Eight is Enough

Here is another hat from my "Ollie" pattern. I can't decide if I like this yarn or not. It is called Amazing and is made by Lion Brand. I had hoped the colors would be more vivid. Also I was hoping I would get to the blues in the yarn, but the hat was complete before I got that far in the skein. This time I played with the pattern by leaving off one repeat to make the hat fit without the turn-up at the brim. I also decided to go up a needle size to see how much difference it made in the fit of the hat. Not as much as I thought it would. It is a tiny bit looser.

I can't wait until I get a full head of hair so I can really determine the fit of my patterns. It is still not long or full enough that I would feel comfortable going about without a hat. I still get called "sir" quite often when wearing my baseball hat. It is white. Maybe I should wear a pink hat all of the time. You would think that the dangly earrings in each ear would give them a clue.

Hat #5 in my 11 hats in 2011 challenge.

Cake Baking with Shelby

Robyn came home this weekend and she and Shelby got together. Whenever they do, a cake is usually made. I love this tradition they started. Robyn and Shelby take turns choosing a cake to make. This time it was Robyn's turn and she chose red velvet. I cannot remember the last time I had red velvet and Phillip had never had it. This cake was the best so far. No mishaps or mess ups. Just yummy cake for all.

Octo-Ollie

I decided to make a couple more hats using one of the patterns I had written. I decided to see how the hat would fit if I left off one of the repeats of the "Ollie" stitch. Would the hat be too short. Nope, it fit just right. I like this fit better than the original and will probably knit it this way more often in the future. I enjoy modifying patterns to suit my needs. They are never big edits, just little ones to fit a different need.

Hat #4 in my 11 hats in 2011 challenge.

No Wool For You

I always got a kick out of when the Soup Nazi was on Seinfeld. We occasionally work in the "No ____ for you!" into our conversations. I thought these would be cute fingerless mitts to try, but since I don't have a recipient in mind, I always knit them up in acrylic. That way I know they will not need special treatment if given to someone who forgets that kind of stuff. The pattern is called "Lofty Wool Cable Mittens" and I usually change up the name of my project when uploading it to Ravelry. I try to make a play on the name in some way. So you can kinda see where this name was coming from. Anyway...I did my usual modifications to change them from mittens to fingerless mitts. If I make them again I will probably not do the increases in the palm area as they are a bit looser than I like. The rolled hem at the wrist is a different twist on the usual ribbing and I like that bit of difference.

This will be my last pair of mitts for NaKniMitMo. I was able to crank out 4 pair.

Gracious Me...They're Finished

The Gracious Me mitts are finally finished. It seemed to take forever. I knew we would receive a new "clue" each week, but I didn't realize how it would draggg this thing out. I first blogged about them when I wrote about NaKniMitMo. I like the mitts and did a few modifications to suit me needs. I can see me making these again.

Exactly What I Needed

This past week or two I have had trouble sleeping due to some family drama. I envy Phillip's ability to fall asleep within minutes of going to bed. My dad was the same way. He said it was the result of "hard work and a clear conscious". I can't sleep when things are bothering me. I stew, ruminate, obsess. Last night was one of those nights. I tried several times to sleep. Didn't happen. I got online and started reading the message boards on Ravelry. They are always available for some good tips and often a laugh. I read a thread about ambiguous signage and what people guessed they meant. It was hysterical. Someone posted a link to a sign generating site and then the thread took off on a whole other path. Some of my favorites were:



and



and



Far and away my favorite of the night was the one below. Every time I thought about it, I would crack up all over again. I finally went to sleep with a smile on my face.

Val Be Mine

I finished my second pair of fingerless mitts. The pattern is called "Valentine Mitts" and I really like this pattern. The cables run all the way around and it is the same cable going one way on the left mitt and the mirror image on the right one.
Meanwhile, I have a sick baby at home with the flu. Looks like more knittin' in my forecast as we hunker in.

Riding the Zephyr

I came across this pattern called, "Zephyr Fingerless Mitts. I love how there is a little bit of cable and I thought it would look good in one of my stripey yarns. The word “Zephyr” has two meanings if you have been in the New Orleans area for a while. A long time ago, there used to be an amusement park called Pontchartrain Beach next to the lake. The roller coaster was this wild wooden coaster called “The Zephyr”. It was so much fun. Secondly, the "New Orleans Zephyr"s is the name of the minor league team here (probably named after the roller coaster). So these mitts became "Riding the Zephyr". I might need to keep these for myself...

NaKniMitMo

I know there are other "months" out there where people participate in doing something during that month. November is NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) where people get their thoughts together and begin writing a novel. Cara participated this year with several of her friends. It was so fun to hear how excited she was to sit down at the computer and write a story. As I was piddling around reading the message boards on Ravelry, I found out that this month is NaKniMitMo or National Knitting Mittens Month. How could I have not known this? Well, you know me. If knittin' is involved, I am interested. I am participating in a fingerless mitts mystery KAL (knit a long) this month, so I can tag those as NaKniMitMo too. I started another pair of fingerless mitts last night. It is a new pattern I have not tried yet and I like how they are coming out so far. So far, I am liking NaKniMitMo a lot!

Edited to add on 1-27-11- I am also participating in 11 fingerless mitts in 2011. Woo Hoo!

Me? Subtle?

I love how the top of this hat goes into cables at the top. It is the "Subtle Twist Hat" pattern. I am not comfortable enough with cables to write a pattern with them. Soon...though.

Hat #3 in my 11 hats in 2011 challenge.

The State of Knitting

When I grow up I want to be this lady. She is Bonney, the mother-in-law of fellow knitter and author, Anna Hrachovec. Anna recently posted on her blog an update to a post she wrote back in 2007 about her mother-in-law's yarn stash. Wow! How cool is that? Phillip would have a cow; I would be oh so tickled pink.

I have decided not to do the usual types of New Year's resolutions this year. Instead, I want to resolve to learn new knitting techniques. I think this is something easily obtainable and something I look forward to doing instead of say...losing weight.

This year I plan to:

1. Knit 11 hats in 2011 (This is a no brainer. A group on Ravelry, 11 Hats in 2011, is doing a knit a long [KAL] this year).
2. Knit 11 fingerless mitts in 2011 (Another Ravelry group, Fingerless Glove Fanatics, has a KAL going on this year)
3. I want to knit with wire and make a piece of jewelry
4. I want to knit with recycled yarn. Take a piece of clothing and unravel it to use the yarn in another item.
5. I want to do some graffiti knitting or yarn bombing. See some examples here.
6. I want to knit something that has beads in it. Maybe a shawl, scarf, or fingerless mitts.
7. I want to write and publish (on Ravelry) 3 more patterns. It doesn't have to be hats.
8. I want to use up most of the novelty yarn I have. The projects I do most often don't use it and it is taking up the space another skein of yarn could use.
9. I want to knit a project from a book I bought (probably "Knitting MochiMochi").
10. Knit something wonderful with the Muench Touch Me yarn I received for Christmas 2009. I keep looking for just the right project. I love to just pet that yarn.
11. Learn two more cast on techniques.


I think I will leave learning how to spin yarn for next year :)

Check Me Out

Another one of my patterns getting some project love from me. This one is "Checkmate".

Hat #2 in the 11 hats in 2011 challenge.

Annie Belle

This is the second knitting of my pattern, "Marguerite Anne". I want to get a couple of more projects listed under my pattern. It is so cool to see that others have added it to their queue or have downloaded it.

This is hat #1 in my 11 hats in 2011 challenge.

Cathy

I have been in a pattern creating mood again and this time created one named after my sister, Cathy. She put up with a lot since I was a mean big sister. This one's for you Cathy...

Cathy

Materials-

Worsted weight yarn
Size US 9 16" circular needles or size US 9 DPNs
Stitch marker
Darning needle to weave ends in once the hat is completed.


Abbreviation: EOR - end of row


Cast on 80 stitches. Join in the round being careful not to twist your stitches. Place a stitch marker to note the beginning of your row.

Brim (option 1)

Row 1- knit
Row 2- purl
Row 3- knit
Row 4- purl
Row 5-8 *k3, p2, k2, p3* to EOR
Row 9- purl
Row 10- knit
Row 11- purl
Row 12- knit

Brim (option 2)

Knit in garter ridge (knit one row, purl one row) for 14 rows.


Begin next section-

*k3, p2, k2, p3* to end of row. Knit in this pattern until the hat measures 6 inches.


Begin decreases-

Row 1- *k3, p2, k2, p2tog, p1* to end.
Row 2- *k3, p2, k2, p2tog* to end.
Row 3- *k3, p2tog, k2, p1* to end.
Row 4- *k2tog, k1, p1, k2, p1* to end.
Row 5- *k2, p1, k2tog, p1* to end.
Row 6- *k2tog, p1, k1, p1* to end.
Row 7- *k1, p1, k2tog* to end.
Row 8- *k1, k2tog* to end.
Row 9- *k2tog* to end.


This pattern has been uploaded on Ravelry or download here. download now

Marguerite Anne

I wanted to create a hat pattern in honor of my Mom, Anne. She is the best Mom in the world. I have entered my pattern into the Ravelry pattern base and at the bottom is a link to download the pattern. Enjoy!

Marguerite Anne

Materials-

Worsted weight yarn
Size US 9 16" circular needles or size US 9 DPNs
Stitch marker
Darning needle to weave ends in once the hat is completed.

Abbreviation: EOR - end of row

Cast on 80 stitches. Join in the round being careful not to twist your stitches. Place a stitch marker to mark the beginning of your row.

Brim (option 1)

Row 1- Knit
Row 2- Purl
Row 3- Knit
Row 4- Purl
Row 5- Knit
Row 6- Knit
Row 7- *k1 p1* EOR
Row 8- *p1 k1* EOR
Row 9- *k1 p1* EOR
Row 10- Knit
Row 11- Knit
Row 12- Purl
Row 13- Knit
Row 14- Purl

Brim (option 2)-

Knit in garter stitch (knit one row, purl one row) for 14 rows.

Begin next section of hat-

*K3, p1* to EOR. Continue until hat measures 6 inches including the garter stitch section.

Begin decreases-

Row 1 *k3, p1, k2tog, k1, p1* to EOR
Row 2 *k3, p1, k2tog, p1* to EOR
Row 3 *k3, p1, k2tog* to EOR
Row 4 *k2tog, k1, p1, k1* to EOR
Row 5 *k1, k1, k2tog* to EOR
Row 6 *k1, k2tog* to EOR
Row 7 *k2tog* to EOR


download now

Happy New Year

New Year's Eve 2011