2 Hats and 2 Cats
Now that I've sent off my package to Dulaan, it's time to start knitting for next year! This first hat is made from Lamb's Pride Lotus Pink and the pattern is called, simply enough, the
Lamb's Pride Hat. This is the larger size and it used most of the skein. I think if you were doing the smaller size, you could get two hats from one skein. A very quick knit, however next time I'll do the right twist, or baby cable, every 4th row instead of every other row. In fact I've started another hat doing just that!
The second hat is Elizabeth Zimmer's Snail hat found in her book,
The Opinionated Knitter. This was done in Lamb's Pride Bulky, Pine Shadows. This is the smaller size hat and a VERY fast knit. This could be made in an evening. I modified the pattern just a bit, EZ calls for the piece to be cast on, work back and forth for 5 rows, make the increases, then join and work in the round. I started on dpn's and started working in the round immediately, then switched to a circular needle after the increases, placing markers after each repeat so I didn't have to keep counting; made for much quicker knitting.
Also, for anyone wanting to make this pattern, when making the decreases, EZ says to knit 13 stitches after the purls first row and that should be knit 15. Another blogger mentioned it and she was right, so I thought I'd pass that along if you want to make it.
I think there's *almost* enough to make another of the same size. I think I'll make the brim with a contrasting color and keep my fingers crossed. :^) Also, I used a long tail cast on and the first row is too tight, so I'll either try using a double strand to cast on, or maybe try a knitted cast on.
Now, here's something I thought I'd never see... Zack (on the left) and Harley sharing the same space. Her ears are back and there's a low rumble when Zack looks at her, but they actually shared the space for about a half hour! There's hope, yet!
And, She Scores!!
It was a good week shopping at my local thrift store. On Monday, I found this skein of Lamb's Pride Bulky in the Pine Shadow colorway, oh so soft and pretty and only $1.69.
On Wednesday, I found 6 full skeins of Nature Spun in the 720 Ash colorway, $1.69 each. I didn't find anything Thursday or Friday, but a pretty good week, all in all.
Oh wait! I'm forgetting Tuesday. What did I find on Tuesday? Would you believe this?! OMG! I was so stoked when I saw these.
That's right, 3 Barbara Walker books. OK, two of them are both the 3rd book, "
Charted Knitting Designs, one paperback and one in hardback; I didn't even notice until I got them home. The
Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns is an old library copy withdrawn from the system and in fairly good shape. Both of the hardcover book have some color plates that my new copies don't have. I paid $2.29 for each book.
I'm not familiar with the other two books, but one was $2.29 and the other was $.99 so, of course, I had to grab them. All in all, a good week at the thrift store, indeed!
And, for some actual knitting, here's my first two pairs of
Magic 28 socks. They knit up really fast, so this will be a fun "in between" project when... Well... Between projects! :^) And, I need to use all that yarn I've been picking up at the thrift store!
So, what knitty bargains did you find this week?
Clapotis Unblocked
My Clapotis shawl is done and ready for blocking (click pics for big). It took exactly 2 weeks to do the actual knitting and I wove in all the ends, all 20 of them, on Sunday morning. I'm going to soak it overnight and block it in the morning. I don't want to stretch it too much in the blocking because I like the drape, but I want to soften the cotton and linen fibers.
It's beautiful and I love it! I did have enough yarn to complete the pattern without having to drop a repeat in the third section. I have about half of the last skein left, so I probably could have added a repeat! I think I'll make a headband with what's left.
The yarn is
Reynolds Garden Tweed in colorway 04. I picked it up at the
Needlework Unlimited Yarn Outlet. That place is dangerous to my pocketbook! Everything is half price all the time. They're only open on the weekends and you never know what they'll have in stock.
This is a squirrel proof bird feeder. It's obviously not chipmunk proof. This little guy is so cute that I can't get mad at him, even though he's stealing and stashing a good half of all the seed I put out. If you click on the picture, you can see how fat and stuffed his cheeks are.
The birds are still getting plenty of food as judged by all the poop on my front porch, more so than any other year! And, while the squirrels can't eat directly from the feeder, they're still getting plenty of seeds that are dropped on the ground.
This one's for
Chris. She started quite the phenom in blog land when she started posting belly pictures of Chaos and Mayhem. Sophie is enjoying a nap; she's very good at napping because she practices so much.
OH! I almost forgot! I mailed off my box of items for the Dulaan project. Final count was 7 pairs of children's socks, 29 children's hats and a woman's shawl. YAY!
Now that I've sent off my package to Dulaan, it's time to start knitting for next year! This first hat is made from Lamb's Pride Lotus Pink and the pattern is called, simply enough, the Lamb's Pride Hat. This is the larger size and it used most of the skein. I think if you were doing the smaller size, you could get two hats from one skein. A very quick knit, however next time I'll do the right twist, or baby cable, every 4th row instead of every other row. In fact I've started another hat doing just that!
The second hat is Elizabeth Zimmer's Snail hat found in her book, The Opinionated Knitter. This was done in Lamb's Pride Bulky, Pine Shadows. This is the smaller size hat and a VERY fast knit. This could be made in an evening. I modified the pattern just a bit, EZ calls for the piece to be cast on, work back and forth for 5 rows, make the increases, then join and work in the round. I started on dpn's and started working in the round immediately, then switched to a circular needle after the increases, placing markers after each repeat so I didn't have to keep counting; made for much quicker knitting.
I think there's *almost* enough to make another of the same size. I think I'll make the brim with a contrasting color and keep my fingers crossed. :^) Also, I used a long tail cast on and the first row is too tight, so I'll either try using a double strand to cast on, or maybe try a knitted cast on.
