Holiday Half-time and Rib-A-Roni hat pattern

We have finished with my in-laws side of Christmas and all knitted gifts were completed on time. Hooray! I ended up making 2 Calorimetry, 2 Unoriginal hats, 1 scarf, and had baby booties and hat ready to go a month ago. It was touch and go on the scarf because it was looking like this a few days earlier:Lots of rolling (A Scarf Askew). So I ripped out all 2.5 feet of the scarf and did Yarn Harlot's One row scarf pattern. What a life saver that pattern was. Fast, more interesting than plain garter stitch, looks great when completed. I whipped out a 7.5x68" scarf in 3 days. Smoking fast, if I say so myself. My Bro-in-law is 6'3'' and it turned out to be a great length for him. The Ultra Alpaca yarn was lovely to knit with and I used about 5.1 oz of the two skeins I bought. I also finished the purple linen towel for my mom. It is three inches shorter than I hoped, but I was determined to be done. It looks nice. A bit of a dot stitch for 3" followed by 14" of garter stitch. I hope it looks nice after I machine wash and dry it. Wish me luck on that move (hopefully not famous last words). Used 2.2 oz of Euroflax Linen-Amethyst, size 13x17"
I also cranked out two hats for my boys to break up all of the scarf and towel knitting. I'm calling it Rib-A-Roni (as in, a rib hat to cover up your noodle). Here's the pattern and some pictures:
Rib-A-Roni Hat by Jane Tanner
copyright 2007

Materials:
1.5 (2) oz worsted weight yarn (I used Encore Worsted, about 0.1-0.2 oz were of a contrasting color)
Size 7 needles: 16" circular and dpn
4 stitch markers

Gauge: 5 rib pattern sts/1"
Sizes: child (youth/small adult).

Note: I used a p2tog-tbl (purl 2 together thru the back loops). Feel free to substitute it with a regular p2tog. It will still work and look fine.

Cast on 72 (80) sts loosely. Join, being careful not to twist, and place marker. Establish rib pattern: k4, p1, k3 (4), p1 (8 times around). Work for 5 (6) inches (adding a stripe after about 2" if desired).

Set up round: At beginning of round, remove marker, k2, place first marker (new location for beginning of rounds), *work around in established rib for 18 (20) sts, place another marker,* (repeat * * two more times for third and forth markers), ending with a k2. The stitches should be evenly divided between the 4 markers, 18 (20) sts between each.

Crown shaping: use rows 3-14 for smaller size (rows 1-14 for larger size)
For larger size only:
Row 1 (decrease round): *k2, p2tog-tbl, k3, p1, k4, p1, k3, p2tog, k2,* repeat around 3 more times. 72 sts.
Row 2: *K2, p1, k3, p1, k4, p1, k3, p1, k2,* repeat around 3 more times.

For both sizes:
Row 3 (decrease round): *k2, p2tog-tbl, k2, p1, k4, p1, k2, p2tog, k2,* repeat around 3 more times. 64 sts.
Row 4: *K2, p1, k2, p1, k4, p1, k2, p1, k2,* repeat around 3 more times.
Row 5 (decrease round): *k2, p2tog-tbl, k1, p1, k4, p1, k1, p2tog, k2,* repeat around 3 more times. 56 sts.
Row 6: *K2, p1, k1, p1, k4, p1, k1, p1, k2,* repeat around 3 more times.
Row 7 (decrease round): *k2, p2tog-tbl, p1, k4, p1, p2tog, k2,* repeat around 3 more times. 48 sts.
Row 8: *K2, p2, k4, p2, k2,* repeat around 3 more times.
Row 9 (decrease round): *k2, p2tog-tbl, k4, p2tog, k2,* repeat around 3 more times. 40 sts.
Row 10 *K2, p1, k4, p1, k2,* repeat around 3 more times.
Row 11 (decrease round): *k2, p2tog-tbl, k2, p2tog, k2,* repeat around 3 more times. 32 sts.
Row 12 (decrease round): *k2, p2tog-tbl, p2tog, k2,* repeat around 3 more times. 24 sts.
Row 13 (decrease round): *k1, ssk, k2tog, k1,* repeat around 3 more times. 16 sts.
Row 14 (decrease round): *ssk, k2tog,* repeat around 3 more times. 8 sts.

Cut 8" yarn tail and pull through last 8 sts on the needles. Weave in all ends.

Black and White

I think we are experiencing our snowiest December on record, or it seems that way. The snow piles are so huge right now, I can barely add to them when we shovel. I usually am wearing a baby on my back (in a pack), so shoveling is hard enough. The upside of the weather is that it seems to produce great results in the knitting department. Also, getting ready for Christmas by knitting gifts has produced a nice line up of quick projects. Behold....

Two of Calorimetry: The larger of the two is a gift for my mother-in-law (a requested item) made of Savoy (Tahki) wool/silk. I had enough to make the smaller version for myself. I did a 96 sts cast on for hers and 88 for mine. This pattern is a good starting point, but I did a bit of messing around in the process. I hope she likes it. I did little ties to make it more adjustable than a button for hers. I sewed my ends together after taking the picture on mine. I'm pretty sure that my head's going to stay the same size.

Ribbed hat: made for a 5 year old who's head is as big as his mom's. Yikes! This kid is going to be a giant. I'll be lucky if I'm taller than him by the time he's 8. I was going for a more youth- looking hat to match his new winter coat. Successful, non?

A scarf from my Brother-in-law: based off the Scarf Askew (requested item). I heard this scarf, as written, rolled a lot. I modified it a bit and it still rolls, but he'll wear it only two times a year when he visits the midwest. I'm hoping some wet blocking will make it look flat for the gift giving moment. The yarn is Ultra Alpaca.

Jaywalker Socks update: Have 1 done and started the second one. I love my adaptation of increasing and decreasing the stitch count to give me a fab fit, if I say so myself.

Noticing a trend....all of these projects are black. The next project is a red/gray version of the hat for my middle son. Color!

Hats R' Us

I have been a hat knitting machine over the past few days. The option to receive a personally knitted item for Christmas List giving was a huge success. People placed their orders last week and I have been a busy girl. I got the fun of picking out yarn, the fun of knitting, the fun of not shopping at the mall, and the hopeful fun of seeing my handy work enjoyed by a family member. Yippee! Why did I not do this sooner?!?

Here's what I've got so far:
A sleeping hat for Hubby's stocking gift (which I already gave him). He shaves his head and doesn't like the drafts while he's sleeping. Based on the Ribbed Beanie pattern, with my own tweaking. The yarn (Super Nova Chunky Sirdar) was a frogged hat I made for him a few years ago. I got the sizing wrong and thought I'd try again.

An Unoriginal Hat for SIL #1 in Sulka (Marisol) Snow White, which is really a cream/off white. This yarn is just lovely and the money is used to fund a school for the shepherds' children.
An Unoriginal Hat for SIL #2 in Rowan's Cashsoft Chunky Thunder Gray. Part cashmere, springy yarn. Prewashed picture:
A Calorimetry in Savoy (Tahki) Black...will be started today. With all of the gauge issues and fit issues, I'm going to swatch a bit first.
My BIL just asked for a black scarf. We'll see what I come up with for that. I really want to finish my Jaywalkers and my mom's purple linen towel as well as the Bird in Hand Mittens. I don't want to do something on tiny needles and plain knitting. Hopefully I can convince him to use a fun pattern or a tweedy yarn.

Christmas Knitting, etc.

The Christmas knitting has begun. I picked up needles and yarn for the first Unoriginal Hat I'm making for my two sisters-in-law. I bought some AMAZING Crystal Palace dpns in the funky 10 3/4 size (7mm). For how much they cost, I'm glad I like them. I've already given them a test knit by reknitting MY Unoriginal Hat last night. Yes, I'm that big of a dork. The hat was a big too snug and I wanted to see how the fit would change with the larger needle. It is much better now. No need for a picture, cuz' it looks just like it did before. I used 0.2 oz more yarn, which seemed to be just the right amount.

Here's the yarn for the first hat:It is so nice and soft. Marisol Sulka in Snow White. Merino/Alpaca/Silk blend of squishy goodness. I had directives for which hat pattern to use, and it must be in cream. After hunting down all softness worthy yarns, I had three yarns to choose from. One was 100% Alpaca-too soft. One was 50/50 merino/alpaca-not soft enough. This one has just enough body to support the cables. We'll see how it looks. I'm making it a bit bigger than mine by inserting only 4 extra purls (2 each into only 2 of the repeats). Hope that gives me the extra inch in circumference I need.

Here's a rundown of the latest:
Garterloc dishtowel-fun and fast
Fetching Mitts-great use of a recently frogged baby hat. Made a smaller version for myself and did a bit of messing with the thumb area:
Socks that Rock Jaywalkers (finally)-also have done some sizing magic. Cast on 52 for ribbing, increased to 60 for leg, decreased to 52 for rest of sock. I'm not doing the zig zag stitch on the foot. The yarn is pretty, but it really leaves dye on my hands. I hope some of the color stays after I wash them. I know dark yarns often have "crocking" issues. Hummm, we shall see.
Off to knit a hat during nap time.

Undo, to-do...

A week has passed and I feel like I have recovered from Thanksgiving. The rest of my events went smoothly. Hooray! Some of the Christmas decorations have even made it up and the storage rooms in the basement are cleaned out and organized. Why? Because I was freaking out about it. Dumb, but true. I gave birth to our son right after Christmas last year, so other members of my family packed up all the decorations last January. Then, we had our basement finished this spring and the builders jammed everything into odd places to make room for...new rooms. Plus, they sprinkled everything with a good measure of drywall dust and sawdust. It has been eating at me all year, but other projects were more of a priority. So full steaam ahead for the holiday fun and knitting now that I've finished that item on the to-do list.

I rounded up a bunch more pictures of finished objects to add to my flickr sets. In the process, I came to the conclusion that I needed to frog a few things. Item one: handspun pink yarn made into a baby hat. I realized that I would rather remake this into something for myself than give it away. I bought the fiber while pregnant with my first son. Ummm, no girls to give it to so I'm going to repurpose it. Same with the cute purple handspun made from the same trip (SOAR).
Second item: pink earflap hat made from Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran purchased on a trip to visit my brother before second son was born. Again, will make it into something cute for myself.
I was dumb and made a cute sweater while pregnant with my third son, again in a girly color. I'm going to give that to our kindergarten teacher's baby girl.

Third project destined for rebirth: a vest knit out of Polar rainbow yarn. Cute yarn, cute on a 20-something year old new knitter, not so cute on me now.
I also started my Jaywalker socks using Socks that Rock medium wt. Pictures next time.

Happy Stress Knitting to you

It is/has been a long week of prepping for visiting family and preparing meals. So, instead of contemplating all that I have to be thankful for, I have been knitting up a storm to take the edge off the stress load in between events and responsibilities. After hosting a brunch yesterday, I zipped off to the yarn store before nap time to pick up some 1.5 sock needles and yarn for a hat. The needles are to make socks with this:
Socks that Rock medium wt in Valkyrie. I think they will be Jaywalkers. After gauging issues are explored, I will commit more. (Like the pretty snow?)

The yarn was this:

And by bed time, I had this:
It is Yarn Harlot's Unoriginal Hat. It is drying now. I doubled Malabrigo (worsted weight) on size 10.5 needles. My gauge was a bit tighter than I would have liked (on account of the stress), but I think it will fit fine. If not, I'll rip it and add a few purls into the pattern like others have done on Ravelry. I chose Violetas color, even though I have two other purple hats. I looked for other colors (I swear), but this one will look the best on me. I even have a bit of yarn (0.8 oz) left to use for some fun scrap project. Nice yarn.

The upside of all the visitors is that some of them are knitters. I got to do a little sock doctoring yesterday, and hope to do a bit of knitting in public during my visiting.

I also finished up my "Weirdest Socks Ever" made of the Essentials Meadow Multi. They are sort of ugly/fun, but feel great. I'll wear them anyway. I'll have to give some of the solids a try.
My big boys played outside in the snow this morning and the Packers are on TV. I have yarn, food, a home, and people who I love to share those things with. I have a lot to be thankful for.

Now pass me that ball winder and swift.

Retreat and compensation

I gave up on the Jaywalkers using the Knit Picks Essentials Meadows Multi. The yarn was fighting too hard and wanted to be plain socks apparently. So boring, spiraling socks they shall be. I really like the yarn, but will try it in a plain color next time.
To compensate for all that hard work down the tubes, I bought Socks that Rock in Valkarie. Yum! I love black and was wishing it was more common in the sock yarn world. Lo and behold, Blue Moon just debuted a new Raven Clan color line. I also figured out that if I got the medium weight, it would be enough to make two pairs of socks for me. The Jaywalkers will look nice with this type of yarn instead I am hoping.

I was feeling very frustrated with 3 days of sock knitting frogged, so I decided to do some quick knits to make myself feel better. Nothing says happy like ditching the size 1 needles for size 15! I used up some stash Ecological Wool (Cascade) and made two Button Hole Bags from Mas0n-Dixon's blog. They turned out fine, but I wish I would have made one big bag instead. Oh well. Next time.
My next triumph was to use up some scrap Patons Classic Merino in yellow, blue and mauve from a long time ago. I whipped up some bowls and a hot pad on size 8s. My laundry room has many buttons lying around which were begging for a cute little holding pen until I got out the thread to sew them on. The buttons like to hang out with the loose change I find too. The others bowls will be snatched up by my older sons for Lego warmers or rock beds, etc.
We had a wonderful warm November day today so all my pictures were taken outside on the porch. I even knit on the sock a bit during nap time sitting out there. Got to love Global Warming!

GRRRR

I have torn out my forth start to my Jaywalker Socks this afternoon. Here's the history:
-carefully knit and wash swatch, select size 2 needles instead of size 1s in pattern.
-start sock with 76 stitches...realize I'm not making knee highs...frog
-start on size 2s with 68 sts...still too big...frog
-start on 1s with 68 sts...finally fits but huge lighting bolts in brown, lime & magenta forming...carefully frog back to second row...
-use second ball to combat flashing only to realize I started it in the wrong place. If continued, sock will have one color on each side only...frog
-cast on again, but joining yarn in a better spot. We'll see if this works. I know I have narrow feet, but give me a break!

Swatch n' wash

All knitting these days seems sock related. I finished the purple Trekking XXL socks yesterday. They are wonderful. I obviously made the first pair too large. I worried I took out too many stitches, but they are doing just fine today (no circulation issues!). I will need to hold back buying more of the yarn. The colors and patterns Trekking comes in are stunning. I have about 1.3 oz left of this color; what to do with the leftovers?.
I also cast on for the Jaywalkers using "Meadows Multi" Knit Picks Essentials. I actually swatched and washed this yarn first to make sure my gauge would work out correctly. I've heard some people say the socks can be tight.

I also bought some Tofutsies sock yarn to make a pair of Monkeys. Also swatched and washed. Can you tell I've been burned lately by the gauge of several projects. I've noticed that I'm getting more cautious with my calculations now that my knitting time is diminished by the demands of three small children. I can't mess around and rip out a bunch of rows if I've screwed up. Get it right the first time is my new motto.

To Darn or not

I used to say that I would darn a bunch of my old socks and never have. However, I grabbed a pair yesterday and realized I had a choice. Either I suck it up and get the matching yarn from my stash to darn the toe, or I'd lose this pair of socks. They aren't my favorite ones, but I've had them since 1999. One more day of wear vs. 5 minutes of pidley mattress stitching. I'm glad I tried it and saved the pair for one more wear. Realistically, this will be the last season of wear for these lovely October Blackberry Ridge wool/silk socks. The bottoms are nearly thread bare. The side of the toe seams to be my "Achilles heel" as I seem to ruin that part first. Reinforcing the toes doesn't seem so dumb after all.

In other socky news, I finished one pair of the purple Trekking XXL socks. I tried to hunt down the next repeat for the second sock and realized that I didn't have it. So , I'll have fraternal instead of identical socks. I'm new to this type of color shifting sock yarn and don't know if there will be a matching point. The first one is just terrific, so I'm motivated to finish the pair.

Slow week

Sadly there has been minimal knitting this week and no pictures today. We have been dealing with a teething baby, a preschooler who is waking up 2-7 x per night, sleep deprivation, colds, family visitors, etc. I have made it 70% thru the first Trekking XXL purple sock. Unfortunately, naps and decent amounts of car knitting have been hard to come by. I hope to make some more progress on something which will be interesting to photograph.

On the upside, we have had nice weather and the kindergartener has not brought home any nasty sicknesses yet.

Christine's baby booties

I picked up this pattern when I purchased my Trekking XXL at a yarn shop. Now, I've been knitting for nearly 10 years, and I couldn't wrap my brain around this simple pattern. It is sort of vague, but give me a break! It must be the sleep-deprived haze I've been living in since my baby decided to sleep in 45 minute stretches all night long. It is a miracle I can still find the computer, let alone type. Anyway. I seriously was going to bury this pattern in the backyard and then I just figured out my own way of doing the instep. I basically just did it like a heel on a standard sock. They redeemed themselves by being incredibly cute and the stripes matched up nicely.

Once the booties were conquered I cast on the Trekking XXL purple. I also got a shipment in from Knitpicks with a host of Wool for my boys and some sock yarn to make Jaywalkers. It's Essentials Multi "Meadow". It surprised me because it is very brown. The picture made it look dark green in the catalog. Oh well.

Fall?

I both love and dread fall. I love the cooler weather, beautiful colors, and autumn activities. However, I groan at the thought of frost, snow, and another season stuck indoors for most of the day. That being said, we have been loving our hot weather this past week. Trying on my new wool socks and having it be too warm to wear them has been a lovely surprise. This morning we went to a botanical garden and ate ice cream outside while sitting next to a lake. Now that is my idea of living.

I started the baby booties using my Trekking scrapes. So far, so good.

Here's a pick of the computer knitting. It is a dishcloth using linen. I must say, I prefer the Knitpicks cotton/linen blend much better. We'll see how the 100% washes up.

Ravely

I got in over the weekend. Very exciting! There are a lot of cool features and I'm trying to get myself settled in. Hopefully I'll be able to get my stash uploaded. I have an old data base but my previous computer died. Good reason to try something new.

I finished the Trekking socks and am going to make some baby booties with the scraps. Next pair needs to be a bit tighter. I loosened up on my gauge a bit with the first pair. Great yarn but I'm not sure if I'm sold on the 8.5-9st/1" it requires. We'll see. Picture of the socks and booties are on their way, but not today.

Pink

I finished two pink baby hats out of one ball of Louise Harding Kashmir DK for the upcoming baby (niece). I adjusted a pattern from Homespun Handknit (Ed. Linda Ligon) and made two sizes. We'll have to see how big the baby is at arrival. They turned out very well and went very quickly. Nice nap time knitting in the sunshine.

I also finished my special project for baby. I'm trying to figure it out in sizes so that I can offer it for sale in some form. It is better than I expected so I'm glad all my math figuring worked out in the end.

Socks in progress in their new home: a cute sock bag from the Etsy shop: Tipsy Knitter. The pattern was "Jane, his wife" in a Jetson's theme. I loved that show in high school. The bag is brown on the inside and is reversible. I've used it at the park already this week.

On the horizon: upcoming birthday yarn money spent on finding some Cascade 220 superwash to go with the three ball of Dream in Color. Still thinking of what it will become.
A picture of the lovely Trekking XXL sock yarn which will be started after the Chocolate Pink pair are done. I've rekindled my love for sock knitting and am looking forward tomore size 1 needle goodness.

Progress?

I finished my Fixation Broad Ripple Socks on the 18th. They are lovely and comfy. I'm so glad I gave the yarn a chance. It was weird to knit with at first, but the end result was worth it. I might actually buy this yarn again, much to my own shock.
On other sock news I cast on my first pair using Trekking XXL yarn. I was not excited about the size 1 needles and 9 sts to 1 inch, but they are doing a very cool pattern and I'm not minding the itty bitty stitches as much as I expected. I'm trying to take my knitting to the park with the kids, so this might see some good progress. I'm half way done with the foot on the first one.

I'm working on sorting out a vest for the baby, but I'm having an "issue" with the pattern. I have no one to blame as I'm the designer. Uggh.

I also frogged my Dream in Color shrug. I love the yarn, but I look like a dork in the shrug. So, I rewound it and am making plans. It is too beautiful to be stuck in an unloved garment.
So one finished item, one frogged item, one stalled item and one in process. Not bad for a week's worth of knitting.

Mission accomplished

The emergency hat for Baby has been completed. The weather was nice today and I had some time to work on it during nap time. Now it is washed and waiting for the 50 degrees we are expecting tomorrow. I love it when a plan comes together. It is my standard baby hat using Encore Colorspun yarn.

I also started some new computer knitting. It is a purple linen dishtowel using sand stitch and a few modifications from the red one. We'll see how the 100% linen feels pre and post washing.

I picked up two books from the library which I had reserved. Yarn Harlot and Knitting Rules. Very excited! Now I'm trying to knit and read at the same time.

Emergency hat!

Fall has snuck up on me and I woke to some pretty chilly weather today. While getting the boys ready for our walk, I discovered that the Baby did not have a fall hat! I've made the older boys their own and saved them, so no hand-me-downs allowed on this one. I've picked out some cute leftovers of an orange/yellow/red Encore yarn which should fit the bill nicely. Now if he'd only sleep, then I'd be able to start it.

I finished my "computer knitting" piece; a Knitpicks Cotlin dish towel. I used sand stitch: 1)knit, 2)k1, p1, 3)knit, 4)p1, k1. Easy to remember and easy to tell if you make a mistake. I wish I had made it narrower/longer and more of a non-rolling egde. It looks like pique a bit. We'll see how it washes & dries. Love the color. Idea was from Mason-Dixon knitting, which is a good book.

Fall is in the air

I put up a bunch more F.O. in the galleries to the right. I still have a lot of my sweaters to photograph, but I'm getting there. It seems like it is time consuming to do them, but it is fun to see what I've gotten done. However, I've noted a serious lack of productivity after having kids. I used to be able to cruise through projects super fast. Oh well. I love knitting for them, so it all evens out I guess. Speaking of, I'm dreaming up my own design for the Baby. He is so cute and LITTLE, so it is a quick project to be sure.

Recently completed and ready to send are the three sweaters for the American Girls Dolls. I did two cardigans for the big girls and a Harlot-inspired poncho for the Bitty.

I also have been working on the Broad Ripples Pattern from Knitty. It uses Fixation yarn which is a cotton/elastic combo. It has been with me for a while and needed to be used. It took some getting used to, being that it is cotton and stretchy. I'm nearly done with the first sock. See?I hope I don't run out of yarn. If so, they are going to be gift socks for a small footed friend. I need to get these done so that I can start some of the Trekking XXL sock yarn I've picked up. I found a new yarn store nearby and bought some in a beautiful purple color. And some baby pink yarn spoke to me for a new cousin to arrive this winter. Pattern yet to be decided, but it is a merino & cashmere blend. Yum!

I figured it out!

Check out the picture galleries to the right. I'm in the process of taking pictures of my FO's and getting them uploaded.

In case you haven't noticed, I'm a devote Cottage Creations fan. I love the simplicity of the designs and the patterns are cute little booklets. I usually alter every pattern I use, but I have few changes for these classics. I LOVE LOVE the Norski sweater. It is a great tutorial for knitting a sweater with a steek. However, I do a different button band than hers. I've knit up 6 of these little gems for my three boys and three friends' kids. I use Nature Spun Sport because it comes in tons of colors and seems to hold up well. A picture of my latest one, knit for my Baby is above.

An aside...the Knit Jane Knit picture is constructed out of Legos and includes the members of my family. I'm the knitting one on the right. It is amazing what you can build while trying not to freak out about your oldest child's first day of kindergarten.

Getting Started

Well, I finally decided I'd join the blogging world after reading and lurking for a while on a bunch of others. I've enjoyed reading all of the knit blogs out there and have been so inspired to make lots of new projects. I'm hoping to go back and do galleries of my finished projects of the past. I have to get more familiar with our digital camera too for some pictures.

Right now I have a huge list of to do projects and not a lot of time. I try to fit knitting time in when my kids are napping or after they are in bed for the night. I'm usually a pretty organized girl, so I keep records of all my yarn and projects. I usually have a few projects going at a time. If something sits too long I've been known to rip it out. I'll even rip out a finished projects and reknit it into something else I like better.

Right now I'm feverishly trying to finish three cute sweaters for my friend's daughters. We've been friends since the sixth grade. Their family came for a visit and they picked up American Girls dolls for their b-days. Too cute! I have three boys so I jumped on the chance to make doll clothes for the new dolls in their favorite colors. I'll post pics as soon as I figure out Flickr. So much to learn.

Back to knitting...