This weather makes me need a hat....

Lately the cold weather has been getting to me. There is no snow but boy is it frigid out there. So today I am in a hat mood. There is nothing like a hand made hat to keep your head and ears warm on a cold winter day. Hats a wonderful. I have hat patterns galore in both knit and crochet styles. The kids all love when I get into this mood because they always end up with something cute to wear on their heads.

Hats are so much fun to make. By just changing up colorway and yarn choices you can make one hat pattern look like a completely different hat. Aeryn has just started a hat for our friends Baby. Baby A was born a couple of weeks ago and Aeryn has been itching to make her something. She tried to crochet her a blanket but does not really have the patience needed to undertake that task just yet. Maybe in another year or so. At the moment she has decided to use the yarn that she had purchased for the blanket to make the hat. I can not wait to see it when it gets done. She has chosen to use the circular knitting loom. I have read that this is the best way to teach children to knit and I hope that it is right.

I made Alex a hat on the knitting loom. Well at least the hat was intended for Alex. However, with the loom that I chose, the hat came out to small for my big man's head. So I will tuck it away for a craft sale or gifting later on. I will have to make him a new one using the "toddler" size. Who knew that my little man would be considered a toddler already. Aeryn tried valiantly to fit this hat on his head but the result was ridiculous.



The hat that I started at my mom's house came out adorable. I ended up downsizing the pattern that I posted a bit in order for it to fit Aeryn's head but the result came out really cute. Her winter jacket this year is a beautiful light blue green color. She has really deviated from her normal pink color scheme. So I figured this had would go well with it. I reduced the number of cast on stitches to 64 instead of 84, worked rib stitch pattern for 8 rows and then knitted in stockinette stitch for twenty rows. When I started the decrease I started at K6 K2tog, purling wrong sided rows and decreasing from there. It worked up really quickly and within a couple of hours Aeryn had a new hat. My lovely little girl loved it. Hand made hats are just so much nicer than the ones that she can get in the store.

I hope all my reader can get into this hat knitting mood. I wish there were a knitting group around here that met on a day and time that I was not working. I would so be up to joining. Unfortunately that is not so. So until later people.

Happy Knitting

Back to the basics....

As I finish one project and look to finish up another I start to think ahead to what I am about to knit next. My choices are limited as I am sitting at my mom's house and my sock is sitting at home on my couch. But I still have the urge to knit. So, I borrowed a skein of yarn from Robert (I must remind myself to buy him one to replace it), and looked around the apartment for a set of knitting needles. 

The yarn is your basic Red Heart Acrylic yarn, worsted weight yarn. The same thing that I used the first time I picked up a crochet hook and then later a set of knitting needles. I let the strand of yarn run through my fingers as I searched the web for a fancy pattern or two and think to myself "I want to make a hat". So I chose the very first knitting pattern I ever tried, other than a basic scarf of course. It is a tried and true pattern that I do not even need to read anymore. A simple stocking cap with a ribbed border. 

Sometimes, you just need to get back to the basics of your craft. After every complicated crocheting project I complete I like to work out a couple of granny squares, just because it feels good. So why did I think that it should be anything different when I am knitting? I enjoy keeping things fresh and new. But sometimes I just have to go with tried and true. 

So I figured I would share this pattern:

Size 6 Knitting Needles (Though I know I have used different  ones, and I am never sure of the gauge)

Worsted Weight yarn of your choice

Cast on 84 stitches

Knit K1P1 Pattern for 8 rows

Knit Stockinette Stitch for 40 rows

Decrease as follows:

(k10, k2tog)* Repeat 7 times to end

Next Purl

(k9, k2tog)*

Purl

(k8, k2tog)*

Purl

(k7, k2tog)*

Purl

(k6, k2tog)*

Purl

(k5, k2tog)*

Purl

(k4, k2tog)*

Purl

(k3, k2tog)*

Purl

(k2, k2tog)*

Purl

(k1, k2tog)*

Purl

(k2tog)*

Fasten off by weaving the strand of yarn through the remaining stitches and tighten. Tie off and weave in end. 

I can not take credit for creating this pattern. Nor can I give credit to the person that did. I have been using this pattern for close to ten years now. I have no idea where I first found it. Please enjoy it, but do not sell it for profit. 

Happy Knitting!

Busy hands...

Lately I have been having an issue with sticking with one project. Christmas was two days ago and I FINALLY finished the gift for my friend. I certainly hope he likes it and will not be tackling a project of that size for a very long time.

The first sock is finished and the second one is almost completed. The pair worked much quicker than any pair of socks that I have ever knitted. I attribute that to the fact that the yarn that I used really was as amazing as I thought in the beginning.

Now I am working on a hat using a circular knitting loom. I have never actually completed a project on one of these before but I have an hat almost done at the moment. AmberMae got a set for Christmas and will need someone to help her figure out how to use them. I can not wait to share my craft with another generation.

Aeryn has started to crochet and is getting pretty good at a basic granny square. She is getting pretty good. At the moment she is working on a beautiful multi-colored blanket. She gets a little distracted though and can not do it for extended periods of time. I guess I should just be happy that she attempts it at all.

My sock and hat should both be finished tonight. After that I do not know what I will start, but I am sure it will be more than one thing.

Happy Crafting!

Perfect time for knitting...

Sunday mornings are amazing for knitting. Or at least this morning was. I was awoken at 4:30 by my thirsty little man Alex. After taking a few sips from his cup he handed it to me and went back to sleep. He and Aeryn proceeded to sleep until almost 8:30 which was amazing for this knitting mommy. I spent that time working a little bit on both of the projects that I am trying to complete.

It occurred to me yesterday that I did not include the color of the yarn that I am using for MaeMae's socks. I had a friend who wanted to know later in the day so I figured that I would put all of the stats here for anyone who would like to try this project.

Red Heart, Heart and Sole with Aloe. Color number 3965 Razzle Dazzle.

For those of you who know me personally you know that I LOVE variegated yarns. Plain colors are often too boring for me unless I am working on some sort of intartia pattern. Then I usually steer away from variegated yarns. This yarn is now high on my list of favorites. It makes pattern work very easy because it takes out a lot of the guess work. Of course you also never have two socks, or mittens that are ever the same. Which has its advantages unto itself. I can foresee myself carrying this project to work with me to work on during my free block as well as during my lunch break. Using a yarn like this one makes it much easier to transport without having multiple balls of yarn. I like convenience. And this, my friends, is convenience.

I was also given the name of another yarn I should try and I think I may look into it. It is by far less expensive than this that I am currently using. Heart and Sole is running around $6.50 for 1.76 ounces/50 grams. The yarn that was suggested to me was Deborah Norville Serenity yarn which is running for around $2.79 for 50 grams at Joanne Fabrics. (I believe this is the sale price) I will let you all know when I give this yarn a try.

For now I am off to knit some more. I may have the mystery project done today which will leave me lots of time to work on the sock. Happy Knitting~<3~

Sock happy....

So I often joke that I am an 80-year-old woman trapped in the body of a 28-year-old. There are days when I feel that this is true because I often find myself enjoying the same kinds of downtime as my 70-year-old mother. Mainly I knit. I LOVE to knit. I also crochet and would like to venture into sewing and think I would like to attempt to make a quilt. It looks like fun and the finished product always looks so pretty.

I have been crocheting for ten years now and knitting for about nine. Each has its own benefit and style so there isn't much that I have not at least attempted though I may not have succeeded in making. I am going to write this blog to keep track of the projects that I am undertaking and to try to share my love of this antiquated hobby. It's a lost are that has been on the rise in recent years. So I hope everyone enjoys reading and is able to take something away when I am done...

I am currently working on two projects. One that I can not talk about for another week because I do not know if its intended recipient reads my blogs. (But be prepared to hear plenty about this next week, making it has been an adventure) The second project that I am undertaking is a pair of socks for my amazing AmberMae. My sister had asked my mom to make them but once my mom was able to feel the yarn as well as the needed needle size she began to worry about if her fingers could handle the task. So, since I had showed an interest in working with this, what appeared pretty amazing, yarn the task was offered to me.

The yarn I am using is called "Red Heart  Heart and Sole" This is a self striping yarn that has aloe in the fibers. I have never used a self striping yarn before and I was worried at first about what was going to come of this sock but the picture below can show you that this really is pretty amazing yarn. (Aeryn has also decided that she would like a pair of these socks. Little does she know that I had already had that planned and the yarn is sitting in a bag on the table.

So now I am just hoping that I do not fall prey to what I like to call "second sock syndrome". Unfortunately in the past I have been very excited about making socks. However, once I complete the first one I get bored and do not want to make the second one. Hopefully since these socks have a purpose and are for one of my three favorite little girls I will be able to finish them in time for her birthday. Wish me luck folks! Happy Crafting!