Helmet Liner

The Sand and Sea Knitting Guild (see sidebar) held a charity knit along in November, 2008 and I chose to knit this helmet liner. I will donate it back to the person at the Guild who is in charge of charitable donations.

Details:
Pattern: Helmet Liner from Citizen S.A.M.
Yarn: Patons Classic Wool Merino Color Chestnut Brown No.00231, 79.3 g. total
Needles: US 6 for the ribbings and US 8 (5.0 mm.) for the rest
Begun: 11.8.08
Completed: 12.2.08 except for weaving in the ends and blocking
Notes: I used a provisional cast-on for the face so that the ribbing would be ridgeless.

Completion Monday

I love those Monday holidays. On President's Day I completed two more projects, a pair of mittens in periwinkle mystery wool and a brioche stitch scarf in cranberry yarn recycled from a thrift store sweater. I made the mittens for myself and will probably donate the scarf to charity.

Warmth Sent to Cheyenne River Reservation

One of the charities I support is the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Last year there was a mitten blitz challenge on our Native American Support Yahoo Group . We were challenged to make 8 pairs of mittens in 2008. I only managed to knit 7 pairs but I sent them off along with 3 hand knit wool hats and three hand made scarves. I also sent some warm clothing that was not handmade.

Some of the mittens are described here, here, here, and here but I never created an entry for the green felted mittens, the toddler mittens with the green stripes or the wool hats. The knitted red scarf is described here and the other two, crocheted by my mother, are almost identical to this one. They all have attached cards stating the fiber content and care instructions.

The mittens were especially fun to knit and I look forward to participating in this year's challenge.

Sometimes Better Than Socks

Washcloths are better than socks when it comes to portable projects. I plan to donate this to Socks for Soldiers.

Details

Pattern: 4 Corners Dishcloth, located in the side bar of this blog, using a cast on of 25 stitches.
Yarn: Sugar n Cream in Black 00002, 68.2 g.
Needles: 4.5 mm. (US 7) Addi Turbo 16" circulars.
Size: 11.5" by 11.5".
Begun: 7/14/08
Completed: 9/23/08
Notes: I need to find a new pattern. I like the rounded corners but the grafted area always looks wonky. Our soldiers deserve better.

Twenty -Eight Inches of Ribbing

My Socks for Soldiers socks are finally complete. Not only did they have a total of 28 inches of ribbing, I misread the pattern and had to frog 2" from the foot of each sock. All for a worthy cause. I plan to make the next pair more quickly and more efficiently.

Details:
Pattern: Socks for Soldiers (see sidebar)
Yarn: Schachenmayr nomotta Regia Stretch Uni/Solid) in 0099 Black, 134.5 g.
Needles: US 3 (3.25 mm.) for cast-on and 1st 3 rounds, US 0 (2.00 mm.) for the heels and US 1 (2.25 mm.) for the rest of the sock. The new pattern uses the 0 needles for the bottom of the leg and the toes as well, so those planning to make these should be sure they're using the most up to date pattern.
Size: 11.25" long at the foot, after machine washing and drying, for a man's size 12 shoe
Begun: June, 2007
Completed: August 30, 2008

Black Mittens

I'm finally posting about another pair of mittens I made for the Native American Support Mitten Challenge. These were knit from some wonderfully soft lambswool recycled from a Gap sweater.

Details
Yarn: 100% lambswool recycled from GAP sweater, two strands held together. The original yarn was fingering weight. Using two strands created worsted weight. Total for both mittens 52 g.
Needles: Inox 3.5 mm. (US 4) dpns
Gauge: 5 stitches per inch
Pattern: Ann Budd's marvelous The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns, yet again
Size: fourth largest size: child's large/woman's small
Begun: 9/14/07
Completed: late 2007
Notes: The pattern called for a c/o of 34 stitches but I increased it to 36 for K2 P2 ribbing. I picked up 3 stitches over the thumb gap rather than one and decreased these extra 2 stitches on the next round.

Seemingly Never Ending Mittens

Two pairs for the NAS Mitten challenge in Rowan Chunky Print. I enjoyed knitting with this yarn and think it made very pretty mittens. The yarn is soft, thick and sheepy scented and the colors are a delight. The actual color is midway between the light of the lower photo and the dark color in the upper photo. Unfortunately it has been discontinued. It seems to be my fate to fall in love with discontinued yarns/colors.

The suggested needle size of US 11 was too loose for a mitten so I felted the first pair a bit to tighten up the stitches. The second pair was knit using 4.5 mm. (US 7) and the fabric is just right.

Details:
Cuffless Pair
Yarn: Rowan Chunky Print in Girly Pink (no. 077) 52.7 g. total
Needles: U.S. 11
Pattern: Super Bulky Mittens for Women from Knitting Pure and Simple, felted down to a child's medium
Begun: 9/11/07
Completed: 10/10/07
Notes: I won't use this pattern again. Although it was quick (as promised by the designer), I didn't like the way the thumb gusset decreases were designed and the thumbs tend to twist. Also, I think cuffs are necessary in cold weather. I might have liked it better if I'd used a more bulky yarn, as called for in the pattern.



Cuffed Pair
Yarn: Rowan Chunky Print in Girly Pink (no. 077) 92.0 g. of yarn for both.
Needles: U.S. 7
Pattern: The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns by Ann Budd.
Size: women's medium, 7" around & 8.75" long
Begun and Completed: during 2007
Notes: I liked this pattern much better than the other one and have already made several other pairs of mittens using it.

A Change from Mittens

It can't be all mittens all the time so I made a scarf, which you can see here lounging among the peach blossoms in January. That peach tree produces terrible fruit but always bursts forth in beautiful flowers just after Christmas to brighten the new year.

Details
Yarn: 3 50 g. balls of Cascade Bollicine Maxi, which seems to be discontinued because I couldn't find it on the Cascade site with other Bollicine yarns.
Needles: Clover Bamboo 5.0 mm. (US 8) circs.
Pattern: my own using Mistake Rib on 31 stitches with an extra stitch cast on for a slipped stitch border for a total of 32 stitches.
Size: 5" by 54.5" after machine washing and machine drying.
Begun: 12/27/07
Completed: 1/30/08
Notes: I like the brioche scarf pattern better because it has more depth. I made this so narrow because I bought the last three balls available in this color and wanted it to be long enough. Made for Native American Support.

Helgi's Mittens in Gold & Brown

This is the beginning of Helgi's mittens from Folk Knitting in Estonia by Nancy Bush. I needed something for my trip to Texas in April and this fit the bill nicely. I'm not crazy about the color combination but it is what I had in my stash.

I'm using Dale of Norway Falk and size 2.5 dpns as usual. The white mark you see in the photo is the "thumb trick" waste thread.

I added a cuff because I can't imagine wearing mittens with no cuff. If someone from a cold climate can explain why so many mitten patterns have tiny cuffs I'd appreciate being enlightened.

These will probably be donated to Native American Support (see sidebar).

Toddler Mittens

This is the second pair of toddler mittens I made for the Native American Support Mitten Challenge. They appear in the photo to be different sizes but they match.
Yarn: Very Old Red Heart 100% wool worsted in peach
Needles: 3.5 mm., US 4
Pattern: Another from Ann Budd's pattern book
Completed: 11/07

Mini Mittens

These are from Ann Budd's The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns. I should have made all my mittens in this size because they worked up very quickly. These, too, were made for the Native American Support mitten challenge. They are posing next to a hand embroidered hot pad a friend bought me in Israel.

Details
Yarn: Spinnerin "4 ply Fisherman" (worsted weight, no longer produced) in natural, dyed by me with food coloring and Jacquard Acid dye, 27.3 g. for both mittens
Needles: Inox 3.5 mm.(US 4) dpns
Gauge: 5 stitches per inch
Size: 5.5" circum., 6.5" long (to fit a 2-4 year old child)
Begun 9/7/07, completed 9/14/07

My Mom's Red Scarf

My mom crocheted a scarf for the Red Scarf Project. It looks like a mottled medium blue in the photo but is actually closer to what used to be called Prussian Blue and is solid. I don't recall the name of the yarn; it is similar to Plymouth Encore Worsted. The LYS only had two balls this color so it is a tad short. She used a standard chevron pattern and a size I crochet hook.

Cotton Beanie Number 4

Yarn: Mission Falls 1824 Cotton in Sky #403 and Jade #303; total weight 56.4 g.
Needles: 16" 3.75 mm. (US 5) Inox grey, 16" 4.5 mm. (US 7) Addi turbos and metal 4.5 mm. (US 7) dpns
Size: 72 stitches cast on, 17" circumference unstretched, 7 5/8" tall unstretched
Completed: 9/2/07
Made for Sand and Sea Knitting Guild Charitable Support (sidebar)

Beanies for Hospice Patients

As I slog away with size 2.25 mm. needles making solid black socks with 14 inches of ribbing on the leg I provide myself with a little variety by knitting colorful beanies. I bought some Mission Falls 1824 cotton on a swap site for a good price and am making up the color combinations as I go along. Three are complete and one is on the needles. The photo was taken on a very sunny a day as the first hat reclined in the lemon tree. The socks are for Socks for Soldiers (see button on sidebar) and I planned for the beanies to go to SfS as well. Unfortunately, I made them too small for the soldiers so I donated them instead to the hospice supported by the Sand and Sea Knitting Guild.

Afghan Squares

Native American Support, one of the charities I knit for, collects 9" squares that are later made into colorful afghans. This is perfect knitting to do while reading blogs or watching movies on TV, I can use wool, I don't have to sew the squares together, and the cause is worthy--perfect! I've completed several but don't have photos to post yet.

Dulaan

I've been knitting items for the Dulaan Project for over a year and this week I sent off a box of 20 hats and 1 scarf. Most of the hats were knit following the Needle Beetle Seaman's Cap pattern but the cabled ones are from the first SnB book.
Several of the hats were knit in worsted weight wool I bought on ebay and dyed myself. Others were knit with yarn from recycled sweaters. The blue and light purple hat follows the Seaman's Cap pattern but contains a fair isle pattern of my own design which, unfortunately, does not show well in the photo.
The most fun to knit was the red, white and black one. It is the Match My Coat Cap, also from Needle Beetle (I left off the pom-pom). The scarf is plain st.st. knit in the round in a beautiful pale blue wool/angora mix that I recycled from a thrift store sweater. Too bad the bright sunlight washed out the color in the photo.

I knit so many hats because for me they are the perfect portable project. Since I use 16" circular needles until the very end I never need worry I'll lose a needle. I long ago memorized the NB Seaman's Cap pattern and can adapt the length before the decreases to the size I'm making. When I cast on each hat I clip a set of six stitch markers to the bottom edge. When I'm ready to start my decreases the markers I need are right at hand. I do the last few rounds on double pointed needles at home.

Dyeing with Mixed Success

Another hat for charity is complete. This one was made with the old version of Emu Superwash, a DK weight 100% wool that is much scratchier than the new version. I acquired the grey yarn on a swap site and dyed it with Wilton cake dye using Sky Blue, "Barney" purple (don't ask) and green liquid food coloring. I tried to space the colors out so there would be one stripe per row without total success but I came close. The purple tends to pop out in the photo but the colors are actually more balanced. This will go to a charity collection and I hope the recipient doesn't mind the less than perfect result. The hat is resting on our roses, which are in full bloom.

Pattern: Needle Beetle Seaman's Cap which is my favorite charity hat pattern. It is extremely easy to make and the tall foldover provides a second layer to keep the wearer's ears warm. I cast on 102 stitches.

Needles: Inox grey sizes 4 (3.5 mm.) & 5 (3.75 mm.).

Yarn: Emu Superwash DK, 50 g balls, no yardage given; I used 63.3 grams.

Gauge: 6 stitches per inch on size 5 needles in st st in the round.

Size: 17.5" circumference, 8.25" high from foldline to crown, child's large.

Begun: 3/11/07

Completed: 4/23/07