WiP Wednesday - YUM!

Here is my most recent project - and it's not for a baby!  It's a cowl for my future-mother-in-law (for Christmas).  The pattern is the Burberry Inspired Cowl found here or on Ravelry.

The yarn is amazing!!  It's Diamond Luxury Collection Baby Alpaca Sport - nice and soft and so great to knit with!  It sheds a little, the only drawback I've found so far.

I'm liking the way the cowl is looking - I'm just over half-way done.

For this project I had to learn the provisional cast-on and it's also my first time doing cables.  I think they are looking ok so far but there are a couple long threads I'm wondering about - should they be there?

I believe it's the last stitch of the stitches that go on the cable needle.  What I am doing is slipping the stitches to a cable needle (smaller than the needle I'm knitting with) then, when I get to the part where I need to knit those stitches, I slip them back on my knitting needle and knit them.  I'm trying to be conscious of my tension and I even gave them a little 'pull' after I noticed these longer threads.  It didn't seem to help.  So are they unavoidable?  Or am I doing something wrong?

Hop on over to Tami's blog and check out what other people are working on!

WiP Wednesday - Better Late Than Never!

I was all ready to get this post up first thing this morning when I got into work.  Unfortunately, my computer has been having difficulties all day so I'm finally getting around to hitting the post button!  Better late than never though!

So, I'm almost finished the "hat with the duck part", and I've run out of yarn.  As you can see from the picture, there isn't enough left to finish the remaining 10 rows or so, then stitch the brim up :(  I thought I might have just enough, but no :(  I've contacted a couple people on Ravelry about selling me a skein.  One got back to me and it will cost 5 times as much as what I paid for a skein to get me hers, but I might have to suck it up and do it.  I'm soooo close!

A friend, who appreciates my knitting, has asked me to knit a pair of leg warmers for her baby as she is crawling now.  I said yes, even though I have so many projects needing to be finished by Christmas.  I told her that I couldn't guarantee when they'd be done and she said it would be fine - I'm worrying that she'll be done crawling by the time they are knit up!  I don't know if my friend realizes the time it takes to knit - especially with little needles and thin yarn!

Anyways, I picked out some yarn and started to knit the leg warmers; I figure they are a good 'before bed' project - quite straightforward so go to knit when I'm tired.  I chose to use Regia Stretch Crazy Color yarn.  I checked out some projects on Ravelry that use this yarn and I really liked the colors.

I started the 12 month size but I think I'm going to restart and do the 18-24 month size since the yarn I'm using is a bit more thin than the yarn the pattern calls for.  I would hate to get these done just to find out that they won't fit around her little legs.

I used the tubular cast on as it gives a nice edge and a good stretch.  For a cast on that gave me a bit of a headache the first time I tried it, I'm actually starting to like it and this is the third project I will be using it on.

As always, thanks to Tami for hosting the WiP Wednesday on her blog!

Those are my WiPs for this week.  I'm hoping in the next week or two to have some new ones to share.  I'm going to attempt cables!  Wish me luck ;)

Cupcake Hat!

I couldn't wait to blog about this project.  I love it!

A friend is having her daughter's first birthday party in a couple of weeks - the theme is cupcakes.  I wanted to knit something for the birthday girl since, when she was born, I knit her a hat and booties set that she wore all the time.  I figured this was the perfect chance to knit the cupcake hat from Itty-Bitty Nursery Knits.

I started with the tubular cast-on.  Despite the challenges I had trying to learn this cast-on a couple weeks ago, I like the way it looks and it is stretchy so I decided to give it another try.  I'm happy to report that this time it all went smoothly!  I found this video really helpful.

The result of the tubular cast-on.

After you finish knitting the hat, you go back and add a crochet picot edge.  Since I don't know how to crochet, this posed a bit of a challenge!  I used a couple youtube videos to learn to do this.  Susan B. Anderson has a video that shows how to do the picot edge with a crochet hook but, not knowing how to crochet, her video wasn't enough.  The explanation was useful, once I sort of knew what I was doing.  I used this video to learn how to do the stitches.  The only thing that threw me for a loop was that all the videos I could find were showing the picot edging, well, on an edge!  The one I needed to add was in the middle of my project!  I figured the only way to do this was to pull the crochet loops through the individual stitches on my hat - I think I was right because it seemed to work.

Picot edge using a crochet hook.

Then, I needed to learn to crochet the cherry.  Again, thanks to youtube, it wasn't too difficult.  I used WireMySoul's video for this.

Crochet cherry.

I know that it may sound like watching all these videos to learn to crochet was more work than it was worth, but it wasn't.  Plus, I'm sure I'll use the skills I learned on future projects!

The finished product!

WiP Wednesday - Progress!

I'm happy to say that I have a project or two to post today!  Although, Wednesday snuck up on me so I really apologize for the pictures - I had to take them with my phone since I left my camera at home!  It was Canadian Thanksgiving so we had Monday off...and now, all of a sudden it's Wednesday and I haven't taken pictures or prepared my post!

Thanks again to Tami for hosting the WiP Wednesdays on her blog.  It's definitely a good motivator to get some knitting done!  I love seeing what everyone else is working on too.  Feel free to join in!

I've made good progress on the "Hat With a Duck Part" (the Half-Pipe Hat by Debbie Stoller).  After restarting the tubular cast-on a few times, see last Wednesday's post, I finally got it and I'm really liking the way it looks:

I'm hoping to have the hat finished by the weekend.  I'm also hoping that I don't run out of yarn!  I can't remember if I have more of this yarn in my stash - I think I should but I bought it a while ago so my memory is failing me.  I'm almost done the ribbed section, then a section of stockinette stitch, and finally I'll need to add the brim (need to go buy some plastic canvas for that).

I have made a little more progress on the Hippo (by Susan B. Anderson, from Itty Bitty Toys).  I think I just needed a bit of a break from knitting with this yarn and knitting so tightly after the Elefante.  I'm really excited to get this hippo done but I've pushed back my deadline until Christmas.  That way I can actually enjoy the process instead of feeling pressured to give it to my niece soon.

I'm planning on starting a few new projects for Christmas presents so I really need to get moving on the ones I have in progress!

WiP Wednesday - Flop!

Well, I had planned to have something new to share this week...but I don't.

I attempted to start the Half-pipe Hat which meant learning the tubular cast-on.  I found a great video online and cast on my 80 stitches and started the two 'follow-up' rows.  Well, I had to do this a couple of times.  Then, after I thought I finally had it, some stitches slipped off my needle - normally, I would be able to pick them back up and put them back on but not in this case.  The tubular cast-on uses 'twists' and once they fall off, they untwist.  Maybe there is a way to re-twist and put back on but I couldn't figure it out...so I decided to start AGAIN.

In frustration, I just started pulling the yarn and unravelling.  In the process, I created a HUGE tangled mess and spent the rest of the night untangling yarn.

So, I tried again tonight.  Cast-on 80 stitches with the tubular cast on...got to the next couple of rows and had stitches fall off - twice!  I'm stubborn, so, instead of finding another appropriate cast-on, I continued until I got it...and I finally did!  I'll share it in an upcoming post because I have put it in my knitting bag for the night and don't feel like taking pictures of it because that would mean I have to look at it - which I don't want to do right now :)

The rest of my free time tonight has been spent trying to get tea stains out of a book (that belongs to the library).  I'm pleased to say that went better than the tubular cast-on :)

Next week I will have some picture-worthy updates!  It's been a really busy week for me work-wise and otherwise!  Busy, but good :)

WiP Wednesday - This Week, I'm a Trader!

Thanks again to Tami for hosting these WiP Wednesdays on her blog!  I really enjoy browsing through all the links people post there - if you haven't yet, check it out!  And feel free to join in!


I have to admit, since last week I haven't put the work into my WiPs that I had hoped.  I got sidetracked...

...my fingers needed a rest from knitting :)  

So, my WiPs remain the same as last week - the Hippo and the shawl - both with no progress worth mentioning.  I plan to cast on a hat this week for my friend's 5-year-old son.  He had a very specific request for me.

I hang out at their house a lot and he had been watching me knit for a couple of months.  Every time he would ask what I'm making and who I'm knitting it for.  He would even remember a week later what project I had been working on the last time I saw him and ask if I was finished and, if not, when I would be.  A few times went straight for my knitting bag, pull out my project (still on the needles) and, before I could tell him to be careful, ask me what it was and who it was for.

One day, I was working on a project in the morning as he left for school.  When he came home, he immediately asked if the sweater for baby Lucy was done - it was.  He laid it out on the couch, smoothed out all the wrinkles and said, "Ohh!  This is really nice!  Baby Lucy is really going to like it!".  Heartwarming!  

Then, one day he put in a request.  He asked if I could make him something - a hat with a duck part, as he showed me with his hands a shape coming from his forehead.  In red.  I said I could.  So I went on Ravelry.com and found some patterns for duck hats.  "Like this?" I asked, "but in red?".  "Yes", he replied, "but without the eyes".  I confirmed that he wanted the duck hat in red, with the yellow duck part but no eyes.  No, that wasn't what he wanted.  After a lot of questioning and clarification, I realized that he wanted a hat with a bill!  Nothing resembling a duck at all - just the duck PART!  Oh, and it was to be "like a hard hat", so that he couldn't ruin it.  I explained that I would make it so it wouldn't fall apart, but that knitting would not be as hard as a real hard hat.  I don't think he actually wanted it hard, perhaps he was trying to tell me he wanted it to be stiff?

So, I eventually got the yarn and got his approval, but finding a pattern was not easy!  I did find one that I think will work in the book Son of Stitch n' Bitch by Debbie Stroller; it's called the "Half-Pipe Hat".  I need to learn the tubular cast-on; looks like some people on Ravelry gave up on it and used a different cast-on.  I'm determined to learn! 

I need to get on it, the poor kid requested it back in the spring and now is the perfect time of year for him to wear it!  Pressure is on - I'm already worrying that he won't like it!

FO Friday - Baby Booties

Oh, what a process it was to finish the booties.  I won't totally get into it but let's just say I finished the first bootie a long time ago.  When I went to finish the second one, I couldn't remember what size needles I used.  Good thing I had it on my Ravelry project page, right?  NO!  Wrong size needle on there.  I also wrote two needle sizes on the pattern - one saying "3 to 6 mo." and the other "bigger size".  I must have made the 3 to 6 month size, made sense.  NO!  Ok, must be the "bigger size" - yeah...NO.  Let's just say I now have 3 booties without a pair in all different sizes and I learned my lesson about being sure I update my project info once I start it!  Good thing I had a vague memory of knitting the first one on grey needles...

Anyways, it was worth it.  These were a quick knit and are SO cute!  The pattern is Saartje's Bootees on Ravelry.  The yarn is Rowan RYC Cashcotton 4-Ply which is a great yarn for this project - nice and soft and easy to work with.

Sophie is about 3 weeks old and they fit her perfectly - they won't fit for long though!

I've shown most of what I included in the baby shower gift for little Sophie in my previous posts but here's a pic of the finished lot!  Two slouch hats, Spud & Chloe's Buga Baby Bunting, the booties, the Elefante, and then I whipped up a minky blanket with tags on two ends.  I really had fun making it all!