amimono no monogatari: 2019

Sunday, December 15, 2019

Korpokkur (aka Tabi Monogatari v16)

Time for yet another pair of mid-calf socks for my hubby. Using the remainder of my Hamanaka Korpokkur Multi Color yarn and my 4" & 3" Chiaogoo interchangeables US 0 needles, I casted on 50 sts (based on my last Paton's Kroy sock for him). I tried it on his foot and it fit! ♡

Here's what I did:
1. I started with a Provisional cast on with a total of 50 sts.
2. K 1 straight row on each side, then connected in the round.
3. K 15 rows in the round as part of the foot portion.
4. Started the toes: with 25 sts on each side, splitting it up for 8 sts for big toe, 17

sts for remaining toes.

5. Big toe:

Row 1:

Front: k to the 2nd to the last st, pick up 1 st below, for a total of 9 sts
Back: k, pick up a st below, k to the end for a total of 9 sts

Row 2:

Front: k, pick up a st, k to the end, for a total of 10 sts
Back: k to the last 2 sts, pick up a st below, k for a total of 10 sts

Row 3: k
Row 4-5 (2 rows): Follow Row 2 until there are 12 sts
Row 6-11 (6 rows): k
Row 12:

Front: k to last 2 sts, k2tog for a total of 11 sts
Back: SSK, k to the end for a total of 11 sts

Row 13:

Front: SSK, k to the end for a total of 10 sts
Back: k to the last 2 sts, k2tog for a total of 10 sts

Row 14:

Front: k to last 2 sts, k2tog for a total of 9 sts
Back: SSK, k to the end for a total of 9 sts

Row 15: k
Row 16:

Front: SSK, k to the end for a total of 8 sts
Back: k to the last 2 sts, k2tog for a total of 8 sts

Row 17: k
Row 18:

Front: k to last 2 sts, k2tog for a total of 7 sts
Back: SSK, k to the end for a total of 7 sts

Row 19:

Front: SSK, k to the last 2 sts, k2tog for a total of 5 sts
Back: SSK, k to the last 2 sts, k2tog for a total of 5 sts

Row 20: same as row 19 continuing to decrease 2 sts, total of 3 sts on each side
Bound off using the Kitchener stitch.

The big toe came out to 5.5 cm (2 in).

6. The rest of the toes:

Row 1: k, picking up 4 sts on each side, for a total of 21 sts
Row 2: k

Row 3:

Front: SSK, k to the end for a total of 20 sts
Back: k to the last 2 sts, k2tog for a total of 20 sts

Row 4: k
Row 5:

Front: SSK, k to the last 2 sts, k2tog for a total of 18 sts
Back: SSK, k to the last 2 sts, k2tog for a total of 18 sts

Row 6:

Front: SSK, k to the end for a total of 17 sts
Back: k to the last 2 sts, k2tog for a total of 17 sts

Row 7:

Front: k to the last 2 sts, k2tog for a total of 16 sts
Back: SSK, k to the end for a total of 16 sts

Row 8:

Front: SSK, k to the end for a total of 15 sts
Back: k to the last 2 sts, k2tog for a total of 15 sts

Row 9:

Front: SSK, k to the end, for a total of 14 sts
Back: k to the last 2 sts, k2tog for a total of 14 sts

Row 10:

Front: SSK, k to the end for a total of 13 sts
Back: k to the last 2 sts, k2tog for a total of 13 sts

Row 11: k
Row 12-17: same as Row 10 for 12, 11, 10, 9, 8 & 7 sts
Row 18:

Front: SSK, k to the last 2 sts, k2tog for a total of 5 sts
Back: ssk, k to the last 2 sts, k2tog for a total of 5 sts

Row 19: k
Row 20: same as Row 19 for 3 sts
Bound off using the Kitchener stitch.

The rest of the toe came out to 4.8 cm (1⅝ in)

7. Then I went back to the bottom of the provisional cast on and picked up the

stitches to start the foot.

Row 16: pick up a st from the “front” side and put it on the “back” side; pick up a st from the “back” side, bringing it behind the st picked up from the “front” and put it on the “front” side. K these 2 sts together. Then k in the round. There should be 25 start on each side.
Row 17-50 (49 rows): k, maintaining 25 sts on each side
Row 51-59 (9 rows): pick up a sts below on each side, maintaining 26 sts on each side
Row 60: pick up the first st, 9th st, 18th at & last st on each side for a total of 30 sts
Row 61-65 (5 rows): k, maintaining 30 sts on each side
Including the initial 15 rows, this came out for a total of 17 cm (6 3/4 in)

8. With the foot done, I started on the heel portion using the Fish Lips Kiss Heel

method.

Row 108-119 (12 rows): Follow the Fish Lips Kiss Heel method until you have 10 twin stitches (sts) knits and purls sts on each side and 10 regular sts
This came out to 4.5 cm (1 3/4 in).
Row 120: as you "boomerang" back to the regular sts, k2tog, k2, k2tog, k2, ktog then continue using the Fish Lips Kiss Heel method for a total of 27 sts
Row 121-135 (15 rows): Continue using the Fish Lips Kiss Heel method to turn the heel until you have a total of 27 sts again.
Row 136:

Left side: Since the left side ends on a purl side, k to bring you back to the correct side.
Right side: k

This came out perfect! :) *yay* :)

9. With the heel done, I finished off the leg:

Row 137: k2tog, k in the round for a total of 29 sts for top side & 28 sts for the back side
Row 138-141 (4 rows): k in the round, maintaining a total of 28 &29 sts on each side
Row 142: decrease 1 st on the top side for a total of 28 sts on each side
Row 143-146 (4 rows): k, maintaining a total of 28 sts on each side
Row 147: decrease 1 st on each side for a total of 27 sts on each side
Row 148-171 (29 rows): k, maintaining a total of 27 sts on each side
Total length of the leg was 10 cm (4 in)

10. With the leg done, it was time to cuff; Hubby said he wanted shorter ribbing this

time (*yay* homestretch!):

Row 172-181 (10 rows): complete cuff using 1x1 ribbing (27 sts on each side)
Row 182: add 2 sts to each side for a total of 29 sts and continue 1x1 ribbing
Row 183-217 (39 rows): complete cuff using 1x1 ribbing (29 sts on each side) for a total of 10 cm (4 in) of ribbing
Bound off using a variation of the Estonian bind off, in which I picked up a stitch from the row below then used the Estonian bind off technique. :)

The total length of the leg and cuff was 21 cm (8 1/4 in).

Yay! Another finished pair! :) And, just in time for our next trip! Now, we can have matching socks! 😁

Monday, December 2, 2019

My 2019 Yearly Recap

I have been so busy with my new job this year that I realized that I have been knitting even less this year! 😒😫

Let's start recapping by seeing which knitting resolutions I met this year:

Rip out my almost perfect yoke sweater and actually make it perfect 😊

Well, I did rip it out and finished most of it but since I only had 1 set of 5" US 3 needles a good portion of the year, I was stranded on sleeve island. 😣🤦
Lesson Learned: Do not start on a project in which you don't have all the right (or enough) tools/materials! Since I (re-)started this so long ago and was stranded on sleeve island, I feel like I might have to rip out the one sleeve I did work on so that I can work on both sleeves together (as I normally do) because I don't remember what I did on that one sleeve I worked on!😣🤦

Make another sweater - perhaps try a simple fair isle?? or at the very least, a two (2) colour sweater; perhaps two (2) sweaters??🤔

This did not happen ... But, I did manage to make one yoke sweater!👐

More socks!🤣

This kinda happened ... 😒😫 I only managed to make three (1, 2, 3) pairs of socks this year.😒🤦 I'm working on another pair of socks as we speak but, I doubt it's going to get done by the end of this year.😒🤦

And on that note - fix my Make Me Happy Socks (it's a tad too short in the foot)😒

This so did not happen!😭

Maybe make more harinezumi for my girls (they did want glittery ones) and maybe one for our (expected) new little one??🤔😊

This also did not happen; instead for our new lil' one, I made:

Use more of my stash!

This did happen!👐 Here's how I used my stash:

I finally made my Guernsey Wrap
a pair of Christmas hats for my lil' bro and sissy🎄
a travel tray

While I didn't actually knit much (my new job requires a lot of training which meant that I actually didn't have very much knitting time this year since I had to study and recover from jet lag as well as colds I got each! time I traveled!), I did manage to:

Enjoy a few yarn shops in Japan
Go on a yarn crawl in Maryland & Washington DC
Go to my very first sheep & wool festival
Finally obtain a full (complete) set of needles in my favorite lengths👐😍❤️

Now, I just need time to knit! Thankfully, I'm getting more acclimated at my job as the days go by and I only have a few more classes to take; so, hopefully, I'll have more time to knit next year.🤞🍀

So, here's my new year's resolution:

Do not start a project in which I do not have (enough of the) right tools and/or materials!
Knit more! (to use more stash!)

As to what to knit, I'm not sure. Probably socks (my poor Hubby has finally worn through some of his socks and they desperately need to be replaced; his sock collection is miserably small) ... and I still have two box loads of sweater yarn ... Hmmmm .... 🤔 Maybe this goal should be empty a box of yarn?? 🤔😊

Bite the bullet and finish fixing my yoke sweater and my socks! 🤦

Let's see how well I do next year!🤞🍀

Seaglass (aka Tabi Monogatari v15)

Time for another pair of mid-calf socks for my hubby. Using my Cascade in Paton's Kroy Socks and my new 4" & 3" Chiaogoo interchangeables US 0 needles, I casted on 50 sts (based on my last Paton's Kroy sock for him). I tried it on his foot and it fit! ♡

sts for remaining toes.

5. Big toe:

Row 1:

Front: k to the 2nd to the last st, pick up 1 st below, for a total of 9 sts
Back: k, pick up a st below, k to the end for a total of 9 sts

Row 2:

Front: k to the 2nd to the last st, pick up 1 st below, for a total of 10 sts
Back: k, pick up a st below, k to the end for a total of 10 sts

Row 3: k
Row 4-5 (2 rows): Follow Row 2 until there are 12 sts
Row 6-16 (11 rows): k
Row 17:

Front: k to last 2 sts, k2tog for a total of 11 sts
Back: SSK, k to the end for a total of 11 sts

Row 18: same as row 17 continuing to decrease 1 st on each side, for a total of 10 sts on each side
Row 19:

Front: k2tog, k, to the end for a total of 9 sts
Back: k to the last 2 sts, k2tog for a total of 9 sts

Row 20: k
Row 21:

Front: k2tog, k to the end for a total of 8 sts
Back: k to the last 2 sts, SSK for a total of 8 sts

Row 22: k
Row 23:

Front: k2tog, k to the end for a total of 7 sts
Back: k to the last 2 sts, k2tog for a total of 7 sts

Row 24:

Front: k2tog, k to the last 2 sts, k2tog for a total of 5 sts
Back: SSK, k to the last 2 sts, SSK for a total of 5 sts

Row 275: same as row 24 continuing to decrease 2 sts, total of 3 sts on each side
Bound off using the Kitchener stitch.

The big toe came out to 5.5 cm (2 in).

6. The rest of the toes:

Row 1: k, picking up 4 sts on each side, for a total of 21 sts
Row 2: k

Row 3:

Front: k2tog, k to the end for a total of 20 sts
Back: k to the last 2 sts, SSK for a total of 20 sts

Row 4: k
Row 5:

Front: k2tog, k to the last 2 sts, ssk for a total of 18 sts
Back: ssk. k to the last 2 sts, k2tog for a total of 18 sts

Row 6:

Front: k2tog, k to the end for a total of 17 sts
Back: k to the last 2 sts, ssk for a total of 17 sts

Row 7:

Front: k to the last 2 sts, ssk for a total of 16 sts
Back: ssk, k to the end for a total of 16 sts

Row 8:

Front: ssk, k to the end for a total of 15 sts
Back: k to the last 2 sts, k2tog for a total of 15 sts

Row 9:

Front: ssk, k to the end, for a total of 14 sts
Back: k to the last 2 sts, k2tog for a total of 14 sts

Row 10:

Front: ssk, k to the end for a total of 13 sts
Back: k to the last 2 sts, ssk for a total of 13 sts

Row 11-12 (2 rows): k
Row 13-18: same as Row 9-10 for 12, 11, 10, 9, 8 & 7 sts
Row 19:

Front: k2tog, k to the last 2 sts, ssk for a total of 5 sts
Back: ssk, k to the last 2 sts, k2tog for a total of 5 sts

Row 20-21 (2 rows): k
Bound off using the Kitchener stitch.

The rest of the toe came out to 4.8 cm (1⅝ in)

7. Then I went back to the bottom of the provisional cast on and picked up the

stitches to start the foot.

Row 16: pick up a st from the “front” side and put it on the “back” side; pick up a st from the “back” side, bringing it behind the st picked up from the “front” and put it on the “front” side. K these 2 sts together. Then k in the round. There should be 25 start on each side.
Row 17-50 (49 rows): k, maintaining 25 sts on each side
Row 51-59 (9 rows): pick up a sts below on each side, l lol p pool 0p pplk, maintaining 26 sts on each side
Row 60: pick up the first st, 9th st, 18th at & last st on each side for a total of 30 sts
Row 61-65 (5 rows): k, maintaining 30 sts on each side
Including the initial 15 rows, this came out for a total of 17 cm (6 3/4 in)

8. With the foot done, I started on the heel portion using the Fish Lips Kiss Heel

method.

Row 108:

Right side: k the “top” portion, moving 1 st from the “back” side for a total of 31 sts; start the heel on the “bottom” portion
Left side: pick up 2 sts and move it to the “top” portion for a total of 29 sts then start the heel as you’re already on the “bottom” portion

Row 109-120 (12 rows): Follow the Fish Lips Kiss Heel method until you have 10 twin stitches (sts) knits and purls sts on each side and 10 regular sts
This came out to 3.5 cm (1 ⅜ in).
Row 121-135 (15 rows): Continue using the Fish Lips Kiss Heel method to turn the heel until you have a total of 28 sts again.
Row 136:

Left side: Since the left side ends on a purl side, k to bring you back to the correct side.
Right side: k

This came out perfect! :) *yay* :)

9. With the heel done, I finished off the leg:

Row 137: k2tog, k in the round for a total of 29 sts for top side & 28 sts for the back side
Row 138-141 (4 rows): k in the round, maintaining a total of 28 &29 sts on each side
Row 142: decrease 1 st on the top side for a total of 28 sts on each side
Row 143-146 (4 rows): k, maintaining a total of 28 sts on each side
Row 147: decrease 1 st on each side for a total of 27 sts on each side
Row 148-172 (30 rows): k, maintaining a total of 27 sts on each side
Total length of the leg was 9 cm (3 1/2 in)

10. With the leg done, it was time to cuff; Hubby said he wanted shorter ribbing this

time (*yay* homestretch!):

Row 173-182 (10 rows): complete cuff using 1x1 ribbing (27 sts on each side)
Row 183: add 2 sts to each side for a total of 29 sts and continue 1x1 ribbing
Row 184-218 (40 rows): complete cuff using 1x1 ribbing (29 sts on each side) for a total of 10 cm (4 in) of ribbing
Bound off using a variation of the Estonian bind off, in which I picked up a stitch from the row below then used the Estonian bind off technique. :)

The total length of the leg and cuff was 20 cm (7 1/2 in).

Yay! Another finished pair! :) And, just in time as he needs more socks! 😜

Front

Right

Back

Left

Sweater Weather

While it's not quite sweater weather where I live, it's definitely time for another sweater! 🙌. Using my Caron Plum Perfect yarn (I bought this yarn back when I made my very first sweater (in 2014)) and my Denise US8 (5mm) needles, I pulled out my Strange Brew book (which was gifted to me; the book is a-m-a-z-i-n-g!!) and used their basic top-down yoke formula. I measured myself and found that my chest was 37" which meant that I needed to make a M sized sweater using my DK weight yarn. Here's what I did:

Cast on 104 sts using the long-tail cast on method.
Work a 1x1 rib for 5 rows.
Follow the set-up round, a total of 120 sts
Next was increasing Round 1 (continue in stockinette st) for 8 rows, totaling 312 sts; in row 6, I realized my gauge was really tight so I switch to US10 (6mm) needles.

It was time to make sure I was heading in the right direction. I tried on what little I had and found that the neckline which seemed ok at first, was really stretching out quite a bit; no longer was it a little wider than a crewneck but not quite a boatneck, it was beyond a boatneck and would be falling off my shoulders soon! 😳😒. I re-read my book again and ripped it back out to the ribbing portion. Then, I changed to my US10 (6mm) needles and redid the set-up and Increase Round 1 again. Still, it was not coming out right. So, I emailed tincanknits (the author of the book) and asked them what they thought of my progress. They answered a few days later (they were at KnitCity - lucky folks!) and provided me more clarification. Here's what I did:

Rip back to the first Increase Round 1(for a total of 144 sts)
Knit for 8 rows, maintaining 144 sts (using my Chiaogoo US10 (6mm) needles)
Increase Round 2 for a total of 216 sts
Knit for 14 rows, maintaining 216 sts
Increase Round 3 for a total of 264 sts
Knit for 4 rows, maintaining 264 sts

I found that at this point, it was deep enough to separate for the sleeves. I skipped Increase Round 4 and the short rows in the back portions (this time around). It was time for Yoke Separation.

Separate 53 sts for the sleeve, cast on 15 sts, knit 87 sts for the front, separate 53 sts for the other sleeve, cast on 15 sts and knit 70 sts for the back. The instructions actually said to cast on the same number of sts for the front and back but when I tried that, the back flared out in a weird way so I had to rip it back and used the numbers above.
Knit 5 rows, maintaining 187 sts
It was time to give some shape to the body; *k3, k2tog* 14 times, k3, k2tog, p5, ssk, k3, *k2, k2tog" 17 times, k3, k2tog, p5, ssk, k3 for a total of 149 sts
K72, k2tog, p5, ssk, k53, k2tog, k2, k2tog, p5, ssk, k2 for a total of 144 sts
*K2tog, k2, k2tog, k2, k2tog* 3 times, k2, k2tog, k2, k2tog, k2, *ktog, k2, k2tog, k2, k2tog* 3 times, k, k2tog, p5, ssk, k46, k2tog, k3, k2tog, k, k2tog, p5, ssk, k for a total of 124 sts
Knit 1 row
*K4, k2tog* 5 times, k2, p5, ssk, k2, k2tog, k39, k2tog, k6, p5, k2tog, for a total of 110 sts
Knit 1 row
K2tog, k2, k2tog, k2, k2tog, k4, k2tog, k6, k42tog, k2, k2tog, k6, k2tog, k8, k2tog, k4, p5, k2tog, k2, k2tog, k2, k2tog, k4, k2tog, k6, k2tog, k2, k2tog, k6, k2tog, k4, k2tog, k2, k2tog, k2, ssk, p5 for a total of 90 sts
Knit 11 rows.

It was time for another sweater check. It fit ... But ... The top portion was puffy and a bit wrinkly in a funny way. In short, it was terrible! I ripped everything out back to where I separated for the sleeves and tried again. Here's what I did:

Separate 53 sts for the sleeves.
K86, p4, k65, p4 for a total of 159 sts
Knit 15 rows
K3, k2tog, k2, k2tog, k4, k2tog, *k8, k2tog*, repeat * 4 times, k2, k2tog, k2, k2tog, k4, ssk, p4, k2tog, k4, k2tog, *k8, k2tog*, repeat * 4 times, k5, ssk, p4, k2tog for a total of 149 sts
Knit 4 rows
K3, k2tog, k3, k2tog, k4, k2tog, *k8, k2tog*, repeat * 4 times, k6, k2tog, k2, k2tog, k2, ssk, p4, k2tog, k3, k2tog, k2, k2tog, k6, k2tog, *k8, k2tog*, repeat * 3 times, k6, ssk, p4, k2tog for a total of 130 sts
Knit 4 rows
K2tog, k5, k2tog, *k9, k2tog*, repeat * 4 times, k2, ssk, p4, k2tog, k5, k2tog, k, k2tog, *k9, k2tog*, repeat * 3 times, k8, ssk, p4, k2tog for a total of 120 sts
Knit 40 rows
Purl 1 row
Split for the front (77 sts) and back (53 sts)
Back: 1x1 ribbing starting and ending with a p st; knit for 12 rows
Front: 1x1 ribbing starting and ending with a p st by picking up a st 3 sts before the last st; knit for 6 rows
Bind off

Time for the sleeves:

Pick up 6 sts for a total of 59 sts
P2, k55, p2
Knit 15 rows

Time to do a sleeve check: it seemed to fit fine but ... It was starting to look like one of my other sweaters ... B-o-r-i-n-g ... So, I thought, what if I could put a purl section on top of my shoulder too? At least it would look a little different than my other sweaters ... So, here's what I did:

The pattern should be: P2, k25, p4, k26, p2
When you get to the p4, rip it all the way back down to the collar and purl it back up from there. I know ... It sounds crazy but, it looked a little odd to start it where it was and since I didn't plan it out, I wasn't smart enough/think creatively enough on how to make it more decoratively.
P2, k2tog, k24, ssk, p4, k2tog, k25, ssk, p2 for a total of 55 sts
Knit 2 rows
*P2, k2tog, k23, ssk, p4, k2tog, k24, ssk, p2* for a total of 51 sts
Knit 2 rows
Repeat * above for 47 sts
Knit 2 rows
Repeat * for 43 sts
Knit 2 rows
Repeat * for 39 sts
Knit 37 rows
Repeat * for 35 rows
Knit 2 rows
Repeat * for 31 rows
Knit 16 rows
1x1 ribbing for 5 rows
Bind off

Ta-da! A finished sweater!

Front

Side

Inside Sleeve

Inside side

Back

Now, it just needs to be cool enough for me to wear it! ❄️☃️

09/18/20 Up-date: After getting a chance to wear this a few times, I felt that my collar was just a bit too wide. So, I added four (4) additional rows to decrease the collar from 104 stitches to 54 stitches and used Jenny's Stretchy bind off to bind off. Now, the collar is as it should be. 🙌 🎉👍

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Sometimes you just need to do it yourself

Since I've been traveling a lot, I realized that I needed a travel tray; something to hold my watch and other little knick knacks that I like to keep with me by my bedside. I had seen all these amazing leather ones but, they were too thick (I didn't want to add anymore weight to my luggage than I already needed to with all of my work clothes); then there were material ones ... But, none really called to me. So, I asked my sewing friend if she would make one for me; and she did! ☺️ It was beautiful and even had a secret pocket! The only thing was that it was the size of a Kleenex box! It was way too big. 😒 So, what's a girl to do? Sometimes, you just need to do it yourself if you want it just right. And, that's exactly what I did: Rummage through my yarn stash, found some mystery yarn (nothing I'd regret using (or losing)) and proceeded to search Raverly to find a travel tray pattern I could use as a guide. I found this. It was exactly what I was looking for. And, it would stretch my skills because it was double knitted.

I looked up what double knitted actually meant and thought: "Eh, it doesn't need to be double knitted, I'll just double up the yarn since it was lace weight anyways." and merrily casted on 80 sts using my Chiaogoo US7 needles. It didn't look too big when I first started but grew rapidly after a few rows. It actually started to grow to the same size as my material one! 😒🤦 So, I do what I do best: I ripped it out and stared again. I thought: "Hmmm ... Maybe I should use larger needles and less stitches ... 🤔" So, with the yarn still doubled, I casted on 60 sts using my Chiaogoo US9 needles. Again, it started to grow. 😒🤦 More ripping ensued.

It looked like perhaps double knitting really was the way to go. 🤦🤔 So, I tried it with just my red yarn. But, it was so hard to figure it out because 1) I didn't know what I was doing and 2) it was hard for me to remember which one was for which side. More ripping ensued again.

I finally gave in and found another colour to use so I could tell which side was which. Casting on 56 sts, using my Chiaogoo US9 needles, I knitted 6 rows then "tacked" it together every 3 sts, then did another 6 rows, tacked it (again) every 3 sts (offset from the last tacked row), and repeated this four times then bound off. Instead to adding buttons or snaps to hold up the sides, I decided that ties would be better as I could always use the tray as "bubble wrap" if I had something small to bring home. Since the tray was squarish, I decided that I would make ties on 2 sides and loops for the other side. I looked up various ways on how to make the ties and settled on a fish braid pattern.

Here's what my finished tray looks like:

Inside

Outside

Ready to go

Side view

Ready to roll!

Perfect! Now, all I need to do is to go on a trip!

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Update: The Baby Goods

Well, our little one is here and she's been kind of (not really) enjoying any of my knitted goods. What, you say? How can that be?! Well, first of all, it's been an eternal summer here - literally!🌞 It's been so hot, that it would be ridiculous to even think about any knitted goods.

Her newborn hat was ... not newborn sized; it was too big for her! Maybe she'll fit in three (3) months (presuming that my lil' bro & sissy-in-law hasn't lost her hat in the plethora of baby stuff they have); her booties ... also too big (same issue as the hat) ... hopefully, she can grow into it if we ever have winter this year.❄️

Her cocoon ... well, that was the only thing she barely fit into!🙃
Here's her take on it:

What are you people doing?🤔

I dunno if I like this ...😒

Ok, I'm thinking that I don't like this ...😫

Well, I guess it's not so bad ... but, maybe I want out!😏

She was just about a month and a half when we tried it on her; now, she's just too big for it (and too wiggly as she likes to stretch out and not be wrapped up like that)! Oh well ... it was the thought that counts! 😉😘😍

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Christmas Hats

Our new little one is here! And the holidays is nearly upon us!🎄 Since I know that one of the traditions that my lil' bro and his wife has is to go to our local City & County Christmas tree festival, I thought it'd be cute to make a baby Santa Hat for her! 😍 Using my leftover yarn from her blanket and my Denise US 7 (4.5mm) needles, here's what I did:

Cast on 80 sts
Do a 1x1 rib for 6 rows
Alternate red and white (every other stitch) in stockinette for 17 rows
Knit 1 row using the white yarn only
Switch to US 5 (3.75mm) needles, decrease 9 sts (decreasing every 8 sts), total 71 sts
Continue stockinette st for 12 rows using white yarn
Start decreasing the hat in pattern by 9 sts (decrease every 6 or 7 sts to the last 3 sts), total 62 sts
Knit 2 rows
Decrease 7 sts (decrease every 8 sts), total 55 sts
Knit 2 rows
Decrease 5 sts (decrease 1st, 24th, 26th, 36th and last sts), total 50 sts
Knit 2 rows
Decrease 5 sts (decrease every 8 sts to the last 5 sts, k), total 45 sts
Knit 2 rows
Decrease 5 sts (decrease every 9 sts to the last 5 sts, k2, k2tog, k), total 40 sts
Knit
Decrease 8 sts (decrease 1st, 8th, 12th, 16th, 17th, 24th, 28th, and last sts ), total 32 sts
Knit
Decrease 8 sts (decrease 2nd, 4th, 8th, 11th, 14th, 17th, 20th, and 23rd sts), total 24 sts
Decrease 5 sts (decrease every 4th sts), total 19 sts
Decrease 7 sts (*k2tog, k*, repeat 4 times, k2tog twice), total 12 sts
Decrease 6 sts (k2tog six times), total 6 sts
Bind off
Make a pom pom

Man, for such a little hat, it was not that easy to make. First of all, the red and white portion was a lot harder to switch colours than I thought it would be. Perhaps my next accessory will be a yarn guide/stranded ring (like this) for myself. That might've made it easier. Then, making the top portion of the hat was another endeavor in and of itself! First, I thought I'd be all fancy and use a seed stitch pattern but, it bulged out like a b-i-g puff. So I thought it was my needle size; so, I ripped it out and started again using smaller needles. To no avail, it was still funky looking since I just couldn't get the same gauge as the red and white portion. So, I ripped it out again! This time, I used even smaller needles and tried again using a double seed stitch pattern this time (I thought it would help if the pattern wasn't so tight). It was better but as I was ready to decrease, the bulge became apparent (again). Soooooo, I ripped it out (again!) and (finally) conceded that I needed to make the top portion in a regular boring stockinette stitch. Thinking that the original needle size I used for the red and white portion would suffice, I went round and round until ... The bulge came back. More ripping ensued. I finally figured it out (as such the pattern above). 😅

Here's her very first Christmas hat:

I hope it fits her and that my lil' bro and sissy find it cute on our lil' one! 🐣

And not to leave my lil' bro and sissy out, I made them a pair of matching hats: