Archive for November, 2008
Jean’s Hat Drive
Another hat for Jean’s hat drive. If you hate knitting hats, try mittens or scarves. These people are cold. And if you hate knitting those items, but love winning prizes head over to Jean’s http://scottishlamb.typepad.com/ and check out the goodies. Holy Cow knitters. It is like knitters heaven.
What if you are knitting for the holidays. Is everyone on your knitting list crazy about handmade goodies? I know some people would rather not. But here is a group of men (mostly) would will love and cherish the things you knit for them. They live on the streets and they are cold, really cold. Why they are living on the streets, isn’t our concern just now. What is our concern is helping them to warm up. We can do this, right now. No big expensive programs, no politicians or even church leaders. Us, all of us we can help someone we don’t know, and will probably never, know be warmer this winter.
Forget Uncle Max’s scarf, you know in your heart he would rather have something from the shops. Knit one thing for someone who will be grateful and think warm thoughts back at you at least for a moment. And moments are all any of us has.
Off the soapbox
This hat is knit with Elann Highland Chunky wool. On size 8 needles. The whole hat is slip stitched for extra warmth. I threw in a few rows of Elann Highland Wool, ruby doubled. It broke up the sea of dark blue. And the yarn is really dark in person, Navy blue dark. My camera seems to have a mind of its own today.
As a break from hats, I cast on this morning for a pair of mitens. Elann Bag yarn. Which is yummy and soft. I have to give my hands a chance to heal, after being poked to death by those #$@%^ Options needles. The only needles I had in size 8. I have bandaides on the index and thumb of my right hand and on the index finger of my left hand. I keep swearing I will never knit with them again. I need to buy some non lethal needles in larger sizes. Who knew I would ever need needles that weren’t sock needles 
Hats for Jean
Jean The Scottish Lamb is collecting wool hats to be given to the homeless in New York City. Please go to her site and check out the super fabulous prizes she is giving out. You won’t believe how wonderful they are.
I have managed one hat. Double strands of Elann Highland Wool on size 10 and 10 1/2 needles. It is just 1×1 ribbing for most of the hat, then stockinette stitch for the top. It looks better in person then in the picture. The yarn is one strand ruby one strand grey heather. I hope it keeps someone nice and warm.
Please, please go visit Jean’s blog and maybe knit a hat
Only my affection for Jean, could make me knit 7 inches of 1×1 ribbing. I Hate ribbing
Eleventh Hour
On the eleventh hour or the eleventh day of the eleventh month, World War I ended. The war to end all wars crashed on until the treaty of The Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28th 1919. 20 million deaths both civilian and milatary occured.
Try to remember them all at 11:00am. It may not have been the war to end all wars, but it was certainly the war that changed the world.
On other fronts, the afghan for Afghan mittens are chugging along.
Fetching
I think this pattern can be a quick holiday gift. I also think you could get a pair out of one ball of Elann Highland Wool. I made the cuff a bit longer on mine so I used more then the one ball.
The pattern as written is too large for my hands. My wrist only measures 6 1/2 inches around. So some mods were needed. I decided to do one less repeat of the pattern and work 40 stitches, instead of the called for 45 stitches. I also didn’t care for the flared out cuff that most of the pictures of the finished mitts showed. I believe this is caused by the cable starting just four rows from the beginning of the mitt
Elann Highland Wool, Bright Blue (discontinued color)
Size 5 and 6 circs.
With the size 5 I cast on 35 stitches. I did 4 rows of garter stitch. Then increased to 40 stitches and started the pattern. I did 5 rows of the ribbing before the first cable crossing. This has reduced the cuff flair.
I could have done more cables, since I wanted a longer cuff. But decided to just do the ribbing.
After the thumb, I did 5 rows of the ribbing pattern. Then the cable, then 5 more rows of the ribbing. I decreased back to 35 stitches and did 4 rows of garter stitch.
On the first mitt I did the cable just above the thumb. I really didn’t care for how this felt. Sort of bunching where you thumb and hand come together. On the second mitt I eliminated the cable above the thumb and it feels a lot more comfortable.
Thumb. The pattern calls for the Afterthought Thumb. If you can wrap your mind around the fact that you are going to have holes and they can be fixed. You will be a lot happier with your knitting. I repaired mine by using only two ply’s of the yarn. This makes the repair a lot less bulky.
I worked the thumb with the size 5 needle and decreased two stitches. Ended with garter stitch. I think I would skip this or only do two rows, when I do this pattern again.
I am knitting this pattern for my daughter who has larger hands. I will add a purl stitch between the cable columns and only do the cable crossings on the front of the mitt. Which means you need to be careful where you place the thumb.
It is pouring rain outside so the color is not really true.
