Forgotten Hat

Somewhere in the hustle and bustle of the new year, I forgot all about this little hat I made for Baby N.

I had been half-heartedly sorting some photos on the computer and came across these. I totally forgot I made this for her for Christmas. Lethargy + Mommy Brain+ Fatigue+ A Mild Cold= ....wait, what was I talking about? Anyway, I've been in a bit of a slump and have been having trouble focusing.

I do remember that when I was crocheting it I kept referring to it as the "Snow bunny Hat." She is quite the adorable, plump little thing-the kind of baby where you want to pinch their cheeks all the time; I bet she looks every bit the snow bunny in it. I used my all-time favorite pattern for the hat as always.

Despite feelings of inertia, I have actually been working on some things lately. It's not that I am lacking inspiration; I'm kind of in inspiration overload and feel like there are a million things that I want to make all at once, and all right now, this very minute! Sometimes this feeling winds up making me immobile instead of being the catalyst to get my butt moving. But I'm sure I will slowly get myself together once I kick this cold.

Rival Hats

Most of my adult friends are pals I have from college. Some of these crazy kids even married their college sweethearts, so there's never any question about who to root for when it comes to sports.

P. attended a rival college and has had the misfortune for a number of years to listen to very energetic (heated) sports conversations regarding the majority alma mater and her school. Sometimes these discussions (diatribes) become extreme; Outnumbered P. sometimes has to put up with a lot of sports nonsense.

Soooooooooooo, I thought one way to extend an olive branch would be to fashion a couple hats for her two boys in her alma mater's colors. Much to my surprise, my knitting did not burn up in my hands as I made this hat for a rival school.

This one is for her youngest son. I used the crochet earflap hat pattern I always use and just added a pom pom to the top. I'm working on the big brother version now which is knitted, without earflaps.

Ah, bringing peace to rival schools, one knit and purl at a time.

Pumpkin Patch

It's that time again!!!

Pumpkin time!

 It was only a year ago when I last wrote about my love of all things pumpkin.

And here we are again already. Where did that year go? Time flies when you're having fun!

Can you tell which pumpkin is the real one?

This crochet hat was made at K's request for her own little pumpkin, Baby N. N is round and adorable and she will look so cute in it. All the hat details can be found in last year's post.

This has only whet my appetite for pumpkin season. I'm a bit of a pumpkin addict. In fact, here's my October To-Do List:

• Head to the local farm/ orchard and get my fill of Pumpkinland while simultaneously taking pictures of Little C. in a variety of cute poses (e.g. sitting on a pumpkin mountain, holding mini pumpkins, sitting next to a pumpkin on a bale of hay, etc.) like the hundreds of other parents at the facility taking pictures of their kids.
• Make my favorite Pumpkin Spice Cake (recipe will follow, I promise)
• Roast pumpkin seeds in the oven and sprinkle with sea salt
• Decorate the house with pumpkin paraphernalia
• Carve a big toothy grin into my Halloween Jack-O-Lantern

I can't guarantee that I will clean my spooky, haunted house-like basement this month, but I GUARANTEE you that I will complete each of the above tasks joyfully.

Like Slipping on an Old, Comfortable Pair of Earflaps

This is the earflap hat I made for my husband's friend's baby. It's crocheted from this pattern that I use over and over. I made a couple flowers using this pattern. There were supposed to be 5 petals, but I lost count somewhere and my flowers have four instead, which is fine by me.

 

Because I have been knitting so much lately, I really loved making this. Dare I say it? Crochet, how have I missed thee? Let me count the ways... There's just something very comforting about returning to an activity that you know so well, it feels automatic. It can be very Zen-like because your mind doesn't have to think about what your hands are doing. This muscle memory reminds me of playing the piano. After practicing a piece of music, your fingers just know what to do; your mind doesn't think of each individual note anymore. Its's almost like somebody else's hands are flying over the keys.

I hope the gift recipient enjoys this hat as much as I enjoyed making it.

Bloods vs. Crips

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It seems like people who are interested in yarn work gravitate either toward knitting or crochet. It seems rare that people seem equally drawn to both. Some truly talented knitters simply DO NOT crochet and some talented crocheters DO NOT knit. It's like this great line separating the two.

Because I was in the crochet gang, I always felt a little suspicious and jealous of the knitting crew. They seemed more hip with their bamboo needles and luxury yarns. The craft itself seemed more difficult, with strange (to me) circular needles, cable needles, and challenging-looking double-pointed needles. And the patterns available to knitters just seemed more aesthetically pleasing. The sweaters and even little dresses looked more modern. I had a hard time shaking the feeling that crochet can very easily take a turn for the worse and wind up looking like something from the sixties (and not in a good way!) or like something an old lady with blue hair named Mildred would make.

I know I'm not the only person who has a conscious or unconscious prejudice about crochet. Apparently crocheters wasting yarn is one "myth" that is sometimes bandied about. I read a funny blog post where a woman scientifically set out to disprove this theory. She bascially discovered that based on the stitch, crocheters and knitters use close to the same amounts of yarn. She did, however, learn that the stockinette stitch in knitting uses the least amount of yarn. This is handy information if you have a limited amount of yarn to work with.

Anyway, this year I decided that instead of being jealous or looking longingly at patterns that I would love to make, but were FOR KNITTERS ONLY, CROCHETERS NEED NOT APPLY, I would just set to work learning how to knit once and for all. I wanted to bridge the gap between the two rival factions. And it does the mind good to learn new skills, right?

Things have been progressing pretty well, I'm happy to report. Paraphernalia that I used to find scary, I'm now excited to use. I haven't tried cables yet, but I'm looking forward to trying them soon.

As I embark on this new journey of discovery (I'm like the Christopher Columbus of Yarn) though, I seem to be looking back at crochet and am constantly struck by its versatility.  Crochet is known for it's sculptural quality (don't believe me? look at this guy who was featured on Martha Stewart last year.  He even crocheted a urinal, for the love of God!) Even with my limited experience, I was able to add a little collar to Baby C's sweater just by visually looking at it, or the stem/ vines to a pumpkin hat, etc. It seems like it's easy to add to crochet. Much easier than I think it would be with knitting. Crochet also requires fewer tools, and is easier to maneuver. No matter what pattern you're following, you're only using that one hook. I think crocheting lends itself more easily to larger projects too, like a blanket or throw, mostly b/c the item is not attached to any needles/ hook. Therefore, you have more freedom of movement/ don't have the weight of the work on your hook. I also love crochet for the various granny square patterns. The creative possibilities seem endless when it comes to crochet throws.

I have this newfound respect for crochet. I've finally come to realize that the grass is not always greener, so to speak. I am excited to be learning something new, and happy to be trying patterns that I couldn't use before. However, I've belatedly come to see that there are limitations to knitting (for me) as well as limitations to crochet. I think most knitters/ crocheters should try to use both where needed. Each craft offers its own unique opportunities and obstacles. And that's my diplomatic take on it.

***Obviously, the above hat has nothing to do with this post. It's just one more hat (yes, even I am getting tired of hats!) that I made this week for my godmother who was going to a baby shower. I am currently working on three knitting projects; one is a hat and the other two are baby sweaters. I'm not abandoning the crochet gang--I'm just focusing more attention on knitting right now.

Show and Tell

Here are some of the Christmas gifts I made for some special little nieces and one nephew.

A visor beanie made from Naturally Caron Country yarn.

Earflap hats made from Lion Brand Cotton Ease yarn

Mittens made from this pattern.

I was very worried about fit. Fortunately, all the recipients should be able to wear them, though not all the fits are great. If I was to do it over, I think I would just ask for the measurements and forget about the surprise factor.

Regardless, the kids look really cute in these and that was an awesome gift for me!

Weird Hat Lady

My house is full of hats.

It started with just one hat.

But they kept multiplying.

Now I have hats all over the house.

When people walk in they can probably smell that notorious hat smell. Maybe they imagine seeing them dart across the room. I can't keep track of them anymore; they're everywhere. I'll be walking across the room and find myself tripping over a hat that's lounging on the floor. They sit in the window sills; they hide under the bed.  Sometimes when I'm watching tv with a hat next to me, I feel another hat winding it's yarn tail around my ankles. They are overrunning the house.

I've always considered myself more of a dog person, but I am definitely turning into a weird hat lady.

These hats belong to Baby C. They are all made of the same yarns from Naturally Caron Country and follow the Baby Earflap Pattern from Coats and Clark. The visor beanie is a variation of an adult visor beanie cap pattern found here . 

Baby C. has already outgrown the first two. I just made the third hat this past week. I initially striped the earflaps but had to pull them out because the flaps were in the wrong spot. I didn't feel like joining the different colors again, so I made them a solid white. It looks much better--another happy mistake. The pom poms were a last minute addition, and I love the way they look. You don't need to buy a special pom pom maker nor do you need to use the annoying cardboard method. Just use your fingers to wind the yarn around. Learn how here.

Hats Off to...Hats

I'm the sort of person that needs instant gratification. I can't wait for anything. If you buy me a birthday present I will NEED to know what it is long before my big day. I couldn't have found out soon enough what the gender of my baby was either. If I could have found out the day I took my pregnancy test, I would have done it. Yes, it's a personality flaw, but it's obviously part of the reason why I love these little hats and can't stop making them.

These little beanies provide immediate gratification because in only a few hours you have a completed, adorable treasure. Though there is something to be said for the satisfaction you get from working on a longterm crochet project, these little hats are becoming addictive. This pink and green version was a gift for a friend of my husband's. The original pattern can be found here.

You can customize the pattern in a variety of ways. (This pattern was the foundation of the pumpkin beanie.) Because this was for a little girl, I added the multicolored braid ties. I used a 4 mm hook for the above beanie and that should fit most 3-6 month olds.

In addition to playing with colors, stripes, and decorative stitches, I've been working on some others right now and have also been adding pom poms to the tops.
 
I've already made Baby C three hats. He's a really great little guy, but my only complaint is that he only has one head.

The Great Pumpkin

Oh what is it exactly that fills my heart with so much joy when I look at a pumpkin? It's the feeling that maybe little kids feel at the sight of balloons.

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Is it because they're a bright obnoxious orange; the color I have always associated with fall fun/ halloween?

Is it because they only make an appearance once a year?

Whatever it is, I love everything about them. How could you not? Can you think of another fruit (it has seeds and is therefore classified as a fruit) that is as versatile? It's an entree , a dessert, and a decoration. We don't carve up apples into Jack o' Lanterns, now do we?

In homage to the glorious pumpkin, I made this little hat. It was inspired by an adorable little beanie cap from Janie and Jack. Theirs is on the feminine side though and, ahem, was originally selling for 20 clams. Like all good crafters I thought, I'll just make one myself. Finding fault with their design (we're all critics, aren't we?) I chose to add the ubiquitous pumpkin stem so that it looked less like an orange than theirs. I also left off the leaves because I liked how it looked without them, but mostly because I have no idea how to make leaves yet.

I will learn how to do it soon and then maybe I'll rethink leaves on a cap. I DID just learn how to highlight weblinks in a blog post. If you want to know how to do that click here. I'll try not to overdo it, but I can't make any promises.

Info about the pattern: I followed a simple beanie pattern, made the stem by sc about 4 stitches in a round, without increasing any stitches, and made the curly vines by single crocheting once in a chain that was probably 20 stitches long for each vine.