Here's what I knitted up last night...

...NOT. ;) I found this picture on a website and just loved it. The apple and watermelon hats I've made (and enormously enjoy making) are too feminine for little boys, but now that I've seen "Tomato," "Boysenberry" and "Eggplant," I can knit hats for all of the testosterone victims out there.

That said, I went to Yarn Theory and bought a single skein of red Karabella/Aurora 8 to make a tomato hat for my nephew, Trevor. In the next week or so, I'll pick a deep blue for the boysenberry color.

On the needles now is a hat for my son, Skander. He will allow me to knit him a hat as long as it's 1) not itchy and 2) has a skull and crossbones on it. I bought some Plymouth Encore and found a skull pattern on www.domiknitrix.com (what a name!). Once the hat is underway, I'll take some photographs and upload them. P.S. The tomato hat pattern can be found at the Knit Chicks site, http://acechick.typepad.com/knitchicks_patterns/ Both patterns are free (thank you ladies!). Have a great weekend and happy knitting.

Here is my first pair of very small children's slippers. I set the box of Crayola with it for scale/perspective. It took about an hour and a half to knit the pair. Very easy, very cute! I didn't bother with double soles because kids outgrow their shoes so quickly, especially very young kids.

Before & After Felting

Here are two pairs of knitted slippers. The pair on the left could only fit Shrek the Ogre (pre-felting), but the pair on the right is a mens size 11. Both were knitted with the size 11 in mind and I'm delighted to have them completed. I figured I'd get the guy slippers out the way and then relax and do the ladies (so much smaller!) slippers next. In addition to the adult slipper/clog pattern, I also bought a children's pattern and those should be a lot of fun to do.

You've already seen the Playa del Uruguay in a previous post (yukky yarn!), but here's another hat with a different fair isle pattern. I've started my second watermelon hat and I really enjoy making these baby hats. It's relaxing and an easy knit-up that really turns out to be both cute and practical. I'd like nothing more right now that to run to the yarn shop and purchase half a dozen skeins of the Karabella, but they're going to have to wait. There's a better cause out there than my wool stash (but only slightly - - LOL - - just kidding).

If you can afford to knit, you can afford to donate.

Knitters Without Borders

Watermelon Accompli

Here's the finished product! Yay! The hat turned out beautifully and the weird shape is due to the teddy bear's ears. (I've got a daughter with one billion bears and not a single regular doll).

Also on the needles is a scarf for me. The colors look strange in the photo, but they are the same as in my totebag (Lamb's Pride Deep Pine, Medieval Red & Oatmeal).

Another Finished Project

Here's another hat I made recently. Again, I used Lamb's Pride Worsted in Oatmeal and the fair isle knitting was with Lamb's Pride Worsted in Deep Pine. The model is my very-reluctant-to-model son.

The watermelon hat is finished, but for the beading (watermelon seeds). I hope to have that completed tonight and I'll upload a picture of the finished product. Then, it's in the mail to Hannah, the most recent addition to our family.

On the Needles Now

As you can see, I broke my rule about having three on-going projects, but I earned it nevertheless. The laundry's done, the house is clean and the yard has been mowed (all of which were done yesterday, Saturday). Did I mention we have a 2 acre yard? In addition to the house and yard care, we went to see Pirates/Dead Man's Chest, which was very enjoyable. I finally sat down and started knitting last night around 8:00 p.m. and this is what I've done on my watermelon hat so far. I'm using a ?Karabelle/Karabella? merino wool and it's wonderful. That yarn on my Addi Turbos just flows! I think all future baby hats will be done with the same material. I liked the Debbie Bliss that I used on the apple hat, but this yarn is just silky - - that's the only way to describe it. I plan on finding some small to medium black beads to use as "watermelon seeds." I'm really looking forward to seeing the end result!

Thank goodness it's Friday! I'm anxious to start my watermelon hat, but at the same time, my conscience is telling me to finish off my third pair of slippers and the wool scarf, both of which are on needles now. I told myself when I started knitting that I'd have no more than two on-going projects at a time - - one project where I would have to follow a pattern and actively count and keep track of stitches and the other, a "mindless" project where I just sit and knit for the pleasure of it. Hopefully, I'll knock off one or the other this weekend (not to mention the usual stuff like like dusting, vacuuming, laundry, lawn care et al).

Having mentioned yesterday a yarn I like, Brown Sheep's Lamb's Pride, I thought today I'd mention a yarn I loathed. I knitted two hanks of Playa del Uruguay and despised every minute of it. I would've chucked the yarn into the garbage on principle, but economy and conscience insisted that I didn't. Why didn't I like it? It went from 1/2 inch thick in one spot to paper thin in another. Getting gauge with this stuff - - yeah right, dream on. I can live with the scarf I made, however the hat is like a rubbery pancake (what an analogy) and if I pulled at it, I could stretch it to fit an elephant's head. The problem is that it would stay the "elephant head" size. Although it's 100% wool, it won't return to the original shape. It just kind of sits there like a limp noodle. In any event, here's a photo.

This is my first apple hat. I realize that it's no great thrill to anyone but me, but I was and am proud that it turned out recognizable. :) Today it's being mailed to Ilene of Brockton, MA as a donation to her WIC/Breastfeeding initiative. The Yarn Harlot sent out the request and hopefully, Ilene will be inundated in tons of little knitted baby hats. On Harlot's site, I found the greatest little watermelon hat pattern that I cannot wait to make. That said, I purchased the yarn yesterday and plan to get busy this upcoming weekend. I also need to make another couple apple hats for recently born or due-to-be-delivered babies.

I also wanted to show off my first pair of clogs/slippers. The color is Aubergine and the wool is Lamb's Pride Worsted. I really, really like this wool. I know that it's not the fanciest or the most expensive, but I've found it so easy and pleasant to work with and the quality is consistent.

First Attempts & What a Thrill!

Here is my first attempt at knitting with cotton fiber/yarn. While I adore the model, my nephew, Trevor, I'm not thrilled with the end result. To me, the hat was too loose and "formless," if you will. I missed the feel of wool running through my fingers. Everyone says that cotton is wonderful for kids and my sister informed me that unlike most hats, he didn't rip it off his head (not itchy like wool?), however I think that was my first and last cotton hat.

As for the thrill...I received an e-mail from Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, yes, the REAL Stephanie Pearl McPhee, author of Yarn Harlot, At Knit's End & Knitting Rules. Here is a woman who has written three phenomenal books, publishes a world-wide read blog, Yarn Harlot, is the mother of three and an expert knitter. Why did she write? I posted a comment (one of 500 comments) on her site inquiring who Madame DeFarge is/was. Stephanie was kind enough to reply and let me know that she's a Dickens character in A Tale of Two Cities (and a knitter). :) How neat was that?! Now, of course, given my love of books, I was embarrassed not to recognize the name, but far outweighing that was the thrill of receiving a personal reply. Likewise, Rosasharon was nice enough to post a comment here letting me know the same information. It goes without saying that I'll be visiting the library soon and picking up this particular classic (better late than never).

If you haven't see it already, do check out the Yarn Harlot Blog. You won't be sorry.

Here's a photo of my addiction. I love these clog/slippers! They're incredibly warm, the pattern is painfully easy to follow and felting is both interesting and fun. Now, if only the yarn fairy would drop twenty million skeins of Lamb's Pride worsted in my basement (varying colors please), I'd never leave my house again. (Pattern & photo credit to FiberTrends - - you people ROCK!)

Testing, testing...1, 2, 3

Virgin blogger here. Virgin knitter too. My, my....isn't this exciting??? I feel like Little Red Riding Hood making her way through the woods (now, if I could knit that damnable hood). Aw well...lots of scarves and hats for now and eventually, I'll move up to a sock (I hope). :)