BULLETPROOF

Here is the latest from my hat jag, the Tasseled Fez from Charlene Schurch's Hats On!. It is knit in what I would consider a very firm gauge. In other words the stitches are very tight, making for a warm and windproof hat. Quite a wrestling match to knit, but I like the results.


The crown of the hat lends itself well to the three needle bind off technique (worked on the right side) for constructing the points. I also love this technique (worked on the wrong side) for shoulder seams of sweaters. HERE is a pretty good video tutorial.



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HAT JAG

I'm on a hat jag. The ideas keep coming... what if I try this pattern with that yarn? The results are so rewarding because the projects are portable, I can finish a hat in less than a week, and unlike socks or mittens I only have to make one! It doesn't bother me in the least that I can't possibly wear all of these hats in my lifetime- I am happy to give them away!

Both of these hats are from one of my favorite pattern books, "Hats On!" by Charlene Schurch, available HERE. I made mittens based on this pattern a long time ago, and have had my eye on the hat pattern for years. I just couldn't see making it with the fine yarn and tiny needles recommended in the pattern, so I substituted thicker yarn ("Mini Mochi" by Crystal Palace) and scaled things down to compensate. The yarn does all the color tricks by itself! The Ravelry link is HERE.


Here is another hat made with a similar color-changing yarn, Knitpicks "Chroma". The sideways cable is made first, joined together, and then stitches are picked up and knit for the hat body and crown. I love the way the colors stripe, but didn't care much for the dull and blotchy colors of this particular colorway. I also discovered that the cable I chose doesn't stretch much, which is NOT a good thing for a hat! I guess the person who gets this hat will have to meet very precise head measurement specifications. Ravelry link HERE.

Still on the needles: a hat knit at such a tight gauge that not only is it thick and warm, I think it will be bulletproof too! Perhaps I should see if I can market it to the Canadian military.

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BABY HATS WITH WAVY LINES

There are two adorable new baby girls in our church, and they looked like they had cold heads, so I resolved to make them hats. But I forgot, and now the winter is half over. So they will get toddler hats to fit them next winter. That's the joy of knitting for children: they grow in, they outgrow. As long as you make something bigger than they are at present, it will fit them eventually. For a while. And hopefully they won't grow in and out during warm weather.

The hat above is a classic lace pattern called "Feather and Fan", free pattern available HERE. It is an easy knit, and constructed from brim to crown, in the classic way. I made it in the round, so it would be seamless, and changed to the white yarn for Rows (Rounds) 5 and 6 to emphasize the wavy lines.

Now, what to do for the second hat... wavy lines are cool. I like wavy lines. I ran across this enchanting pattern for the "Bon-bon Bowler" hat by Susan Z. Douglas, published in Tops with a Twist, book available HERE. The construction of this hat is completely different. It is made one section at a time, kind of like a pie, and grafted together. The wavy lines are made as cables (crossed stitches). This seemed like a fun challenge, and I tried to make the cables stand out with contrasting yarn.


Of course I had to use thinner yarn and smaller needles to scale it down to baby size. Then I ran into problems because the scaling-down process didn't work quite right, and the shape turned out really wacky: way too big in circumference (17") and too short in the crown (4.5"). I should have added at least two more inches to the crown. I compensated for the weird fit by not hemming the brim, and adding ties so it would have a chance of staying on a toddler's head. Maybe it will work. You never know with toddlers. Mine were notorious for ripping off whatever clothing they could- socks, shoes, hats, mittens- and throwing them in inconvenient places. You can always try.

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CHRISTMAS SECRETS REVEALED

Tardis socks for the Dr. Who infatuated teenage girl, pattern HERE. By the way, this is the same girl in the previous post who is the owner of Doggie's Christmas stocking.


The Manly College Sweater, with College Boy himself modeling. Pattern available HERE, previous post HERE. He didn't mind the pink knitting needles.

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DOGGIE'S CHRISTMAS STOCKING

My children, all teenagers now, have been complaining that the magic has gone out of Christmas. I remember feeling the same sense of loss as a young teen. One of the best things about being a parent has been once again experiencing the giddy anticipation and excitement of Christmas with my own small children.

Here is my daughter at about age two or three, proudly helping to decorate the tree. She was a very cuddly child, and developed strong attachments to stuffed animals. One of her longest relationships was with a little stuffed beagle-type dog, whom she appropriately named "Doggie". Below is Doggie watching her decorate the tree from perched within the branches.


Of course I knit the children Christmas stockings, shown above. I experimented with stitch patterns and colors, so I guess you could call them sampler stockings. (The stocking that doesn't match is the one my Aunt Jane made for me). These very same stockings will be hung up tonight, hopefully to be filled by Santa once again.


My daughter complained one year that Doggie needed a Christmas stocking too. I pulled out my size 00 needles and the finest sock yarn I could find, and made her this. It measures about four inches high, and you can click it to enlarge. The tiny little jingle bell on the tip has rusted, but my now sixteen-year-old daughter still pulls out this stocking with joy to hang it on the Christmas tree as an ornament!

Maybe there's still a little magic in her Christmas after all!

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SECOND LIFE

This is a white baby blanket knit in a cabled feather and fan stitch from what appears to be Peaches & Cream cotton. It got put in the washing machine, and the edge fell apart.




So I crocheted it a new one, and secured the loose ends in the new stitches. Not perfect, but pretty good.


And darned I up some very large holes. This one was almost six inches in diameter.

Is there a distraught toddler behind this blanket? No! A distraught COLLEGE STUDENT! Whoever knit this for her must have loved her very much.

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EXPERIMENTING WITH TOWEL TOPPERS

I never deliberately intended to make towel toppers- you know, those frumpy crocheted thingies that attach a hand towel to your fridge door handle. I always thought they belonged in the category with cross stitched kleenex box covers and dolls with huge crocheted hoop skirts that conceal a roll of toilet paper. Usually sold by pathetic old ladies at church yard sales and such. Not me.

Then a friend begged me to make her some Christmas towel toppers, and even provided the towels. She insisted on paying me. I happened to have one in my posession that I used as a model. The topper was crocheted with cheap acrylic yarn (you know how I love that!). It had been hanging on my fridge door a month or two, and the acrylic strap was already badly frayed. No acrylic! The logical fiber seemed like cotton, since a hand towel is subject to a lot of hard washing. So I dug out some matching green Peaches & Creme and a crochet hook, and did my best to copy the model. The result looked OK, but felt stiff, thick, and heavy (click to enlarge). I hate to think how long it is going to take to dry in our humid summers! Seemed like knitting was the way to go.


Funny how there are so few patterns available for towel toppers, especially knitted ones. The vast majority are simple garter stitch. It was a pleasure to run across the delightful cable knit towel topper shown below, referenced HERE.

For the next topper I chose a 1 by 1 rib stitch. This one came out much softer and more drapey, but was still quite heavy (click to enlarge).

I moved on to a lighter weight cotton chenille, thinking that the chenille would be soft and absorbent like the towel. I chose Brioche rib for the topper, making the decreases line up so that the top looked like a series of wedges. Unfortunately all of my stitch work was hidden in the fuzzy chenille, but at least the topper was light and drapey (click to enlarge).


For the last topper I chose a light sport weight cotton with a smooth texture. I wanted to make something lacy, and ran across this delightful lace Christmas tree in Lesley Stanfield's The New Knitting Stitch Library (page 137). Book available HERE



What a perfect motif for a Christmas towel topper! This one is hands down my favorite! If I ever make a Christmas towel topper again, this will be my design of choice (click to enlarge).



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