Charity Hat Knitting

I have more yarn than I feel comfortable having in my stash. It's only about four cloth shopping tote bags but for me that's too much. I don't like having yarn or fabric just sitting in my stash and not being used. I know. I'm weird. Anyways...There are many generous people collecting hats for kids, cancer patients, homeless, and so many other people in need. I've made hats for a few of these collections but I never really felt drawn to them. Clare, from The Big Family Homestead  is collecting hats for Vets in her area of Wisconsin. I felt drawn to this hat collection so I'm going through my stash and knitting some hats.

My go to hat pattern is the Bankhead . It was originally and adult hat but the designer has updated it so it fits baby to XL adult heads. I like that it has a little ribbing so it does have some stretch but mostly it's just a fun knit. Because I don't knit steadily on these hats it takes me about a week or two to make one hat. Depending on how much time and motivation I have for these hats. 

I've gone ahead and cast on my second hat using the discontinued Bernat Mosaics yarn. I really enjoy knitting with this yarn but this is my last skein. I'm going to have to mix it up a bit and alternate some plain hats with the fun to knit colorful hats. Otherwise I may never make any simple one color hats. 

Do you do any charity knitting?

A little knitting update

I finished my fingerless mitts. I used this pattern except I made the cuffs longer before starting the pattern mostly because I didn't read the pattern correctly lol. They actually have a left and right hand and they fit so well. They are both made from the same skein of RedHeart Stripes Fruity Stripes.

American Flag scarf made with RedHeart Super Saver Americana no pattern

Menta & Liquirizia Shawl made with hand dyed mini skeins

Antler cardigan made using Mary Maxim sport weight yarn

Robbie's socks - I use this pattern but I just knit them vanilla.

Wips

Like any knitter or crafter, I have several WiPs (Works in Progress) going at any given time. Right now these are my two main knitting projects.

This is a pair of socks for Robbie. That boy has fallen in love with hand knit socks which is wonderful for him. For me not so wonderful lol. He has a wide foot and wears a US size 13 shoe. While I love the process of knitting it does get a bit boring when working on the same pair of socks for what feels like forever. In reality it takes me about a month to knit a pair of socks whether they're for Robbie or my US size 9 foot. I tend to knit while cooking dinner and before bed. I'm sure if I spent a good chunk of time on them I could knit a pair in a week.  I'm actually enjoying working on these socks because the yarn is so fun. I'm always trying to knit a bit faster so I can see what color or pattern is coming next.

My other project is a simple slouchy beanie for Robbie's girlfriend. She's been lucky enough to receive a few handmade gifts from Robbie and me.

I have a handful of other knitting projects that are just sitting. I'll pull them out soon so ya'll can see what's languishing in the WiP pile.

Sock monkey knitting

My son Robbie and his girlfriend Hailey have been dating for almost 7 months. That's a long time for a couple 16 + 17 year olds. Hailey asked for a pink stuffed alien or a sock monkey. I decided to knit a sock monkey first because I haven't seen an acceptable sewing pattern for an alien yet. This lady will be a 7 month anniversary gift. Remember being that age and counting the weeks and months of a relationship? Nowadays I have to stop and calculate how long hubby and I have been together (26 years together and married for 20 in October).

 I just know we are on our second lifetime. First it was those young years when we were starting our little family. Now that our youngest is 17 I feel like we are on our second lifetime together. I remember when I was in my 20's (and knew everything) and thought that 50 was kinda old and a long time away. Now that I'm 47 fifty isn't so far away anymore. Now we are beginning a new part of our lives which includes adult children (25 and 28). Both lifetimes have pros and cons but I know I will be enjoying this time of my life.

Dishcloth Mystery

I found a fun group over on Ravelry recently. It's the Beginner's Knit-along group. Each month they have a couple different knit-alongs going on. I'm not a big fan of mystery-alongs whether they are knitting, crochet, or quilting. I like to see the final project so I can decide on color placement. Knowing this, I still jumped right in and joined the dishcloth mystery-along. Even though I don't know the design it's only one color and a small project.

I went with green because it is the brightest color of cotton I have in the stash. I've noticed that yarn color really effects my mood. Bright colors make me happy and dark colors mellow me out.

So far we have only done the border so I have no guesses at what the design might be. Maybe fireworks for the 4th?  We'll get another clue tomorrow.

Learning something new

I try to either learn new things or learn new ways to do every day things regularly. This week I decided to teach myself how to do entrelec knitting.

I'm using this pattern that also has a video to help explain things. After I got past the first couple tiers things started to go smoothly. It's pretty easy but there is alot of turning. You can see that there is 3 sections on my needles and each section has 8 stitches. You work back and forth on those 8 stitches for a few rows and then move on to the next section. Like I said, lots of turning. There is a way to avoid all that turning and it's called knitting backwards. Something else new for me to learn. Not sure what this yarn is because I found it in the clearance bin at Michael's and it didn't have a labelbut I am having fun watching the colors change.

I also need to learn how to use this tablet a bit better. My laptop bit the dust a few months ago so when  Verizon had a Mother's Day special that if you upgraded your phone (or added a new phone) you could get a tablet for free, of course I couldn't turn down that offer. Now that I am using the tablet to take pictures I need to figure out how to take better pictures and how to edit them. We never stop learning.

A bit of yarn shopping

 I've been doing a little bit of yarn shopping this week.

I've received a few orders this month so I needed to stock up on some colors.

I also finished this Beachcomber's Cowl in Sage green and black. This went out to friend in Texas who has been having some very cold weather lately and needed something to keep out the cold wind.

Miss Mocha has decided that it is toasty warm under Momma's quilt. Sometimes it is a bit too warm and she pokes her head or paw out.

Miss Whiskers just wonders when am I going to start sewing again? She loves to help me with my fabric scraps. Soon Whiskers, soon.

Blankies

I've been working on these baby afghans a bit here and a bit there. I knew I needed to get them finished but never found the motivation. With three new babies due to arrive later this year I figured now was as good a time as any to get them finished.

This one was knit diagonally. Simple brainless knitting.

This one is a gorgeous green color and was crocheted. The pattern was on the back of the Pound of Love yarn label. It only takes one ball to make the afghan. This pattern is a favorite of mine. It has such a nice texture for babies.

I had the hardest time getting pictures of these afghans. They were either too dark or too light or the pics just looked "off".

September is for mice

Over at YOE the theme for September was mouse/mice. My partner this month was Courtney. I went simple this month because I didn't want to over think what my shoulder could handle.

The green birdie thing in the middle is a potholder. I didn't have any mice fabric but mice and birds go together, right? I also crocheted a mousie ornament all dressed for winter. The fuzzy things are knit mice with googly eyes.

Knit 1, Purl 2...

I've been knitting baby hats this month. Baby hats are so cute and soft! I actually have two more almost finished that aren't in this picture. Once I finish the last bits, they will be going to a good home since we don't have any little ones here.