I Can't Believe How Cute This Hat Is!

I have started about one hundred little blog entries this week on my works-in-progress.  But I was having so much fun knitting and crocheting, that I didn't stop to blog!  So this will be a flurry of photos on where my various projects now stand.  I think I am driving my husband, the Doc, crazy.  I'm knitting in the TV room, so I can hang out with him while he is home in the evenings, and since I'm working on a gazillion projects simultaneously, there are needles, yarn balls, bags, half-knitted things, crocheted squares, in a semi-circle around the couch.  I work on something for an hour or so, set it down, pick up something else, finish a section of that, put it down, pick up something else, and so on.  The constant rotation keeps me from getting sick of any one thing, which is especially important for the big sweater I'm making.

Anyway, here is what is On My Needles/Hooks:

Lewk's Red Hot Sweater

I have finished the back and cast on the front!

I am measuring it against a large men's sweater I have to make sure it is about right size wise.

Kathy's Heart's Abound Socks

I started a new pair of socks for SKA's (Sock Knitter's Anonymous) February Challenge.  The pattern is Hearts Abound Socks by Kerin Dimeler-Laurence.  The self striping Lorna's Lace Flamingo yarn has a very small gauge, and I started these in size 0 needles.  I loved the feel and look of the fabric, but I was going to have to increase the stitches to 80 on each sock to get the size 11 I need for my sister's huge feet.  My father has giant feet and bequeathed them to 3 of us (not me or my sister, Amie - we got my mom's).  I followed Cat Bordhi's advice in her New Pathways for Sock Knitters book.  I knit up to where the circumference should be (34 stitches on each needle for the size I wanted) and measured.  Way too small. I purled a row, and went up a needle size and knit about 1 more inch then measured again, and this time the gauge was just about right.  So I frogged what I had done and recast on.

Here is the frogged photo:

These are going to be some wild socks.  I really love them already.  I hope the pinks don't pool weirdly, but really, I don't think that would matter.  The colors are so cheerful.

Gift Knit Gloves

I've started the first project for my Liz Marino  Gift Knits Club.  I think I wrote earlier that I have never participated in a knitting club before.  I have long admired Liz's designs and I really love reading her blog, Knitting With Karma.  I have never knit gloves, and so far, they are just like socks... We shall see how I feel when they start getting complicated.

I have finished the cuff and expanded the thumb gusset as well as about 2 repeats of the cable pattern:

Eggplant Baby
I have been knitting for the Ravelry Group Sharing Our Gifts Across America.  I think that I mentioned that this month we are knitting baby items for West Virginia, Outreach to Appalachia.  It is the 25th project/state for this group of very generous crafters.  I'm copying the note on the project right from the group: 

 Appalachian Outreach, Inc. is a charitable relief and support organization whose mission is to help relieve the burden of poverty and the loss of dignity suffered by the people of Appalachia who, struggle to meet the basic needs of daily life.
The need is great. The request is simple. This month, they need baby items of all types. Any pattern is acceptable. Sizes are to be from newborn to 2T. Yarn fiber content and color is your choice.
This means hats, booties, cuddle sacks, bibs, socks, toys, blankets, and any other layette items. Think bath time, nap time, play time, feeding time, and dressing time.

This request has given me the excuse to spend hours drooling over baby patterns.  I couldn't make half of the stuff I so admired.  But, I have started with a set including an hat, socks and sweater.  None of the patterns are connected, but I am knitting them all in the same yarn.

The sock pattern is the Little Sky Sock from Cat Bordhi's New Pathways for Sock Knitters that I linked above.  The sweater is Elizabeth Zimmerman's Babies' Garter-Stitch Surprise Jacket (that was just cast on today).  And the hat, ooo the hat.  The hat is this free pattern I found on Ravelry called Berry Baby Hat by Michelle Sabatier.  I knit it in some old Caron's Super Soft Acrylic in purple and a kind of weird green by Red Heart called Med Thyme that just looked good with the purple.  When my kids saw it, ... WELL, you have to understand that they think I have gone a bit crazy with all this knitting.  And I try not to say, Look at this, Look at that, but I know I do.  I really need a knitting group!  Anyway, when my kids saw the hat, they were laughing and saying, Make one for so and so, Make one for this friend's new baby!  etc.  They just loved it!  They call it the Eggplant Hat.

Here it is with the socks:

 and alone in all it's eggplant glory:

I bought some Cascade 220 superwash in Red for a Strawberry hat!  and also some Orange for a pumpkin hat.  Can't help it, I LOVE THIS HAT.

bye for now,
f1bercat
saving the planet one sock (and hat) at a time.