Christmas Knitting: A's Morgan

Ahh yes...I am back with Christmas knitting (on Valentine's Day no less).  Like you haven't been hearing about it for 2-3 months already. :)  Last week I finished A's Morgan.  I worked on this straight up until the Christmas holidays.  Actually, very late (or very early depending on how you look at it) the night before Christmas Eve I was knitting this.  I was making good progress, but after being so tired and not having my wits about me, I didn't think it was smart to try and complete the finishing details.

I knit this hat with Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light in Blueberry Mix.  The yarn is a DK weight and is so wonderfully soft.  I really liked this yarn, but in the end, probably wouldn't choose it again for this pattern because I'd like to see more stability/structure in this hat.

I'm trying to remember what the yardage may have been on this hat but I honestly can't remember.  I want to say I used less than one skein.  In fact, I'm almost positive that I did.  I can't remember.

Anyway - the details of this hat.  It wasn't mindless knitting.  I watched television while knitting this, but had to pay more attention to the rows and the counting than any show I was watching at the time.  The designer does have a tutorial (link on left-hand side of blog) on her website that explains her method of increasing and decreasing, but I didn't find it until after I had finished the counting.

While knitting, this hat didn't feel like it had rhyme or reason for why you were directed to knit this way or that.  Don't let that fool you.  The designer had her head on straight and this is a great example of trusting the person who wrote the pattern.  After the knitting was finished, I could see each element of the hat when I went back to look at the pattern.

The pattern has you knit a pocket for the brim/bill.  You insert your choice of stabilizer into the pocket and close it up.  I then tacked down the top of the hat to the brim as opposed to the suggested snap because I didn't think A would wear it unsnapped.  I used an old, unused baseball cap and cut the plastic brim out, cutting it down to size as necessary.  This part had me the most confused and gave me the most trouble.  My stabilizer is considerably smaller than the template given, but I had to modify it to fit into the pocket.  The problem isn't readily visible and I can't remember what went wrong there.

I got X to pose in the hat the night it was finished blocking by bribing him with a tootsie roll.  He wasn't very happy with me that night, but since then he asks to wear it all the time.  His uncle may have a hard time taking his hat home with him! :)

Friday Favorites 2/11: Keeping Warm

I love blankets, they keep you warm, they're snuggly and squishy.  Today's Favorites are just a very few of the patterns out there.

Plaid Baby Blanket

by Yana Ivey

 Photo by spiceyjellybean

 Photo by Yana Ivey

Photo by marsicanusbear

I really like this plaid blanket.  It's sized as a baby blanket, but truly, any blanket could be made for a baby, child or an adult. I shared three different photos so you could see how much projects can differ.  The top photo is so clean and crisp, while the second seems soft and fuzzy.  The third photo, to me, is very masculine.  

Shale Baby Blanket

by Jared Flood

Photos by Jared Flood (brooklyntweed)

Brooklyn Tweed strikes again!  I'm positive I've shared this pattern before, but I don't think it was on a Friday Favorites.  I'm going to have to have another Jared Flood favorites day again soon because as I was picking out patterns for the post, I came across so many of his patterns in my favorites. I've only heard amazing things about Jared Flood and his patterns.  I've not knit any of them yet, but I think this would be at the top of my list.  I had mentioned in the past that I'd like to knit this with Shelter in Faded Quilt.  That's my plan and I'm stickin' to it!

Garter Rib Baby Blanket

by Orange Flower

Photos by Orange Flower (sketchbook)

I am in love with this blanket.  Isn't it funny how things that are so different from one another can still be so attractive?  The Shale blanket is intricate and beautiful and vintage-feeling.  To me, this Garter Rib blanket is simple, sleek and a little modern.  I never would have thought to make the ribbing a garter ribbing.  It adds a textural/design element that I love, without getting into cables or lace or anything complicated.  The designer mentioned that she dyed some DK yarn just for this project.  I think it's beautiful. :) 

What are some of your favorites?  

WIP Wednesday 2/9

I'm going to keep it simple today - it's busy at work today!

Mom has found fabric for her Brea Bag.  Hopefully soon we'll be able to line it.  I'll be knitting a shoulder strap for the bag since we didn't find anything we liked better.  We'll probably line the back of the strap with the same lining as the fabric to add stability and so the strap won't stretch out too much.

I'm almost finished with J's gloves.  It's just the fingers that need to be knit.  Potentially, this could be done in one night.

(Sorry for the fuzzy, funny colored photos.  I took them this morning before work!)

Last night I sat down and finished the knitting on A's Morgan.  For whatever reason I wasn't really wanting to pick this up again.  I think I put it so far out of my mind around Christmas because it wasn't finished, that I found it daunting to return to it an finish.  I still need to cut out the stabilizer for the bill and sew it in, as well as block the hat.  It's a bit tight on my head so I don't know if it would fit A's head.  I may go back and re-do the bindoff to make sure it's really loose.  At this point it feels really tight even though I tried to get it loose.  :/  It doesn't look like much and I won't weave in ends until the bill is finished, but I feel the relief of being close to done!

What's on your needles this week?  Any projects left unfinished that you just can't bring yourself to pick back up again?

A Little Something More

Each week on Wednesday I give you a peek into my project bag (or work pile on the sewing table).  And on Fridays you see my favorites - of all shapes and sizes.  These days deserve more than just a dated title.

So I designed some buttons.  I haven't added button codes because each Wednesday and Friday I'll be using the buttons - so if I add a code, it will take me to the same place every time, when in fact, each week it changes.  Nevertheless, I'm still very happy with how they turned out.

I was trying to figure out what I'd use in the buttons.  Where do I find the pictures and what should they be of?  Instead of fretting over this for a very long time, I decided it was easiest to go to a place I'm most comfortable.  My project page on Ravelry!

I picked out a couple photos from my collection and set them to work on my blog buttons! :)

Here they are in all their glory!

WIP Wednesday couldn't be a finished object - that'd just be silly.  So the current photo is of my Traveling Woman shawl, that is sadly in hibernation at the moment.

Friday Favorites was a bit more difficult.  How do I choose a picture that best represents what Friday Favorites is all about?  Silly me - what's more perfect than one of my most favorite finished knits?  You've all seen Gerald many times now on my blog.  And you'll see a lot more of him from here on out.

I used Scrapblog to create my buttons, a site I've used many times.  It's free, which is perfect, and there are a lot of neat things you can do to simulate scrapbooking.  :)

Friday Favorites 2/4: Frills for Little Girls

It's Friday!!  Hooray!!  Man, my week is all sorts of messed up.  With two snow-days and one 2-hour delay, it just doesn't feel like today is Friday.  But here we are and so on with Friday Favorites!

I have what some might call an unhealthy obsession with little knits for little girls.  Dresses, skirts, cardigans and sweaters...they are all so adorable.  I think one of the reasons I can't help but add them to my list of favorites is because I don't have the opportunity to knit for any girls.  Don't misunderstand me - I love knitting for X when I have the chance and there are a lot of cute things for boys.  But there are so many for little girls it's unreal.

So here are a few of my most recent favorites.

Lazy Daisy Dress-Up Knit

by Anna & Heidi Pickles

Photo by Anna & Heidi Pickles

I can't help but love this little set.  Babies are adorable, adding a little ruched turban makes it even better.  I cannot get over this hat!  Pair it with a striped daisy stitch and you've won me over!

Springtime in Hollis

by Teresa Cole

Photo by AliciaPaulson

This pattern is named Springtime in Paris, but this knitter titled hers "Winter in Portland."  Love it!  I'm not usually a fan of red but this darling sweater is just so striking in this color!  I love the stitch on the cuffs and bottom half of the cardigan.  I envision this is a dark teal or peacock color. :)  Beautiful work!

Clara

by Karin Vestergaard Mathiesen

Photo by AliciaPaulson

Little girls in little knit dresses - do I need to say more?  When I first started knitting, I didn't know if I liked the idea of knit dresses on little girls.  I soon realized I just wasn't seeing the right dresses.  Simple is often best.  I love the leafy goodness on the top, which transitions to mostly stockinette stitch, finishing with just a little flair.  This can be knit as a dress or a tunic - but a little girl in this with lacy little tights would be perfect!

Bella Dress

by April Garwood

Photos by mamajoss

Another dress - this one reminds me of a little Victorian girl going out in her Sunday best.  The lacy portion on the bottom is beautiful and shows off the fabric behind it so well.  This dress is crocheted, instead of knit.  If I had a little girl, I would certainly make this dress!

There you have it folks!  Happy Friday!

What Is That?!

Could it be?

I'm actually making progress on J's gloves? Astonishing!  I didn't think it was going to happen any time soon.

Okay - that's not completely true.  They've just been sitting for so long I was starting to feel as though they would never be finished.  Can you tell what I've completed so far?

A VERY long cuff,

the palm/hand & thumb gusset, and 2 1/2 fingers!  How exciting!

WIP Wednesday 2/2

FINALLY I have some new photos to share with you of Mom's Brea Bag.

I am SO glad to have made significant progress on this project.  Essentially, it's as far as it can get before Mom picks out fabric for the lining and that is sewn in.  Once that is done, I'll attach the shoulder strap, sew down the strap ends and officially gift it to Mom.

I was having a hard time deciding how to sew this project together.  Is sew the right word?  Piece together is a more accurate description.  First off, blocking was simple - the pieces didn't need to be stretched out much, rather the cables needed straightening, and the edges needed to be symmetrical.  I carefully measured, pinned, measured and re-pinned.  In the end, it's 3" wider than the pattern says their version is, and 1/2" taller from bottom to purse opening.  The gusset is exactly 2 1/2" wide and a total of 30" long.

Although this bag could potentially be very small, there is plenty of give on the bag front and backs.  Our intention is to line the bag with a silk-like material.  The gusset of the lining will probably be reinforced with interfacing to give it more structure, while the rest of the lining will not.  The juxtaposition of Shelter against a refined fabric such as silk should be lovely.  Texturally and visually pleasing at every angle! (Can you tell I like this bag?)

So the piecing...originally I wasn't going to block the gusset, but I did just a tiny bit to ensure it was long enough.  To get the crisp edges, I put wrong sides together and did a slip stitch joining the pieces around top and side edges.  This was perfect.

Okay - I could keep going, but I'll post again when it's Done-Done.

I've finished all my swap knitting so no WIPs to share there.

I frogged and restarted J's gloves.  I've modified the decreases to something I like a bit better.  I also chose to cast-on 4 more stitches than I originally did, and I won't decrease as far as I did the first time.  About half of the first glove is finished.  Now that Mom's bag is finished, that will be my focus.

What's on your needles this week?