Seahawks Surprise

It is rare when someone asks me to knit them a specific item. Our friend, Chris, tried on the Husky Pride hat last weekend, and asked if he could order a Seattle Seahawks hat from me...and after some pondering, he asked for the hat to be without "who who"s on the top. For those that speak the knitting language, "who who"s are little 3 inch i-cords on the top of the hat that add to the whimsy appeal. It is so wonderful to get a request ~ meaning someone WANTS my knitting ~ that I was inspired to get out right away and get this hat started! Getting the proper colors were tricky, as the Seahawks changed colors before they went to the Super Bowl, so I found something with a recent logo (Thanks to dear Jerry) to take to my wonderful knitting shop, Cultured Purls. They had the deep navy blue and electric green in Cascade Superwash, so Chris can wash this hat, if necessary. I also found a great free pattern on-line that looks very "Chris like" and so I hope it turns out perfect for him. I started it on our camping weekend and am still knitting on it! Since it is a K4 P2 K2 P2 pattern, there is a slowdown for me with all the purls.... the pay off is that it looks marvelous!!! Don't you agree?

In Defense of Sari Silk

No one uses Sari Silk anymore. Why is that? I started a small project out of Sari Silk left over from a bag I finished (2007 New Year's Resolution) this past weekend camping. I was knitting in the sunshine and all the wonderful colors of the silk were such delightful surprises coming through my needles! Oranges, yellows, blues and vivid purples, all bound together with reds and greens and each one bursting with color and shine. It is so beautiful to watch the yarn while knitting. When its done it will be a little purse for the Church Bazaar, dressed up with some beads and hopefully looking very Bohemian!

Husky Pride

Remember the Brioche project for my New Year's Resolution? I was inspired by my post, "Bye Bye Brioche" to continue and finish it, so I took it camping. Before going to bed on Saturday night, I re-read the instructions so I would know exactly where to start, and how to do the stitch pattern ~ and I dreamt about it! I took that as a good sign and once I'd had my first cup of coffee on Sunday, I dove into the brioche ~ and I couldn't get the ribs to line up! After fussing with it and re-reading the pattern, I decided to begin decreases for the crown of the hat and be done. I decided to put an I-cord top on it to continue the whimsy look and was told by my audience that it really needed 6 of them ~ dubbed "who who"s so I put 6 of them on the hat, and here it is ~ Husky Pride for University of Washington. Do you think someone will buy this at our Church Bazaar?

Christmas Countdown

I've finished a project for a Christmas gift. I can't tell you who the gift is for, just in case someone should read this (Ha!) and feel the need to wreck the Christmas surprise. I made it out of Manos, and it went together pretty fast. The color work makes it snug, so I'll have to block it damp on my glass head so that it will fit the recipient. Wow ~ a Christmas gift done! (How many to go?)

More Hats (and Cats)

Here are more pictures of this weekend's hats. Photo credits to my daughter "rockin13" as she really has a talent for picture composition!

The Cat on the Hat ~

Another great camping trip and four hats to bring home. My 13 year old daughter, who will now be called rockin13 on this blog, took these great pictures of my hats, our garden and our cat. All the yarn used is from my stash, so they are all "free" with added time and love to create them. I know they will be loved at the November Church Bazaar. Shadow, our cat, sure loves the hats ~ doesn't she look great in red?!

Bye Bye Brioche?

I'm pondering whether I should rip out my brioche project. Learning the brioche stitch was one of my 2008 Knitting Goals. The Brioche Hat was a project that I worked on during spring break. The hat is pretty far along, and I'm not sure where I am on the pattern. It was a tricky stitch pattern, and I did make a few, ah, design features not called for in the pattern. I asked my daughter to take a picture of it, before I ripped it out...... and I started thinking that I should re-read the pattern and see where I am... and finish the hat. If I finish it, I can donate it to the Church Bazaar. That will be better than giving up on the brioche hat. Hmmmmm, I'll have to ponder this one.... as I do hate to rip....