Three More Hats for the Knit-A-Thon

Four More Stiped Hats

These are all for the knit-a-thon.

Baby Cable Hat

This hat is for the knit-a-thon.

Doernbecher Children's Hospital NICU

These are the items I've mailed to Doernbecher Children's Hospital NICU. This is where my youngest son, Hugh,stayed when he was a baby. He's all grown up and healthy now.



And this is the card I sent along with it, thanking the NICU nurses for taking such good care of the babies.

Teal Hat with Red Stripe and Matching Booties

I made this set for the preemie knit-a-thon.

Purple Hat With Olive Green Stripe

This little hat was made for Doernbecher Hospital.

Two More Hats for the Knit-A-Thon!

Apple Hat

By changing the shade of green I made Sarah's tomato hat into an apple hat.

Three Little Striped Hats for Sarah's Preemie Knit-A-Thon Contest

I'm going to keep the hats I make for Sarah's Preemie Knit-A-Thon Contest, which I'm sending to Bayne-Jones Army Community Hospital in Louisiana and the ones I make for Doernbecher separate. I keep track of the items I'm making for different places in the sidebar.

I love this simple and easy pattern and plan to make more of these.

OSU Hat for Doernbecher Hospital

This little orange hat with the black stripes might be for Halloween, but the colors are also Oregon State University's colors. As there are many fans around the state, I made one for Doernbecher.

Go Beavs!

Sarah's Preemie Knit-A-Thon Contest

Join Sarah's Preemie Knit-a-thon Contest! ! Just click on the link to her blog and post a comment. The contest is open until November 29th.

I will be knitting hats specifically for this project and I'll identify them as such when I post photographs. These hats will be going to Bayne-Jones Army Community Hospital in Louisiana (which just happens to be the state where Sarah lives).

And More Hats!

Three More Hats

Here are three more of the little hats I've knit recently.

Three Little Hats

These are three of the little hats that I've knit in the past few weeks.

Striped Hat and Booties Set

I love this little set and am now planning sets in a variety of different color combinations. Fun!

P.S. I've been spending quite a bit of time the past few weeks in waiting rooms and have used my time productively knitting hats. Now I just have to take photos of them and put them on the blog!

My New Knitting Bag

I've wanted a new knitting bag for some time but the ones I saw for sale on line either weren't what I wanted or were outrageously expensive. I finally found one at a thrift store with a price tag of $6.95 and snapped it up! It's 18 inches across and 12 inches high and has all the features I want--it's lightweight, made of canvas, has shoulder straps,and an inside zipper pocket. Perfect!

Basic Pattern for Two Needle Child's Mittens

Worsted weight yarn and Size 4 straight needles.

Cast on 34 sts.
Ribbing K2, P2, across or use seed stitch. Continue for 20 rows. Increase to 38 sts, by adding 4sts, evenly spaced.

Work st st for 6 rows.

Place marker between middle two stitches. (18 & 19th st) add two stitches, place another marker, Work in st st increasing 2 sts every other Row between marks untilyou have 14 stitches. Put these 14 on a holder for working thumb later.

Continue working st st adding 2 stitch under thumb once.
Work in st st until total lengthen mitten is 8.5 inches or up to top of pinky finger.

Decrease as follows:
Row 1: *K 2 tog, knit 8*, rep * across.
Row 2 and all-even rows. Purl across even.
Row 3: *K 2 tog, knit 7*, rep * across.
Row 5: *K2 tog, knit 6*, rep * across.
Row 7: *K2 tog, knit 5*, rep * across.
Row 9: *K2 tog, knit 4*, rep * across.
Row 11: * K2 tog, knit 3*, rep * across.
Row 13: Knit 2 together across.

Weave yarn through stitches leaving a tail for sewing side seam later.

Thumb:
Pick up the 14 stitch plus cast on 2.
Work the 16 stitches for 8 rows in st st.
Next Row: knit 2 tog across.
Weave yarn through stitches and leave tail for sewing thumb seam.

Wool Hat

Two More Hats

Projects Not Yet Finished

I have several knitting projects on the needles and next week I'll pick one and finish it and then go on to the next one. They include:

~ Teal blue wool socks. I've knit the ribbing and about three inches on the first sock.

~ A lace baby hat in magenta. Only the ribbing is done.

~ A child's hat I began with the Manos del Uruguay hand-dyed wool yarn. I did the ribbing but that's as far as I've gotten.

~ One lonely child's mitten in a soft white with pink stripes at the tip which I'm calling Cherry Vanilla mittens.

Yarn for Hats

While looking through my boxes of yarn, I came across three skeins of hand-dyed Manos del Uruguay yarn. Oh, what gorgeous hats these will knit up into!

Another Lace Pattern

Pattern Stitch (over 5 stitches)

Rnd 1 K3, P2
Rnd 2 K1, yo, ssk, P2
Rnd 3 K3, P2
Rnd 4 K2tog, yo, K1, P2

Blue Lace Hat

Pink Lace Hat

Green Vine Hat and Booties

Matching Camo Booties

Camo Hats

Sunflower Hat

The pattern is done over 5 stitches and has 4 rows.

Row 1 K3, P2
Row 2 K3, P2
Row 3 SL1, K2,psso, P2
Row 4 K1, YO, K1, P2

Matching Purple Grape Booties

Purple Grape Hat

I used seed stitch for the ribbing on this little purple hat.

Blue Spiral Hat

Here is the blue version of the spiral hat pattern (see below).

Finished Mittens

Here is a photo of my Raspberry Mittens. The garter stitches at the top is my way of representing seeds. They are for a child, 7-9 years old.

Raspberry Mittens

I've begun knitting a pair of mittens made of Lamb's Pride wool (which is very soft as it's actually part wool and part mohair). I'll add a photo when they're finished. In the meantime, here's a photo of the snowmen stitch markers I'm using. Fun!

The color of the yarn is Raspberry and, as I am delighted with the idea of raspberries in winter, I've called them Raspberry Mittens. The pattern is a two-needle one (it's easier than using dps and I don't mind the sewing the seam) and can be found here .

Whenever I knit mittens, I am reminded of this paragraph from Little Women:

"The feeble fingers were never idle, and one of her pleasures was to make little things for the school children daily passing to and fro, to drop a pair of mittens from her window for a pair of purple hands.... till the reluctant climbers of the ladder of learning found their way strewn with flowers, as it were, and came to regard the gentle giver as a sort of fairy godmother, who sat above there, and showered down gifts miraculously suited to their tastes and needs. If Beth had wanted any reward, she found it in the bright little faces always turned up to her window, with nods and smiles, and the droll little letters which came to her, full of blots and gratitude."

Finished Sweater

It took me a little more than 5 hours to finish this sweater. I spent 1 1/2 hours on the yoke, 45 minutes on each sleeve, and 2 hours on the body and doing the finishing. I had hoped to have enough yarn to make a matching hat, but I didn't.

The Five Hour Baby Sweater

This pattern has been widely distributed on the Internet and there are many with modifications. This is one of them. I used this pattern.

Of course, I began knitting this on the hottest day of the year--the forecast is for a high of 102 degrees-- and it's made of wool. No matter. It's a small piece. I'm using size 10 straight knitting needles.

Because I'm using wool--a hank of homespun I bought at the Farmer's Market in Portland a couple of months ago-- and it's sized for a newborn, it'll be donated to the Pine Ridge Reservation.

Many people have written that it's taken them longer than five hours to knit it so I'm keeping track. I completed what's shown in the photo in 1 1/2 hours. Well, we'll see.

This is the yoke of the sweater. The markers define the two sleeves, the back, and the two fronts.

Thank You Letter from Darnall Army Hospital

What a lovely letter! I'd been told that the camouflage hats and booties were especially appreciated by daddies of little boys born at military hospitals so I'm glad I sent some of those.

Pink Spiral Hat

Here are a couple of photographs of the hat. This is the pattern stitch I used over 49 stitches.

Rnd 1 - *K2, p2, repeat from * to last stitch, k1.
Rnd 2 - K1, *p2, k2, repeat from * to end of round.
Rnd 3 - *P2, k2, repeat from * to last stitch, p1.
Rnd 4 - P1, *k2, p2, repeat from * to end of round.

I've begun another, this one in a light blue.

Sweet Pink Shell

This photo of shells has inspired a spiral hat pattern knit in a lovely, soft pink yarn which is almost finished. So summer! I'll post a photo of the hat when I've finished it.