Feed the Birds

Here's a twist.  Usually, I'm the one asking/begging friends to test knit for me, but my pal, Tracy, asked me to test knit this beautiful cowl pattern for her!  Just between you and me, I was a little reluctant at first since it seemed like it would be rather time consuming and I have lots of little hands that are begging for mittens, but I agreed anyway.  After all, what are friends for?

I'm so glad that I agreed to do it, as it turned out not to be a lengthy knit at all.  In fact, it moved right along and I was surprised at how easy it was to memorize the pattern.  The travelling cables are worked over two stitches so I didn't even bother with a cable needle! Tracy knit the long version in the pretty green yarn and I knit the short version in a bright red one.

The pattern calls for a DK weight, but I used Malabrigo Worsted in Ravelry Red.  I was able to get the same gauge with the thicker yarn and it worked out just fine.  It's warm and cozy.  In hindsight, I wish I had added one more pattern repeat, but I do love it just the same.  She also has a tall version that she knit in this dusty rose:

And here's one more picture of the long version, just to give you an idea of the versatility:

If you'd like to knit one for yourself, or for a friend, Tracy has a special promotion until the end of January on Ravelry.  She's offering $2.00 off the pattern with the coupon code ftb.  (This winter, I don't even want to go outside with a cowl! Brrrrrrr. . .)  I know if you decide to knit one, you won't be disappointed!  Tell Tracy I sent you!   ;o)

Catching Up!

Remember when I told you that I was doing a lot of knitting for Christmas this year?  Well, I thought I'd just do one big picture post to catch up on what I managed to get done.  This may be the reason that I didn't do much posting!  Everything had to be kept quiet, especially since I discovered that some of my family actually does look at my blog!

I knit quite a few pairs of fingerless gloves:

These were for my 13 year old niece, Eliza.  It's a free pattern on Ravelry called Align.  I found them to be slightly too small for my large hands, so if I were making them for me, I'd add some stitches.  They do stretch, but not much!  (By the way, Eliza has worn these every day since she opened them and has managed to already lose one.  Today, I mailed her a second pair!)

I also knit her another pair from a cute little kit I bought at the New England Fiber Festival last November.

The mitts are called Fleckle Mitts and were lots of fun to knit.  You only use one color at a time and they end up double stranded so they're quite warm.  I hope Eliza doesn't lose one of these, because I don't have any more yarn!  These would be good for using up bits of leftover sock yarn, as they don't take much.  It's the first time I've used 100 Ravens yarn and I really liked working with it.

I've been saving the yarn for this next pair for quite awhile trying to decide on the perfect pattern for my daughter-in-law, Emily.  She has long arms and always seems to have a gap between the end of her coat and her gloves.  She also has nice slender arms, unlike mine!  Still, you get the idea!  The yarn is Marigoldjen's merino and nylon in the colorway Anole.

The pattern is Herbaceous Mitts and I just loved knitting them.  Generally, I don't enjoy knitting lace projects, but these were an exception.  I found the pattern easy to follow and memorize. In fact, I like them so much, that I knit a second pair for my sister, Evelyn.

I used Koigu for her pair and I didn't make them as long.  I think a pair of socks knit out of this pattern would be terrific!

I also knit some hats for the guys.  These were all my own patterns.  Matt's is knit out of Malabrigo Arroyo.

He can wear it with the brim doubled or as a slouch.  His office is in the basement of his house, so I made it lighter so he could wear it if it got cold inside!

Michael didn't want anything fancy.  He just wanted warm!  I used Malabrigo for both of his.  The blue is Buscando Azul.

And the green is Vaa.

My "across the street" neighbors had a beautiful, baby girl in December too.  I knit Abby a Puerperium Cardigan.  I admit that I did get a head start on this set and was waiting to see what buttons needed to be sewn on.  John Deere tractors or flowers.  I was so sure it was going to be a boy, but Abby surprised us all.

Jen, of the same Marigoldjen yarns, dyed this especially for me.  I wanted a true, kelly green and I love the way it came out.  It's dk in merino, cashmere and nylon.  

The booties are my favorite free pattern. Christines-stay-on-baby-booties only this time, instead of doing rings of knits and purls, I did a rib cuff that can be pulled up to keep those little legs warm.  The hat is my own simple beanie pattern.

If all this wasn't enough, my other sister, Jeanne, asked if I would knit her a shawl to wear to her husband's Christmas party.  (Well, technically, I don't think she actually asked, it was more that I offered!)  She loves blue so I used this wool and bamboo yarn from Keepinknitreal on Etsy in the colorway "You're All I Need to Get By".

The pattern is Ripples.  I saw this shawl knitted at the Fiber Festival and couldn't get over how pretty is was. When I started knitting it, I thought I have to be out of my mind, trying to get it done with everything else I had to do, but it went pretty fast.  It's very easy to memorize and I could even watch television and keep my place!  Eventually, I want to knit one for myself.

Are you tired of reading this post yet?  I only have a couple of others left!  I couldn't forget the grand kids, except in this case, Jack was the only one who received an actual present.  I knit him some Harry Potter socks.

They were another free pattern on Ravelry called Go Gryffindor.  The griffins are duplicate stitched and I made a mistake on the first sock so when I got to the second one, I made the same mistake so they'd match. There are free patterns for the other three houses and I was afraid that Jack would ask for all of them, but he said he was just happy with these.  What a great kid!

I also knit a couple of pairs of mitts for Ruthie.  I did a little experimenting to see which thumb I liked better, the one with the gusset or the other.  The verdict is still out, but they're so small, neither take much time to knit.

Oh wait, I almost forgot!  I also knit some more hats for our hospital!  These are the red ones: 

and these are the green!

I wrote my own pattern as I just wanted little stocking caps.

(I haven't forgotten that a couple of you asked me for the patterns for the football hat and the berry hat.  I'll get to those soon.  I have to reknit both of them so I can take pictures along the way!)

So that's what I've been up to last month (including the Merry Christmoose pattern that I posted!) and I do have two other Christmas gifts that I haven't given to the recipient yet.  Those didn't get finished in time.  Gee, I wonder why not?!!

Dog Gone Cute!

I was checking out some of the projects that knitters have done using my patterns the other day and I came across this adorable puppy dog blanket:

It was made by Momika21 on Ravelry and here's a link to her project page.  Monica gave me permission to share the blanket with all of you as I thought it was such a clever idea.  Wouldn't this be a great baby gift paired with a dog themed book?  Goodness knows there are enough out there to choose from!  Obviously, the puppy dog pattern is mine, but here's a link to the free dog bone pattern, in case any of you would like it: Doggone Washcloth. Thank you Monika for sharing such a sweet project!

Have a happy and safe New Year!

Harry and Pals

Christmas sure is coming in a hurry.  I'm still feverishly working on a couple of presents that I had no business even attempting, but still I couldn't resist.  I can't share any pictures yet, but I thought I would share a little project that I made for my oldest grandson, Jack.  He just turned ten and for awhile now, his dad has been reading the Harry Potter books to him, and his brothers, every evening before bed.  Jack is just smitten with the series so when I saw this pattern, I knew I had to make them for him.

The pattern was only up on Ravelry for a hot minute and then the designer pulled it out of concern for copyright issues.  The yarn called for was a dk weight, but I knitted them out of fingering yarn.  My intention was for them to be Christmas ornaments.

The actual knitting was pretty easy, but the finishing and the details were quite time consuming.

I think the trickiest part of the whole project were the ties!  Trying to twist the yarn and secure them properly was a challenge.

I love the little eyelashes on Hermoine! I added the wands and made them by coloring toothpicks with a sharpie! Since they're just ornaments, I wasn't too concerned about any safety issues!

The designer is a lovely person and gave me permission to post my pictures, but you have to understand that the pattern is no longer available and I'm not able to share it due to copyright restrictions. Still, I thought you'd enjoy seeing them.  Jack was just thrilled and we have a video of him opening them up.  His joy made all the work worthwhile!  My son tells me that now I need to make all the other characters too.  Funny, but I don't feel obligated in the least to do that! lol!

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday and get all your projects done in time!  Speaking of which, where did I leave that knitting bag. . . .

Merry Christmoose!

Don't you just love the holidays?  Remember when you were a kid and all you had to worry about was what Santa would bring.  Remember how the time just seemed to drag on and on until Christmas day?  What I wouldn't give to have those days back!  Time is flying by and I don't know when I've been so ill prepared for a holiday!

I decided this year that I would knit a "few" gifts, so although I've been busy, I can't share any of my projects in case a member of my family decides to take a peek at this blog.  It's been so long since I posted however, that I'll be surprised if anyone is peeking!  In case you are, here is a little Christmas moose, a gift for all of my friends!

I knit this fella in Christmas Green.  What else? Unless it was red like the companion cloth:

Usually, red is really hard to photograph, but I think this picture came out pretty well.  The pdf links for the patterns are in the sidebar, or you can click here for the bib and here for the cloth.

I hope you've all been good this year and Santa treats you well!

Hospital Hats

I have been very neglectful about posting, so I thought I'd just share some pictures with you of what I've been up to lately.  We have a small hospital here in town and I was chatting with one of the maternity nurses and casually inquired if they ever had a use for baby hats.  I didn't dream of the response.  As it turns out, they just love them but the wonderful knitter who use to make them stopped and has since passed away.  I volunteered to knit a "few" to see if they'd like them.

Most of these are just my own design, like the hat with the bow.  I actually was trying to think of something to knit for a baby girl and I literally had a dream about that one!  Fortunately, I remembered how I knit it when I woke up so I could create it!

I love this little purple hat.  The flower is just an I-cord.  These are all the same basic hat and I just change them according to my whim.  They don't take much time at all and are quite addictive!

I came up with the idea for the little car hat and then was appalled that someone else had one almost identical for sale on Ravelry!  Yikes!  It's just uncanny how similar the two patterns really are. My car was patterned after my Beetle that I drove and loved for years!

Some of the hats are from free patterns that I found on Ravelry, like this little rosebud hat.

Here's a link to the free pattern as well as some other really cute ones! Baby Hats  I modified it by making both the rosebud and the leaf slightly smaller.  These are for newborns after all!  I used Plymouth Yarns "Jeannee" for all of the hats.  It's a cotton acrylic blend that can be machine washed and dried.  All of these hats were fresh out of the dryer!

Another really cute hat is this pumpkin hat found here.  I've knit this one a number of times for the Fall babies and didn't change it at all except that I knit the ribbed version and alternated one row of k7, p1 with one row of knit.  It makes these cute little bumps that stand out a little bit more.

For the Fall baby boys, I knit some football hats.  I looked at all the ones on Ravelry, but I didn't see exactly what I wanted, so I came up with my own version.  (My grandson, Jack, lent me his mini football pennants for the picture!)

These were a huge hit with all the men in my house.  Even my husband, who never pays attention to anything that I knit, said that he thought they were really cute.  He's not a big football fan so he thinks I should work on a baseball hat for the Spring!

So far, I've knit and delivered about 26 hats to the hospital.  Next up, I've got to start thinking about Christmas and Winter babies.  Maybe some stocking caps?

Mickey's Cat

Today is my birthday and so, as I have for the past several years, I'm posting another pattern as my gift to all of you.  This is a very special design for me to offer as I didn't draw it.  My eight year old grandson, Mickey, drew it.  I was visiting him and he was showing me some pictures that he had taken with his camera.  One of them was a picture of this great cat that he had drawn.  He couldn't remember what he had done with the actual drawing, but he did have a picture of it!  I thought it would make a great bib or cloth and so I attempted to recreate it here.  I love it and I hope that you will too!

The borders are slightly narrower than most of my cloths, but I wanted to keep the width the same number of stitches that I usually use.  I needed the "extra" blank rows to accommodate the whiskers!

I have to say that Mickey was quite pleased with the results and so am I, but mostly because I know that it's his design.  I did have to tweak it a bit to make it fit within the number of stitches that I had and I admit that I was tempted to change it a bit, but it was important to me to keep it as close to the original as I could, so I resisted!

The cloth is knitted in Peaches & Creme in Army Tan and the bib is done in Light Green.  You can grab the pdf files from the sidebar.  I hope that if you knit either one that you post your pictures on Ravelry so Mickey can see his cats in a variety of colors!

Mickey tells me that he thinks he'd like to be a cartoonist when he grows up.  Or a basketball player.  Did I mention that he's tall?  Oh to be young again and have choices!!