Candy Baby Hats

I picked up some multi-colored, mostly cotton yarn to make a matching set of hats for a co-worker expecting twins.



Pattern: One Skein Candy Baby Hat by Artful Yarns (on ball band of yarn)
Yarn: Artful Yarns Candy in the Lollipop colorway (9366)
Needles: US 6 / 4.0 mm
On Ravelry



Interestingly, the pattern is to knit it flat and then seam up the hat when done. I have to admit I didn't realize this - I mean, who would knit a stockinette hat flat? - and I thought it was just the little cord at the top that was knit flat. In any case, I knit it in the round, and finished with an i-cord rather than the nine-stitches-wide top flap per the pattern.

My co-worker was very happy with them, and now has three-month-old twins, a girl and a boy, so I'd say it was a success all around.

A Slew of Sock Hop

Well, so much for getting caught up with my blogging in two weeks!

Back when I ripped my first try at the Pacific Waves Shawl, I found myself with lots of unused Crown Mountain Farms Sock Hop yarn. Since I had bought several of the skeins as remnants, and all the one I used were now in tiny little balls ...



... I decided I would look for stash-busting patterns to use up the yarn. My first project was the Turn-a-Square Hat by Jared Flood. By holding two strands of Sock Hop together, I was able to achieve heavy worsted weight, and adjusted for gauge accordingly. I ended up knitting this hat three times with different colorways before I finally called it good. The first attempt may have been the most photogenic while knitting ...



but I didn't like how I looked with white yarn right by my face. I tried a three-color combination, and finally settled on one colorway (San Francisco) where I let the striping in the handspun show off the square shape of the hat. It's much more subtle. My three attempts are the top row of this mosaic of Sock Hop projects:



I then knit a set of Maine Morning Mitts in the same Sock Hop colorway (though a different lot) to match (pictures #6 and #8). I love fingerless mitts, and expect this set will be the first of many. I wanted a cowl that would match the mitts, and couldn't find one on Ravelry that was just right, so I created my own easy-peasy pattern - the Two-One Cowl, pattern available for free download right here (as well as on the sidebar). Pictures are the second row of the mosaic.

I also knit a new little sunglasses case with leftovers - picture #9. Let me tell you, it's a joy to pull it out and use my handknitting on a regular basis! And last, but not least, I started a set of mini sweaters (picture #7) which will decorate my holiday tree this winter, and are a great way to use up tiny bits of yarn.

Xmas Knitting

A series of snowstorms has swept through Seattle during the last two weeks. Since the city isn't well equipped in the ways of plows, and I have a lot of anxiety about driving in the snow (due to a near miss two years ago), I haven't been able to mail Xmas knitting packages yet. However, I have been able to finish a slew of small projects. I'm taking a risk that my family might see this before they get their mail, but I don't think they really read my blog. So, hats for three generations: my father, brother, and nephew.



Pattern: Koolhaas by Jared Flood (pictured right)
Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca in Peat Mix
Needles: US size 6 & 8
On Ravelry

I love how this hat looks, but found the knitting to be a little fiddly, with all of the cable crosses. I was not able to master knitting without a cable needle, and hope to if I knit this again.

Pattern: Turn A Square by Jared Flood (pictured center)
Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca in Peat Mix and Charcoal Mix colorways, held doubled
Needles: US size 10 / 6.0 mm (9 / 5.5 mm for ribbing)
On Ravelry

I really like this pattern, as you'll see. I like knitting doubled; it goes very quickly and makes a warmer hat. The two colors are both dark and that makes the striping very subtle.

Pattern: Pro Bono by Angelina Fagan (pictured left)
Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca in Peat Mix and Charcoal Mix colorways, held doubled
Needles: US size 9 / 5.5 mm
On Ravelry

Another Pro Bono, a simple and quick ribbed hat that can expand with a growing head. I like this pattern but think it's just too long. I'm hoping the hat can be warn with the brim turned up because I really don't feel like ripping out and shortening this hat before I can actually put it in the mail.



Pattern: Darkside Cowl by Sarah Fama
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk in Navy
Needles: US size 7 / 4.5 mm
On Ravelry

I knit a quick cowl for my SIL. This is a nice ribbed pattern which gives the cowl some structure. The yarn is soft, however, just like the Ultra Alpaca, I found it to be sheddy. Is all alpaca yarn like this? Because I'm not too fond of the shedding.



Pattern: Kim's Hats by Kim Hamlin
Yarn: Filatura Di Crosa 127 Print in 33 - Dark Grey
Needles: US 6 & 7
on Ravelry

I knit the hat to go with the garter-stitch scarf my partner knit for our friend Chris. The yarn struck me as a bit scratchy and I had a little trouble getting into the project (I wanted to make it warmer but did not have enough yarn), but once I finally got it going, I really like the project. It was really fun to have the splashes of color show up in seemingly random fashion as I knit - and no pooling! This took a little bit over one skein of yarn.

I've been knitting somethings for myself, too, but I'll wait to finish before posting more.

A Baby Shower Set

I'm hoping to get caught up on my knitblogging during my winter break from school and work, although a couple FOs still need photoshoots. In any case, a little set for a baby shower:



Hat Pattern: Baby Watchcap by Nikol Lohr
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Mediumweight in Lagoon
Needles: US size 4 / 3.5 mm
on Ravelry

I knit with smaller yarn and needles than the pattern called for. I swatched in the 3x3 rib and found gauge based on an average of the swatch relaxed and stretched fully out. I cast on 90 stitches and added a few extra plain knit/purl rows during the early decrease rows to compensate for the thinner yarn.

Mitten Pattern: Baby Mittens by Malin Nilsson
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Mediumweight in Lagoon
Needles: US size 2.5 / 3.0 mm
on Ravelry

My gauge was different from the pattern, so I CO 26 stitches for the ribbing and increased to 33 stitches for the hand.

Both were quick to knit up and so very cute when done. The STR is a good yarn choice. I like the Baby Watchcap pattern, because the ribbing can expand with a growing baby head, making the hat longer wearing than many baby knits, and the Baby Mittens are very cute.

Recent FOs

My knitting has been a bit scattered since I finished the Icy Shetland Triangle in June. (I did block the three shawls, but haven't had photo sessions with them yet).

I like having knitting projects that are portable, because I knit away from home a lot - in the car (when I'm the passenger, of course), when I'm hanging with friends, and during several Wednesday meetings at work. I also want projects that are easy to memorize, because a lot of the time, I have to concentrate on something besides my knitting.

With Project Spectrum Air happening over the months of June & July, I decided to pull out the sampler blanket project that I put in the bottom of my stash bins over a year ago. Because this is the first project I ever knit, I am not into knitting it any more, so I decided to take the 25 squares I had already knit, finish off seven more, and make two baby blankets with 16 squares each. The grey & cream (& brown) colors were a perfect match for PS Air, and working on squares would be a portable little project good for summertime knitting. Except - each square requires closely following a pattern, so it turned out to be less convenient than I thought. I am happy to say I just finished sewing up one blanket, and have four more squares to knit for blanket #2.

So I've done a slew of quick little, portable projects. Many of which are actually good for Project Spectrum Water, which just started August 1. I finished the Falling Leaves Shawl:



And knit a Foliage Hat out of the same yarn (Berrocco Ultra Alpaca in Oceanic Mix) to match:



I found that the Ultra Alpaca was not as suited to the pattern as the Malagbrigo. It was way too long. After finishing the hat, I had to pick out the cast off, rip back the ribbing and a lace repeat, and then reknit the ribbing.

I knit a Scrunchable Scarf and a pair of mittens (cobbled together my own design) out of Malabrigo Chunky in the Vaa colorway to match the Foliage Hat I made for myself:



And a quick little Pro Bono hat in naturally dyed handspun from Tactile Fiber Arts:



I also was out of town for almost two weeks. I took along two one-skein lace scarf projects but was not engaged by either of them. And frankly, Hawaii is not conducive to knitting - I was either swimming, taking pictures, or reading (a lovely vacation indeed). I have already frogged the one I was trying to design and I suspect the other one will follow. Also, I frogged Birch - I knew I couldn't make it into what I wanted it to be. I do love the Morehouse Merino Lace yarn with the fern leaf lace pattern, so expect they will be paired again at some point.

So, the only WIP I have going right now is the baby blanket #2. I need a portable, easy to memorize project. Which means, ladies and gentlemen, that it is time to cast on for the Great Feather & Fan Shawl Project of 2008.

First Project of 2008

This was one of the gifts planned for Christmas that just didn't happen. It ended up being a quick little project for January and will go to the recipient next week.



Pattern: Ann Norling Kid's Fruit Cap
Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash
Needles: Clover bamboo US size 7

Mods: to make a hat for a 20 inch adult-sized head, I cast on 90 stitches. In addition, I spaced the seeds every 10 stitches instead of 8 to make them more proportional to the larger hat, and the leaves at the top were formed from 10 stitches instead of 8. This gave two more rows to decrease to the top stem and made leaves in a larger and more proportional size. (I thought the 8-stitch-wide leaves in the adult-size blueberry hat I made were too small.)

I've already washed it (love the superwash!) and let it dry flat. The yarn blooms a bit in the wash, giving it a nice softness, but my pictures from before turned out better.

If this hat looks familiar, that's probably because I made a baby-sized one last fall. In fact, I got both hats out of the same balls of yarn with plenty of green and a fair amount of red left over.

Holiday Knitting

I managed to get all the holiday knitting done by 3:00 pm on Christmas Eve - if you don't count the two projects I never cast on. The first three were easy, because they were already finished:

1. Chevron Scarf went to my mother
2. Foliage Hat in brown went to my sister-in-law
3. Kochoran Scarf went to my sister

My partner and I tag-teamed gift #4. She knit the blue and I took over when it was time to knit the green.


The Blueberry Hat went to our good friend Chris.

Pattern: Ann Norling Kid's Fruit Cap
Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash
Needles: Clover bamboo US size 7
Mods: cast on 96 stitches to make a 22" adult size hat

Foliage in Two Colorways

A long Thanksgiving weekend, and two Foliage hats done:


in Marron Oscuro, a lovely mottled brown


in Vaa, a lovely blue-green combination

Pattern: Foliage by Emilee Mooney from Knitty Fall 2007
Yarn: Malabrigo Chunky 100% merino wool in Vaa
Needles: US size 10.5 and 9

This is a great pattern. I love the lace leaf motif and wow, I am so in love with Malabrigo now. It's a very quick knit and was a joy the whole way through. The brown will be a gift and the blue-green is for me. I love it so much that I am considering getting some more yarn to make a matching scarf now.

My only complaint with the pattern is that the hat is so big that it almost reaches my eyebrows when fitting the crown of my head normally. However, I can fold the ribbed edging back if need be. I may also try re-blocking and let it dry flat rather than on a round surface to see if that helps it shrink up.

Foliage

Since I finished the scarf and am finally making headway with the blocks project, it seems like time to cast something else on. I decided on Foliage from Knitty. One for me, and one as a holiday gift, I'm thinking.



Really, I just wanted an excuse to try some Malabrigo yarn.


Malabrigo Chunky 100% merino wool in the Vaa colorway

I'm excited to give this yarn a try. It's soft enough to dive in to. (I'm picturing myself with a couch full of yarn to leap on.)


Malabrigo Chunky 100% merino wool in the Marron Oscuro colorway

I picked up a set of DPNs in the correct size today, so I'm all ready to dive in...

Baby Knits

I'm blessed to have many babies in my life to knit for. Aren't they cute?


Umbilical Cord Hat that I knit for little c, picture taken by his mama 10/7/2007
[aside for Wanderlust Lost Knits ... yes, this is R's baby! Can you believe it?]


Strawberry Hat I knit for my dear Peanut, at the pumpkin patch, 10/7/2007

I finished the 13th repeat of the kimono shawl and am temporarily putting aside while I push on through to the end of the chevron. But, in case I start to go crazy, I've also cast on for the stitch-sampler baby blocks in this gorgeous Cascade 220 rainbow:



I could just take pictures for hours. There are more on my Flickr too.



I started with the purple heather. OMG, I love this yarn (color, texture, knitting with it) so much I want to knit a sweater in it. Me, a sweater. I don't wear sweaters, especially ones made of wool. I live in the Pacific Northwest, sweaters are too hot here. I don't look particularly good in sweaters. And it would take a lot of yarn and stitches to knit a sweater that would fit me well. But wouldn't Rogue as a cardigan or Arwen look just lovely in this yarn?

Strawberry Hat

I'm glad to report I got by auntie knitting mojo back, and I've already completed the strawberry hat for my little nieceling. Since I'm in the middle of two projects that just keep going and going and going, it was really, really nice to do a quick little project and have a finished object already! This knit up so quickly I didn't have time to take pictures in progress.



Pattern: Ann Norling Kid's Fruit Cap
Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash
Needles: Clover bamboo US size 7
Size: Six months (16 inches diameter)



This was my first stranded project and once I figured how to wrap the extra yarn when there was a long stretch of red in between the "seeds," it was easy going. It's a great little project. It's super cute and people love it! I've already had three friends ask me if I can make it in an adult size.

Pattern available for sale here. Similar pattern available for free online here.

I had a little falling down

I had a little falling down. Now, when I write those words, I assume you know what I mean, because I assume anyone reading knitting blogs is reading the Yarn Harlot and she writes fairly often about her fallings-down and, as far as I know, the term "falling down" as it applies to yarn comes from her. But I'm not sure she's ever technically defined it, so let me 'splain what I mean by "a little falling down."

First, this is not a falling down:

Cascade 220 Superwash Wool in color #809 (red) and color #801 (green)

You didn't think 2 skeins was a falling down anyway, did you? But here's why: I was recently at the half-birthday party for my favorite six-month old, whom I'll call Peanut. Her Nana had sent her a really cute pumpkin hat which she was wearing. But the pumpkin hat was store-bought and made from cotton jersey fabric. Now, if there is one thing that can be knit well, it's baby hats that look like fruit and vegetables. In fact, I purchased the pattern for such hats when my little Peanut was one month old. Seeing her in the little store-bought pumpkin hat made me realized how derelict I was in my aunterly duties. And I know how fond her mama is of the strawberry hat, and in fact, I've been promising a hat since Peanut was a month old. So, off to the LYS for yarn for a strawberry hat - which I've already cast on and am two inches in.

See, perfectly justifiable, overdue even - not a falling down. This isn't a falling down either:

Cascade 220 Heathered Wool in color #9454 (purple), #2447 (blue), and #9461 (green) and Cascade 220 Wool in #4147B (yellow), #9465B (orange), and #2413 (red).

It may look like a falling down because of the lascivious way in which the yarn is photographed. But again, it's a well-thought-out, overdue purchase. See, at this half-birthday party, little Peanut was holding court, sitting on the couch, playing with her many toys. Grabbing them, pulling them to her, chewing on them. And I thought back to a darling knitted baby block pattern that I've had in the back of my mind for probably a year now and realized that they should have been done already because six months is the perfect age for playing with them. So, on the same trip to the LYS I also got the yarn to make blocks.

See, not a falling down. Plus the yarn in such great colors will be good fodder for photographs, and that's a worthwhile cause too, especially since I've signed up for a photography certificate course that just started.

I have this rule that I only buy yarn with a project in mind. Technically, I've only broken that rule once (well, until yesterday, anyway), and that was handspun camel down and only one skein and it would have been a crime to pass that up, right? Then there is the yarn bought for projects that didn't work out and ended up making a home in the stash without a project attached that somehow don't count against my little rule. The truth is, I don't really like having a lot in my stash, because it stresses me out to have yarn nagging me from the closet and the closet really isn't that big. And I'm not big on consumerism (despite my falling down) and don't really want to present myself that way. But, beautiful yarn is beautiful yarn.

To me, a falling down is an impulsive purchase, most likely extravagant, and without a project in mind for that yarn. Not exactly blatant consumerism, but closer to that than I'm really comfortable with. Perhaps the Yarn Harlot's definition differs, but that's what it means to me. My falling down is that I signed up for Sundaras' new "Seasons" Yarn Club yesterday.

I occasionally flip through her "currently available" list and dream, but without a project in mind, I haven't been able justify the cost. I have no desire to get caught up in the drama of the competition for a limited yarn when she makes an update, so oftentimes the yarns I really like are gone when I go looking. I don't knit socks (yet) so the sock club hasn't appealed. But Tiennie posted yesterday about the new Seasons Club, so I clicked on the link to check it and bam! a falling down, and I had subscribed.

Somehow, it feels better to share the good news.

PS I chose Winter.

I Like Hats

Another pregnant friend, another umbilical cord hat. I whipped this one out in two days, which including frogging a whole section.

(I should also mention that said hat knitting happened after making my yarn orders and while lusting after various lace shawl patterns, so perhaps I wasn't quite as desperate as I let on. Then again, it was a quick knit.)



Pattern: Umbilical Cord Hat by Jennifer L. Jones in Debbie Stoller's Stitch and Bitch.
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino, held doubled.
Needles: Clover Bamboo, US size 9



I had this idea for the stripe section that I would make it variegated: I'd drop one strand of green and pick up one strand of purple, then go to two purple, then back to one each, then back to two green. I did in fact do this, but it looked terrible. So I yanked that out and made two purple stripes instead. I like the sportiness of the way it turned out.

I gifted the hat on Saturday for a baby due in August.

First Hat Mojo

The Yarn Harlot likes to talk about First Sock Mojo. I haven't knit socks yet, but I think first hat mojo must be something pretty special too.

After I knit all those bibs, I had a tidy little pile of leftover yarns.



So, I sat down, and knit a hat in the round.



Pattern: Umbilical Cord Hat by Jennifer L. Jones in Debbie Stoller's Stitch and Bitch.
Yarn: Crystal Palace Yarns "Bunny Hop" - 50% microacrylic, 42% micronylon, 8% rabbit angora
Needles: Clover Bamboo US size 7


This hat also went to the baby boy who is due in two to three weeks.

I have to confess that I got a bit tired of it as I knit. The yarn I chose was a little finer than the recommended yarn, which meant more stitches. Plus all those DPNs going every which way! But, as soon as it was finished, I was so delighted that I immediately cast on one for my sweetie. I think I'm sold on the beauty of hats now.

Umbilical Cord Hat

Pattern: Umbilical Cord Hat from Debbie Stoller's Stitch n' Bitch, adjusted for adult head
Yarn: Patons Decor 75% acrylic and 25% wool
Needles: Clover Bamboo US size 7 circular and DPNs

As I noted in the previous post, despite the lovely colors, I would not recommend this yarn, as it bled onto my hands and needles. I'm also a terrible yarn snob who prefers natural fibers, so I wouldn't recommend it for the acrylic content either, but my sweetie picked out the yarn, and the hat is for her.

Knitting the crown gave me a bit of trouble. I had cast on 100 stitches, and right before I started the crown, reduced it down to 96 so I could divide by 8. I was trying to decrease every other row (as all the patterns for adult hats I could find instructed), but the hat was just too tall and too pointy for my sweetie's head. The third time, when I just decreased every row, was the charm.



I was a little nervous about what would happen with the pooling after I started the decreases, but it's a small enough section that it looks fine.

Simple Hat WIP

This is my second hat, but I don't have pictures of the first hat uploaded yet, so I'll save the first hat mojo for a future post. I mention this now because, although I was a bit annoyed by the first I hat I knit (I don't care so much for DPNs), when I finished it I was so delighted that I pulled a skein of yarn (Patons Decor 75% acrylic and 25% wool) out of my partner's stash and immediately cast this on for her.

I was good and knit a swatch. I calculated how many stitches to cast on for her 21" head and proceeded to carry the project around with me and spend a good day knitting. I do like how portable hats are, especially since many of the projects I work on (cables and lace) require charts.

The first issue I encountered was the yarn. I like the colorway a lot and how it knit up (no pooling at all) but it bled up a storm, dying my hands and my bamboo needles purple. Lovely. Then I measured it ... and discovered that I had done a very gross mathematical error when figuring the number of stitches to cast on, and it was 7 inches too big. Yes, seven.



Frog, recalculate, cast on again, knit, and make my partner try it on repeatedly as I progressed.



This time there was pooling, but in an interesting lazy spiral pattern. My partner liked it, so I kept going.



It took three tries to finish off the crown, but is now done and just requires the good washing to rinse away any remaining dye before my partner can wear it. A picture of the finished hat to come.