Swap Hats

Although the swap isn't completely finished, I believe a few are still to arrive, our part in it is done with Cassie's hat received and the hat I knitted safely at its destination. This is the second year that I have swapped with some of the other mums in my Ravelry due date group and it's been a joy to do it again. I was absolutely thrilled to bits when a parcel arrived from Ohio with this awesome hat in it.

Not only is it super cute and goes wonderfully with Cassie's coat, but because it is crocheted it is something that I couldn't have made for her myself. We've had some lovely comments about it, an old lady who was getting off the bus as we got on even told us how great it was, so it certainly makes an impression.

For my part I used Ekaterina Blanchard's Foxy & Wolfie pattern and made a Wolfie to send to little Eoin in Boston and a Foxy for Cassie.

Wolfie was very well received and fits Eoin nicely which is great news.

Cassie's Foxy is rather large however, but that just means it will last longer. I was really pleased I made Cassie's version first as I think it looks a little untidy in places and I remedied those issues with the second hat. The untidy line of stitches up the left side where white meets orange was down to me not reading the instructions properly but I had to alter the pattern slightly to get rid of the white ridge where the face meets the ears. Essentially I just used Kitchener stitch instead of the three needle bind off used in the pattern and it worked a treat. I love how these hats turned out, they are just so flipping cute!

 

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You & Me MKAL: Clue 2

This clue took me a little longer than the first, the little ladies have been keeping me super busy this week, but I've finally finished. This is the best picture I could get!

Given free rein these colours are not what I would have chosen, but I wanted to knit from my stash and these were the only two yarns in my sock yarn stash that even slightly matched. That being said, I actually really like them together and I love the way this shawl is shaping up. Once again, I'm looking forward to Friday and the next clue.

 

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FO: Lotta Bolero

Despite it's regrettable knit flatness I gritted my teeth yesterday and finished Cassie's Lotta Bolero. After an entire lifetime of sewing up and weaving in ends I had something that was not only wearable but fit Cassie nicely. I also happen to really love it, so it was all worth it.

I made a few little changes to the pattern. The sleeves in the pattern had an intentional fold back but I omitted that and will just fold back the sleeves or not as needed. I also did the back of the neck a little differently too, it's probably not as neat, but I think the big flappy collar disguises it so I'm not bothered.

The yarn, Drops Love You 4 is really nice, it's a little hairy but it's lovely and soft and the slight fuzziness makes it look soft too.

The pattern again is the Lotta Bolero from Millamia's Bright Young Things, the sizes go up to 5 years so I may be tempted to make it again in the future. I hated sewing it up but it's so cute I can see myself replacing this one when Cassie grows out of it.

 

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Oh, the ends!

All of the knitting is now done on Cassie's Lotta Bolero so all that is left is the sewing up and weaving in of ends. Not that there's many of those!

Seriously it looks like a jellyfish or something. This is why I hate knitting in pieces and only do so for things which I absolutely love. This cardigan is so flipping cute that I couldn't not knit it, but that won't stop me cursing all those ends. They'll have to wait til tomorrow though, we spend the day with my mum and dad every Friday and that means that they can keep the girls entertained while I get on with the sewing up. That will also keep me busy and stop me checking Ravelry every five seconds to see if clue 2 for my shawl has arrived!

So, if I'm lucky enough to find any knitting time today I guess I'll have to cast on something new. Such a tragedy.

 

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You and Me MKAL: Clue 1

I didn't manage to finish Cassie's Lotta Bolero before my first MKAL clue arrived. All the pieces are done but now I need to join the shoulders and start knitting the collar. Unsurprisingly I dropped it like a ton of bricks when my clue plopped into my Ravelry library. Given the choice of sewing up or starting a new and exciting project I think we all know what I'm going to choose. However I got the clue at 5pm on Friday and I'm already done so I've no excuse but to get sewing and finish the cardi.

So here's my spoilery progress pic for a Clue 1.

The yarn is some sock yarn from Yarn Undyed that I dyed a little while back, it's not quite as solid as I'd like and I clearly didn't rinse it properly so it's a bit crunchy, but it works. I'm loving the shawl so far. I'm not a huge fan of garter stitch, but the slipped stitch cables are so cool that I really don't care. Roll on Friday, I can't wait to see what's next!

 

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WIP: Lotta Bolero

I've been working away slowly on Cassie's cardigan. It's actually quite a quick knit but for obvious reasons I can find it hard to sit and knit uninterrupted these days. I've done the back and both fronts so it's just the sleeves and collar left to do and of course all of the sewing up, yawn! I'm still enjoying the yarn and I'll definitely use it again. The contrast of the colours is a little more subtle than I would have liked but the effect is pleasant so I'm not too disappointed. With any luck I'll get this done in the next few days so I can get started on my next project, the Fiddleknits Me and You MKAL. The first clue comes out on Friday. It'll be my first mystery knit and I'm quite excited, I just hope I can keep up.

 

 

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FO: Cabled Teddy Hat

So it turned out that this hat was not cursed and after I'd fixed the mess I'd made on the third cable round I managed to knit the rest of the hat with no difficulty at all. The ears were a little fiddly, although not difficult and they only took about 10 minutes each. I decided to make the 0-6 month size, instead of newborn, so it's no surprise that it's a little large for Felicity but she's growing like a weed so I'm sure it won't be long til it fits her perfectly. I will make a matching one for Cassie, but not just yet, I need to get over making this one first!

Next up is a cardigan for Cassie, the Lotta Bolero from Millamia's Bright Young Things. I'm using Drops Love You VI which is a soft and slightly fuzzy mixture of wool, alpaca and linen. I'm really liking it so far and I'm tempted to get some for a cardigan for me because it is incredibly good value.

This cardigan is knitted in pieces and seamed at the end, so expect much bitching and moaning from me as I get close to finishing this project. The cardigan is oh so cute though so I don't really mind that it's not all one piece.

 

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Third time's a charm?

My practice swap hat and actual swap hat are all finished and Felicity's blanket is still awaiting it's backing so there was nothing else to do but start a new project. What a shame! I decided to cast on a Cabled Teddy Hat for Felicity using some lovely brown Drops Lima. I'd completed the ribbing and was halfway through the first cable row when it all went a bit wrong. Felicity had somehow got milk all over her leg and on my way upstairs to clean her up my nostrils were assaulted by a horrible stench emanating from the steaming pile of cat turds one of my furry darlings had deposited in the hallway. In the time it took me to take the baby upstairs and come back down to the kitchen for cleaning supplies Miss Cassie had discovered the partially knitted hat and removed the needles. Awesome. Seeing as I hadn't got that far I decided to rip back and start again.

Yesterday I cast on again and got knitting. This time I got to the second set of cables before again hastily leaving the room without properly securing my knitting.... Yep you guessed it, this time the needles were out and Cassie was running around in a growing tangle of brown yarn. Ugh. Little monkey unwound and yarn reballed I decided that I could get away with just ripping back to the end of the ribbing before starting the cables again. So, third time's the charm right? Wrong. For some reason when I went to bed last night I completed half of the third cable round. This morning I looked at my knitting and saw only the completed cables, looked at my counter which suggested I hadn't done the cable round and decided that the counter must be wrong and went on knitting the next round. 3 rounds later I finally realised what I'd done and it was time to start unknitting. Seriously I think this hat is cursed.

 

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