Preemie Santa Hat

A little Santa hat.

Elf Preemie Hat

This hat was fast to make and I hope to make several more before Christmas.

Child's Peppermint Hat

This hat will be sent to the Pine Ridge Reservation.

Pink Swirl Preemie Hat

This pattern is knit in red and white and called Candy Cane in Handknit Holidays: Knitting Year-Round for Christmas, Hanukkah, and Winter Solstice by Melanie Falick.

I adapted the pattern as follows to make a preemie hat:
Using size 2 needles and DK yarn cast on 48 stitches.
Knit 6 rounds in stockinette stitch

**NOTE: There is an error in the pattern. Round 1 of the crown shaping should be as follows:
Rnd 1: K1, *skp, k4; repeat from * to last 5 sts, skp, k3.
All of the following rounds are correct.

Tomato Preemie Hat

The pattern is here.

Beanstalk Preemie Hat

The pattern can be found here.

One Million a Year

This article is about a report done by the March of Dimes
More Than One Million Preemies Die in First Month Annually:

In the United States, the rate of preterm births has increased 36 percent in the past 25 years, with births between the 34th and 36th week of gestation accounting for the majority of the increase, the organization found. Much of the hike in preterm births is linked to more pregnancies after the age of 35 and the use of fertility treatments that can lead to multiple births.

"Wherever trend data are available, rates of preterm birth are increasing," the report said.

Infants who survive premature birth face lifelong health risks, including the possible development of cerebral palsy, blindness, hearing loss, learning disabilities and other chronic conditions, according to the March of Dimes.

I can't do much about this, except knit little baby hats. And pray.

Thank You Note

I received a lovely thank you note from the Cheyenne Indian Reservation Youth Project for the mittens I sent them.

First Pumpkin Hat of the Season!

I am back to knitting preemie items. Here is my first hat for fall. The quarter is to show just how small this hat is.

Nine Pairs of Mittens!

I will be mailing these mittens to the Cheyenne Indian Reservation the last week of September.

Mitten Monday (9)

And here is the last pair of mittens for Mittnz 2009. In pink!

Mitten Monday (8)

Well, Mitten Monday one day late. I was distracted by the Labor Day holiday. These are a plain brown pair.

Mitten Monday (7)

I finished these oatmeal mittens late last night.

Mitten Monday (6)

This week I knit purple mittens.

Mitten Monday (5)

Another pair, this one in gold.

Mitten Monday (4)

Here is the photo of my fourth pair of mittens, this pair in orange. I like bright colors.

Mitten Monday (4)

The mittens are done, but there's not enough sunlight to get a good photo. I'll post one tomorrow.

Mitten Monday (3)

My third set of mittens. The band says it's khaki, but it looks more like just a light green to me.

Mitten Monday (2)

My second pair of mittens, this pair classic red. Perhaps the title of this post should be "Mitten Madness" as the temperature is supposed to be almost 100 degrees today.

What's the Point?

This blog post began with a comment I've heard before:

I just don’t think that knitting is the right response for every problem. For one thing, it’s slow. Do you know how long it takes to knit even a preemie cap? If handknits were really the solution to a problem, there would be a serious imbalance between supply and demand. That’s a bit facetious, but I wonder if all that knitting time wouldn’t be better spent lobbying or protesting for change, and whether knitted donations aren’t more about gratifying the the donor than fulfilling a need.

She continued:
I had these doubts in mind when I approached the Women’s Daytime Drop-in Center and asked if they needed a knitting teacher. I suspected my own motives and wondered whether I was offering something frivolous. But the volunteer coordinator assured me that to teach knitting to homeless and low-income women was to give them something of value –that the center’s clients needed more than just food, clothing, and shelter. I was reminded by this that homeless women and children are whole people; by offering a knitting class I would be honoring their creative impulses.

Yes! It might make more sense from a practical point of view to buy items or just send money, but there is an emotional gift being given as well as an item made of yarn. Little preemie hats keep those tiny baby heads warm, but they're also meant to make the parents see how lovely and special their babies are and to remind them that there are people, strangers, in the world who care about them and their babies. I've received thank you letters from parents and know that is true. And it's the same with hats and mittens made for children. I want them to know that there is someone they don't know who is thinking about them and wants them to be warm and has spent time and money making something beautiful as well as useful. It's that connection that makes the difference. It's that connection that is the point of knitting for others.

Mitten Monday

I've finished the first pair of mittens for Mittnz 2009. I'd posted about this several months ago, but as I delayed my start I'm now dedicating Mondays to knitting mittens.

In EZ's Knitter's Almanac, she writes:

It is better not to make mittens in a hurry. When snow flies and small frozen hands beg for warmth (sob), the actual knitting tends to be perfunctory and possibly scamped; one economies on the number of stitches; one does not make the cuffs sufficiently long. The main object then is to turn out scads of mittens to appease the demand, and the enjoyment of production is not what it might be. (page 53)

Now, true, she did write this for the month of May and it is now mid-July with a mid-September deadline and yet still I'm certain I can knit nine pairs of mittens in that time and do them well.

The pattern I'm using can be found here. I'm using Lamb's Pride Worsted Weight and size 3 and 7 dpns and I'm not scrimping on the cuffs either.

And Another

A Pink One

A Yellow Hat

Mock Rib and Eyelet

I wanted to make a hat using this mock rib and eyelet stitch pattern:
Rnds 1 and 2: K3, P2
Rnd 3: S1, K2, psso, P2
Rnd 4: K1, YO, K1, P2

This is how it turned out:



I didn't like it very much.

Then I tried this pattern. and I like this hat much better.

Baby Hat and Sweater Set Patterns

I love this pattern for a baby sweater. There's a matching hat too. I've added them to my list.

Beanstalk Preemie Hat Pattern

I thought the pattern for this little hat was really cute and I've added it to my list of preemie hats to make this month.

Blue and White Striped Hat and Booties

Pink and White Striped Hat and Booties

I'm working on a blue set now.

Preemie Hat with Simple Fair Isle

I'm looking at using some very simple fair isle patterns for preemie hats. Here's the first one.

Distracted

I've been distracted by my determination to catch up with my personal sock-of-the month club and now I am. See Only Socks. I also attended a four day conference, graded information literacy assignments on Blackboard, worked both main and archives ref desk shifts, did a bit of studying for the Certified Archivists Exam which I'll be taking in August, and started writing a rough draft of a book chapter. I'm hoping the weather will get a bit nicer so I can plant my garden. Then next weekend is our church's annual quilt show and I'll be working on that, but I hope to have a few minutes here and there to knit some preemie hats and, hopefully, there will be some photos posted here in the next week or so.

Mittnz 2009

The goal of Mittnz 2009 is to knit nine pairs of mittens for the Cheyenne River Reservation between April 15, 2009 and September 15, 2009.

Here are the rules:
1) Make nine pairs of mittens
2) Use warm materials, like wool
3) Take photos of the mittens and email them to Ann or send her the link to your photos
4) Mail mittens to the Cheyenne River Reservation (CRYP P.O. Box 410, Eagle Butte, SD 57625) during the last week in September so that the Youth Project (the YP in the address) is blitzed with hand covers the first week in October when the weather starts its evil descent into winter.

This will fit in very well with my summer knitting for the Pine Indian Reservation.

The Tiniest Lives in the DNCC

Here is a link to a blog post written by a volunteer at Doernbecher Children's Hospital in Portland. The Tiniest Lives in the DNCC

This blogger has written a number of posts about her experiences as a NICU volunteer so you may wish to bookmark her blog.

Easter Hat

This is the pattern stitch:
Rnd 1: *P3, K1. Repeat from * around
Rnd 2: *P1, YO, P2tog, K1. Repeat from *
Rnds 3, 4, and 5: Knit around

Celebrating the Arrival of Spring

I added a simple eyelet to these five little hats. After ribbing for eight rounds, I knit plain for two rounds. I then purled around once. The following round was: K2 tog, yo all around. Then another round of purling followed by 14 rows of stockinette stitch and then the decreases and an I-cord topper.

Five Preemie Hats

I have almost finished knitting five more preemie hats. These are in soft colors--violet, blue, pink, yellow, and green--in celebration of spring. I hope to post photos of them tomorrow.

A Green and White Preemie Hat

A white hat with one round in green garter stitch to celebrate the beginning of March.

More Mittens

These are the last two pairs of mittens. I mailed the box of items for the Pine Ridge Reservation last Friday.

Deadline

My self-imposed deadline to complete and mail items to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation is February 27 (next Friday).

I only have the thumbs left to knit on the Sandy Heather mittens and I will try to knit at least a couple of more pairs in the time left.

We are having almost spring like weather here in Oregon with clear skies and highs in the upper 50's in the valley, but in North Dakota they are still in deep winter.

This is the weather forecast for today at the reserve.

Rest Of Today...Breezy. Areas of blowing snow late in the morning. Mostly cloudy with snow likely. Snow accumulation around 1 inch. Highs in the mid 30s. Northwest winds 10 to 15 mph shifting to the north 15 to 25 mph in the afternoon.

Tonight...Mostly cloudy in the evening then clearing. Lows around 11. North winds 10 to 20 mph becoming northwest up to 10 mph after midnight. Wind chill readings 4 below to 6 above zero.

I'm knitting as fast as I can.

Child's Hat with Pompom

A simple fair-isle hat knit in cream and pistachio (M-184).

Finished Projects

Brief Update

I am unhappy with how the mittens are turning out and have frogged them. I think to make fair-isle style mittens, I'll need to use smaller yarn--perhaps DK--and a pattern with more stitches to make this work. For now, I'm going back to making plain one-color mittens using Lamb's Pride.

I've begun working on an Ireland Mists Hat using Lamb's Pride Orchid Thistle (M102).

Next Projects

I am finishing up the garter stitch afghan square in gold. My next projects are a pair of mittens knitted in black and white yarns using various stitches and patterns which I hope to then translate into another pair in colors. I also want to knit one of these hats. The pattern can be found here. Or I might start with this one here. The photo is from Ravelry.

Child's Hat/Black with Red Stripe

This hat is made with Lamb's Pride Black (M05) with stripes of Red Hot Passion (M97). I used a very basic hat pattern:

Basic Hat
Size: Child
Materials: worsted yarn, #8 16” circular needle, yarn needle

Cast on 70 stitches on size 7 dpns or a 16 inch circular needle.
Work in k1p1 rib for 2.5 inches.
Work in stockinette st for 4.5 inches. I added two rows of red to brighten it up.

Decreases:
R 1: K2 tog, k8 around.
R 2: Knit.
R 3: K2 tog, k7 around.
R 4: Knit.
Continue decreases in above manner until K2 tog around. Cut yarn, pull remaining stitches.

Gold Child's Hat

This hat is knit from Lamb's Pride Sunburst Gold (M-14). The pattern I used can be found here. It's sized 3-12 months and I added an I-cord topper. I've also begun adding small labels which include the size and, on the reverse, the fiber content. These labels will also be useful to keep pairs, such as socks and mittens, together.

On the Needles

I am working on ribbing for both these hats. The black one will have red stripes included in it. The gold one will have a twisted rib pattern.

Pink and White Mittens

In the next six weeks or so, I hope to knit several more pairs of mittens. I'm developing a formula using a generic mitten pattern. I'll be using Lamb's Pride Worsted for all the mittens, changing the sizes by changing the size of the double point needles I use (size 6 for children 4-6, size 7 for children 7-9 and size 8 for children 10-12).

I would like to make each pair unique, using different colors and pattern stitches.

My generic pattern begins with casting on 28 stitches divided on three dp needles (divided on the three needles thus: 10-8-10).The cuff can be anywhere from 10-14 rounds or more. This is my first opportunity for pattern and color variations.

Then there are four rounds: in the first I increase 2 sts evenly spaced leaving me with 30 sts (10-10-10), followed by 3 knit rounds. Here is another opportunity for a color change.

Now the thumb gusset as follows:
Round 1: K3, place marker, m1, K2, m1, place marker, knit around (4 sts between markers).
Round 2: K around.
Continue until there are 10 sts between markers.
Remove thumb stitches: K3, place 10 sts between markers on a holder, cast on 2, and continue around.
This is my third opportunity for a color change.

Now the fun part! K 16 (19) rounds. Here I can do a variety of color changes and stitch patterns.

And lastly, I shape the end:

*K4, K2 tog* around.
K 1 round.
*K3, K2 tog* around.
K 1 round.
*K2, K2 tog* around.
K 1 round.
*K1, K2 tog* around.
K2 tog all the way around.
Thread yarn through remaining stitches and pull tight.

More opportunities for color changes here in these 8 rounds.

Lastly, I knit the thumbs, my last opportunity for a color change.

Pick up 10 sts from the holder, putting 5 on needle 1 and 5 on needle 2.
Pick up 4 stitches from the thumb opening; the 2 cast on plus one from either side.
Starting with needle 1, K 9 sts, K sts 10 and 11 together, K2, K st 12 together with stitch 1 of next round for a total of 12 thumb stitches.
K around on 12 sts for 10 rounds.
K 2 tog all the way around 6 sts.
Break yarn leaving an 8-inch end.
Draw through 6 remaining stitches and pull tight.

There are also dozens of free mitten patterns online. Here's a good place to start.

Mitten Books

I checked out two mitten books from the library yesterday. I may use some of the patterns the way they're written, but I'm looking at them primarily for inspiration.

First Preemie Hat for 2009

I've been working on items for the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation as my self-imposed due date for the first batch is the end of February. But I did put aside an hour of knitting time to knit this little hat, the first of what I hope will be many hats going to Doernbecher Hospital in June.

Introducing....Mouton Rouge

Sarah, my wonderful and very talented daughter-in-law, gave me this delightful little ram she knitted for Christmas. I thought he looked very French and named him Mouton. When I told my husband I was thinking of knitting a jaunty scarf for him (for Mouton, not for my husband), he suggested I knit one in red wool and change Mouton's name to Mouton Rouge.

And that's exactly what I did.

Red Mittens

These mittens are also for the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

Hats and Socks

These items will be sent to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation at the end of February. They were knit in honor of Dewey as part of the Dewey knit-a-long .


I added a few rounds of garter stitch to this plain hat. It would fit someone 6-8 years old. I used Brown Sheep Lamb Pride's Worsted Weight (15% mohair and 85% wool) for the hats. The color for this one is Winter Blue (M51).


This spiral rib hat that would fit someone 6-8. The yarn is Jack's Plum (M59).



This baby hat is for a child 6-12 months old. The color is Oatmeal (M115).

This little hat is made from Manos del Uruguay 100% wool and would fit a baby 12-18 months old.



The toddler socks are from a pattern on Ravelry and are made of Koigu yarn.