Hats and Shawls

Hi all. More finished objects today. I updated my computer, so of course it didn't work right anymore. I glitches have apparently fixed themselves, so we are back to our regularly scheduled programming.

We will start with shawls today.

My Mommy turns 64 on Friday. (I was supposed to be born on her birthday, but I decided to come 2-1/2 weeks late. I was born to disrupt the status quo.) I decided my mumsy needed some shawls. I wanted to make her three, but only had time to make her two before I had to get the box mailed in time for her birthday. I knit one and I crocheted one. I don't love the crocheted one for two reasons. I think I picked a bad colorway and it is too short for true "shawl-ness". Nevertheless, I sent it to her.

First up: Flying Geese Shawl http://www.knittingdaily.com/media/p/47244/showcontent.aspx

That is the link. I can't get my laptop to work with me today. Maybe the glitches aren't fixed?

I made mine with Lion Brand "Jiffy" in #189 Wine. It is an acrylic bulky weight yarn, with a bit of a "fuzz" to it. The technical term eludes me today . I used a size 15 needle. I also added an extra "V" because I wanted to make sure this would be long enough to wrap around her. Thanks Stef for being my model.

This is the crocheted shawl I made. I want to try it again with a different color and adding a repeat or two.

Fabulous Shawl. http://www.favecrafts.com/Crochet-Sweaters/Fabulous-Shawl-from-Red-Heart I used, "I Love That Yarn" from Hobby Lobby. Don't know the colorway. It looks prettier in the skein.

Here we have a new baby hat pattern I have come up with. I will be adding a pom-pom to the top. This is something I will be selling in my Etsy shop. http://www.etsy.com/shop/originalbiz This particular hat is a custom request from a patron, but I will be making more for the shop soon.

Last week I made some hats for my Mom. She is in the frozen tundra and she needs some cute hats. I sent her some links to hats I was interested in making and these are the ones she approved of.

Greentrelac hat: knit http://www.allcrafts.net/fjs.htm?url=rms-ravelingmysensibility.blogspot.com/2008/11/entre-nous-entrelac.html

I learned Entrelac, people!! Exciting to say the least. I feel so accomplished! It is a slow moving pattern for sure, but such cute results. It makes you look brilliant. I will admit, I struggled with it at first. My brain almost imploded, but then Shazam! I caught it and we were off to the races.

This particular pattern gives a very sketchy explanation of how many stitches to cast on for the ribbing. I did the whole measurement thing and did the first hat with a cast on of 104. Turned out big. Not "turn it over, add handles and call it a purse" big, but definitely requiring bobby pins to hold it on big. Or big hair, big. The second one I took it down and cast on 96. Still feels a little roomy to me. The next one I will either cast on 90 or 84. We'll see. Btw, I have a 23" head circumference.

This one is: Patons 100% Wool, not sure of colorway. It's a blue, teal, brown, tan mixture.

This one is Debbie Norville "Everyday". It is my NEW acrylic worsted weight favorite. Soft, really great spring and pill-free. Definitely not the "plastic, scratchy" feel of Red Heart SS. JoAnn's had it on sale 2 for $5, so I thought I'd give it a try. It is spendy if you are looking to do an afghan. I believe it sells for $3.99, or something close to that, for a 3.5 oz skein. But it's GREAT for hats and other small projects like that.

The last hat I made Mom was a take on the Brattleboro Hat from Knitting Daily. http://www.knittingdaily.com/media/p/47263.aspx It is a pattern that is for sale in a book. I wasn't willing to pay $25.00 for a book for one pattern that I was interested in, so I sorta figured it out for myself. This is a terrible picture of me, but I wanted to show you the hat.

I made it from Lion Brand Wool-Ease with size 7 dpns. I, also, had to research how to make decreases while doing a seed stitch in the round. Oy...the things I do for my mother. I did write down the pattern so I could repeat it. However I don't feel right putting it on here because I just copied somebody else's design. Besides, mine is not nearly as "polished" looking as the original. My Mama appreciated it, though. :)

Last, but certainly not least, is the newest 'hat addition' to our house. My love needed to get a second job to take care of this family. He was hired by Domino's to be a rush driver. He went through several weeks of feeling embarrassed about the fact that he had to get a job at Domino's. I, being the tender sweetheart that I am, just could not wrap my brain around what the big deal was. A job is a job. But, for him, it really mattered. He was ashamed. Something clicked last week. He noticed he was not the only late 30's man working there that worked a day job and delivered pizza's at night to make ends meet. God has touched his heart and now he is grateful for this job. *whew* I must say, I thoroughly enjoy his employee discount. :)

Be grateful....Be blessed. :)

Update on Mom and Misc Projects

Ok. Update on Mom. She is coming home today. She's not sure exactly what time cuz they have to do all sorts of stuff to her to get her ready to do, but she is coming home. She will still have a tube in her side with a relief valve in case pressure builds up in her chest. The hole is not 100% closed. There is still just a super tiny tear in the lung. I've come to the determination that amazing surgeon is a word that I don't allow in my vocabulary anymore. :)

Now to the projects: First is a baby set that I made for my SIL for her to give as a gift. The sweater and the bonnet are the 'Emily' patterns from Auntie M's. And the booties are Bev's Very Easy Booties- HDC version.

I made them in Patons Astra in Bright Pink, Hot Pink and Light and Dark Tans.



Next is the infant frog hat. It is just the adult version available in my free patterns...only smaller. Same customer that ordered the adult version came back and ordered the infant version for the original recipients new baby girl. :) Hope they like it. I thought it turned out cute, even though I sewed the smile on crooked..LOL

Lacy Sunny Baby Hat

Lacy Sunny Baby Hat .pdf Pattern
0-3 month and 3-6 month sizes

I decided to make my hat pattern to try out a yarn I had found that I thought might be a good substitute for the Patons Astra yarn, which is really hard to find where I live. I discovered that I had not written a very good pattern. Granted it was one of my first, so I was cutting myself some slack, however, I could NOT leave the pattern as written.

I have modified the original pattern and separated it into 2 sizes; 0-3month and 3-6 month. I will be adding another link as soon as I have more sizes worked out and written up.
I hope the modified pattern is easier to make and the finished hats are more usable than the previous pattern.

Thanks everyone for your patience with me while I work this out.