Knitted Hat and Mittens Done!

The hat and mittens are complete.  As you can see, the hat is not the "Ironic Gnome", though I am still planning on knitting that for the teens.  Maybe striped.  In the end, William just wanted that hat on his head so I finished it off, put a big pom pom on the top and it turned into a hat from Peru.

The mittens were easy one point needle mittens from Lion Brand and knitted up in two days.  I knit both at the same time and they flew off of the needles.  Both the hat and the mittens only used one skein of Simply Soft yarn. 

So William is thrilled with his winter ensemble and I get to start something new.  I've been wanting to knit a traditional pair of Norwegian mittens and found a pair that uses sock yarn.  I bought alpaca so that they'd be warm and a cable needle so that I can learn the magic loop technique.  The pattern uses stranded color work so essentially there will be two layers of alpaca; I'm hoping they'll be warm enough for subzero Ohio winters but I'm thinking if they work in Norway, Ohio should be no problem at all! 

Working on another hat: Could a free pattern be on the way?

So William needs a hat, mittens, and a scarf. He picked out the yarn from my stash, a very colorful variety of Caron Simply Soft called "Embroidery Print." It is perfect for a little kid.

When he looked at the patterns he loved the gnome and pixie hats. So using the amazing Ravelry I found a selection of free patterns for gnome hats. I settled on "The Ironic Gnome" (don't you LOVE that name) for "hipster gnomes" from the great blog The Work is Getting to Me. One thing I REALLY love about this hat that I don't know how to do is the color gradient dye job that XandY did to her yarn. It's amazing and she is promising a tutorial. Can't wait.

Side from The Work is Getting to Me


back from The Work is Getting to Me

I love the slouchyness (she used Paton's Classic and any acrylic isn't going to have the same slouch) and the aforementioned gradient dye.

BUT, as all of you know, I am a designer, and I'm always making modifications to everything I knit. My first was to start with ear flaps, which I worked in the following way:

Best worked on the dpns you'll use to make the hat
Cast on 4
Row1: Perl
Row2: K1, M1, K2, M1, K1
Row3: Perl
Row4: Knit
Row5: Perl
Row6: K1, M1, K4, M1, K1
Repeat rows 3 - 5
Continue to add 2 stitches to following row until there are 14 stitches on needles
Then:
Perl 1 row
Knit 1 row
Perl 1 row
Knit 1 row
Perl 1 row
Then add 2 additional stitches, continuing in this manner until there are 20 stitches on the needle
Perl 1 row
Hold each ear flap on needle

At this point I should tell you that I think I'm using size 6 dpns (I eyeballed them, so I'm not sure: can't find my measuring tool) since I'm making this for a 4 year old and the gauge was much smaller than called for in the Ironic Gnome pattern. So I ended up using a knitted cast on with 30 stitches in the back of the hat, knitting on the ear flaps, and 50 stitches in the front of the hat for a total of 120 stitches cast on. I also did a 2x2 rib instead of the 1x1 rib called for in the pattern. I added an additional stitch every 12th stitch on the first row after the rib stitch and am now following the pattern as written.

I am thinking of making the top of the hat longer and pointier and maybe adding a pom pom, but William didn't seem to thrilled with the Jayne Cobb hat when I showed it to him (how I love the Jayne)

source on Craftster

Maybe I'll just have to knit that one for myself!

I'm Grateful: Warmth

Winter has come to Ohio. We've had snow, though nothing that has stayed, and it is cold. So today, I am grateful for sweaters, blankets, mugs of hot chocolate, wollen socks, cozy blankets, the golden glow of candles, mufflers, slouchy hats, and all things that keep us warm as the weather gets cold.

More Sponsor Love: Alaskan Purl

Alaskan Purl is a blog that I have been reading for a LONG time because it is such a great blog. If you are a knitter, you HAVE to read and subscribe to this blog (just look at that hat; do I really need to say more?). Allison's blog is just quality all knitting, all the time. Ah-Mazing knitting and all that stuff knitters love - talk about yarn, patterns, reviews of patterns from other sites, and giveaways!

Also, I just want to say that Alaskan Purl is one of those sites that when I was a greenhorn blogger I looked at and thought to myself, "Gee, my blog looks suckish compared to this!" It is really a beautifully designed blog as well.

So, there you go. I love this blog. I want all of you knitters to visit it and subscribe. If it isn't already, it Will become one of your favorites. It's one of mine.

Sponsor Love: Knot-Cha-Chá!™

I have my first sponsor and I am so excited to introduce you to her!

I've been reading Sharon's blog, Knot-Cha-Chá!™ for a long time and it has become one of the required stops on my blog list. Sharon is "a designer/maker, teacher, writer and spinner of yarns with a love of color, texture, and simplicity of line." Her articles on spinning (and the beautiful results) have made me want to learn to spin and her featured knitting is beautiful. In addition, she writes fun articles about her life and adventures and includes tutorials for some really beautiful projects (I Love the Understatement Necklace).

Her Etsy store, Knot-Cha-Chá!™ is full of gorgeous knitted and crocheted confections like this merino wool scarf (that I have been coveting) in a lacy ribbed pattern. Buy it for me, won't you?

She also makes hats, bracelets, wraps, cowls, and many other delicious handmade accessories. Be sure to check them out!

Thanks, Sharon, for being my first sponsor!

More information on sponsorship opportunities can be found here or by clicking the "Become a Sponsor" button in the left sidebar.

Ethical and Fun

Ethical . . .

"At Yellow Label Kids, we believe that products can be equally fun, stylish and comfortable, while still being ethically made."


Sushi Rattle Set - $32.99


Flower Peace Hat - $27.99


Kaftan (available in blue, pink, or beige) - $33.99


Cupcake motif sweater - $57.99

The playful world is a toy company created to provide today’s children with unique, custom designed toys that are handcrafted by artisans in less developed areas of the world and purchased under fair trade agreements.


Bowling Buddies from Kyrgyzstan - $45.00


100% Alpaca knitted lion - $40.00


100% Alpaca rabbit hand puppet - $20.00

Fun . . .





Tees by Mental Floss - all $17.97

. . .And the Big Kahuna


Wenger Swiss Army Giant Knife Multi-Tool - $1099.95 at The Knife Center

87 implements, including a Golf shoe spike wrench, cigar cutter, compass, fish scaler, laser pointer, reamer, and flashlight

141 functions

weighing in at 2 pounds

You know you want it!