a new project; I am not sure if I am happy with it so it has been set aside for now as I am not sure what I would make with the yarn anyway. I am casting off a shawl but as I am beading the edge it is a slow process; I have started to seam another project and my straight forward project gets worked on periodically.

I had picked yarn and pattern for the Sock Knitters Challenge in April but they didn't get cast on until the end of the month but as they are entered in the challenge it is incentive to finish them. I took them to knit group yesterday and they were hard going but I realised that they are easier to work on when I don't have my contact lenses in as there is a lot of cabling. They went much faster this morning. Also I have been looking at the mystery sock pattern for this month. I have some yarn that I have not been able to match with a pattern and it looks like the mystery will be perfect. Yes that will create more thinks on the needles (and I started an Operation Gratitude item) but they will be finished eventually.

Not Good Photos But At Least There Are Photos

Shawl(ette)s have been piling up waiting to be photographed. My intention was to ask my husband to take photos one weekend but I never got around to it so a couple of weeks ago I took photos. But when I looked at them they were rather blurry so I took a few today with my phone. Not brilliant but at last I'm showing off finished objects.

In order of finishing:



This is the shawl mentioned in this post. My shawl is obviously smaller than the one shown in the pattern so I had another look at the one on display at the Yarnover Truck and that one has been stretched out much more in blocking.



This was on the needles way longer than it should have been because there was a huge delay in finding the second colour of yarn and then I had to find the right beads. The pattern is Branching Out Shawlette and is available on Ravelry.

I used less than 20 grams of the second colour, from 100 gram skein and I did not want it to just sit in the stash so I cast on another shawl.



I love it and it is a pattern that needs to be well blocked to show off the design. Even so, it is still a small piece but I must remember to wear it to show off.

I was given the yarn used in this shawl when I left Calgary. It is lovely and soft and I couldn't decide whether to make slippers or a shawl. A friend said a shawl. Way back in July last year I started one and then when it was close to being finished I frogged it, partly because I couldn't think what type of cast off to work. I definitely didn't want the yarn to go into stash as I find it hard to work with yarn I have already used, so this was cast on.



The pattern is Summer Flies, a pattern that I have already made as seen here and here. One day I would like to make this pattern bigger.

I have way too many things on the needles right now and I'm itching to start more and so far this month I have one finished item. Time to get back to the knitting in hopes of being able to share more at the end of the month.

More In March

I really need to post more so that I stop coming up with these stupid titles.

I finished four things this month but I won't be posting photos of two of them as they are for gifts. I also have three projects that are close to finished: one needs blocking; one needs seaming; and the other is a few rows from the end.

Firstly we have the usual charity project. The suggestions for this month were scarves but I didn't feel like making a scarf, plus I have a few balls of bulky yarn so I opted for another hat.



The pattern is Cupcake by DROPS Design.


I used just over 70 meters of Bernat Softee Chunky Solids on 8.0mm needles. I decided against the big pom pom.

I also made some socks for the Sock Knitters Anonymous challenge. These have a little bit of a story. I bought the yarn - self-striping from Trailing Clouds - especially for their self-striping challenge last month. After trying various patterns, either I didn't like them or they were originally allowed for the challenge and then removed at the start of the month, I gave up. But I wanted to work with the yarn so rather than wait for the self-striping challenge to come up again, I cast on with the yarn this month.



The pattern is Hazelia by Mary Hough, one of the featured designers for March. I changed the heel to a Fleegle heel; which was easy to work but is not the best fit for my feet.

I did not want these socks to match but I did not want them to be completely random either so I worked the second sock in the opposite direction with the toe starting where I had finished the cuff in the first one.

February Is For Finishing

I haven't posted in a while but at last I have some photos to show as February was a good month for completing projects.

First, photos of a hat finished in January. As usual the delay is because I wait for the recipient to receive the item.



The pattern is Little Knight, Newborn Purple Hat that I knitted with some Vanna's Choice that was in my stash. It used just 23 grams of yarn and is very stretchy so will fit for a while.

My first finished item in February was this.



I started it in June last year and all the knitting was finished by July; it's just the sewing of the different pieces to the body that took the time. My aim this year is to finish projects that have stalled mostly for finishing reasons. That's not going quite as fast as I aimed as the pig was my January project.

The pattern is from Knitted Farm Animals by Sara Keen, a book I got from the library and as I had pink yarn in my stash, decided to cast on. The brown was also in my stash. All together I used 50 grams of DK weight yarn plus fiber fill for stuffing.

Another of my aims is to knit something with sock yarn every month. And in February I finished this project started in January.



The pattern is from Sock Yarn One-Skein Wonders another book I got from the library and I used two balls of Patons Kroy Socks.

And as usual there is an item for charity. I decided to make the crochet pattern suggested in February.



The pattern is Mint Chocolate Beanie (Crochet) currently available on Ravelry. I used Red Heart Soft that I bought last year when it was on sale.

Also off the needles was a shawl I knitted from yarn left over from a different shawl that also hasn't been photographed. And I undid an item. It was close to being finished and I could not think of an edging so I just frogged the whole thing but I cast on a new project immediately as I knew if the yarn went in the stash it was likely not to be touched for a long time. I started a pair of socks but didn't quite manage to finish them in February.

I have updated yarn in/out and knitted/crocheted as at the end of February; it is looking good so far.

Sewing in 2015

It's still January and I have a sewing project to show.

I made a bag for a friend's birthday. She is an all round crafter, so I made her a draw-string project bag. I had a couple of unused fat quarters and some left over coordinating fabric and just chose the size based on using as much of the fabric as possible. For the draw-strings, I had to sew lengths of fabric together.

I didn't take the final measurements but it is a roomy bag. Big enough for straight needles and big enough for a garment or a number of balls of yarn.

End Of Year Baby Clothes

On the Yarn Crawl I bought three skeins of baby yarn. This was a planned purchase as a new baby was on the way. I had enough yarn to make a cardigan, hat and mittens. As hard as I tried I could not get a pair of booties out of the leftovers.

The patterns I used, from Sirdar and Patons, date back to when my sister was expecting but the design of a basic cardy does not change.

The first photo does not show the true colour of the yarn. I usually take a photo of everything I make but for some reason I could not find a photo of the cardigan so I asked the baby's mama to take one. The photos of the hats and the mitts show the colour better.



In November I mentioned visiting the Yarnover Truck and a yarn store that I hadn't visited before. I wrote that I had made some strange decisions. One of them was the yarn I bought for the next item. Before we went I wrote down the yarn weight and how much I needed for a few items I was interested in . One item on the list was yarn for a baby jacket, there was also yarn for a hat, some needles and I can't remember what else. Anyway when I was looking at baby yarn, I looked at the wrong entry and bought one 100 gram ball of worsted weight yarn. There is nothing wrong with the yarn, it was just that I had not bought enough for the intended project. After a big search through Ravelry I came up with another top down pattern that was for the correct weight of yarn and I used the whole of the ball.



And a bonus when I came to finishing the two cardigans; Jo-Ann was having a sale on buttons.

I still have two shawls from last year to show off but they both really need better photos.