Hat Ahoy!

An encore performance…

We Call Them Pirates Hat

Pattern: We Call Them Pirates Hat
Yarn: KnitPicks Merino Style in Coal and Vanilla
Needles: KnitPicks Options, size 5 for hat, size 2 for lining
Start Date: November 20, 2006
End Date: November 27, 2006
Comments: I made this hat for Matt in August. He loved it. Loved it so much he started wearing it the second it started turning cooler here. Somewhere between Career Services and the Tech Building the hat disappeared from Matt’s coat pocket. I think it was an act of piracy. We may never know. I will tell you though, if I see anyone wearing that hat on this campus, I will get the hat back! But, until that happens, I went ahead and knit another one. I love Matt and the hat is pretty fun to knit so I didn’t mind too much.

Other than the hat, very little knitting progress is being made. This may shock some of you, but I didn’t even knit at all yesterday. I developed a neck ache yesterday morning and, coupled with post-holiday travel fatigue, I just sat on the couch last night like a lump. I think I may put some of my current projects on hold and start on the few holiday presents I have planned for people. That way I am sure they are done in time and who can argue with the allure of casting on for a new project. Silly me missing a whole evening of knitting time just before the holidays! 😉

***Knitting Group is tonight (Wednesday) at the Borders’ Cafe in Wilmette (corner of Lake & Skokie). We meet from 6:30 until 8:00 and any yarn enthusiast is welcome!***

Read Full Post »

I’m a Dodo-Head

Ever since I knit Widdershins I have been wanting to do another toe-up with heel-flap sock, but the measurements for Widdershins are just too small using my preferred sock yarns and needles. Then I saw someone mention on her blog that she used the toe-up heel-flap instructions from Sensational Knitted Socks when she knit her socks. Doh! I never realized there were instructions in there for a toe-up heel-flap! I love that book and peruse the patterns often, but I never noticed that in the twelve stitch pattern section it sets out the customizable pattern for a toe-up with heel flap sock! Yea! So, now I can use the fabulously easy toe cast-on from Knitty and the heel flap instructions from the book.

And so last night I cast on for my newest pair of socks using Yarntini in the Pure Fall self-striping colorway. There would be a picture here except that even though I swatched the sock it was knitting up a bit too big so I had to frog back the 3 or 4 inches I got done last night…Oh well…Instead here’s a picture of the scarf I cast on yesterday. It’s Rowan Tapestry Pot Pourri and I’m using the scarf pattern the Yarn Harlot blogged on October 12th.

Here’s a picture of all the knitting that’s going along on holiday: the Pure Fall socks, a replacement We Call Them Pirates Hat (I’ll explain that one later), and the tapestry harlot scarf. I figured I would need a variety of projects to work on while spending the Thanksgiving holiday with family. (You may notice the new bag – I reached my workout goal for the past month so the Zelda Tote is all mine!)

I’m also taking along my latest read, The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. I’m just 80 pages in, but it’s hard to put down and I expect to finish it quickly. So I’m taking a back-up book as I do not want to be left stranded without reading material. I think I’ll bring along a short story book by Alice Sheldon a.k.a. James Tiptree (a sci-fi writer).

What is everyone going to be working on over the long weekend?

***Knitting Group is tonight (Wednesday) at the Borders’ Cafe in Wilmette (corner of Lake & Skokie). We meet from 6:30 until 8:00 and any yarn enthusiast is welcome!***

Due to the holiday, I’ll be taking a little break from blogging until Monday, November 27th. I hope everyone has a happy and safe Thanksgiving Day!

Read Full Post »

Thar Be Knitting Here

The last few days I’ve been knitting on a spontaneously chosen project. According to my knitting plan I should be working on Matt’s holiday sweater and some socks. However, in the true spirit of pirate life, I’ve thrown all my lists to the wind (for a couple days) and I’ve knit the We Call Them Pirates Hat for Matt. Here be the specifics:

We Call Them Pirates Hat

Pattern: We Call Them Pirates
Yarn: KnitPicks Merino Style in Coal and Vanilla with leftover Rowan Calmer for the lining.
Needles: Size 5 for the fair isle, size 1 for the lining
Start Date: August 20, 2006
End Date: August 22, 2006
Comments: Matt asked me a few weeks ago if I could knit him a skull and crossbone hat he found online. I told him I wasn’t very good at 2-color knitting so I probably wouldn’t. Then I decided to give the old fair isle style another shot. This pattern was a blast and it is as close to instant gratification as you can get while still using the words knitting and fair isle. I think this pattern will be knit again – definitely for some of the crew from our last sailing trip:) It looks a little wonky towards the top, but when it’s on Matt’s head it lays nice and flat. The KnitPicks Merino Style was a delight, as always. Incredibly soft and knits up nicely. (Oh, and Matt loves it!)

I also finally got around to doing the finishing for the Tasha Bag I knit in June. I was dreading the finishing, but it went off without a hitch and now I’ve got myself a pretty new bag.

Tasha

Pattern: Tasha from Knitty
Yarn: Rowan Denim in Nashville
Needles: 5’s and 6’s
Start Date: June 17, 2006
End Date: August 22, 2006
Comments: What can I say? The yarn turns your hands and needles blue. The pattern requires you knit half a dozen pieces then seam them all. But I really love the finished bag. It’s all worth it in the end, but halfway through, with blue fingers, I wasn’t sure it was worth it.

***Knitting GROUP is tonight (Wednesday) at the Borders’ Cafe in Wilmette (corner of Lake & Skokie). We meet from 6:30 until 8:00 and any yarn enthusiast is welcome!***

Read Full Post »