Vera's Crafty Blog

Thanksgiving~Thanks for Knitting

Some Quiet Time

I enjoyed my extended Thanksgiving holiday with knitting and friends.   With my drama from last November, it really felt good to have some quiet time.

I'm so glad I can knit.

Cabled Beret

I knitted this as a gift with some yarn that I brought several years ago for a felted purse that I will never make.

 

Evermore Scarf

I started this scarf for Patrick in January, knitted about halfway, then put it down.  Picked it back up, and hope to have it done soon.

I really need to get a better shot of the beautiful rosewood needles I'm using.

 

 

Galaxy Girl Shawl in Progress

I got a skein of some gorgeous (what other kind is there?) Wollmeise in The Loopy Ewe sock club a few months ago, but I'm not in sock mode, and I found a great, mindless pattern on Ravelry called 22.5 Degrees that would work well with it.

Here she is so far.  The colorway is called Guide to the Galaxy.  Still have a lot of knitting to do.

 

A Saturn Thing

I also cast on for a Simple Things Shawlette with some Miss Babs yarn that I brought at SAAF a couple of years ago.  The colorway is Saturn.

 

I seem to be astronomically inclined with my choices of sock yarn colorways :-)

A Model Baby

Taking the Rest of the Day Off

Yesterday, I had a thoroughly enjoyable day off. I met a fellow knitsib for lunch, and we went to visit another knitsib, Katerina, who had a baby nearly two weeks ago.

Isn't Aiden Michael cute? Anyone recognize the hat and socks?

  

I have no sense of the size of babies, so when I knit something for them, I always wonder if it will fit, so I'm always pleasantly surprised when things do.  

The cabled hat looks great, and there's room for him to grow into it.

 

Oh, the socks are a perfect fit!  I need to make her another pair.

 

It will take a little time for Aiden to grow into his Little Boy Blue Hat.  Still adorable in it, though.

Great visit.  He is such a chill little guy, and a sweet model.

A Baby Storm!

Since April, I've knitted for 10 babies, including a set of quads.  It's been fun, and I came across loads of wonderful patterns.  It's been pretty awesome.

Little Boy Blue Too

Little Boy Blue

Here's my second Little Boy Blue Hat.

  

I dropped a needle size, and while the hat isn't much smaller than the one I did the other day, it feels tighter and not as floppy. I need to block the edge, so even though I'm going to visit the baby today, he won't get the hat until later.

 

I attempted to make a pom pom for it, and it looked puny and anemic, so I abandoned ship.  Still, it's a wonderful hat. 

I'll go up to a couple of needle sizes and knit another one for my nephew.  I think he'll like it.

Yarn Cocktails

Part of the joy of knitting and crocheting is the thrill of the yarn.  Just rummaging through yarn either at the LYS, on line, or from my embarrassingly out of control stash makes me feel good.

I joined the Yarntini semi-solid sock club earlier this year, and got a skein of Jessica's beautiful yarn from April-September.

Drool if you must!

 

I love the names of the yarn, Cabana Boy, Strawberry Frenzy, Limoncello, Caipirinha, Summer Sunset, and Concord.  She even added drink recipes based on the yarns which I have yet to try, but it sounds like fun.

Now to find patterns worthy of the yarn :-)

It's a Flop!

Sockhead Hat

This April, on my way to Create South in Myrtle Beach, I purchased some OnLine from Island Knits in Pawleys Island. The yarn looked great on the skein, but the sock, was a fail. I hated the way the yarn knitted up as a sock.  After working the cuff, I decided to frog it.

Several months later, I saw the Sockhead pattern on Ravelry, and thought that it would work for the failed yarn.

It's always nice to knit something other than socks with sock yarn too.

 

In progress...I'm liking the colors much better already.

Dig my groovy tank!  Remember, this photo was taken in August.

Elizabeth the First

As a general rule, I'm not a chunky, bulky yarn person, but the Elizabeth Hat captivated me. 

I dug out some Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Bulky (in Red Hot Passion!)  and some size 11 dpns, and in no time, I had yet another hat.

She's quick and cute, but I need a circular size 11 needle for extra speed. It never ceases to amaze me that I still don't have all the needles I need.

 

I'm pleased with both of my floppies!

A New Boy Blue.

I started another Little Boy Blue Baby Hat yesterday with size 5 needles.  While yesterday's hat turned out well, I feel much better about this one.  It's sturdier.

 

What a great pattern.  It almost knits itself.

None of the Above?

Little? Boy? Blue? Hat

I started the hat the other day for my friend Kat's baby, Aiden Michael, who was born last week.  I like the pattern, and I took the needle down from the recommended 7 to a 6 because the hat is for a 12 to 24 month old, and I want it for a younger baby.

I also used a Plymouth Yarn's Baby Boutique in Aqua, but I'm not certain if this color is suitable for a boy.

That being said, here is the hat. I nearly frogged it because I thought it too big, but I wanted to knit the entire pattern (again, great pattern).

 

It needs blocking to straighten out the edge, but it's a lovely hat.  I'll get around to making a pom pom soon.

First, I'll try it again in blue and with a size 5 needles.  I'll also take this current one to work to find out from the moms what size baby this will fit.  Update:  The moms (and a dad) said that it would fit a 6-12month old.

There's always another baby.

Picture Pages--Owen's Socks & Cabled Baby Hat

Owen's Socks for Aiden Michael

A knitsib had a son last week, and although I have almost finished a sweater for the baby, and may still finish it soon, I'm more in the mood for hats and socks.

I've wanted to knit Owen's Socks  for quite a while now, but I still tend to avoid anything that has short rows and wraps.  They are so cute, however, I managed to get over my fear, and give them a try.

 

Oh!  I love them.  They are so easy to knit and I had no trouble at all with the wraps.  I knitted one sock on size 1 (2.25 mm) dpns and the other on size 2 (2.75mm) dpns, and while the one on size 2 isn't much bigger, it has more give. 

  
 

I also enjoyed using the Baby Cashmerino.  It feels so good.

Cabled Baby Hat

This hat is one of my favorite "go to " baby hat patterns, and since the designer of Owen's Socks designed them to match the hat, how could I resist?

 
 

Since there was no Aran weight, Cashmerino at the LYS,  I used Cash Vero by Cascade Yarns, and it worked well.  I did use size 6 (4.25mm) dpns and the ribbing and 7's (4.5mm) on the body of the hat for a better fit.  

I had started with the recommended 8's (4.5mm), but the hat looked too loose.

 

I started another hat, Little Boy Blue, yesterday.  Details soon. 

Picture Pages--Earth Baby Hats

Earth Baby Hats

The parade of baby hats continues.

As a bonus for being in all six months of the Yarntini Semi Solid Sock Club (upcoming post), I received a stunning 70 yard wool/silk/cashmere skein. Gorgeous, but what could I make with it?

A baby hat, of course. I search Ravelry, and found the Earth Baby Infant Hat, (Ravelry link) and thought it would be perfect, and it was.

Just like Ramona Ruth, it's a descriptively easy and beautiful pattern that highlighted the beauty of the yarn.

It's for my friend, Jen, whose baby girl was due last week. The color is Seaglass, and it does need to be blocked.

 

Why not another one?  Here she is in Baby Cashmerino.  So pretty in pink.

Coming Soon: Owen's Socks & Cabled Baby Hat

Picture Pages--Ramona Ruth

Ramona Ruth Baby Sweater.

I first saw this lovely sweater (Ravelry link), and I had to knit it for somebody's baby. Top down and seamless always sells me, and it's a fabulous use of the embarrassing amount of sock yarn I have.

Here she is, armless.  I think that Dream in Color Smooshy in Giant Peach is perfect for this top.

 

One arm...

And the other...

What a difference blocking makes! This sweater is almost shockingly easy, and the lace always impresses.

Here's another one in progress.  This time with Dyed Jems Merino Sock.  Not a good photo of how pretty the colors really is.

The colors are somewhat better in this photo.  I just need to take the short time to get the sleeves done. Been more than a little nervous that I will run out of yarn...

Magic Loop is the way to go for sleeves.

I'm thinking of yet another sweater too.

Next:  Earth Baby Hat (Ravelry link)

Picture Pages--Rib-A-Roni

Never Gonna Give You Up!

I've been away from this blog, but not away from the computer--Twitter and Facebook, mostly.  Still blogging is something I don't want to give up despite the recent evidence to the contrary.

Here's what I've been up to.  I hope to do a blog post a day on a particular project until I catch up.

Rib-A-Roni Hats

Rib-A-Roni Hats! The pattern is a total win.  It's so easy, uses worsted weight yarn, comes in five sizes (from baby to adult), and the crown decreases are nicely done.

For Baby Brooks (due 12/2009)...In Berroco Comfort.  Having fun with the colors.  Love working with this yarn!

  

For Baby Caleb (born 10/2009)...

 

For my nephew Donovan. I'm pleased with how much he likes the hats.

See how cool the decreases for the crown are?

 
For Patrick... This one is in Crystal Palace Merino 5.  Sweet yarn!

 

 

Next:   Ramona Ruth baby sweater