fo: special day silk hat

Did you know that baby hats are the perfect one-skein stashbuster? I have been so obsessed with busting my stash by knitting baby hats that I actually forgot to post here in the month of April! I knit four hats, though, so at least there has been knitting happening at my house!

Here are the details:

Pattern: Special Day Silk Hat from Baby Beanies by Amanda Keeys

Yarn: Rowan Soft Baby in a beautiful butter yellow shade

Needles: 4.5 mm/ 16" circular - addi turbos

Modifications: None

Recipient: My mom purchased this from me this morning to give to a former neighbour's little baby.

Thoughts: Great and easy pattern but the ruffle is created by a k3tog pattern which was extremely difficult to knit. The result, however, is worth it in the end, wouldn't you say?

Happy May!

fo: springtime cowl

This is stashbusting project #3. The previous posts were all a part of Stashbust 2009, but this one is particularly relevant because this wool had been sitting in the stash for a while. I have two huge balls of this yarn and I just didn't know what to do with it - but the cowl craze seems to have hit me, so I decided that a cowl would be a worthy project for this yarn.

This project is also particularly relevant because I created this pattern on my own! My first real pattern! It alternates rows of stockinette with rows of garter stitch, but in between the those two types of stitch rows is a row of yarn-overs every second stitch. This creates a really cute row of eyelet lace - which I also recognize is super difficult to see with this yarn. I had originally thought that the eyelet lace would be a pretty accent because it was spring and having a lace pattern would be okay in a cowl designated specifically for spring time (you know, it's less about warmth and more about fashion). However, in the end, the cowl was way too big and I realized that if I wanted to actually wear the cowl, I was either going to have to gain 40 pounds on my neck, or I would have to turn the eyelet lace row into a makeshift row of button holes!

So, this actually works out quite nicely because I simply sewed the button onto the cowl and then, when I want to wear the cowl, I can decide how snugly I want the cowl to fit and simply loop an eyelet around the button. It creates a snug fit, but also a cute little ruffle that dresses up the cowl more than I ever could have imagined.

This is how it looks (sorry for the bad perspective, it was the first time I had really tried the timer function on the camera to take a picture of myself!):

You like? I like.

Finally, special thanks to Lolly for Project Spectrum 2009. This year's focus is on the Cardinal Directions and the March/April color choice of green had me MORE than motivated to use a little of this fancy yarn.

Project Details:

Pattern: Springtime Cowl by ME!

Yarn: Soft Delight by Yarn Bee

Needles: 5 mm addi turbos, 16 inch circular

Basic Pattern Details:

Springtime Cowl

Cast on an uneven number of stitches (I cast on 91 stitches but it was toooooo many!)

Join together, being careful not to twist

Place marker at join

Rows 1-4: garter stitch

Rows 5-8:stockinette stitch

Row 9: eyelet lace row - starting at marker *k2tog, yo, repeat from * to last st, k1

Rows 10-14: stockinette stitch

Rows 15-18: garter stitch

Repeat pattern until cowl is desired length (width? height? - I don't know). Be sure to finish with 4 rows of garter stitch.

Cast off with bigger needles.

Sew in ends.

To create ruffle (optional), sew button at front and in middle of stockinette section of your choice. Use eyelet lace rows as button holes and loop over button to create a snug fit.

Enjoy!

fo: berry bramble hat

This month's goal is to post at least three times. I'm already up to two - so this is going very well so far!

I finished this hat a few months ago and the picture even sat in the computer file for a while before I realized that I had the time to blog about it.

This pattern is the Berry Bramble Hat from a very cute little book called Knit One, Embellish Too by Cosette Cornelius-Bates. It's a glorious little book that appealed to me because I am currently under a binding agreement with my mom to "stash-bust" and this book offers lots of ideas for accessories just perfect for stash-busting!

Pattern: Berry Bramble Hat from Knit One, Embellish too
Yarn: Ella Rae Palermo, color 2
Needles: 4.5 mm addi turbos
For: Me! It's my dog-walking hat.

Modifications: The hat is actually supposed to have a cute little tree embroidered on the front in a contrasting yarn and buttons, but I did not have the patience to do this. It's also supposed to have a crochet-chain edging along the bottom of the hat, but I didn't do that either!

Comments: I love the hat and the way it looks, however, next time I would use a thicker yarn and maybe knit it in a smaller size. This was meant to be a dog-walking hat, and I have worn it to walk my dog, however, it just doesn't keep my head warm at -40 degrees (which is the only real time I think about wearing a hat). In any case, it's a jaunty little knit and I recommend it to anyone!

fo: presto chang-o

Blogging has been a long time coming at my house these days. Since Christmas, DH and I have each been sick twice and I am currently on my third round of sickness. In addtion, DH has been plagued with foot and back difficulties. The winter has not been kind to us - we are eager to see a change in the energy of our house!

This little project was a baby gift for DH's cousin and his wife. They are expecting their first child in April - we already know it's going to be a little girl and so this cute little sweater is the perfect gift for who I know will be the quintessential girly-girl!

The Specs:
Pattern: Presto-Chango by Jimmy Beans Wool
Size: 6 months
Yarn: Bernat Soy Naturals
Needles: 5 mm addi turbos
Modifications: none

This pattern is perfect for beginner knitters. The body is knit entirely in one piece and the front panel is an easy lace pattern that knits up quickly. I found the biggest challenge to be the time it took to sew on 8 buttons!

In the end, I'm super happy with the way it turned out and I would knit this sweater again in a second!

::25 Things About Me::

1. I love writing up random lists like this. It's amazing what comes into your mind when you have to think of 25 random things about yourself.

2. Even though I am very extroverted, I actually require a significant amount of alone time/ down time - which I think makes me an extroverted introvert (or an introverted extrovert!) ha haa!

3. I am very proud of being a teacher. It humbles me, inspires me and keeps me young.

4. I have a very difficult time with concealing my facial expressions. If I'm mad, you will know it by the look on my face. I would not make a very good poker player.

5. I worry excessively that I don't participate in my friendships enough, particularly with people who I've known for a long time but don't see very often.

6.I could probably talk about my dog all day long. He's just so damn cute.

7. I am a list person. I love making lists, I always have a list on the go, and when I'm stressed I make a list(s). When I make a list, I try to categorize the items into levels of importance and then I highlight items when they are finished.

8. I own a label-maker. Having read point #7 about me, you should not be surprised by this.

9. I have two blogs - one about knitting (in my defense, there are a lot of blogs about knitting) and one about teaching. I will not provide the links because I don't want Facebook to spam me and also because I enjoy the relative anonymity of the internet.

10. I love my husband more than anybody in this world. One of the things I love most about him is that he reads books. As an English teacher, I obviously enjoy this a lot. But what I love the most is that when I hold his hand, I feel completely safe.

11. I kind of get irritated when people who know that I'm an English teacher tell me I should "read this book - it's really great." I read for a living, people, and most of it is not what ANYONE would choose to read for pleasure.

12. Hopefully I'm not jinxing myself here, but I've never broken a bone and I've never had a cavity. And the grey streak in my hair is completely natural. That being said, my eyesight is so bad that I'm almost legally blind.

13. I suffered from panic attacks and anxiety for a long time. This is not a factor in my life anymore but I make sure I take good care of myself so I don't get there again!

14. I hate putting things away - I will leave something on a table and walk past it for months before I finally lose patience with myself and put it away.

15. My birth date is actually four consecutive 10's in a row - 10/10/1973 (10th month, 10th day, and if you break down 1973 ... 1+9=10 and 7+3= 10)

16. I currently have 15 purses in my closet. I also own about 40 pairs of shoes and at least 40 scarves. I know, I'm not exactly "accessories challenged."

17. I love hockey fights. I think they're awesome.

18. Since we're talking about hockey, I will say that I have become quite a hockey fan in the last few years. I like watching games and I even watch Sportscentre and listen to the Team 1200 on my own so I can learn more about the game. I am currently a little obsessed with the abysmal nature of the Ottawa Senators and I wish they would stop hanging their coaches out to dry.

19. I love fart jokes, ass jokes and inappropriate comments (okay, not when I'm teaching). I love it when people say things like "It smells like ass" and "Shut your cakehole" - I find it very entertaining and I always wish I had thought to say something witty like that.

20. I have a very messy car and a very messy office. However, check out any of my teaching binders and everything is in sheet protectors and divided perfectly into categories. I am a contradiction in progress!

21. I would like to be a high school principal one day.

22. I'm all about cheesy music: "The Sound of Music" is my favorite movie of all time, I can sing most of ABBA's songs from memory and I own all of Celine Dion's albums. I can't believe I just admitted all of that.

23. I often have road rage. Most people really do lose IQ points when they get behind the wheel of their car and I am usually the one driving behind them.

24. I am running out of things to write in this list - what the hell? - I'm never at a loss for words.

25. I like my life. As life goes, I think I've got it pretty good.