Bunch of FOs

Long time no post. I've been avoiding the blog because I was gone for so long and really didn't want to get into a long explanation. Life continues to be challenging. I don't want the blog to turn into a whine fest so I'll focus on the good things today.
Adam turned 14 this week. Here's hoping the new year brings him better health and luck. I turned 40 something more yesterday. My boys treated me well with some thoughtful gifts and Chinese food for dinner.

I'll update with some finished objects. I've lost that loving feeling for socks right now. I haven't knit anything worsted weight in the longest time because it bothered my hands and wrists. What I discovered in Malabrigo March is that the right needles and yarn make all the difference. I'm in love with Malabrigo. I'd marry it if I could I love it so much. I'm having a blast knitting nice, warm, soft things even if I don't know who they're intended for.

Here are some highlights:

I made a cellphone cozy with some Koolhaas leftovers. A skein of Malabrigo goes a long way.



I also knit another Simple Boy Hat. This has become my go to hat. It's simple and uses leftovers well.



Next up is another Amanda Hat in Violetas. I went down a needle size to get the lacy parts less lacy and love how it tightened up the lace. I didn't really account for row gauge, however, and so the hat is a tad shorter than I like. This is really a great pattern.



Next, I used some of the leftovers to make a Calorimetry. I may be the last person ever to knit this pattern. I cast on only 100 stitches and made it smaller in the middle. I'd knit the next one even smaller. It's a cute little pattern.



Finally, I made a hat that really is for me. This is also knit in Malabrigo Violetas and is a Seaman's Cap. This hat features a fold up brim and will be very, very warm with that double ribbed layer of Malabrigo. It will be perfect for my winter morning walks to keep my ears warm.



I've got more on the needles and I'll try to update soon.

It's so nice to have baseball back - even if we still have small mountains of snow left on the lawn. I am anxiously awaiting spring weather.

More Malabrigo

Last Saturday night, my middle son asked me to knit him a hat. He requested that it be olive green with white stripes. He had very specific ideas regarding what this hat should look like - the stripes needed to be in certain places on the hat and of a certain width. I had both colors of Malabrigo in my stash and quickly cast on. This is the hat that resulted.

Once he tried it on, however, it became apparent that it was a tad too long. In my desire to be sure that it wasn't too short I made it too big. He also stated that the stripes were not in the correct place and that they looked too much like a "pattern". He did tell me that the hat was very soft and that he loved it but that he'd prefer another.



One of the great things about knit hats is that they fit a wide variety of heads. Children and adults do not have heads that are very different in size. Mr. Baseball tried on the hat and found it fit him perfectly. I took the hat back and put it on my pile of finished Malabrigo objects and will decide what to do with the hat in the fall. No one needs a new winter hat right now. I've had enough of winter.



I had plenty of Malabrigo left and knit this hat for Jared. You may think it's the same as the hat in the first pictures but the stripes are lower, narrower and are not in a "pattern". This hat fits him much better than the first though if I'm completely honest I must say that it is a tad short. Just a tad. Jared likes it and loves the Malabrigo. For now, the hat has been put aside with the other newly knit items. We'll pull them out again in the fall and decide what to do with them.

I won't go into details about my ear infection or our emergency trip to the dentist today (you can guess who that was for). Let me just say that I'm eternally grateful for knitting to get me through difficult times. I'm finding the Malabrigo especially comforting.

Koolhaas

Pattern: Koolhaas Hat

Yarn: Malabrigo Merino Worsted in Continental Blue

Needles: size 6 & 8 circulars

Modifications: none

I finished my Koolhaas last night. I love the way it looks from the top. The decreases are pure genius. I found the pattern quite easy to follow but a little too fiddly for my liking. I was glad to have read the advice of those who knit the hat before me which helped to clear up a couple of confusing parts in the pattern. Overall, however, I found that if I just followed the directions everything worked out fine.



I seem to be the only person who doesn't LOVE this hat. My gauge is spot on and the hat came out to the prescribed size but it's HUGE. It's even big on Adam's giant melon head (which he inherited from me). I don't really like the way it looks. It reminds me of a giant blue raspberry. And I don't mean that in a good way.

It's been put in the pile of FOs for now until I decide what to do with it. No one in my family wants it. The cast lady was admiring it when I had to bring Adam back to the doctor this week to have his cast changed (long boring story which I promise you don't want to hear). Maybe I'll give it to her when he gets his cast removed at the end of the month. Maybe it can join my Unoriginal Hat and I could send it to some charity that likes hats that are too big or too small.

Next up ... the Yarn Harlot's One Row Scarf. I know thousands have knit it but it's a simple pattern that's fun to knit with a wonderful, soft, squishy yarn like Malabrigo. This color is called Velvet Grapes. I really don't like knitting scarves but if I'm not in a hurry and if I love the yarn scarves can be kind of soothing.

The Boy Hat

Pattern: The Boy Hat Pattern

Yarn: Malabrigo Merino Worsted in Azul Profundo

Needles: size 7 U.S.

Modifications: None - knit exactly as written



It's really just a simple 4x4 ribbed hat but with some interesting decreasing on the top. I think it's the perfect man/boy type hat. I plan to give this to one of my brother-in-laws for Christmas and may make a matching scarf or neck warmer to go with it.

I'm really enjoying my venture into worsted weight yarns and needles larger than 2.5 mm. All my socks have been quite unceremoniously tossed aside for time being. I miss them but I'm having a great time with Malabrigo March and intend to keep going. In fact, I cast on another project yesterday.



Don't you want to squish that yarn? This is more Malabrigo in Continental Blue. It's a bright cheerful blue. I'm knitting a Koolhaas with it. I don't actually know anyone who would appreciate the color or the hat and I don't know what I'll do with it but I'm about half way done and I'm really liking the pattern. What I really need to do is find someone who wants to trade a knitted item for something sewn or something else I'm incapable of doing myself.

Pity Party

Wednesday night, while Mr. Baseball hat the older boys at baseball, I had a little pity party for myself. First, I went online and ordered a whole bunch of Malabrigo from Webs. Their discount just makes you want to order more yarn. I had just gotten a credit card statement in the mail with a zero balance so I kept ordering until I hit the 25% discount and ended up with 10 skeins of Malabrigo in my cart.



After this little bit of retail therapy, I went to the kitchen. There I put on a cd of my favorite musician and cranked it up loud. I made a batch of chocolate chip cookies and had myself a good cry while I washed the dishes. Finally, I ate the cookies hot out of the oven. After about 45 minutes, my pity party was over.



The cookies lasted less than 24 hours but today I received my package from Webs. This Malabrigo should last me a good long while. I've got lots of Christmas presents planned.

Pretty things

I finished an Amanda Hat to match the Scrunchable Scarf. I cast on March 1 for a KAL on Ravelry and finished on March 2. It's a sweet hat and I plan to give it to my sister in law along with the scarf for Christmas. Jared wasn't too thrilled with being my latest hat model but he obliged. Odysseus was much more willing to model the hat in progress.



I also cast on the new Red Sox yarn so I'd have something simple to take with me to Knit Night last Friday. These are my new first Good Juju socks for 2008. They do have kind of a Dr. Seuss look to them and the Louet is a bit finer than I normally care to knit with but I LOVE the stripes. This will be a slow work in progres.



If you can stand one more pretty picture in this post please scroll down
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That's what Adam's sporting as of this morning. Yup, he broke his arm again (for the record - that's the third time in 13 months). It's a long story which involves a snowboard and a jump (I KNOW!) and a fall. We spent many hours yesterday and today at doctor's and hospitals and now we're home with this pretty new pink and blue cast.

Can you even believe it?

Scrunchable Scarf

Pattern: Scrunchable Scarf

Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted Bergamota

Needles: size 10 U.S.

One of my goals for 2008 is to knit a non-sock project for every month. I don't typically knit Christmas gifts but this year I thought I'd knit a few. I knit this Srunchable Scarf for my sister-in-law, Debbie. I cast on the night of the Super Bowl when I realized I needed a simple project to keep me busy. The Patriots lost but the Malabrigo kept me happy.



I have another skein in this same color and plan to cast on the Amanda Hat tomorrow for a Malabrigo March KAL. I also plan to knit a Koolhaas in a different Malabrigo colorway. It's fun to knit with larger needles for a change and I'm loving the Malabrigo. One of my LYS got a new shipment in this week and I'm going to Knit Night tonight - I could come home with a new skein or two.