WIPs And Gifts

Well I finished the Odessa Hat and it looks lovely. The blue beads add a subtle elegant touch to the piece which will suit its recipient perfectly. I also came across the tube of pearl beads that I was sure I'd bought in the summer, but couldn't find when I went to start this project. (That's how I ended up using the blue ones.) I found them in a pocket in my handbag! Looks like I've been walking around with them in there for months!!

I now seem to have several works in progress (WIPs). Despite a totally manic weekend when my time was certainly not my own, I did manage to get myself organised enough beforehand, so that I had a small project with me wherever I happened to be. The project in question is Nicky Epstein's Chameleon again. This is my second version and on Thursday I took a moment to wind a skein of Cascade 220 (whose shade is aptly named Puget Sound) into a suitable ball for the project. I do not have a swift, so resorted to my Nan's tried and tested trick with a couple of chair backs. My greatest challenge was completing this exercise before the cat decided to investigate! Thankfully, I just got finished before my large ginger and white bundle of fluff strolled languidly into the kitchen to check out what I was doing.

I repeated the same procedure with the lilac Cascade 220 that I am using to knit the Central Park Hoodie. I cast on on Saturday evening and am so excited to see this pattern taking shape.

I managed to score a whole bag of this yarn at a closing sale at the beginning of the summer and it's knitting up beautifully.

My other WIP is the Strawberry hat that I'm making for my niece. As I've hit the construction of the top, it's not such a portable project anymore (I actually have to concentrate a bit now!) so I'll be working on it at home over the next few days. It will be another of my Christmas projects completed, so I'm feeling quite pleased with myself now.

I'm now awaiting the arrival of a KnitPicks order which will contain some beautiful yarn for my final Christmas project - a lovely hat for the man in my life. After 20yrs, it's about time I knitted him something!

Hat Spotting

Isn't it funny how you start looking at knitted items that other people are wearing. At church on Sunday, I found myself looking at this very sweet little knitted grey jacket that a lady was wearing. It caught my eye because it was a knitted fabric, possibly a handknit, with a very interesting basket weave pattern worked into it.

It's the same when I'm watching my son's soccer games. Now that the weather has turned more autumnal, people are breaking out the winter headgear, so there I am spotting different styles and wondering how I can make them into knitted hats. I then race home and draw a quick sketch, so that I don't forget what I've seen.

In the meantime, I'm cracking on with my Christmas projects. Yesterday, I finished my second Odessa hat and I must say the blue beads on the blue yarn have actually been pleasantly surprising. It's a cute little hat with a very feminine design, which knits up quickly once you get into the pattern.

I have now cast on in King Cole Merino Blend DK for a strawberry hat for my niece. I love this yarn because it's so easy to work with. My pattern is an old one from a Norwegian magazine, which I have used several times before with great success. The little green stitches incorporated throughout really give it the look of a summer fruit. Every child looks cute in this hat!

Stash And Dash?

I've finally turned a corner on my terrible cold and have got back to knitting again. I cast on for another Odessa hat by Grumperina, this time in blue. I have blue beads too, which I'm still not sure about. They are almost the same shade as the yarn, so sometimes I feel that it's hardly worth knitting them in. However, the person I'm knitting for this time likes her clothing items to make a subtle statement, so I'm sure they'll suit her in the end just fine.

Now, I wanted to mention stitch markers. How do you manage with them? Last weekend when I was making the Center Square hat, I tried using my daughters collection of plastic stitch markers to mark the decreases for the shaping. This was a first for me as I'm an old-fashioned knitter and have always used remnants of old yarn to mark my stitches with. I thought it would be a good experiment though, so I gave it a try.

It was indeed a useful exercise. I didn't get on with them at all. Every time I got to a marker it felt bulky in my hands and the inflexibility of the plastic really annoyed me. Consequently, I've gone back to my tried and tested bits of contrast yarn!

On another note, yesterday I went stash diving (like dumpster diving only for a different kind of treasure!) In fact I had a major sort out. The corner of the room where I knit has become increasingly untidy in recent weeks and my stash has been spreading all over the place. I couldn't run from it any longer. It was time to do something.

It was a wonderful experience. I came across some beautiful yarns that I hadn't exactly forgotten about, but I hadn't got round to either. I am now completely out of Ziploc bags as I've packaged everything up nicely to keep it safe from those dreaded moths. My knitting area is positively pristine (not sure how long it'll stay that way though) and my stash looks so much neater now. Amazingly, I can fit even more yarn into my baskets than I could before!

Hmmmm, that has an ominous sound about it.

Odessa

Two days ago I finally gave in and cast on something new. The jacket was just getting too boring, so I've shelved it for a few days. Now I'm knitting an Odessa hat by Grumperina which I found on Ravelry. My daughter loved it and as the green Peer Gynt in my stash was bought for her, she's getting the finished product. Let's face it, it's been cold enough for a wooly hat here recently, despite the fact that it's June.
I bought some No6 metallic beads to knit in and they look quite unusual. It's a very satisfying project. Meanwhile the rest of the family is beseiging me with orders for socks etc, so the project list is extending!