1SW Project #4: Emma's Star

Emma's Star

Here's my latest project from "Sock Yarn One Skein Wonder".  The hat pattern is called "Emma's Star".  I cast on Thursday night and had it finished on Friday night.  I live such an exciting life!  I had a difficult time putting this project down as it is a very fun knit.  Again, I used Berroco Comfort DK in "Rosebud".  The entire time I was working on this, I had a hunch this cap was going to be very small. It looks okay on "Miss Wiggy" (my hat stand) but it is a very small cap.  I also looked at a number of completed caps on Ravelry; several were modeled on children and those caps looked small as well. I considered giving this cap to a coworker (turns out I have two coworkers who have kindergartenen aged girls), but then I remembered a cap project for a summer camp for kids with cancer called "Camp Happy Times".  I am looking forward to making this cap again with a heavier weight yarn for a larger cap.  I have some nice pale peachy pink yarn called Rowan Calmer (from my Mom's Stash... Thanks, Mom!).  I think it will be perfect for this pretty cap.

More Fingerless Mitts...

Another pair of fingerless mitts for Mitts of Steal.  This time I used Berroco Comfort DK yarn in the colorway "rosebud".  You will being seeing a LOT of this yarn... I bought an entire bag to make chemo caps, but it's also a nice choice for fingerless mitts.  This is a pattern called Four Rib Braid Cable Mitts and the pattern can be found HERE (it is a free pattern).  Despite the fancy looking cables, these mitts are not too difficult.  These mitts turned out rather small but I had a few friends (with small hands) try them on and they fit well according my guinea pigs test models.

I am knitting another hat right now out of my "One Skein Wonder Book" (with more Berroco Comfort DK yarn in "rosebud"... SURPRISE!) and should have it done soon... stay tuned!

Horizontal Rib Hat: One-Skein Wonder Project #3

Another project completed using my "Sock Yarn One-Skein Wonders" book. This pattern,"Horizontal Rib Hat," calls for holding two strands of sock yarn together as you knit the cap from the brim to the crown.  As a result, it's a very quick knit.  On Ravelry, I saw a variety of completed caps and some commented that the cap was too short.  I opted to add to add an extra pattern repeat (the pattern calls for repeating rows 12 to 20 two more times, so I repeated rows 12 to 20 three more times). I think it's a nice cap which would cover one's ears and stay on nicely.  The yarn I  used is Knit Pick's Essential Sock Yarn in a colorway called "Plum Tweed".  It's sock yarn I purchased a few years back (a sock kit) when I first learned to knit socks.  The pattern recommends self-striping sock yarn for a cool stripe effect, which I think would also be really nice.  All in all, I am pretty happy with this hat!

One-Skein Wonder Project #2... Shibui Baby Socks

Remember this yarn...? I just used it for some mittens.  It was the last of a partial skein of yarn from my Mom's stash.  (Thanks, Mom!!!)  It's Bernat Sox (acrylic/nylon blend) in a colorway called "Crazy Hot".  I tell you, I cut it close... again.  I had just a few feet of this yarn left when I grafted the toe on sock #2... too close for comfort.  This is another pattern from the "Sock Yarn One-Skein Wonder" book I am enjoying so much.  The pattern called "Shibui Baby Hat and Socks"... I did not make the hat as I did not have enough yarn after making the mittens, but I sure enjoyed making up these little socks.  A very quick knit!  The pattern link and information about the "Sock Yarn One-Skein Wonders" book is here.  Sorry it's not a free pattern, but I highly recommend the book. I am getting my money's worth out of it... for sure!

Right now I am making another pattern from the book called "Horizontal Rib Hat" and I am using sock yarn from Knit Picks (Knit Picks Essential) in a colorway called "Plum Tweed". It's another quick and fun knit.  More information about this pattern can be found here.

More Mittens... One-Skein Wonder Project #1a

A pair of mittens for my good friend, Tracy.  She and her Boston Terriers (Freckles and Leila) go for walks nearly every day at a great park just outside of town.  She'll need these to keep her hands toasty warm, as the weather is now turning cold.  I join the trio on Fridays when school is in session.  It's great fun!

I used the pattern from my book "Sock Yarn One-Skein Wonders".  This is the same pattern I used a few weeks ago with some modifications.  The pattern is called "Handful-of-Color Mittens" (pattern information HERE: Not a free pattern, sorry!).  The original pattern calls for a sort-of rolled cuff.  In this pair, I completed 15 rounds of knit2, purl2 ribbing and then I completed 15 rounds of stockinette before starting the gusset increases.  This mittens are roomy and long. I like long cuffs on mittens so you can tuck them into the sleeves of your jacket without any gaps for cold air to sneak in.  When I make this pattern again, I might consider using smaller needles for the cuff portion.

This colorful yarn comes from my Mom's stash... Thanks, Mom!  It was a partial skein and to me it appears to be Bernat Sox in a colorway called "Crazy Hot" (a nylon/acrylic blend).   I do love Bernat yarns!

The Internet is an AMAZING thing...

I've raved and raved about Ravelry since I've joined.  For those of you NOT familiar with Ravelry, I think of it as FACEBOOK for people who like to knit and crochet.  You can find all kinds of patterns for free and for purchase.  You can connect with others who share your fiber-related addiction(s).  You can search for project ideas based upon what kind of yarn you have, you can see photos of projects completed using patterns you might be considering making, you can keep track of your yarn stash... it just goes on and on.

Over the past year, I've joined a number of groups... people who want to make projects for charity, people who have made a goal to knit from their stash only, people who are making projects from a particular book... the groups go on and on, too.  My favorite group is called "12 months = 24 hats"; in this group, we have a shared goal to make at least two chemo caps for charity each month. The other day, I made up a new pattern (quite by accident... I was so full of myself I thought I had a pattern memorized... several rows into the ribbing I realized my mistake - 8 stitches too many - and I decided to improvise a new design instead of ripping it out to start over).  A happy accident... a new cap design.  I posted a photo of my finished result on the Ravelry "12 months = 24 hats" and, right away, I received a number of requests for the pattern.  I did a pretty good job of keeping notes as I was knitting the hat, so I typed it up and posted the pattern PDF on Ravelry.  I was so anxious to post the pattern (how fun!) but at the same time I kept wondering if maybe I should make the cap JUST ONE MORE time to double check for errors, changes, whatever.

Would you believe in the matter of about 48 hours, I've had 137 Ravelers add my hat to their list of "favorite" patterns and eight people wrote to me to thank me for the pattern.  About 20 people have the hat in their "queues" of things to make and two more folks indicate they have already cast-on!  I was looking at my blog statistics today and found a number of folks looking at my blog after visiting another blog in Denmark.  This blogger added my hat to her blog and called my pattern "the hat of the day".   The blog from the lady in Denmark can be seen here:  http://christunte.blogspot.com/2011/10/kemo-hue-chemo-cap.html

I just wanted to share my excitement about this with all of you. It's like my little hat went around the World a few times in just a day or so.  This definitely encourages me to come up with more designs and share my ideas through Ravelry.  A number of folks who wrote me notes about my cap said they especially appreciated me making the pattern available for FREE.  But of course... I love FREE patterns, too!  If we use FREE patterns, then we have more money to buy YARN, right?!

Of course, now that my pattern is out there, I do have a little angst... what if someone makes it and doesn't like how it turns out, what if my instructions are confusing, what if someone doesn't like the decrease portion of the hat at the end (I had a tough time with that!)?  I kept thinking maybe I should not post the pattern until I had the pattern just right, but then again... maybe I would never have it just right.  Despite my angst or concerns, it's been incredibly heart warming to have folks reach out like they have and say, "I like your hat, I like what you've done, it's pretty... Thank you for sharing... I'd like to make this cap, too!"

If you are interested, you can find my pattern here on my blog up on the top, right hand corner listed under FREE: Ribbons of Hope Hat Pattern.  You can also find  the pattern in a nice printable PDF Format on Ravelry by clicking HERE.  If you do make this pattern and have any feedback (positive, negative, or constructive), I would love to hear from you.... seriously.  Enjoy and Happy Knitting!

Tango Hat

I am ready for Fall. I am ready for long walks on cool sunny days with crunchy golden leaves under my feet and and white puffy clouds in a bright blue sky over my head.  Oh, I love Fall in Colorado!

I'll be wearing my new cap.  It's made from Tahki Yarns "Tango" (a wool/acrylic/nylon blend).  Since the yarn is bulky weight, it knit up quickly.  I tried to make a pattern called "Heidi Hat" (it had cables in it) but ran out of yarn so I started over on size US 8 dpn needles. 

Cast on 72 stitches and completed k2,p2 rib for six rounds. Then I switched to size US 9 dpn needles and knit in stockinette until the hat was a nice height (and I was worried I would run out of yarn).  I completed the decrease rounds with no plain rows in between (k10,k2tog, followed buy k9,k2tog, and so) until I had just a few stitches left. All that remained was about 12 inches of yarn! Now that's calling it close.

Happy Fall to you!