Hat!

Purl Soho came out with this really great, easy, fun, and fast hat pattern made with their lovely cashmere yarn and I can't stop making them.  Tiny stripes, larger stripes, block colors, and one color are some of the options I've made.  I asked the kid pose in one so I could show off how cute they are. 

Purl Soho KAL, Prism Blanket

I finished the blanket a couple weeks ago but I so love the process - there's no sewing! - that I'm using the scraps from this blanket and a bunch of other knitting projects to make a baby blanket with smaller squares.  I hope to find cute flannel fabric to sew onto the back to make it super cozy.  Here's what it's looking like so far...

You guys, there's no sewing!

Pottering Around hat

Black Trillium Fibres came out with a Harry Potter-inspired set of colors in a Merino and Mulberry silk blend that I so enjoyed working with. There is the slightest hint of sheen and it is super soft. It just felt good having it run through your fingers. So, I made my own little ribbed striped hat for Monsieur Henry, going heavy on the Gryffindor and using the tiniest amount of Slytherin. Two things I learned since I looked before starting on ways to effectively change colors without that noticeable jog and to keep the purl stitches from having that tiny bit of new color showing through. For the former, take the right-most ladder and move it on the left needle to knit it together with the first stitch. For the latter, knit the entire first round. It surprisingly does not show at all. All this to say that I am quite happy with the end result and will now commence lots of striped and ribbed projects to utilize these tips. The most challenging aspect was figuring out how to decrease, not only because I couldn't find a good pattern for the 1x1 rib I was using to illustrate how to do it and I was running out of the color I wanted to finish it with. That self-imposed constraint meant I had to find a way that would work quickly and not destroy the pattern. Luckily, I finally stumbled upon a pattern with a stitch count that was close enough to mine that I could do one round and reduce the number of stitches and then follow those instructions. I tied it off early because I really was down to the last little bit of yarn.

Hats for twins

I was completely inspired to knit up very basic hats (using Purl Soho Super Soft Merino Hats for Everyone! pattern) for the twins after picking up these buttons at a craft store. They'll be mailed out along with a few other gifts for the girls this week. The twins are six!

Knitting: PTFC elf hat

new hat for the season - I just might have to find a gold star to add to it

Crafts: More knitting!

Purl Bee's Boyfriend Hat and Super Soft Merino Hand Warmers

Crafts: Knitted hats!

I have nearly all the way, almost, come pretty close to deciding to participate in one of the many local holiday bazaars* this year. I have a ton of scrap yarn that I'm using up knitting small hats (see left) and scarves for babies, toddlers, and kids. I hit Happy Knits to start restocking my supply (see yarn below), which will give me more scraps when I'm done knitting up those projects. (Right now projects include a hat for a good friend and these super cute hand warmers from Purl Bee for another friend.) There is much knitting to be done.

Tundra Pinkberry - The Fibre Company(bulky), Pumpkin - Cascade Highland Duo (worsted/aran), Mecha Hojas - Malabrigo (bulky), Golden - Cascade Highland Duo (worsted/aran), Sand - Cascade Highland Duo (worsted/aran), Mecha London Sky - Malabrigo (bulky), Moorland - Madelinetosh (pashmina worsted), Heirloom White - Purl Soho (bulky), Dragonfly Blue - Purl Soho (bulky)

*Right now I'm looking at Snowflakes in Sellwood, Glencoe Elementary's Craft Fair, and Llewelyn's Holiday Bazaar. But, I might go big (or go home, right?) and look into the larger venues like Portland's Christmas Expo or Crafty Wonderland.

Crafts: Scarves, gaiters, and a hat. Oh my!

Summer Shimmer scarf, Zig Zag scarf, and the I Can't Remember the Name scarf

Diamond Skinny scarf

Neck gaiter

Snowman hat

Knitting: Children's Circlet (crown)

Miss Avery requested a knitted crown and I was lucky to find this free pattern called Circlet by Dani Sunshine. It was a super easy pattern once I learned how to MB*.

*Make bobble - k1, k1tbl, k1, k1tbl, k1 (all into 1 st), turn work, slip 1, knit 4, pass the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th st over the first st on right hand needle (1 st remains). 

Crafts: Fingerless gloves with ice-generating properties and hat

The last-minute knitting project is finished, wrapped, and placed under the tree. I hope that Hen uses his ice-generating gloves for good.

Crafts: Bulky pink hat

Made for Mia, modeled by Hen
Mia is getting her first American Girl doll this year so I'm knitting her doll one, too.

Knitting: Stripey Stocking Cap

Darr suggested this might be the most expensive hat I ever knit given all the Madelinetosh, Malabrigo, and Fibre Company yarns used. He'd be right if I had purchased all of the skeins for the hat alone. But I was using up lots of yarn leftovers from previous projects. So now Hen has a wacky looking wool hat to wear for the next couple of seasons.

For those interested, I got the pattern from this book.

Knitting: Easy Drop Stitch Scarf

With that alpaca yarn I got yesterday I'm making a scarf with dropped yarn overs. (Say wha?) Yes, dropped yarn overs. It feels all sorts of wrong but the scarf is knitting up quickly, the pattern is super easy, and the variegated colors look fantastic!

Knitting: Colorblock handwarmers

I'm nearly done with the first one. These fingerless gloves are super cute, surprisingly warm, and very soft. Plus, they knit up quickly. I have enough leftover yarn to do two more pairs if anyone wants a pair.

HP Party: House scarves

We are not having the Sorting Hat ceremony to sort partygoers into houses for two reasons: 1. I want to make Hen's room into the Gryffindor dormitory and we don't have enough rooms in the condo to make dorms for all four houses; 2. I figure everyone who is familiar with Harry Potter will want to be in Gryffindor and everyone else won't understand the ceremony or care if it doesn't take place. This means I am currently knitting six HP-inspired house scarves using the Gryffindor scarlet and gold colors. I have Charmed Knits: Projects for Fans of Harry Potter book and there is a pattern in the book that is a much closer version of the house scarves featured in the movies but that pattern requires knitting a tube in the round and would have taken much longer to complete, so I'm using a modified version of a ribbed scarf pattern I've used before. Here's a preview...

Here's the relevant knitting details -

Color A - 3 skeins of Caron Sheepish yarn, color Red(ish), medium weight (4)
Color B - 2 skeins of Caron Sheepish yarn, color Yellow(ish), medium weight (4)
needle size 8 (5.0mm)

Pattern:
Using Color A, co 21 stitches
R1 - k3, p3, repeat to end
R2 - p3, k3, repeat to end
Repeat first two rows for a total of 19 rows
Switch to Color B and repeat rib pattern until have 19 rows
Continue knitting alternating blocks of color until scarf reaches desired length, ending with a block of Color A
BO using rib stitch pattern
Weave in loose ends
Optional: Add fringe to each end

Knitting: Sweater vest

It's brown. It's a sweater vest. What more can I say?

Knitting: Candle Flame scarf

This scarf ends up having cool patterns on both sides. It was pretty easy to knit up although it does require your attention in order to keep the pattern on track. It's the second (or third?) Pay It Forward gift for someone I've completed. I might not be doing a lot of reading, but I am knocking out these knitting projects. Which is good, I guess, because I've convinced myself to make Hen a Harry Potter item from Charmed Knits. The small size I plan on making requires 7 skeins of worsted weight yarn. For you non-knitting folk, that is a lot. Don't believe me? Check this out...

I'm going to take all 1300 yards and create a wizard robe. That is, if all goes according to plan. 

Knitting: Wakefield Scarf

Bless him, Monsieur Gideon obliged when I asked him to pose with my latest knitting project. This scarf really benefitted from a good blocking. I'm not sure I'm going to be able to part with it even though I'm not much of a scarf wearer.

I ripped this thing out four? (five? six?) times before I started getting the hang of it. I never learned the pattern - it's a 12 row repeat - but I did start to understand how the various stitches and yos work. The color is gorgeous and it is super soft.

Knitting: Sugar Maple Hat

Many thanks to Miss Avery for modeling one of my latest knitting projects, the Sugar Maple Hat. It starts with a simple rib stitch and then switches to basic stockinette. Super easy, super fast, super cute. I will definitely make this one again for folks.

Knitting: Simple sweater, my @$$

This project took a  l   o   n   g   time to finish. I believe the name of the pattern is "fundamental sweater". And I guess I took fundamental to mean basic or simple because, hey, there isn't much fancy stuff to this sweater. But I could not get this thing to come together. The front and back were okay but the arms. Oy vey. I knit them, ripped one out. Knit it again. Repeat. It was awful. If it hadn't been for the price tag of that very awesome yarn, I might have scrapped the whole thing. But could you ever really throw away Madelinetosh yarn? I think not.

I sucked it up (it being my pride) and sent the completed pieces to my mom to sew together for me. I knew I had one sleeve that was off, I just didn't know what I was doing wrong to continue to get the same weird thing every time I ripped it out to knit it again. Mom is most excellent, though. Not only did she fix it and sew it together for me, she complimented my "beautiful" and "even" stitches, and noted how oddly the pattern was written. Aw shucks, mom. Thanks. So now Hen can finally wear the dang sweater. Perhaps not for as long as I would have liked had I finished it a year ago when I started - kids grow, who knew? - but I'll see it gets worn enough to make all that trouble worth it. Please note, I included the back shot because how awesome is that bed head?