Birthday hats

This years birthday gifts for the little ones included hand knitted hats! Both my niece and nephew have January birthdays, and it was pretty cold here in Florida so they were a perfect addition to the birthday bounty.  The truly wonderful part is that I finished them!  Niecey-poo received hers on her actual birthday, and the Little Prince's was only a little late.

Princess got a Hello Kitty hat - its an easy pattern, and available from Beadwhore Knitting's blog here.  After a foolish misguided start, I eventually followed the pattern exactly and it turned out to be a great size for my now 6 year old niece.  The embroidery on the front was the best part of course when it comes to instant gratification - the hat really comes to life once Miss Kitty's features are on her sweet face.  I gave her a pink nose instead of yellow.  This used less than one skein of Loops & Threads White from Michaels, and I added some leftover pink from Bernat.  Isn't Miss Kitty adorable?

So the Kitty is cute, but obviously the Birthday Boy needed something considerably cooler for a 9 year old.  He loves Star Wars, especially the Clone Wars stories so I did a hat with an Imperial Storm Trooper motif in the round.  I found this fabulous chart by Sarah Bradberry here, through Ravelry of course, and added it to a simple hat pattern.  Unfortunately, I did not do any calculations as to the size of the pattern and the overall height of the hat, so it turned into a sort of Cat in the Hat tall affair.  Precious child that he is, the Little Prince is still willing to wear it at home.  I haven't caught a shot of him in the hat, but here it is on its own featured in the snow from one of the Washington DC blizzards this winter.

I loved Sarah's idea of the checkerboard border, and as a special bonus I used white glow in the dark yarn.  Very cool.  I do try to keep my title of favorite aunt, and I think I've managed it for the moment!  If I were to do this particular hat again though, I'd need to have fewer rows before the pattern starts, and perhaps decrease for the crown more dramatically than I did.  I would like to start designing my own patterns, so these are good lessons, right?

The New Year Ain't So New Any More

Yes, its been a while.  Let's not talk about that.

My house is on the market and I am keeping my fingers crossed for some good news any day now.  The first time home buyers rebate is only good for ratified contracts through April 30, and we are hoping for a buyer who wants to get in under the wire.  I had a nibble from a serious buyer, but we couldn't reach an agreement.  I have a feeling they panicked about the money they were spending, but who knows.  I wish them well, and hope they find a happy home.   I went home for a few days to take care of some things and get some spring colors planted, and now I'm back at the new shop.

The NEW SHOP!  Its beautiful and cheerful and just as much of a happy place as the old shop.   Its twice as big, so I am having fun ordering new things to fill the space.  There are still loads of boxes to be unpacked, and shipments keep arriving.  I suppose it will be a work in progress for some time to come.  I am however, starting to take breaks at the shop and allow my mind to wander to something other than work.  One of these days, I'll get back to knitting and my other crafts.  This morning I spent some time visiting my favorite blogs and Ravelry and was thoroughly inspired.

Katie loves our new neighborhood - the pelicans and palm trees are wonderous, and she loves being outside.  What a happy pooch! 

[caption id="attachment_173" align="aligncenter" width="224" caption="Happy Dog"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_175" align="aligncenter" width="224" caption="mystery vine with gorgeous red blooms"][/caption]

I am still learning about the flora and fauna of Florida.  There are all sorts of wonderful plants in my yard here, and I am anxious to find out what they are, and how I should be caring for them.  I even have a lawn!  My postage stamp sized yard in Virginia was a shady spot, so I have little grass keeping experience.  There's a giant tree with woodpeckers and blue jays visiting the yard, not to mention lizards! 

[caption id="attachment_176" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="the tropical garden"][/caption]

 

 

oh the shame ...

Has it really been so long?  I seriously need to budget my free time in a more productive manner.  Oh wait - I have no free time!

So what's new, you ask?  I'm moving!  I'm closing the shop in Annapolis, putting my house on the market, and moving to Florida to be near my sister & her family.  I've been completely obsessed with preparing the shop for the pre-holiday madness, preparing for the new shop and somehow trying to get my house neat and tidy so some kind soul will want to buy it!

Knitting?  What knitting?  I did finish the Hello Kitty hat, and am halfway through the Imperial Storm Troopers hat.  Pix soon.

A lightbulb moment

I have been working on two projects to take to my niece and nephew in Florida at Halloween.  I found an awesome chart for an Imperial Storm Trooper, so I am working on a black hat for Ryan with Bernat Glow in the Dark white yarn from last fall.  Its going to be so cool, even though I have run out of the white yarn and I'm only halfway through the storm trooper part.  (No worries just yet though, I have a lead on some from a coffee cuff that I made for my dad last year.  He doesn't use it, so he doesn't mind if I frog it.  Yay Dad!)

Shannon's hat is going to be the Hello Kitty Hat and hopefully she is going to love it.  I seem to have a big problem trusting that knitting designers know what they are talking about, when they say to only cast on 76 stitches for a child's hat.  Being me, I cast on 87 instead.  And guess what?  Its too big!!!  Its even too big for me.  I am, seriously, rolling on the couch laughing as I think about what a dope I am to not follow the directions. I mean really, what are they there for???

I am already halfway through the decreases, so you know the light is at the end of the tunnel.  Once I determined that it was going to be too big for a five-year old head, I thought how much I would hate to frog it.  Ok, its just a simple acrylic hat in stockingette, but still, that was a few hours work.



(Isn't my fall teapot cute?  Its not a very large teapot so the hat probably appears even larger than it really is.  My teapot is holding my caramel candy corn at the moment.  Yumm!   But ... I digress.)
Anyhow, I was thinking about how sad it would be to frog the hat, and then I thought, "duh - finish it and give it to charity."  It was a total lightbulb moment for me!  So that's my plan.  I'm going spend maybe another 30 minutes and then find some place to donate it.  That makes my heart happy.   The next time I think I might frog something, I am going to try really hard to remember this is an option!

Think Pink - Knit Pink!

Its October again, and there are pink ribbons everywhere to remind ladies (well, mostly ladies) to get their yearly mammograms and to do monthly self-exams.  We lost my mom to breast cancer almost 4 years ago, and I sometimes have a hard time getting through October.  On the one hand, it all reminds me that she's gone and on the other hand, I love that we spend a whole month reminding women to take care of themselves, and I love that so many companies take the opportunity to donate part of their profits to cancer research.  (My shop does too of course - 10% of the purchase price of all our pink ribbon products goes to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.)

I have been eyeing the Star Crossed Slouchy Beret pattern for some time now, but kept finding other projects to cast on.  The temperature dropped down to 40 degrees during the day this week, and its been drizzling non-stop and I really wanted to wear a hat!  What else could I do but cast on for a pretty pink one with my MMMMMMalabrigo worsted in Cactus Flower?



I love the pattern - the cables are graceful and each row is easy to memorize.  The hat works up so quickly, I think it would make a great last minute project a night or two before you really need to be gift-giving.  I used size 10.5 needles on the band to get started, and then switched to size 11 so I don't have exactly the same proportions.  The pattern called for size 10 and then size 11.  I finished it at work today, and will probably wear it home and then block it later.  My Buddha at work graciously agreed to model for me - at the moment I look like a giant pink headed mushroom wearing it!  I think I messed up some of the cables, but I can't really tell.  These photos don't do justice to the color either - it is beautiful!



This is the first time I've used Malabrigo before, and oh my gosh, it's so soft and lovely.  I have done two projects in different alpaca yarns, but this feels even softer.  I really wish I had started knitting a long time before my mom was diagnosed - all I ever knitted for her was a scarf out of Homespun.  She loved it though, and wore it daily.  I wish I could have made her a whole wardrobe of Malabrigo hats.  And maybe pajamas too - it is so soft, and the weather is so yucky here today that the thought of pj's made from Malabrigo is just heavenly.  Ooh - maybe long underwear?!?!?!

So, two thumbs up on this Finished Object - I knitted it to completion in a little over 48 hours.  Yay.  I'm not sure what I will do with the left-overs. Perhaps a coordinating cowl?

AND GO SCHEDULE YOUR MAMMOGRAM OR DO A SELF-EXAM!  Please.  It can save your life.

Knitting in Spirit - Listen to Podcasts!

I can't believe its been so long since I've posted.  There just never seems to be enough time in the day, does there?  I have finished some small projects, but haven't been able to photograph them in decent light just yet, so you'll have to wait to see those.  Because I've been so busy, I've been knitting in spirit only - skimming posts on Ravelry, looking at new magazines, and listening to podcasts!

I have an hour commute in the car to my little shop, so I have started listening to podcasts, specifically knitting podcasts.  After a little research, I discovered a couple podcasts that I am really enjoying.  First there is Cast On with Brenda Dayne.  Her story is quite interesting - she's an American living in Wales.  In addition to discussing her knitting projects, she tells charming tales of her community and even such mundane things as the weather in Wales seems a little more romantic than the weather here in the Mid-Atlantic.  Her website, blog and podcast can be found at Cast On.  She's taking a little break from the podcasts at the moment, but old episodes are so worth a listen.  I love how she produces a series all based on the same theme.  I especially enjoyed the Make Do and Mend series, beginning here.  The current economy has us all tightening our belts, and spending more wisely, and its a natural extension to be more careful in our crafting or to craft new uses for items rather than spending on something new.

Another podcast I have enjoyed is Never Not Knitting (what a great name!) with Alana.  She has a blog here, with links to her podcast episodes, some beautiful children's patterns and lots of interesting knitterly things to pass along.  She does a product review which I appreciate - its always helpful to get someone's honest perspective on something, isn't it? Listening to a few of her podcasts recently helped me get through a day of cleaning in preparation for house guests. It was nice to be in the world of knitting in my head, while busy vacuuming and tidying up.

Both of these are available through ITunes.  Just type in knitting in a search of their podcasts, and a whole list pops up for you.  I have downloaded some others as well, but these two are my current favorites.  Grab an easy project, and have a listen!

WIP Wrestling

WIPs, also known to knitters as "Works In Progress," are the bane of many a knitters' existence.  Many of us have half-finished projects laying around the house (or perhaps neatly collected), in whom we've lost interest, or lost a needle, or we need more yarn to finish.  A group on Ravelry has declared July to be WIP Wrestling Month - where the goal is to finish as many works-in-progress as possible, one way or another.   I have plenty of unfinished projects that are weighing on my crafter's soul, so I jumped in too!

I've finished a Harry Potter House Hat - in Gryffindor colors of course.  I originally started a House Scarf in hopes that I could wear it to the Half Blood Prince movie, but it was taking way too long, and I was frustrated with the color changes (one edge of the scarf is not very neat as you change colors).  I frogged it, and started the hat instead.  Took considerably less time, and although it is a wee bit too long for my head, I'm quite happy with it.  No errors!  This one is more burgundy & gold, than scarlet and gold, so it'll make a nice hat if I get to go to any Redskins football games in late fall.  I may knit the scarf at some point - I loved the quidditch scenes where everyone was wearing them.



I also frogged a shrug I have been working on for a little while.  It was about half finished, but I am not crazy about the way the colors were turning out, and I was sure I'd never wear it.  Life is too short to waste time completing a project, if your heart isn't really in it, isn't it?  I'll return to the pattern with a different yarn choice at some point, and return to the yard with a different pattern.  I have also been working on two gift scarves, which I aim to finish by the end of July.   Of course, the recipients won't need them for several months but I'd like to get them off my plate, so to speak, and get on with something new!

Next up on the needles will be Hermione's Cable and Eyelet Hat from JL Yarnworks.  After seeing the Half Blood Prince movie, I must, Must, MUST make one!  A big thanks to JL Yarnworks for sharing!   I loved the movie - all in all, I think they did a great job.  Its never easy to condense a book that size into a mere two and a half hour experience.  The best part from the knitting perspective, was of course when Dumbledore came out with the knitting magazine and said "I do love knitting patterns."  The best!  There was a nice range of knitted items to think about - I loved Hermione's sweater with the two different stripe patterns on each sleeve.  Unique!