An Unwilling Model
Oh, the frustrations of dealing with an unwilling model! 
I took photo after photo of Miss Gwenyth, who was determined not to smile, unless she was pulling that darn hat off her head. Finally, Blues Clues caught her attention on the television, and I managed to get this one. Next time, I think I'll stuff the hat with tissue paper and display it on a cake stand.
I've talked before about my current fascination with the book Last-Minute Knitted Gifts. I love it, and long to own it. Yes, I could just go online and buy it, but I haven't yet let myself do it. I requested it through my local library first (it finally arrived, on loan from Castlegar, of all places!), I suppose as a test run, to see how much I would really use it on a daily basis. There is a dearth of space in my very small, very full house, and we have books in piles, books in cardboard boxes, books in every room of the house. Someday, I hope to have my very own library, but until then, each book purchase must be weighed with the question of how much use I will actually get from it. I'm convinced now that this one is a keeper. Since I have to return the book in the next week, I quickly knit this up:
Particulars:
Pattern: Children's Cotton Hat, Last-Minute Knitted Gifts
Yarn: Mission Falls 1824 Cotton, 1 ball of the mis-dyed Peony
Started: September 06, 2006
Finished: September 08, 2006
Notes: I followed the pattern exactly for the toddler size, and I think it's safe to say that Gwen will need to move up to the child size before long. The only thing I found wrong with the pattern itself was that there are one too many eyelets (or one short, depending on how you look at it). I solved this problem by simply skipping the last one when weaving the I-cord through, and it worked fine. Upon closer look at the picture in the book, it looks like that was their solution as well, at least with the yellow hat. This was my first time making I-cord, and I found it a bit fiddly. I'm more inclined to just crochet a chain, and think I might do just that, to compare the two looks. As you can see, this was another super fast knit (you must imagine that all I'm knitting these days are scarves and anything to be completed in less than a week!). The only reason this pattern took even 2 days was that I received the name of my ICE pal, and was very distracted with yarn purchase and pattern selection. The knitting group I am a member of meets in a local church, and has agreed to provide some knitted items to sell at their Fall Fair fundraiser. I'm thinking a couple of these should be great for that purpose.
I haven't made much progress on said ICE scarf. I've tried a few stitch patterns, and wasn't terribly impressed with any of them. Nothing in Scarf Style spoke to me (well, except for Lady Eleanor, who I reserve for myself), and I keep coming back to the mistake rib stitch. I think I'm going to just stay here, since this is apparently what the yarn wants to be. Now, to decide on the gauge. I was swatching with 5.5mm needles, but think it could go a touch looser. I have so many projects on the needles right now I think I need to do a role call. I'm getting overwhelmed, but loving every minute of it!
I took photo after photo of Miss Gwenyth, who was determined not to smile, unless she was pulling that darn hat off her head. Finally, Blues Clues caught her attention on the television, and I managed to get this one. Next time, I think I'll stuff the hat with tissue paper and display it on a cake stand.
I've talked before about my current fascination with the book Last-Minute Knitted Gifts. I love it, and long to own it. Yes, I could just go online and buy it, but I haven't yet let myself do it. I requested it through my local library first (it finally arrived, on loan from Castlegar, of all places!), I suppose as a test run, to see how much I would really use it on a daily basis. There is a dearth of space in my very small, very full house, and we have books in piles, books in cardboard boxes, books in every room of the house. Someday, I hope to have my very own library, but until then, each book purchase must be weighed with the question of how much use I will actually get from it. I'm convinced now that this one is a keeper. Since I have to return the book in the next week, I quickly knit this up:
Particulars:
Pattern: Children's Cotton Hat, Last-Minute Knitted Gifts
Yarn: Mission Falls 1824 Cotton, 1 ball of the mis-dyed Peony
Started: September 06, 2006
Finished: September 08, 2006
Notes: I followed the pattern exactly for the toddler size, and I think it's safe to say that Gwen will need to move up to the child size before long. The only thing I found wrong with the pattern itself was that there are one too many eyelets (or one short, depending on how you look at it). I solved this problem by simply skipping the last one when weaving the I-cord through, and it worked fine. Upon closer look at the picture in the book, it looks like that was their solution as well, at least with the yellow hat. This was my first time making I-cord, and I found it a bit fiddly. I'm more inclined to just crochet a chain, and think I might do just that, to compare the two looks. As you can see, this was another super fast knit (you must imagine that all I'm knitting these days are scarves and anything to be completed in less than a week!). The only reason this pattern took even 2 days was that I received the name of my ICE pal, and was very distracted with yarn purchase and pattern selection. The knitting group I am a member of meets in a local church, and has agreed to provide some knitted items to sell at their Fall Fair fundraiser. I'm thinking a couple of these should be great for that purpose.
I haven't made much progress on said ICE scarf. I've tried a few stitch patterns, and wasn't terribly impressed with any of them. Nothing in Scarf Style spoke to me (well, except for Lady Eleanor, who I reserve for myself), and I keep coming back to the mistake rib stitch. I think I'm going to just stay here, since this is apparently what the yarn wants to be. Now, to decide on the gauge. I was swatching with 5.5mm needles, but think it could go a touch looser. I have so many projects on the needles right now I think I need to do a role call. I'm getting overwhelmed, but loving every minute of it!
