The giant Guernsey is a bit unwieldy for portable knitting. I've been trying to think of something cute to make for my neighbors who are adopting a set of twins. I usually avoid knitting the same thing twice in succession unless it is fairly small. My friend Sarah reminded me of these cute pumpkin hats which I have never made before. Of course they are simply a stocking cap in pumpkin color with lines of purl to make the pumpkin ribs. I combined two patterns. You may notice that the hat on the far left has a wilted vine. That is because I decided to be a Wee Smarty Pants. The curlicue stem pattern (Crazy Aunt Purl) said to cast on 19 stitches VERY loosely. Well, backward loop cast on is quite loose and hey, maybe I could avoid two extra ends to sew in if I just used the existing green thread at the top. The result is a wilted vine, which isn't half as cute as the perky vine in the middle. That is my favorite. Then I made one with a plain blunt stem in a slightly larger size. I KNOW that twins mean two babies, ok? There is another set of twins out there that I never made anything for and I'm sure they are going around pumpkinhead-less right now. One more hat to go. Oh yes. In a moment of desperation, I bought acrylic yarn because it was the right color and readily available. This self- avowed yarn snob is going to admit that it isn't really THAT BAD! Acrylic has improved in the last 25 years but it is still plastic and not as nice for the heads of wee babes. When this is gone, I'm going back to natural fibers. Really.
Dishcloths with cheap cotton are another diversion. They are good learning tools and wow, those "ombre" yards do hold my interest. The center cloth is my absolute favorite. It is a lace variation of the well-known "Grandmother's Favorite". Love that lace in the middle.
The Mason Dixon Log Cabin cloth was fun until I realized all the ends that I would need to weave in. Twenty-eight to be exact. The photo was taken after I had dealt with about 1/2 of them. It is a great way to use up odds and ends of cotton.
I've actually knitted about 7" of the second sleeve since the photo was taken. I'll finish it this week. I panicked and ordered two more skeins of yarn from Halcyon and now I think I may actually eek it out with the original 10 skeins. This thing is a pain to turn in my lap now but I'm forging ahead.
3 comments:
You can never go wrong with a pumpkin hat! They are adorable, and I'm sure the babies will be absolutely perfect in them.
The sweater is looking good, too, and I can't wait to see the finished product!
The sweater is looking great, and I love the colors in the dishcloths!
The pumpkin hats are so cute! I'm sure the babies will look adorable in them.
I prefer to use natural fibers as well, but I keep a stash of acrylic yarn. It's so easy to care for, making it perfect for babies (and the mothers that must clean the knitted items).
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