Other people's hats - and hands

Everyone knows that knitting tends to lag in the summertime. It's just too hot to work on large projects. I should know! My red sweater is waiting to be steeked while two of my other knitting partners are still on vacation and/or finishing up their versions of the Saddle Shouldered Aran.

In the meantime, I've been doing some small projects for the Minnesota Knitters' Guild's Service Committee. This year, the committee has gone high tech and "virtual" in an effort to get more knitters across the state knitting for more groups in a larger service area - Minnesota, Wisconsin and South Dakota.  

The 11 service committee members across the state are meeting via email to plan collection drives for different groups that might not be on Twin Cities knitters' radar. This year, the project is for warm hats, mittens and gloves for adults and adolescents. 

So far, we are collecting warm winter items for  Changing Gaits (an organization that uses horses to help people with a variety of behavioral issues), the Red Lake Indian Reservation, Barrels of Hope in Waterville, MN, Lutheran Social Services,  and two St. Paul schools - Como Park and Washington Senior High Schools. 

Whew! That's a lot of hats and warm gloves.

I'll admit it - my own contributions have been minimal so far. Two hats and some mittens. However, the MKG is hoping that each of of our over 650 members will complete at least two items for this drive. That's going to keep a lot of people warm.

Pattern is "Everyone's favorite hat" by Evelyn A. Clark.

My sampler hat for my EZ Saddle Shoulder Aran.

1/2 of my Instant Mittens - pattern by Mary Jane Mucklestone

"Can I take this off now?"

Next up, another Windschief by Stephen West and a Pup Tent Cap by Catherine Gamroth. I highly recommend these two patterns as fun and quick to complete. 

Recently, the MKG posted their request on Ravelry.com.

"Bring your knitted items to the monthly Guild meetings. If you cannot attend the monthly meetings, you can mail your donations to the Textile Center of Minnesota at 

3000 University Avenue SE, 

Minneapolis, MN, 55414

Attention: Minnesota Knitter’s 

Guild Service Committee. 

If you would like yarn for yourself or your knitting group, please send your request to Betty Hanna at infomaster@knitters.org and some supplies will be mailed to you. We recently received several very generous donations and are well stocked with yarn! 

Everyone who donates, whether a Guild member or not, will have his or her name entered into drawings for prizes. The drawings will take place at the August, 2014 and January, 2015 Guild meetings. 

Start those needles clicking!"

So, if your sweaters or baby blankets are just too tedious right now - hats and mittens are quick, lightweight and could win you fabulous prizes!

Hats and jags

Most knitters understand knitting jags. Despite my plans to finish my gray Breezy Cardigan, I've been indulging in a hat knitting jag. And it's all because of a good deed - I cleaned out my stash.

During the big stash closet organization earlier this year, I ran across some bags of my hand spun from years ago. In 2005, I bought the Shepherd's Choice competition bag of various fleeces at that year's Shepherd's Harvest Lamb and Wool Show. Then I had to come up with something made out of them for the 2006 show. Well, I put it off and put it off and ended up only having time to make a scarf.

According to my notes, the edge stripe of purple is Jacob wool dyed violet, the yellow is Southdown dyed with lemon jello and knitted with Kidsilk Haze, the green is Border Leicester, the golden rose is Lincoln, the turquoise knitted with Kidsilk Haze is Suffolk, the gold is Polypay, the red-purple is a mix of Ramboullet/Border Leicester/Corridown and the final pink stripe is Ramboullet.

The leftovers have been kicking around from box to box in my closet and I decided to use it all up with some hats. It seemed perfect for the Quarters Cap pattern by Kristin Nicholas. She recommended using all one color to make your first hat and that's just what I did

The first hat - the practice hat - I did in all one color of hand spun gray for Mr. Daisy. It turned out a little wide as I was misreading the pattern. Still, it's not bad.

What is that thing on your head?

After I had a good look at the pattern again, I tried again with all the colorful leftovers.

Hey!

He's a big fan of purple so this one is striped purple, turquoise and yellow. Yowza! 

Now, time to return to that gray . . . 

Going Camping?

You'll need a tent.

Try Pup Tent - you'll like it! It's just a hat for the MKG service committee's drive but I'm working on getting it done this week before the Ravellenic Games start this Friday. I'm on Team Twin Cities and I can't wait for some quality knitting time. A little Chris Hoy, anyone?

Aha!

If only I wasn't home sick from school - then I wouldn't have to model this hat for my mom . . .

Just a quick little hat - the Montera Slouchy Hat pattern that comes free from Classic Elite Yarns. I used some hand spun yarn made from fiber ('Rick's Red') that I bought at Athena Fibers this summer. I spun it up last fall.  It was fun and easy - but I think it's a little too slouchy so I'll make the amended pattern next time!

Back to blue sweater purgatory . . .

One down, four* to go

I finished up Oldest Daughter's Drapey Tam (really called the Simon Tam) - the Berroco Ultra Alpaca and the Rowan Kidsilk Haze made for a wonderfully soft hat.

The ribbing is pretty but - a little odd. You build in new ribs as you increase the stitches (to make the tam shape) but then you quickly begin removing those stitches as you decrease. So there are some wedge shaped sections that I didn't expect.

Unfortunately, I didn't have anyone to try on the hat for me - Youngest Daughter being off at college and all.

So I got Youngest Child out of bed (he wasn't sleeping - just reading!) and bribed him with a glass of water to model for me.

It still didn't work for me. So, back to the drawing board.

My version of Jack McBrayer wearing a tam.

See the amazing resemblance?

Photo http://www.buddytv.com

And finally, making its first appearance since 2010, I actually cut off the extra weft from my Cotton Dish Towel and sewed up the edges to make it actually usable. This has been hanging around my sewing room for ages.

I do not like weaving with cotton - it sucked the moisture out of my hands, even just handling the woven material. Good for a towel, I suppose.

I had a hard time getting the cut yarn tails to stay woven in, though. My favorite part? The reversible pattern.

AND never one to forget the Saturday Seven -

Four sweaters, a wool skirt, a terrible throw pillow and a brain quest set. I really, really tried to find a use for these but nothing worked out. The pillow was no good for sleeping with, the skirt was un-alterable, the sweaters either didn't fit or were quite old and Youngest Child - no longer in second grade. Off it all goes to SJTE's Huge Sale.

* The other four? This is the year of finishing up my darn UFOs - the Turn of the Glass cardigan, the Lopi Challenge Sweater, the Sailor's Delight Socks and the must-finish-before-I-die River Grass Gansey.

Another New Year? Way to go!

Although I love autumn the most - probably because I've always loved starting a new school year - I also enjoy the "start-itis" of New Year's. 

Time to start training for athletic events, time to start new knitting projects and time to start new plans of all sorts. It doesn't even matter if I don't ever get around to doing them - it's the planning that is the fun part!

It's like what Brenda Dayne calls "Imaginary Knitting." That's when you plan out knitting projects (and sometime even assign them yarn!) that you have no intention of starting. Fantastic lace shawls, cabled sweater-coats, complicated socks. I am free to chose any or all of them!

My knitting count for 2011 was a little scanty - only twelve finished items.

My 2011 creations

                                                      Originally uploaded by humbledaisy

I also managed to send a third child to college, volunteer at chess club (even though I can't beat anyone at chess!), start a walking club with friends from my book club, plan twelve different programs for the Minnesota Knitters' Guild, help Youngest Child with his training for the Miracle Kids Triathlon, swim 3,320 yards in an hour and read 147 books. That's enough for me!

On the home front this week, Christmas has been both very, very good . . .

(two knitting kits from Knit Picks as well as yarn, accessories and books!)

and very, very bad.

Wretched Dog Zelda got a hold of Youngest Child's Christmas stocking. It was knitted years ago - long before Ravelry. Time for a new one, I guess.

And on the knitting front - I've knitted Youngest Child's Anderson Cap three times so far! Gauge, gauge and gauge.

It's back to the hat for me and a 

Happy New Year for You!

The Full Elvis

So, I'm working away at home. Mr. Daisy comes home for lunch (yes, if his office was any closer, it would be in my living room) and starts making some bacon. He looks at my sad little peanut butter and banana sandwich and says, "That looks like it needs some bacon."  And, surprisingly, it did!

We called it, "The Full Elvis."

It was delicious!

I will just tell myself it was in honor of my blogaversary. Yes, I started writing about knitting six years ago just prior to Thanksgiving. Bit by bit, I've added in spinning, weaving, cooking, sewing, etc., etc. 

Thanks for hanging in there!

I'm not knitting baby sweaters very much anymore but I'll tell you one embarrassing fact: I still have the blue sweater that I was knitting for my daughter. I knit it. Ripped it out. Swatched for another sweater. Tried another pattern. Ripped it out. I'm hoping to finally finish this project before she graduates from college. Keep your fingers crossed.

As for knitting, I'm currently ripping apart an unfortunate-looking hat (it was supposed to be Elizabeth Zimmerman's Snail Hat) to turn it into a Star Tam from Homespun, Handknit.

Long ago, the ripped apart hat was originally some of my own hand-spun yarn.

I think I bought the fiber at a Weavers' Guild Holiday sale but I know I didn't start spinning it until summer 2009. After about two skeins, I got bored. Well, I finally unearthed the rest of the fiber and it turns out, I need a winter hat. It's currently 20 degrees F. outside.

This is why the shoemaker's children have no shoes!

Add this to the fact that I'm doing NaNoWrimo this year and Thanksgiving is next week and I'm really suffering from a lack of sleep!

Back to those sandwiches . . .

One final look at 2007 . . .

From the first blue sweater of 2007 . . .


. . . to the last warm hat and mittens, the final accounting is a total of 16 knitted items.

My favorite? Probably the Flower Basket Shawl. It was great fun and a learning experience.

My least favorite? Probably the Edged in Lace shawl done as a baby blanket. Too much garter stitch!

My favorite sock? The Lupine Lace socks. They became addicting.

So, Evelyn A. Clark won the knitting trifecta this year at Chez Daisy.

Looking ahead? I am going to finish the Back to School vest, my Interlocking Balloons scarf from Scarf Style, the red knitted bag from "25 Knitted Bags", my red cotton shopping bag, and, possibly, Andy's Big Brown Sweater. Oh, and the socks I am working on right now. That should hold me until about July, especially as I have to pop two baby sweaters into the mix. V from over at Spin/Knit is working on a sweater a month. I'm not shooting for that (I prize my sanity!) but I think I can get at least one project a month. Let's give a cheer for knitting - after all, it keeps me off the streets!

A Blessed and Peaceful New Year to you all!

Row that boat ashore . . .

Like many of my projects, I've put off this project to the last minute. The Minnesota Knitters' Guild is collecting hats and slippers for the Ships Project. I put off knitting my hat until absolutely the last minute. Hence, the two inches of hat on my knee! I probably will finish this tonight but . . . that depends how much ice tea I drink!

I am really looking forward to the next MKG meeting - 7:00 to 9:00 p.m., Tuesday, June 19th - because Amy Singer, the editor of Knitty will be the speaker! She is going to discuss her new book, “No Sheep for You: Knit Happy with Cotton, Silk, Linen, Hemp, Bamboo and Other Delights,” published by Interweave Press. I am not allergic to wool or animal fibers but I am not very comfortable knitting with other fibers. I am hoping to pick up a few tips on inproving my skills.

I got to meet a few other twin cities knitters last week at the Twin Cities Knitting and Crafting Moms play group. This is an offshoot of the Yahoo Groups' TCKnit Message Board. Youngest Child loved playing with the kids and I got a little of my baby blanket worked on. A very little!



After my fun-but-not-so-thrilling showing on Sunday at the Manitou Tri, I've been trying to run, bike or swim almost every day as part of the final countdown to the Lake Harriet One Mile swim on the 23rd and the Minneman Triathlon on June 29 and my knitting has really been suffering. Generally, I've been asleep ten minutes after I hit the chair.

Sunday's time? 1:54:48. That's about 20 minutes slower than last year but it was 26th for my age group. The scoop on the swim was that it was about 200 yards more than marked. I knew it seemed long! And the worst part? I finally came down with swimmer's itch. Yucky red welts. I am officially Bubonic Sally.


There was no Saturday Seven - I have a pile of stuff, but no time to sort it. We'll have to have the Sunday Seven instead.

Grab your coat and get your hat . . . 2.0

“Live your life, do your work, then take your hat”
- Henry David Thoreau


Here's the final version - Hat 2.0 if you will. I remade Middle Daughter's hat last night. About 10 p.m. I had a cup of what I thought was herbal tea. Big mistake - I was unable to get to sleep until 2 a.m., Something wasn't caffeine free. So, I merrily knitted away, watching the Grammy awards and various other taped television programs. Right now, however, I am paying the price for all that knitting.

For the hat, I simply cast on 80 stitches and knit 1 and 1/2 inches of k1/p1 ribbing. After one round of stockinette stitch, I found some easy-to-duplicate-in-two-color Fair Isle patterns with 20 stitch repeats. After a few patterns, I put in a stockinette decrease round. Then I switched to 16 stitch repeat patterns until the whole hat was as long as my hand (kudos to Stephanie Purl-McPhee for that tidbit of measuring knowledge!) and began decreasing ever other round. The tassel was an afterthought requested by Middle Daughter.

Once again, I turned to Alice Starmore's Book of Fair Isle Knitting for pattern ideas. I bought this book on deep discount and just love it. It is such a resource for patterns and color ideas. I just wish I could afford her book on Aran knitting!




Although I ran the them throught the wash again, the Mad River mittens didn't get much smaller.

Here's another look at them and the hat. All in all, a fun and quick project. Now, I really need to get working on those sock miles!