Thursday, December 13, 2007

Christmas Tree Hats for Preemies and Newborns


Say Merry Christmas to a tiny one by knitting this hat. It's fast and easy to do.

Pattern: Christmas Tree Hat and Elfin Sox
Click here for link. Pattern is designed by Patti Pierce Stone and is for personal or charitable use.

I am knitting these for the local hospital nursery to welcome our Christmas Season newborns.

Another easy hat for Christmas is shown in the next photo. I used the short-row baby hat pattern explained in the Oct. 16, 2007 post. Since the yarn was worsted instead of sport weight, I only used 9 repeats of the pattern and reduced the cast on by 1 stitch. I simply used white, red, and green for the different sections. Since the yarn was worsted weight I used a US #8 Crystal Palace Bamboo straight needles (9" length) .

Friday, December 7, 2007

Slip Stitch Switch Baby Hat

Be sure to knit a practice swatch before you start, because the gauge is given "in pattern". The hat I knit stretched, but was not as "stretchy" as a regular knit hat. However, that could be due to the fact that the gauge I actually had was much tighter than the pattern called for (I didn't do the swatch first!).

Also, use your own judgement on the height of the hat.

This was an easy knit (only 3 rows to really be concerned with in the pattern). I plan to try it in a bigger size next time, and also try to adapt to an adult size for our chemotherapy patients.

Yarn: Caron Simply Soft

Needle: US # 5 (should have used a little larger one)


Pattern: http://www.p2designs.com/pdfs/SlipStSwitchHat.pdf

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Short Row Adult Hat


Here is the adult size version of the Short Row Baby hat you see in the post below this one.

I used US # 9 straight needles, Bernat Camouflage worsted weight yarn. I cast on 38 stitches. The short rows worked as follows:
28, 30, 32, 34, 36, 38--repeat for a total of 10 repeats of the pattern.

The key to this is to watch your gauge. That way you can tell how many repeats you will need, and what length to cast on.

I think next time I will try US #8, so that I can produce a bit tighter fabric. I will probably go with 11 total repeats, in order to give a more generous circumference. I will probably also cast on another inch of stitches to give a wider brim to turn back. I would still go with 10 or so stitches short of the end for the short-row part.

I like this pattern, because it is pretty stretchy--great for hats for chemotherapy patients--most often we do not know the recipient, so it's nice to make a hat that can accomodate different sized heads.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Short Row Baby Hat


This is such an easy and fast baby hat! There are no reducing rows, because the short rows provide the shaping for the crown of the hat.

Cast on 28 stitches
Yarn: Bernat Softee Baby - Tropical
Needles: US #6 (I changed needle size from what pattern suggested.)
Pattern: Click Here-"Knitted Hat"
Size: Large Preemie or maybe newborn

Monday, October 1, 2007

Lily is 2 Years Old

Lily had fun opening presents and loved her new sweater and mittens. She didn't want to take them off, although she was beginning to get quite warm. She's ready for cold weather now.

Monday, September 17, 2007

Little Lillie's Sweater is Finished For Little Lily



The color is hard to capture, so I put two different shots of the sweater and matching mittens. I had plenty of yarn left over, so I added mittens to the birthday gift.
The yarn is by Plymouth--Jellie Beanz, and the pattern is Little Lillie's Sweater by Cottage Creations. (I just have to buy 2 more buttons to complete it.) I used a US #8 needle, but probably would use a US #7 with this yarn if I knit another one of these. I would have to swatch and see. I definitely would consider dropping to a US #7 for the neck-ribbing.

This was a fun and easy project. I have another hoodie OTN now for our soon to arrive grandnephew. I am using Knit Picks Swish worsted for that one in light blue. This pattern is great because it ranges in size from newborn to 36 months.

Happy Birthday, Lily ! ! ! !

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Little Lillie's Sweater

I'm almost finished with Lily's sweater. Yes, it's for my little granddaughter, Lily, almost 2 years old.

Pattern: Little Lillie's Sweater
Publisher: Cottage Creations
Yarn: Jelli Beenz by Plymouth
Needles: US #8 (probably would use #7 if I could start over) circulars

I am to the point where I need to try it on her to check for sleeve and body length. I plan to put solid blue buttons on this one.

I imagine another version of this one will follow. I'll choose a solid color with really cute, decorative buttons.

Friday, May 18, 2007

Fiesta Rayon Boucle Shawl

My Fiesta Rayon Boucle in the color Alaska has finally arrived! I have made a gauge swatch to decide what needle size I will need. I have settled on US#9 (5.5mm) which is a bit finer fabric than shown here with this swatch on a bigger needle.

The shawl will be a stole type wrap in plain stockinette with K3 borders. The yarn has a nice sheen, and I am looking forward to knitting with it--even more so to wearing it when I finish. I still trying to decide how to finish the ends of the stole.

I purchased the yarn from The Oconee Yarn Company, Greensboro, GA. Great yarn shop, and Deb is so nice to work with there. It is located near Reynolds Plantation, a nice resort in the area.
Take a look at the scenery here: http://reynoldsplantation.com/


Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Wool Peddler's Shawl

This is my first real triangular shawl attempt. I tried a different pattern earlier, but I just didn't like it and frogged the whole thing.

The Wool Peddler's Shawl is from the book Folk Shawls by Cheryl Oberle. Folk Shawls is a wonderful book which gives the history behind each shawl pattern. The patterns are from all over the world.

I used Caron Simply Soft yarn on US# 10.5 needles to get the drape I wanted. Consequently I had to modify the lace edge a bit to achieve the correct size. This was a gift to my mother. She is a tiny lady, so I couldn't put all the rows of lace on the edge or it would have been too long for her.

Reynold's Odyssey Scarf


This is one of my early projects. The scarf is knit in a K3 P3 rib so it is thick and warm...great for winter walks in the neighborhood. The wool is Reynolds Odyssey--100% merino and self-patterning. It produces a lovely effect with no effort on my part. I've really enjoyed this scarf.

I bought the yarn from a great yarn shop in Knoxville, TN called Knit 'n' Purl.

Regia Self-Striping Socks


Here is my first pair of socks. I used Regia self-striping jaquard 75% wool 25% nylon yarn. The color has since been discontinued. I used US#2 Crystal Palace double point needles. I learned the hard way that it is a smart idea to mark your starting point in the dye pattern of the yarn when you are casting on. That way you stand a good chance of getting your second sock to match your first sock. I had to cast on that second sock quite a few times to get it right. I loved the yarn and the result. I was lucky to get the yarn on sale, so the socks were a good price as well. They have been a lot of fun to wear.

Saturday, May 12, 2007

Koigu Socks



Basic sockinette sock pattern with Koigu KPPPM yarn-2 skeins plus a little extra--US #1.5 Crystal Palace dpns

I purchased this yarn from Yarn Paradise in the Biltmore Village near Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC. This is a wonderful yarn shop--well worth a visit if you are ever in the area. They had bunches of Koigu at the time.

This was my second attempt at socks (practice sock didn't count). I'd never used Koigu before and didn't know that I would need more yarn than I bought. As I approached the middle of the foot, I realized I would run out of blue yarn.

Fortunately I had also purchased the pink yarn. It saved the day by adding accent stripes to fill in enough space to allow me to finish the sock. I like them better this way. I used wool silk thread to reinforce the heels, since this yarn was 100% merino wool.

I have enjoyed these socks immensely.