Hats!

Posted on April 3, 2013 by cpeezers

I’ve been working through some quick knitting projects. I had 2 skeins of the Knit Picks Gloss HW and decided that I wanted to make something with each of them.

David had requested that I “whip” him up a hat because another one I’d made him (and that he wore a ton) had lost its elasticity. So I “whipped” him up this hat out of black KP Gloss HW.

It was a fun pattern called “Jason’s Tweed Hat“. David liked the hat ok, but it’s a little big and bulky and apparently he had more of another beanie hat in mind. It’s ok, this hat will still get plenty of wear by all three of us. (I did not take the greatest picture.)

So I made him another hat. This is the hat that I have made at least 10 times. Great pattern and if you like more of a tight fitting beanie hat, then this is the pattern for you.

Then I made a final hat. I also made this with Knit Picks Gloss HW. It’s such a nice yarn. It has some silk in it and is so nice to knit with. It’s also bulky weight so the hat knits up incredibly fast. It would be a great first cabling project. I think she wrote the pattern with that in mind.

I confess that my original intent was to make this for a friend, but then I tried it on. I love the way it fits. Perfect amount of slouch and really comfortable. So I’m keeping it.

I didn’t try to take pictures of these hats on Davey or David. Davey runs from pictures lately (can’t imagine why!) and David’s at school. I figured wighead girl would suffice.

Now I am on a granny square kick. I even ordered a more ergonomic crochet hook because crochet tends to make my hand sore. However, I am weaving ends as I go on these 4 color granny squares so there is a ton of starting and stopping. Ambitious me wants to make a throw with these squares. More realistic me is pushing for a pillow. Granny squares are so pretty and old fashioned looking. I love them. I’ll post some pictures soon of those!

Sunday Knitting

Posted on March 24, 2013 by cpeezers

We had another nice snow yesterday. Snow in March still surprises me given that I rarely saw it in Oklahoma or Texas, but it’s a fairly common occurrence here. So when David headed out to the store yesterday, he put on his hat that I’d made him about a year and a half ago.

I had made the hat out of Cascade Duo which is a wool/alpaca blend. It felt really soft and knitted up so pretty. The problem is that about a year and a half later, it has stretched out a ton and has become really floppy. Even the ribbing has lost almost all elasticity. I’m learning a lot about yarn as I learn more about knitting. This yarn is not ideal for hats. Is it because of the alpaca? I’d guess this was the case, but I am not sure.

Here is the old hat in process back in October 2010. I loved it because the colors were neutral, but still really pretty (handsome?).

So after realizing, how much the hat had stretched out, David asked me to “whip him up a new hat”.

I checked my yarn stash, and I had some heavy worsted from Knit Picks. It is called Gloss and is 70% wool and 30% silk. I just checked the website, and I can’t find it. Maybe it’s been discontinued already? I’m not sure it will hold up for the long term either, but we shall see. Worst case – I’ll have to knit another hat. Not so bad!

I’m knitting an easy but fun pattern that I’ve not tried out before. The ribbing is a 5×5, and then just knitting straight, decreasing and done.

Picture of hat in snow. Although, it’s pretty much impossible to tell that this is snow in the background (beyond the general whiteness).

Since it is a bulky weight, it’s knitting up really fast. It’s a nice yarn to work with too. I have made two Gaptastic Cowls and test knitted a shawl with this yarn, and I loved it every time! Although, I don’t know why I’m singing its praises, as it looks to be unavailable now.

Time for some knitting. Happy Sunday!

Valentine’s Day!

Posted on February 15, 2013 by cpeezers

Fun Valentine’s Day! Davey had a party at pre-k. He woke up yesterday morning and pretty much the first thing he said was – “It’s Valentine’s Day!” It was like Christmas morning. His party was a lot of fun. We made his first Valentine’s Day box. I got a box at Hobby Lobby – made out of that thin kind of cardboard stuff. He (and David) painted it red with acrylic paint, and then Davey had fun arranging the stickers. (Although David did apply the stickers for his name to ensure proper kerning, etc.!)

They always have an assortment of treats at their parties. Davey had a mini-cupcake, but they had healthy treats too. Davey is slowly getting better about trying new things, and we were thrilled to see him eat a cherry tomato (I don’t think he knew what he was getting into with this. They are squirty!), and a piece of celery. Pretty major for Wee Tot!

We’ve been celebrating at home too. I saw a cute pattern from Craftsy for some Crocheted Heart Garland, so I made that one evening. I hadn’t crocheted much in awhile, but these went really fast.

Davey really liked our new decoration.

Then I came across the cutest pattern on Purl Bee I could spend years knitting all the neat patterns on their website. Davey took one look at the pattern picture and wanted one for his very own.

It’s a little hedgehog!

He was really fun. You knit the blue body part and then gradually pick up stitches along the edge of the blue body in order to knit the prickly top. I used Brown Sheep Bulky, and it has a little bit of a halo to it which makes it look kinda “prickly” maybe. (Davey chose blue for the hedgehog body – his favorite color.)

Davey was setting up Hedgie’s habitat here. I guess it makes perfect sense that a yarn created Hedgehog would have a yarn related habitat!

And finally, I knit little Lila a hat. This was another fun fast knit.

I knit the hearts with a silver yarn that had a little metallic sparkle to it. It’s cute as a button on her!

And for a non-knitting ending, I love this picture of Buster sleeping.

Davey and I are getting ready to take him to the vet for the rest of his puppy shots.

Some knitting and Davey the Pirate

Posted on February 2, 2013 by cpeezers

I’ve been starting some new projects. Trying to finish some old ones too, but I can’t resist new projects. First the new – I am knitting a baby sweater for a friend who will be having a baby soon. The pattern is called “Snug” and I am knitting it with a Lion brand cotton/acrylic blend. It’s a nice squishy soft yarn, but it’s a little hard on my wrists if I knit with it for too long. It’s all garter stitch too, so I guess the pure repetition doesn’t help either. It’s a neat pattern though, and I look forward to seeing how it turns out. I like this pink!

I’ve also returned to a pair of socks that I started knitting in April 2010. Almost 3 years ago! The pattern is called “Spring Forward” and it’s from knitty.com. I did complete the first sock back in 2010.

It is such a fun lace pattern. I think it is perfect for a first lace sock project. I don’t know why I put it away! But the second sock is now underway. I love all the needles poking every which way in this picture.

And then there’s Davey the Pirate. He went to “Parent Survival Night” last night at The Little Gym. (David and I went to a movie – Zero Dark Thirty. Really good!) Anyway, they had a pirate theme. Davey loves pirates. I asked him how it went. He said, “it went really well except for one thing. There was a ‘bubble’ on my pizza”. I guess his slice had one of those bubbly things that happen with the crust sometimes. So except for the bubble “problem”, it was a great time!

They made treasure maps, and he told them exactly what he wanted them to write on the back of his map. He’d drawn a map and he had placed the treasure in a lava pit.

“Ye beware if you dare

the treasure awaits right

where ye seek”

I loved that and wanted to remember it!

Sunday Sick Kid and Knitting Stuff

Posted on January 27, 2013 by cpeezers

We are having a quiet Sunday. Trying to encourage Davey to rest and take it easy. Last night right before bed, he asked for a towel. Said he’d need it because he felt like he was going to “spit” (this is what he calls throwing up).

We were hoping for the best, because he’d seemed healthy all day up to the moment he went to bed, but two hours later he needed that towel (and a bunch more). He threw up every hour for awhile and then every couple of hours after that. After awhile, he didn’t have anything left, but he didn’t get it out of his system until about 4:30 am.

6:00 am – he wakes up and is a little shaky, a little puny, but he’s pretty much ready to go. After such a sick night, he’s had a fairly normal day. He’s not played as hard, but he has eaten some and has been drinking quite abit. Amazing. He’s still puny, but typically I’d be confined to the couch sipping 7-up and eating a few Saltines.

He just decided he wanted to play with Playdoh, and a little bit ago he helped me block a sweater I just finished.

It’s more like a short-sleeved cardigan I guess. Almost a vest. It’s a free pattern called Abalone. It’s been knit over 1,800 times on Ravelry! It was a fun pattern to knit. I relearned how to do applied i-cord for the bind-off. There was a lot of it, but it’s kind of fun to do. I used a merino silk blend called Tahki Sedona. It’s been really nice to knit with. I bought it back in Arkadelphia – probably almost 4 years ago.

I started this sometime last year. I think it was last year. I didn’t note it on Ravelry, so I can’t be sure. It’s the year of finishing things (hopefully!). So anyway, Davey likes to help me pin. He did a great job too. As soon as it dries, I will try it on, and I’ll hopefully want to get some more pictures of the final product. That’s always the goal!

Mis-Adventures in Embroidery

Posted on January 20, 2013 by cpeezers

I’ve been trying to figure out how to incorporate embroidery into my knitting. I embroidered on some fingerless mittens awhile back, and I kinda liked how they turned out, but I wanted to work on this some more.

I got the bright idea that I’d like to try Sashiko on my knitting. So I knitted some black fingerless mitts.

Sashiko is a type of Japanese running stitch. So first I used my paper template as I had done in the past.

Here’s the result.

First of all, I’m not thrilled with my technique. It’s uneven looking. Also, one false move and you can pull out an entire line of stitches. So I yanked it out. This was entirely too easy to do.

Next I found a pattern from Sublime Stitching that I thought I’d try out.

Again, my technique is uneven. I like the looks of the little girl better than the little boy. (I do also like the idea of the little boy on one mitt and the little girl on the other though!) I used the paper template once again, and it is just hard as heck for me to see what I am doing. When I am stitching through the paper, the stitches seem even and nice, but when I pull the paper off, the stitches don’t look so nice. I need practice. I do need the paper template though because I need some type of stabilizer. I just need to improve on my technique.

So then I had one more idea. I’d make a potholder and embroider on it. I used Brown Sheep Bulky and made two squares which I seamed together (after I embroidered on one of them). I asked Davey to write down his name for me. (He’s still working on perfecting his technique as well!) Then I took a picture of it, printed it out, and used it as my template. Here is the result. I actually do like this. I used yarn as my embroidery thread, and I think this is what I will try next time (instead of the too slick floss).

Mittens for Davey

Posted on January 14, 2013 by cpeezers

The other night I made a mitten for Davey. It knit up really fast. I made it while we were watching a movie. I held it up for David to see, and he immediately said that it would be too small. I guess I am in denial as to Davey’s size. David was right. Davey could squeeze it onto his hand, but that’s about it.

I guess it is apparent that the blue mitten was my first attempt. I need to knit the second one and send to my little cousin George. They should fit him in the next year or two!

It turned out ok because Davey really wanted red mittens anyway. So I made him some red ones. They are actually just a little big, but he really likes them. This picture is blurry, but I like Davey’s grin and the way he is showing the mittens.

Guess who is making him laugh here?

Yep. Buster. Buster keeps Davey laughing!

So I used a Lion brand easy mitten pattern for the red mittens. I had used a pattern from redheart.com for the blue mitten. I didn’t check gauge (obviously), and so what I thought should have fit – didn’t. I liked the blue mitten pattern though because I used dpns and knit them in the round. I was hesitant to use the Lion brand pattern, because you knit them flat and then seam them up. I thought – why in the world would I knit something flat that is circular when I could knit in the round? But I thought I’d give them a try. Turns out, I really liked the pattern a lot! The mittens are small so the seaming went really quickly.

I’ll definitely make these again. It’s been so darn cold here that I think I may have to knit some for me today!

Knitting and a little Buster (not General Custer).

Posted on January 7, 2013 by cpeezers

I have been doing some knitting over the break.

I finished a little elephant – and as I was posting this picture, I just now realized he still has no eyes. Need to add some.

It’s a pattern by Susan B Anderson called elefante. This was a really fun knit and I was able to use leftover yarn from my stash. It’s Cascade 220 and some other things that I can’t remember now. I just really like this little guy. I kept him for my very own. He is perched on my desk, and he’s quite cheerful.

I also recently knit a little hat from the Knit Simple Winter 2012 issue. It’s a great magazine which included 50 gift idea patterns for Christmas. I knit a little hat for my new cousin George. Well he is my cousin’s son. Does that make him my cousin once removed or my second cousin? I never have really figured this cousin thing out. I really have no excuse though do I? Google at my fingertips.

ok – so I googled it and apparently he is my first cousin once removed. (I think!) Anyway, he’s four months old and very cute.

I kinda digressed from the knitting. What a cute little hat. I made it with a bamboo blend.

The little earflaps were easy to add on, and I love the cabling in the hat. I didn’t have a little baby to serve as a model, so I tried out Davey’s bear Rock Star Winkie. Not the best photo, although Winkie is kinda cute sporting it.

David took a picture of me with Buster the other day. See those longggg legs? (obviously his not mine.) He is just a growing. Davey calls him “General Custer” a lot (although he usually says ‘Custard’). Somehow we came up with a song about “Buster – not General Custer”

“His name is Buster, not General Custer”. Davey loves that.

Embroidered Mary Janes

Posted on December 13, 2012 by cpeezers

A month or so ago, I knitted and embroidered these little booties. I really like the idea of embroidering on knitting, and so I have been experimenting. I did not take notes or immediately document on ravelry that these were in process, so I can’t remember which Mary Jane pattern I knitted. There are several nice ones on ravelry though – free too. I knitted one of those patterns I’m not real happy about my memory sometimes.

I used just the regular DMC embroidery floss. I used all six strands. (six right?)

I just kinda of played around with the lazy daisy stitch and meandered around the booties.

I sent them to my little niece Lila whose feet are rapidly growing. They were cute on her, but I am thinking they won’t fit long. I would guess that they no longer fit now, but I think they are kind of fun to look at and remember that her feet were once that size for just a little while.

Something Beautiful Shrug

Posted on November 17, 2012 by cpeezers

I just finished the prettiest little shrug. It’s called the “Something Beautiful Shrug”. I made it for my new little niece, Lila. I’d never knit a shrug before, but this was a really nice fun pattern.

I have been in the Woolen Rabbit yarn club this year. Her yarn is beautiful, and every two months I receive yarn and a pattern to go with it. I’ve not had a chance to knit the first two shipments yet. The pattern that went with this yarn was a pattern for a cloche. It was cute, but I just wasn’t really feeling it. I decided I’d rather make little Lila something.

This is not exactly practical baby wearing yarn, but I couldn’t resist. It’s a wool/cashmere/nylon blend. It is so soft though and it was wonderful to knit with. Babies should sometimes be surrounded in luxurious yarn too! Although I think it will handwash great. And if some spit up landing on it is its destiny, that’s ok too!

On a somewhat related topic, David, Davey and I had a little discussion about rabbits this morning (and sea creatures). David was telling Davey and I about a restaurant he went to last night. He ordered this seafood salad. He sent me a picture. It involved things that looked like they were going to crawl off his plate but which were nestled in a green froth also known as sea urchin pesto. Too much for this country kid I think, but David enjoyed it. He mentioned to Davey that some of the rest of the group had rabbit. Davey said, “RABBIT?”

David told him yes and then added that he used to hunt rabbits when he was a kid. Davey responded with, “I ain’t gonna kill any bunnies!”

(not sure how the ain’t entered his vocabulary. :))

Cpeezers

Family, School and Yarn

Category Archives: Knitting