So since the sun is shining and there’s still snow I took my slr outside for a photo shoot.

The hat on the left is Rowan Spray that I got really cheap from the Webs sale. It’s an improvised pattern that I did on size 15 needles. It took about an hour.

The hat on the right is also an improvised pattern. I used Lamb’s Pride Bulky and 10 1/2 needles. I decided to knit it from the top down so that I could get the cables on the earflaps lined up the way I wanted them. I’ve never knitted a hat top down before, so I cast on 8 and increased 8 stitches every other row. It seemed to work out well.

I knit some fingerless gloves when I was in Utah. This is Jo Sharp DK tweed on size 6 needles. I made up this pattern and did somewhat of a thumb gusset. I used less than 1 ball of yarn.

Finally I started working on some Endpaper Mitts using Knit Picks Gloss that I have in my stash. I’m using size 2 dpns. This is my first time doing stranded colorwork and it took me a while to find a way that worked for me. At first I tried knitting one color continental and the other English style, but my tensions were so different that one color was all blobby. My new technique involves both colors on my left hand and a ring. I’ll ’splain more later.

I’m going to be going to some training in NYC next week which mean some commuting time (God I miss mass transit!). And of course commuting time = knitting time.

Back to my project…Now I know that bamboo is a drapey fiber with no elasticity so I’m wasn’t sure how it was going to work. Swatching revealed to me that ribbing was not going work that well. So I picked up some black sewing elastic but that was a major pain to work with.

I finally decided to knit it all on size 4 needles which is a few sizes smaller than the recommended for the Classic Elite Bam Boo yarn I was using. I knit a size large, which might have been a bit bigger than needed. It’s a very slouchy beret and I had intended on weaving the elastic through the ribbing, but my sister says she likes it loose.

I love the snowflake pattern on the top. I added a little icord “nipple” on the top to make it more fronch. I’m going to have to borrow that snowflake pattern for shaping the crown on some of the beanies I knit.

Overall I like the yarn, it’s lustrous and soft. However I did use 3 skeins for this so it’s heavy (think cotton) and rather splitty.

I can’t exactly describe everything since some of my recipients read this, but it will be a combination of jewelry, sewn stuff, and knitted/crocheted goods. Speaking of sewing – I went to Joann’s saturday for fabric for a gift project and was vastly disappointed by their selection. I was basically looking for some novelty/calico print cottons. I didn’t see anything I really wanted and I’m not paying $5/yd for stuff I don’t really like. I’d rather drop the $9/10 yd on Amy Butler stuff. I guess I will hit up the land of evil to see if they have anything better. I also can’t find a lint comb anywhere!

Saturday I made this cute hat. Excuse the crappy cell phone pic, the real color is much nicer. It’s crocheted with Lion Brand Thick & Quick Woolease. I’m not a fan of acrylic blends but I loved the color. Mustard yellow is my new obsession. This probably took about an hour to do. I am planning on making another one for a gift and if I actually do it I will write up the pattern. In the meantime I need to get knitting.

Anyone have tips for knitting with elastic for yarns that don’t have much inherent elasticity? I’m trying to do a beret with bamboo and it’s not working out. I’m sure the drapey part will look great though. I bought some sewing elastic and I’m going to give knitting with that a try.

I almost forgot to add that I felted it a bit. It was slightly big and a little holey – so felting slightly fixed all that. I also did some modifications around the eyeholes.

Here it is modeled by Ryan. He loves it and says its far more comfortable to wear than a commercial one he bought.

Scary, isn’t it? Especially with the glowing red eyes.

This is a pretty simple cabling pattern. Since you did about 16 cables in a row every 4 rows I just cabled without a cable needle and it made it much faster. I made this in 2 days. Shaping the crown took a little creativity since I didn’t want to just go straight stockinette until I had to.

I will have to give this hat to someone with a small head. I can fit it on mine but everything gets stretched out. I cast on 64 stitches on 10.5 circulars so if I make one for me I’ll do at least 72. And I’ll write up a pattern.

All the honeycomb cables should make this a very warm hat.

I made these as a gift for my friend Christina’s bridal shower. She really enjoyed them.

The pastie is crocheted using pearl cotton and small steel hook. I forget what size. I just made a basic circle doing some non-increasing rows so that it would be slightly cupped. Then I sewed on the lace and beads at the same time. At this point I wondered exactly why I was hand beading a gag gift. At least it looked nice. I made tassels out of a skein of DMC embroidery thread and sewed them on. Voila! Pasties.

Christina enjoyed them and even modeled them for the guests.

Anyway this is my first shot at real lace knitting; I’ve done little bits of lace before but not a whole project. I’m using Zephyr Wool-Silk 2/18 in lilac that I bought from Sarah’s Yarns for much less ($6.75/2oz) than anywhere else. Other places 2oz was over $11! They are in Brooklyn so I got the cheap first class shipping and had my yarn in no time.

I am still on clue number one as I have had to unknit a few times when my stitches didn’t add up. Damn yarn-overs! I’m going to be traveling next week so I should be able to get plenty done in the airport.

There’s also a week off from clues for the Harry Potter book release. I don’t read Harry Potter so I’ll be free to catch up on my knitting.

The well..almost is because I need to sew in the ends. And, I think I might want to make it longer which will mean frogging the bottom ribbing and doing another inch or so of the main pattern before I do the ribbing again. I also am not sure I like how the sleeve are. I think the bottom is too loose, but a little elastic might help. I’ll have to show my mom and see what she thinks. Either way I’m excited to have it done.  I have a ton of things I want to knit but I wanted to finish this sweater first.