The double knitting scarf and hat - almost done!

I am almost done with the double knitting scarf and hat I mentioned in an earlier post.  I just have 1/4 of the scarf fringe left, and then I am going to get the fringe wet and hang it dry so the strands will straighten out, and then trim the strands so the ends are even.  Then I will be done!  I spent most of the summer on it, and it is nice to have it almost done.  It's a man's scarf and hat; it drowns me!

A hat for Zhiqiang

I made this hat for a visitor from Beijing, Zhiqiang.  I made my own pattern for it, and it turned out bigger around than I expected.  I didn't quite finish the instructions, so I can't post the pattern yet.  I used KnitPicks Palette yarn.

A beret for Laura

I made this cute beret using a pattern in the ColorKnits Emag from Interweave Knits.  I used KnitPicks Palette yarn, which I've decided smells funny when it's wet.  I might stop using this yarn because of the smell.  The colors are different than the colors in the pattern.  When I blocked the hat (washed it and dried it over a ball and a plate), the band of the beret dried a little wider than I expected.  But it still turned out cute!  I gave the hat to Laura.

A blanket for Jen

Jen's having a baby, and I knit a cute blanket for her.  I used this pattern from Garn studio.  It turned out smaller than I would have liked, but it was too late to do anything about it when I realized that.  I used Drops Merino Extra Fine yarn.  The border on this blanket is really wide, but it is stylish and actually necessary because the feather lace pattern on the blanket wouldn't have turned out without a wide band to stabilize it.

A hat for me!

Finally, I've made something for myself!  It's a hat using this cabled hat pattern from Garn Studio.  I shortened the hat a little, because I was running out of yarn.  I used the Queensland Leche yarn, which is interesting because it's partly made of milk protein.  The yarn is kind of shiny and very soft.

A blanket for Cossette

Here's another full-sized blanket I did for Cossette's baby boy using the pattern from Ann Budd's Knitted Gifts.  I used the Cascade heritage yarn again.

A hoodie for me! - unfinished

I have been drooling over the Nasak hoodie pattern for a while now.  The pattern calls for Rowan Alpaca Cotton yarn, and it's so expensive!  It's $12.50 a ball, and 11 balls are required for my size.  Luckily I found it for half price on Amazon.  I eyed that for a while, then started to worry that someone else would by the yarn and deplete the stock.  So I bought the lot - 15 balls.  That way, I could make the sweater longer if I wanted to.  I always find that sweaters shrink up after a few washings, and I don't want that to happen to this hoodie.

There are two reasons I bought the recommended yarn for the pattern: 1- the pattern size could have turned out wrong if I used a different yarn.  2- the yarn is Alpaca spun around cotton, giving it the soft feel of Alpaca with the cool properties of the cotton, and I wanted that.

I bought 2 new knitting needles from Signature Needle Arts for the project, too, so the cost went up there.  I still haven't gotten wooden toggles.

While working with the yarn, I have found that it is hard to unpick if I make a mistake, because the yarn is fuzzy.  While untwisting it, the yarn wants to stay wrapped around the other strands.  So I'm trying to unpick as little as possible.

The finished pattern photo on a model:

My work so far (I'm still working on the back):

A doll's blanket

This is a doll-sized blanket I did using a pattern from the book Knitted Gifts by Ann Budd.  I've done this pattern for three full-sized blankets, but in this one I practiced adding the zig-zag lace edge to the blanket.  It was a LOT of work, so I ended up leaving the edging off the full-sized blankets.

A beret for Sarah

Here's another hat I made for Sarah: a beret.  I have to say, I don't like the way purple looks on me so I avoid it like the plague.  But Sarah loves it.  I've posted a photo of myself wearing the beret so you can see its shape - though it doesn't flatter me.  I hope Sarah likes it!

In order for it to take the traditional beret shape, I washed it in the washer in a mesh bag on delicate, then stretched it over a dinner plate to dry.

A hat for Sarah

Craig's mom Sarah is going to have to go through chemotherapy, so I made her this cute flowered hat.  I made one just like it for Brynn in December.  But I think I've gotten better, and this one turned out nicer.  I haven't given it to her yet; I hope she likes it.

One thing I did to get it to lie really flat: I blocked it after I was done knitting it.  I washed it in the washer in a mesh bag on delicate, then stretched it out on a drying shelf so the pattern was flat and left it to dry.

Socks for Timmy

I made Timmy these striped socks.  He really likes them!

A tiger for Ollie

I made my nephew Ollie a tiger.  It turned out really cute!  Jen sent me a really cute photo of Ollie holding it.  I got the head on crooked, but the rest turned out really nicely.

Hats for Sen & Hongbing

At work, we had some visitors from our Beijing office, Sen & Hongbing.  They have a tradition of gift-giving, so Sen brought me fans and Hongbing gave me a set of chopsticks.  I made them each a hat.

My Socks

Finally, I made something for myself.  They turned out really cute! But I was disappointed.  I don't know if it is the yarn type or the yarn weight, but when I walk on it the stitches hurt the bottom of my feet.  Maybe my feet are just sensitive.

Timmy's Hat

Here's Timmy's hat.  He loves it!

A blanket for Tara

I knitted a smaller blanket for my cousin Tara's baby shower.  She is having a girl, so it's pink.

Stevie's Socks

Here are Stevie's socks.  When she got them, she said they fit well and were comfortable.  They are made out of 75% wool 25% nylon, and treated with Aloe for comfort.

Timmy's Hat, a Sock for Me, & Stranded Knitting Woes

I've been working on a hat for Timmy.  He loves yellow and green.  I made him a yellow and green Star of Bethlehem quilt about 3 years ago.  Then he got a navy blue jersey Y blanket so he puts that one on top of my quilt.  Kind of frustrating.  Anyway.

Here's the hat.  It uses the stranded knitting technique I used on Sydni's and Brynn's hats, and I'm just not any good at it.  The hats all turned out really puckered, and that's not the way it's supposed to be.

So I gave up for a while and went to stranded knitting school.  The technique I want to learn is knitting with one color of yarn in my right hand and another color in my left hand.

First, I worked on a sock for myself.  My justification for starting a new project is to practice knitting with my right hand (I usually knit with my left hand).  With this sock, the yarn is dyed in a pattern so I don't have to use more than one ball of yarn for the sock.  And there isn't any kind of pattern to it.  It's just knit, knit, knit.  I keep forgetting I'm using my right hand, and knitting with my left, but the yarn looks right.  It doesn't pucker or even look different when I use my right hand and when I use my left hand.

I need to keep working on the sock, but I got a bit bored and started the second step in stranded knitting school:  knitting with both hands alternately.  The colors just don't mesh right.

I think I'll give up on stranded knitting for the moment and go back to knitting the sock for a while.  I've never knit a sock before so I'm learning all sorts of fun things about sock knitting.