Hooked a Hat

Early this year Mom came up to watch the girls. It was finally starting to feel like Winter, one of those days  where it went from 60 degrees the day before to about 4 that morning. She was cold and wondered if I had, by chance, a hat she could use that would cover her ears.

I looked at her for what must've seemed an eternity. I was awe struck. The weekend before the girls came home from a visit with new hats, scarves, and gloves. I tucked away their handmade, felted wool ones to be washed sometime soon. I have a shoebox near the door filled to overflowing with Fall caps and longer items.

Did I have a hat? Uh, uh...yeah.

I dug out the two my girls had just retired as the best warm options. My girls have large heads and I had made their hats to last a few years. Mom has a purple scarf so Carebear's matched best as it is orange, pink, and purple.

I laughed to myself and was glad for my crafting skills. Then, as any good daughter/crafter would do, I started a hat for my Mom. I pulled out some wool from my stash (I don't have much wool, believe it or not)...alpaca in fact. I then paired it with my favorite Caron simply soft in a violet. The two together made a super warm fabric, which is important as my Mom is forever cold in the Winter months.

Instead of knitting I decided to crochet a cap. It seemed like it would go quicker, until I realized that with double thick yarn and a small needle it would take at least a couple days. Still, I kept plodding along. Ruffle added for girly effect, as Mom is that kind of gal. The color was flattering. Then to the top and time to embellish. I asked my girls for input and following their advice and my own I put a large flower at the pinnacle and small ones all around.

Now, don't be fooled by its appearance here, it truly is a girly-girl hat in person. The pointy top disappears when on a head. I forgot to snap a photo when I tried it on, but I'll try to get one of Mom in it. The hat stands up ever so nicely just because the yarns held together make the fabric super thick and warm. Awesome for the recipient, I think.

So, without further ado, here is my first finished object of 2012:

I wish I'd taken a side view as well. Next time...

Cleaning House-FO, Frogging, and WIP

I'm a single-Mom (divorced, to be exact) and I'll admit it is difficult to juggle it all sometimes. I adore my two little ones but am now learning to love a bit of "me" time while they visit their Dad. So, this weekend I dove into the closet in the craft room and started rearranging. I pulled out a bag full of WIPs and started really looking at them.

1) There was a lovely lavender item. It was two rows of eyelets (K1,YO, K2tog) then a few rows of stockinette stitch. It was maybe 8 inches wide and I'd knit more than a foot in length. I'm guessing I was going to make it into a scarf but I figured if I couldn't remember maybe it wasn't worth the time to figure out again. I frogged it and liberated a circular needle (haven't checked the size yet)

2) The second item out of the bag was a red and blue beginning of a crocheted afghan with star blocks. It was cool and I kind of remembered it, but when I analyzed it I thought I could make a scarf out of it instead if I frogged a few rows then bound off and added fringe. Maybe nobody else will ever want it, but at least I don't feel as let down as I would've frogging the whole thing.

3) Next was a baby blue and white stripped child's hat. Not actually sure of the size on this, but will try it on me and/or the girls later. It was on a piece of waste yarn so I put it on dpns and started working it. I actually feel productive, even though other projects are sitting idly by. I can't wait to dive into some more of these and feel "done" maybe at some point.

FO: Plum Perfect Hat

*Sigh!* I took a picture of this hat as a WIP and fully intended to take some time and write about the process.

I have a dear friend who after seeing my slacker hat commented that she'd love to commission one in a deep purple. I found some wonderful, variegated purple wool in my stash and started to knit an idea I have. I just wasn't sure if she'd like the variations in color or the extra special care, so instead we went off to the store and I picked up a skein of Caron Simply Soft in Plum Perfect. I know I've written about it a lot, but I love to work with this yarn. It is especially easy on my rough hands this time of year. Plus, I think I may have a minor wool allergy. I find that I'm extra stuffy when working with it. Mohair is even worse. :(

I cabled at will and let the hat tell me what it wanted to be. Then, on Sunday I was able to put the finishing touches on it. I'm hoping my friend won't mind that I tried it on. I have to mail it to her, so I didn't want to send it off without knowing for sure that it was long enough to cover her ears.

I'm pleased with this one and hope she'll send a photos when it arrives. I think the color will compliment her complexion and she's the kind of soul that will appreciate the love in every stitch. HUGS, KR!

FO: Seeing Red Doll Ensemble

Finally I was motivated to seam up the sweater I had blocked. I pulled out dozens of pins and read the directions step by step. Then, I sighed as I realized I had set the first sleeve in wrong. It looked good enough, and now I know what I should do next time. Instead of trying to pull it all out I repeated the "mistake" on the other sleeve. I guess I'm not great at reading and understanding directions these days.

I designed, knit, and blocked the hat and the scarf to match. Now, I've got to send my friend the photos and hope she's equally as happy with the finished product. I used Caron Simply Soft yarn which I love for its sheen, softness, and the fact that it is fully washable and dryable.

The sweater pattern can be found in the 18" Doll Sweaters: Collection Three. It is really cute and functional, but seems a lot of effort for a doll. The back has a placket covering hook-and-loop tape which makes it look great, fit great, and is easy for kids to get on and off. The blocking, for me, was too much. However, it would not have looked even remotely like this without the blocking. Maybe I need to become more committed to the process. We'll see.

WIP: Dad's Hat

I tried, I really did. Still, after all these years learning to knit and after measuring a hat he had adjusted to his head...I still failed to make the "perfect" hat for my Dad. It looked ok off the needles and waiting to be wrapped, but once on his head it was too tight at the band, not tall enough, and too poofy at the top. *Sigh!*

This time, at least, I got him to hand it over for a re-take. When I cast on I had crocheted a chain then knit into is, presumably so I'd get the perfect circumference. When faced with froggin, I was anticipating being able to snip the chain and pick up some live stitches. Much to my surprise, when I snipped and pulled gently I found that instead it left a "cast on" row of knitting, not live stitches at all.

Bad photo, yes, but I do need some visual "proof" of me frogging the edge of the hat.

I sat and painstakingly pulled out all the stitches very gently, using a tiny crochet hook, then picked up and knit stitches around. It is looking ok, but I can see where the new section begins and that bugs me. I'm not really a perfectionist when it comes to my knitting, but this is bugging me majorly.

I love my Dad and years ago I knit him a hat that promptly became a long running joke with him and my Uncle Jim...it was huge. The ribbing stretched and could've fit about two grown men in it. I have, for these past dozen or so years, wanted to fix that mistake and make him a good one. My Dad is a constant support, even purchasing my first item sold on Etsy (a knit and felted hat) and proudly displaying it at his work still to this day. He's the kind of Dad who used to have every school photo of me (and some earlier) in his wallet.

Well, I guess I'd better get back to working on the "almost right" one and keep wishing for "the one to equal my love"...maybe for his birthday in November.

FO: Hunter Hat

Oh, what we do for the men in our lives. I've become friends with a new man who loves to hunt. We were chatting the other night and I mentioned how I had orders to complete but that I was, at that moment, knitting a hat for myself. Typical him, I was called a slacker (so, that will be my "slacker hat" forever more). I laughed, especially when he asked what I charged for a hat. I said I'd think about it, finally deciding he has to pay with lunch.

 So, until then, I've been knitting with Wool Ease. I started with ribbing and waited for an idea. Ravelry turned up some unexpected patterns for deer. I found this basic one and this, shall we say, "racy" one.

I couldn't help myself. I combined the two, flipping the images, so I have deer prancing around the 120 stitches.

The pattern came together well, but somwhere along the line I mis-counted and one of the deer isn't quite right. I have perfectionist tendencies in some things, but for this I just worked it out. Also, as any fellow knitters may notice, I'm still trying to perfect carrying yarn. The strands aren't pulling in too much but it still isn't perfection. I understand many people use both hands when stranding, but I don't think I can do that just yet. I'll have to think and try again another time. Still, not bad, if I do say so myself.

As I was knitting and thinking how large it looked I remembered the character from the Fat Albert cartoon. I used to watch that all the time, but I couldn't remember Dumb Donald's name. What do you think?

 

FO #2: Green Hat for Me

I have a wonderful hat pattern that I've been waiting to make, but I forgot before I cast this on. I've been waiting to find the perfect green yarn for that one (wool blend most likely). In the meantime, however, I've had a hair crisis so I need more hats.

I crocheted a chain to measure around my head then cast on stitches pulled through the crocheted chain. I'm using Caron Simply Soft in an amazing dark green (Dk Sage 9707). When I took this first photo I had seed stitched about an inch and had the beginnings of a 4x4 ribbing. I planed to do some simple cables and who knows what else. The color, for me, carries it. Redheads and green go hand-in-hand.

I knit for a while in the rib pattern and started to cable. It went well and then I thought I'd try something, which turned out horrible. I'm not an adventurous knitter yet, but one thing I've learned only through reading the blogs of others is that frogging is a necessary evil and can be accomplished without ripping the whole thing out. So, I was brave and pulled the needle out, carefully pulled stitches (as I begged my children to be quiet for a few minutes), and got the needle back in. I was off and was able to figure my way to a decent finished project (which I am wearing as I type this):



K1, P1 round and round

I haven't had time to take pictures and to be honest it isn't anything yet. Still, I'm proud (and a bit crazy) for having today cast on a hat for someone special. I pulled out some variegated wool, in autumn shades of brown, and am hoping inspiration hits by the time I'm done with the ribbed band. It is for a man and I'm not used to that. We'll see how it goes. :) Photos soon, I hope. The second liner mitten is on the needles as is the second purple sock. I found the leather I had tucked away and found the perfect spots to cut from. Things are falling into place. Four week countdown here I come!

Busy Bee, that's me

I guess it's only appropriate, as my name does mean "bee", that I've been buzzing around knitting crazy the past few days. I'm so glad to have finished the cabled skull cap, but I had some of the Simply Soft Eco left and it was too good to pass up. So, I cast on another (88 sts on sz 7 bamboo needles) and came up with this one (Eco for the grey and regular Simply Soft for the black):

(another good photo by my little one)

Then, I started a sweater for my eldest daughter. I'm making it up as I go, so we'll have to see how that turns out. The white was purchased months ago with the intent to make shrugs for the girls to wear on cool summer mornings, with their dresses for church. Silly me...nope, never made it to the needles. So, now I'm looking toward Christmas and toward using some yarn from my stash so I grabbed a skein and cast on. Seeing as it is almost Winter now I thought I'd add some colors to the white to make it more versatile for all seasons. It has a picot detail at the bottom, garter stitch "side seams", stipes of dark and light shades of the same color, and it will be a cardigan of some sort to be thrown on over any t-shirt. So far so good:

Last, but not least, I finished the first gift mitten. The yarn is a blend of wool and soy. Strange sounding to me, but it is remarkably soft and great to work with. The outside of the Patons SWS (soy wool stripes) isn't very soft, but once it is pulled off it unwinds a bit and is much nicer. I hope the person receiving these will think so, too. The yarn is self-striping (subtle in the middle of the mitten). I purchased two skeins (on clearance, I think) without checking how much I'd need. I was worried I would run out, but when I pulled out my reliable two-needle pattern (Many Mittens by Mary Lamb Becker) it showed that I may be able to make the pair with just one skein. Bonus! Maybe I'll get a pair, too. I've modified the pattern just slightly, to make the cuff a half inch longer for any size. I found that if I use the printed measurements the cuff isn't long enough to stay inside a coat sleeve,which in winter here is important. Who wants to play in the snow if you constantly have to adjust the mittens? I love to play in the snow!