Last one! For a Little Flower Girl

This is the last of my hats that I've had in queue to be posted about for months. 

It's a really small hat...really, really small.  But I loved the yarns I used for it--I think the variegated yarn is Sugar'n Cream's "Lava Lamp", and the pink that compliments it pretty well is their "Hot Pink".

I also really liked the flower I made, even though I can't remember exactly how I made it!  I know I didn't use a tutorial... I think I just started casting on A LOT of stitches, and then knitting 2 together every third stitch after two rows, and probably knitting 2 together every other stitch after that.  Something like that.  I wanted to make a rosette, but the middle turned out too small--so I stitched it together in a big circle and came up with this flower. :)  The middle came out pretty hard-feeling since it's so dense, so I stitched in a few accents in the variegated yarn to make it look button-like. 

I tried getting a close up, but this is from my camera phone, so it's not that great:

Now that I'm all done with my "back catalog", I should have a few more hats done soon!

"Country Side" Brambles and Seeds

I don't know what to call this one, honestly.  I really wanted to try out the bramble stitch, but I tend to work with my yarn so tightly that it didn't really go well for me--even less so considering I used a variegated yarn that didn't show off the intricate pattern.  So the brambles turned into a small "band" at the bottom of the hat, and I finished up with a much easier double seed stitch.  Funnily enough, with the variation the yarn makes, you can hardly tell the difference between the two stitches right away, and it looks like one really texturized blob.  Oh well; at least they're pretty colors?!

"Country Side" comes from  name of the Sugar'n Cream yarn I used. And as usual, I used my size 10 round needles, though I didn't knit this in the round (they're just so much easier to use!)

I only have one more old hat (el oh el) yet to post about...which is good I guess, because I just picked up my needles again and have about two more to show when I get around to it.

And back to knitting again....

This is another older hat I never got around to posting about.  It's actually the hat full of black thread that caused all the problems I talked about in this post back here.  If I ever use Sugar 'n Cream's black yarn again (and I do have about half of it left over!), I'm definitely doing a vinegar bath or something.

I still think it's cute, though... but obviously this photo is pre-washing:

Knit in the round, size 10 needles with Sugar 'n Cream cotton yarn--I forget the color names, but it's basic black, white and yellow. I did an I-cord for the antennae (which I can vaguely remember not liking to make), and I winged (lame amirite?) the design for the wings.

After washing, it  turned out to be grey, yellow, and off-white. :(  I think it just passed being donate-able!

Ribbit! Ribbit!

Once again, I feel like it's been forever... because it has.  I've moved, I had a disaster with some yarn from Sugar 'n Cream, and between that all, I haven't felt like knitting.  I've started picking up some other crafts again (mainly sewing), but no pictures of anything else as of yet.  So this is another piece that's pretty old, and I was so proud of it... until I tell you my story.



Look how awesome that is, right?! I made the design for the tongue and the eyes freehand--the eyes are basically rectangular shapes with a decrease in the middle, sewn in half and embroidered with some black.  It's made with all Sugar 'n Cream cotton yarns in Black, Red, Yellow and Hot  Green, if I remember all the color names correctly. 

I started out trying to do an ombre sort of pattern--starting with more rows of yellow at the bottom of the hat, and interspacing them with the green until it was solid green at the top.  I'm not sure if that worked out as good as it seemed in my head, and it looked plain afterwards, so I decided to use the base of the hat for a frog idea that was floating around in my head. 

Then I washed it...

And I found out Sugar 'n Cream does not set their black dyes properly.  I tried to take into account some fabric bleeding, and I washed my batch of hats separately.  I even changed the water on the ones with black yarn about five times (it bled that much, but I thought it was done bleeding). But oh, no: this hat--and another hat with more black in it--got stacked together with some other hats when they were half dry. I thought everything would be ok.  FAIL.  Even after I washed the hats repeatedly, and even after they were half dry, the black still bled like a... well... something I shouldn't type here.  My whole batch of four or five hats had black dye on it.  It took a lot of chemicals, cleaning, bluing, soaking, and rewashing to get my hats clean again.  Even now, the batch I washed and screwed up are a little pill-y from all the washing, and a bit more dull than my glorious before-washing pictures. 


So yeah, that's why I haven't felt like knitting lately.  I'm still getting over my rage, let me tell you, internets.

Purple Cables.... Sort of.

Long time no see, internets! Unfortunately, I've been moving around, and I haven't felt like posting or even knitting for a while. :(  I better get back into it soon, but in the mean time, here's another one that's been waiting to be posted online (and sent out):



This one was kind of simple, I wanted to try out cable knitting more, but I didn't do my math quite right, so it came out looking more like some kind of medallions (there's one on each side of the hat) rather than cable knit stripes.  I don't think it photographed very well because of the stitching, either.  I still hope someone will be able to enjoy it, though!

This was made with Sugar 'n Cream cotton yarn in either Hot Purple or Soft Violet... I can't exactly remember what color anymore.

Jack(rabbit)-in-the-Box

It's been a while, hasn't it?! But I finally got my new batch of hats gathered up, although these ones need to be washed still.

This one is another using Bernat's Baby Stretch "Jack in the Box" yarn.  It kind of looks like a court jester bunny!



I made up the hat itself as I went along, knitting in the round and making an alternate knit/purl stitch for the band (which would be considered straight purling if I was knitting flat, I guess).  I used Fiber Flux's tutorial for the ears, but I modified them... I didn't think I could knot them well, so I sewed them on upside down, with the point at the ends.  They're a little more floppy than I thought they would be at first, but I still like it. 

I think I need to show more detail on the ears, because I love the way they curl in on the inside, just like real ears would!  That's actually another reason I didn't want to knot them. But it's night time right now, so this is the best sort of picture I can get: 

My Masterpiece... The Babyhawk Hat!

I looooove this. I want to make it in every color combination possible.  Is it ok for baby girls to wear mohawk hats?  Because I soooooo want to make them in girly colors, too, but I know how sensitive parents can be about making sure their baby has proper conventional gender identifiers... or something like that. 

Anyway, onto the pics!





This is made with the same yarn as the last post--Sugar 'n Cream's Mod Green and Mod Ombre.  I made up the design myself using the idea of a knitted heart pattern I had attempted a few days earlier.  Each strand of the 'hawk is tied individually and sewn on in rows of three, because I don't usually trust yarn to stay put if I don't tie it securely.  So I abandoned the idea of  the classic fringe-making trick. 

I think the pattern could use a tiny bit of perfecting... I mean, I basically made it all up as I went along, anyway, and I don't particularly like how I can see the bind off edge.   I also wasted quite a bit of yarn on the mohawk--it started life about an inch longer, which looked a little unruly, although it was easier to tie up.  This length is pretty perfect, though--it stands up on its own and is still very moveable and shape-able!

Bamboo Ombre Stripes

Well if that name doesn't sound like a spam post... Anyway!




I made this with Sugar' n Cream's yarns in Mod Ombre and Mod Green.  I tried out stripes with this, but you can't really tell due to the size and the different colors in the second yarn. I also tried out a different stitch; this is the bamboo stitch, I believe.  It's nice, but a little hole-y  when it stretches. Maybe if I used something different than my size 8 round needles....nah!

I'm sorry my photos  aren't the greatest, but it's all up to what comes out from my Blackberry, since my digital camera conveniently decided to bite the dust at the same time I wanted to start this project. :(

Jack in the Box

Ok, so I think THIS was technically my second piece.  The bottom band was made by knitting two, purling two, and repeating... and it kind of looks floppy in this picture.  Oh well!



I really like this yarn--I stop to look at it so much when using it that my knitting goes slower. :(  It's Bernat's Baby Stretch in "Jack in the Box".  And the piece was knitted in the round with the same size 8 needles I never put down. 

The top of the hat was made using a generic pom pom method, but because of the yarn (which I made sure to stretch out while winding), it came out like the softest, floppiest koosh ball ever.  I love it!  It also looks about as big as the hat itself, but the hat is very stretchy. 

A Venture in Textures

This may have actually been my third hat... Well, I'm pretty sure it WAS my third hat, but I made these first few all around the same time, anyway.



I just started to really figure out stitches--for some reason, on my first piece, it didn't really dawn on me that, "WOAH, I can knit to the FRONT or the BACK, and get different looks by doing so?"

So with this one I wanted to play around with the textures of stockinette front-to-back, and the way alternating makes pieces puff out. Oh, and the vertical stripped band versus the horizontal striped body of the hat.

It's so simple, but I really, really love it. Though it KIND OF looks like a ribbed condom or something when it puffs out.  Just sayin'. I think it kind of adds to the charm, though.

Knitted in-the-round with Sugar 'n Cream cotton yarn in Cream, I think.  And size 8 needles.  You'll soon see how insanely in love with these needles I am.

Second Post! My First Venture into Knitting...

Whew; still not sure I like the layout, but I figured why not get started with the hats--I want to send these babies off!

So this one is my first knitted creation ever.  It's made in two pieces and sewn together, with size 8 needles and an acrylic yarn--I believe it's Lion's Babysoft in "Twinkle".



I'm sure you've probably noticed.... yes, the stitching is sideways!  I was just starting out, and didn't know whether it would be wide enough or not, so my obvious solution was to turn it sideways instead.  Not very typical, but I like the look nonetheless.

The top part is all purled, and it's just a basic rectangle that is gathered up top.   The bottom is a cabled strip that was technically my second piece of knitting ever.  Yes, my second piece of knitting and I decide on a cable.  I don't think I did too bad, all things considered, right?  I could have used a little more care stitching it together, I think, as the shape leaves a bit to be desired.  But I keep telling myself, "it's very stretchy, so it will stretch into shape when it wants!"

First post!

Hey there!

Welcome to the start of my blog.  I'm brand new to knitting, and I plan on using this page to catalog my journey and attempts at different crafty knits.  I'm not new to crafts by any means--I love sewing, jewelrymaking, and even a bit of painting and repurposing--but knitting was the one thing that always daunted me. Then I figured, "why am I ruining my hands all the time with sharp needles and bits of metal?  Why don't I try knitting?" 

When I found out my local hospital took donations of hand-knitted baby hats, I figured it would be the perfect way to get into the craft.  And it is! The hats are so small,  they're the perfect way to try out new stitches, color combinations and patterns. Plus, I won't be piling up useless crafty creations around my home, and I'll be helping out others, too. :)

Since I will be giving nearly all my creations away, I think a blog will be the perfect place to collect memories of them all together, as well as tracking my progress.

In the next few days, I'll probably be tweaking the layout quite a bit.  And my first batch of hats are just drying out from their baby-shampoo wash, so I plan on getting pictures of them soon, too!