Noticeable Noggins

After a somewhat too relaxing weekend, I have a couple FOs to share with you.  I like to be busy, but I also like to make sure that we have down time at home, too, that isn’t just at the end of the workday.  Sunday we didn’t have any big plans, slept in just a little (Squishy only allows us so much sleep in the mornings…), and generally just took it easy.  The only problem?  We got bored.

This doesn’t always happen, but this weekend was one of those times that we didn’t have anything to do and really needed something.  Normally, we may have decided to go out of town, go for supper, see a movie, run unnecessary errands, just for something to do.  But by the time we actually made the decision we were bored, we weren’t motivated enough to do any of that.  Lazy and bored isn’t a good combination!

ANYWAY, the reason I mention this is because it left me in a quandary.  What am I to do with my time?  Most of you are probably reading this and thinking – well knit something!  Let me tell you, I spent most of the day Sunday scouring Ravelry for a pattern or project that would get me going.  I was purposely giving the baby blanket a break. I needed something different and more mindless.  The blanket requires frequent references back to the chart.  I’d pick a project, then realize I didn’t have the yarn.  Or had the yarn and couldn’t find a project.  Or I didn’t want to spend the money on the pattern. 

So I finally chose to knit a couple baby hats.  I had a hat picked out for Squishy, but it needed modifying to get the size right – again, not mindless enough at this point.  And since Lovebug only had a couple hats, this seemed good.

The first pattern is Little Boy Blue Ribbed Baby Hat by Tonya Wagner.  I knit this pattern a while back for some charity knitting hosted on the Itty Bitty forums.  I remembered really liking the pattern and how quick it was.  Knit from my own hand-cotton, I got to work. 

I cast on 56 sts instead of 64 as recommended.  The cotton isn’t as sproingy as a wool blend and the hat was turning out huge.  I wanted something smaller.  And because it’s cotton, it’s a little cooler than a wool hat.  Because the hat isn’t as elastic as it would have been had I used a different yarn, this hat will fit for a good length of time.  I’ve decided the size is about 0-3 months, which works well.

While I was knitting this, all I could think of was candy corn.  It reminded me of candy corn because the colors were oranges and reds and yellows and pinks and creams.  Obviously, it’s not striped exactly like the candy, but this is what stuck in my head.

But NOW, when I look at it, I see Cyclones.  We are an Iowa State family, Mr. Man is a graduate of ISU.  He pointed out that it looked like an Iowa State hat.  And I have to agree.  So she’ll be ready to sport the right colors come November.

Simple 2x2 ribbing with clever decreases makes this really cute.  This was knit in a matter of hours and I recommend it as a good pattern for charity knitting or that last minute baby gift for a shower.  They’re bitty so people love them no matter what.

The second hat I knit was the Basic Newborn Hat by Jennifer Jackson.  Again, simple pattern, I probably could have figured out the decreases, sizing, etc. without the pattern, but I didn’t want to think.  I chose to incorporate 2 colors. 

Knit in Spud & Chloe Moonlight (dark teal) and Knit Picks Comfy Worsted Marmalade (burnt orange), I added a few stripes with some stranding thrown in.  These colors could go either way, masculine or feminine, which I love.  I would probably size this hat 3-6 months.  The cast on was 64 sts, and again, I cast on 56 and still came out large.  Then again, I may have used bigger needles. To be honest, I never checked the required needle size.  I think this would be a bit large for a newborn, but that’s just me.  I could be wrong!

These were good projects for Sunday.  I wasn’t in love with the knitting but needed to do something with my hands because I felt naked without my needles clicking.  The finished hats are wonderful and I look forward to using them.

I’m back to the blanket again, and it’s moving along.  I adjusted the size from my initial attempt and so each skein is going a little further than I anticipated.  This isn’t a problem at all, it just leaves me guessing as to how to divide the skeins when incorporating a new skein (since I’m alternating skeins to combat color differences). 

I’ve got several projects lined up for Squishy, but can’t decide what to work on.  I’d love to finish a sweater for him, but it requires purchasing yarn because I don’t have enough in my stash.  There are a couple hats I’d like to make him but they’re sized for adults and I need to do the math for his size head.  And then there’s his Lego Man….

As for me, I’d like to knit a modesty shawl but need to pick a pattern & yarn.  Mr. Man may get a new hat or gloves this fall.  We’ll see where the wind blows me.

Happy Knitting!