Plugging Away

 I made a little hat and bootie set for A. for her upcoming shower in May.

I used Purl Bee's Little Fair Isle Hat pattern. It was easy and fun. I'll definitely make another, maybe for my own little guy.

After finishing the hat I figured I'd make some booties to go along with it. I used this pattern. They're supposed to be booties that are guaranteed to stay on. I'll have to ask A. if that's true once the baby comes.

I like how they turned out for the most part, but I was pretty confused on the first one. Somehow I resolved any issues on the second, but I'm not sure what I did differently. The only modification I made was to add an eyelit row underneath the ribbing, to thread in the i-cord. I also made the i-cord on a US 1 needle with 2 stitches. I used Patons Angora Bamboo for the hat and booties; I give the yarn 2 thumbs up. They also make a silk bamboo that would be interesting to try sometime...

I hope she likes this little gift.

Fair Isle Finish

I finished my Fair Isle-inspired hat for C. this week and just in time too. There's a Nor'easter in my area and we even have snow on the ground. That's early for these neck of the woods.

It was an involved, but fun project to make. Here's the original inspiration hat again:

Early on I decided that I wanted it to have earflaps. And I decided to minimize the orange color (C. has red hair so I love orange on him, but he has an orange winter coat this year and I didn't want to go overboard.)

The darker gray top was made one night a little impulsively; I wasn't really following the pattern and I didn't have the original picture in front of me. Turns out I had to rip it all out the next day b/c the top was way too long and C. looked like a conehead.

Instead I added a multicolor pom pom.

Here's a peek of it on the Little Man.

It's definitely a departure from the original, but I really like it and it looks cute on him, so I'm pretty happy with the end result. I would like to try more fair isle or stranded knitting sometime soon. It was also really fun to play around with the knitting graph software too. Maybe I'll even design my own original designs at some point? Who knows.

Modern Rib Hat Take 2

I thought I'd give the Modern Rib Hat another try in a bigger slouchier version.

I knitted the child's size this time instead of the toddler. These are all stash yarns.

My model wouldn't cooperate this time, so this is the best shot I could get of it on his head.

It's such an easy and enjoyable pattern that knits up so quickly; I definitely recommend it.

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I think I may be getting over hats now that I've made three in a row, though. (I'm doing some finishing work on the Fair Isle Hat as we speak). I've got some WIPs to work on, and snowflakes to make but other than that I'm feeling a little uninspired. Not quite sure what I want to make next...I'm sure the craft blahs will pass soon enough.

Homework

I've been such a good student this past week! I've been doing lots of studying and working hard on my homework.

I've been putting tons of thought into the Janie and Jack-inspired fair isle hat for C and plotting out possible designs on knitting graph paper. (I printed mine out from here.)

I studied the Norwegian Star hat pattern and followed its design.

After playing around with graph paper and pencil, I turned to the Internet for a quicker design solution. I found this great website, TricksyKnitter, which allows you to graph your design and print. Much easier to add or delete things you don't want that way.
 

Here's one of my changes: an all white background.

Or gray background.

I still wound up making a mistake on my final print though.

I started the actual knitting this week, and I'm still studying and thinking about the design as I go.  I am probably going to keep it on the simple side, but I'm not 100% sure.

I also completed my sewing homework from P. I entered into this activity completely clueless so this was a big step for me. Above you can see my quilt sandwich and basting pins. Again, I have no clue if I did it correctly.

Here are the strips of binding I made.



And here's the finished binding I ironed, using this cool little tool P. loaned me. I didn't know it's name so I looked online; it's a bias tape maker. It's awesome! Makes it so much easier.
 
All in all it's been a pretty productive week even though I haven't really finished anything. Again, I'm trying to focus on the process and enjoy that as much as the finished product.

Round and Round We Go

I finished one of C's new winter hats this week. I figured out why I'm finding scarf knitting so tiresome--it's because I love knitting in the round so much. The row by row stopping and turning of the scarf isn't as fun as the continuous circle of hat rounds.

That made this hat a very fast and enjoyable project. Here it is on the little man. He was a perfect model for me. I think because he was watching his favorite show, SuperWhy.

Here is the inspiration picture again. I prefer the red-orange and royal blue colors of the hat in the ad, but I had limited yarn color choices; mine are more pumpkin-orange and navy.

The pattern was very easy to follow. The hat can be folded over (as I intend it to be) or it can be worn in a slouchy style which looks really cool too.

Here's my model again. A couple things about the slouchy version: C has a big head (as we established here), and I probably should have gone up to the next size for him (I used the toddler size). The slouch would look/ drape better that way. Also, if he was going to wear it this way I would not have striped the hat the way I did. Without the cuff (brim?) the scale is completely off--too much orange vs. navy.

I had only intended on making this and the other Janie and Jack inspiration hat for him this year, but truthfully, the slouchy version is so cute I think I'm going to make another one of these too! Every 2 year old needs at least three hats, right? I'm not sure of the color combinations yet though...maybe some greens, grays, blues...? It's such a quick/ fun knit. I see myself revisiting this in the years to come too. That way I'll get plenty of chances to experiment with color.

Christmas Odds and Ends

So I think I finally got my Christmas mojo back after our annual Cookie Swap this week. The girls all made their favorites: K made chocolate dipped macaroons, and her famous tri-color Italian cookies. P made yummy spritz and delectable chocolate chip,as well as her coconut macaroons. I made snowballs, peanut butter, and snickerdoodles. K was a wonderful hostess and it was a great way to begin Christmas week.

Most of my cookies are bagged or boxed and ready to be handed out as treats to some neighbors, etc. I still have a little baking magic left in me and plan on making some more chocolate chip cookies and a childhood favorite of my husband's: kipfels. I get such a cookie-baking sickness at this time of year. I don't know what it is, but I have this insane compulsion to BAKE, BAKE, BAKE. And the more variety the better.

Besides cookies, I've made some other little food items to give as gifts. Hope this Country Soup warms the gift recipient. The ingredients look pretty all layered together too.

I also made some "Mommy and Me" cookies for K and my sister-in-law. I know their children are into baking right now; this could be a good activity if it's snowy or rainy and the kids can't go outside to play. Although, um, it might be more of an activity for the mommies than the kids. Sorry, Moms!

Well, it's pretty enough to use as a decoration if they don't want to make the cookies.

This idea is from Bakerella. These are her Cowboy Cookies. I loved the idea so much when I first saw it. And guess what? So did K. She also reads Bakerella's blog, and she made me a gift jar for Christmas too! Very funny. Great minds think alike. It is such a cute idea; I guarantee there are thousands of these jars floating around this year!

My final Christmas treat is Snowman Poop. I saw the idea on the web a couple months ago and knew I had to make them for gift toppers--I am really immature. Last year I crocheted pretty snowflakes for gift toppers. This year? Poop. Unfortunately my printer ran out of blue ink, but here's how the label was supposed to look:

And on that scatological note, I hope you have a very merry Christmas!

Sibling Rivalry

Here is the big brother version for P's older son. It's quite stretchy, so hopefully (crossing my fingers over here) it fits.

I used this pattern for the hat and added a multicolor pom pom to the top. It's very easy to make a multicolor pom pom: just double up your yarn when winding around your fingers (or triple up, etc.) Here's how to make a pom pom using your fingers again. I know I posted that before sometime.

So the baby will have his crochet hat and the older brother will have a knitted one.

I think I like crocheting hats better than knitting them, only because crocheting them is so easy. With crochet you start at the top and then keep going around and around, increasing until you have the size you want. With knitting (at least with the hats I've made so far) you start at the bottom of the hat and decrease to the top. This means that you have to get out your DPNs (double-pointed needles) so you can knit a small circular space.  Here's an example from a little hat I made last year:

I find DPN's pretty unwieldy, but I'd like to think I'm getting better at using them.

We are heading into hat weather (ha, I love spontaneous puns!) so I'm sure I'll be getting some more practice with them soon. I'd like to make another hat for Little C. and maybe for another munchkin here or there. We'll see.

In the meantime, I hope P's little one's are able to keep their noggins warm with these finished hats...and show school pride!

Bella's Hat

This is part of a present I made for my sister's birthday. She is a HUGE Twilight fan and that is the understatement of the year. She is also my older (not by much) sister. So, as everyone knows, Twilight is not just for tweens.

This is the hat Bella wore in the "tent scene" from Eclipse. This means absolutely nothing to me because I have never seen the movie/ read the book. I actually haven't read any of the books or seen the movies. I haven't deliberately gone out of my way not to read them, I just haven't had them cross my path, or gone out of my way to get them. I'm sure I would probably read it if it was sitting around. Then again, I might not be able to sit still long enough to read it. If I sit still too long nowadays I promptly fall asleep. This is a side effect of child rearing, I guess. It may cause drowsiness. Use caution when driving motor vehicles or operating heavy machinery.

I do know a lot of the story, however, because I used to be a teacher of tween girls. Once a student wrote a three point essay about the plot of all the novels. I guess it was the 12 year old Cliffs Notes version. She didn't write about this particular "tent" scene, though. So I'll have to ask my sister what all the hubbub is about.

The pattern is from here. The designer saw the movie, jotted down notes in the theater, and then wrote up the pattern. It's very easy to follow and knits up quickly. I used cream and grey yarns from my stash.

Go Team Edward!

V for Victory

When the sun and heat have just about scorched the grass and flowers to a crisp, straw-like hay in August, and the still-green trees have started to droop their limbs under the weight of their baked leaves, I start to get excited for football season. College football (especially our alma mater's) is a mammoth family tradition.

My family has been attending these football games since I was a little child. Before the game even starts there's the necessary tailgate rife with extended tailgate family, beer, and the savory smell of hot dogs and sausages roasting on multiple grills. There are always the tailgate aficionados who have perfected tailgating to an art form: It's not uncommon to see exotic meats or elaborate table displays showcasing their food, which, by the way, is almost always shared with everyone else. I love the give and take of this little tailgate community. What is it about drinking and eating out of the back of your trunk that is so appealing?  I don't know. IT JUST IS!

After a couple hours, with a cold beer in hand and a belly full of hot dogs or kielbasa, your ears pick up a sound over the din of laughter and chatter.

It's the sound of quads (drums) in the distance. First it's faint and faraway, and then it becomes louder and louder. You start to feel the beat of the bass drum in your chest. Your heart actually starts keeping time with the rhythm. Eventually you can feel the drum beat in your head, behind your eyeballs. It literally becomes a part of you. And then you begin to see the college band and cheerleaders come into view, the sun gleaming off their brass instruments and metallic pom poms.  They ready themselves to march through the tailgate area and play a few songs before entering the stadium. This is the signal to pack up ship, down the beer in your hand and head in for the big game.

What better way for Little C. to participate in this awesome tradition than to sport his very own varsity sweater and hat?

I used this pattern again for the sweater. The V on the front is a type of knitting called "intarsia." Intarsia is when you have a large area of color change in your work. I wound up drawing out the V on graph paper and followed that as a guide. The knitted ear flap hat is from this pattern. I used more acrylic yarn from my stash. This is more that was leftover from the crocheted throw I made my nephew a couple years ago. (I bought way too much for that blanket! I still have more left.) But it's certainly coming in handy now.

Although I don't want to rush summer away just yet, I'm so excited for football season to start!  I can't wait for Little C to show his team allegiance by wearing this to the first cold weather game. Go V!

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue

My neighbors are prepping their house for their at-home wedding in a couple weeks; I must have weddings on the brain. This week it seems like I've been subconsciously adhering to the wedding tradition of something old, new, borrowed, and blue.

I decided I wanted to make a baby hat for P. because her NEW son was born just a couple weeks ago and I can't wait to meet him in person.

Here is an OLD pattern for a BLUE baby hat for Baby M.

The yarn is so incredibly soft, like the softest terry cloth you've ever felt. It has an interesting texture to it. I received a skein of it as a gift at christmas time and I've been waiting for somebody to have a boy so I could make a hat out of it. The hat is for next year. It runs large, so hopefully Baby M will have a big head too like Little C., my husband, and me.

I also decided to try my hand at baking something NEW this week because my OLD college friend is coming to visit K's newest baby and we needed something sweet to munch on. I decided to BORROW this recipe for blondies (or congo bars) from Bakerella.

I had a taste yesterday and they are real diet-killers, let me tell you.

On my actual wedding day, by the way, I did adhere to this wedding tradition (I'm sure most brides do). The old and borrowed was my mother's earrings, the new was the dress/ shoes, and the blue was underwear. I was thinking of wearing a blue garter, however, it was about 99 degrees in July and I can only imagine having had to fuss with a sweaty, itchy garter constantly digging into my leg. Maybe that would've made for some interesting pictures though?