Slip stitch watch cap (hat 5 of 100)

Slip sitches are wonderful things.  A few years ago slipped stitch wash clothes were all the rage and it's no wonder.  Slip stitches create ba wonderful dense fabric good for keeping you warm or sturdy for cleaning.  This pattern which comes from 60 Quick Knits from Cascade Yarns is called the Tweed watch cap.  It combines slip stitches with a right twist column used as a mock cable.  The pattern is designed ny Lynn M. Wilson.  It's a fun pattern but it's hard on the hands.  Something about twists really kills me.  The brim is my favorite part of the pattern. Mine flared out slightly like a bell, I like the way it cupped around almost like a cloche.  The hat is thick, somewhat rigid and very warm.

My hat is made of good old Red Heart Supersaver from the stash. I used a varigated for one color to add a splash.   It's called Fall.  I picked up a small ball it leftover from a baby blanket my mom crocheted.   I had a small issue with my twist column lining upbut by the time I noticed I decided not to frog the hat is for me so I didn't mind.

Overall the pattern is well written, easy to follow,  and varied enough to keep a seasoned knitter happy.  I would reknit this pattern.  If you knit this one watch your twist the fist couple of rounds and try it with bold contrasting colors it's a fun hat, the color possibilities are endles.

Project details:
Pattern: Tweed watch cap from the book 60 Quick Knits (ravelry)
Needles: 7s circulars and double points
Yarn: Red Heart Supersaver from the stash in Fall, Coffee,  and Buff
What I liked: interesting pattern , slip stitches are fun, density of the fabric,  the brim pattern, color choices.
Keep in mind the twists need to be watched closely during set up.
My project on Ravelry

Boy I think I should do bullet points for this post. I don’t know where the time went this month!

First Knitting:

For the holiday knitting I finished the reversible cabled scarf last week. I know I mentioned that it felt smooshed because of the reversible nature of the cables. I don’t know if I would use the pattern again. It does look nice but it has very little knitting fun in it.

I also finished a present for my older brother. Since I started knitting I have been making him hats. He really appreciates the hats and has a weird sense of humor so I can make crazy hats like the watermelon and the candy corn hats. This year I made him a Voyageur or Liberty Hat. It is the hat that the French Canadian fur trappers wore in the 1700 and 1800’s, I made it in a bright red with gray accents. I know he will love it. He is a history buff and fan of weird hats. The man wears a captain hat when he takes the kids out so this is right up his alley. Made splendid in RHSS!

I started a pair of legwarmers for my co-worker. I guess if I was 25 stick thin and fashion forward I would want some legwarmers too. I remember the 80’s so I think for myself I would pass. It is sad when the fashion of your teen years is now retro!

Speaking of RHSS we have resuscitated Team Redheart for the Ravelympics 2010. I am going to co-captain the team this year. So if you are a fan of Red Heart yarns, on Ravelry and want to join us keep an eye out for more info as the Olympics draw near.

College Shopping:
We are continuing to look for colleges for Nate. We have been to Elizabethtown, Haverford and Franklin and Marshall. He likes Haverford College the best so far. I am secretly thrilled but remain objective. We have seven more to go until the tours end along with two college fairs. If the boy can’t find a college by then I don’t know what to do!

Not Knitting:
I have been sewing. I created a little sewing area in the bedroom where I set up my machine and my supplies. I have been working on Velcro snack packs and knitting pouches. I got a huge stack of cast offs from my sister. Her new diet has been a boon to my Morsbag sewing. I plan to do about ten more before Christmas. I have this crazy idea of making bags for everyone instead of using wrapping paper but we shall see!

Quickly: I am reading The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers, (love it) listening to The Golden Bowl by Henry James (what is with this guy and affairs?) and slowly working through The Good Solider by Ford Madox Ford at lunch times only (obviously influenced by James and his affair storylines!)

This is Nate wearing my brother's hat.  Tell me doesn't he look like a man?  I remember when he wore spider man pj's to bed.  Oh wait he still does.  I bought him new pajama pants and he wanted Super Mario and the Justice League!

Cabled scarf pattern (rav link, Lionbrand link)

Voyaguer hat pattern (rav link)

Legwarmers (rav link)

Repot depot snack bags

Ravelympics 2010 - Coming soon!

Suprise another hat!

 This is the Opus Spicatum beret by Kelbourne Woolens.  I love that the designer is local and the hat is super cute. I did their Give A Hoot Mittens a few months ago.  I only wish I could afford the recommended yarn.  I made this hat for Jackie who rides her bike to work in the winter and needs a warm yet bright hat so that the dilberts driving and half paying attention see her on the road.  I love the way the pattern works up.  It is very fast, easy to memorize and makes for a dense yet pliable fabric.  I am working on a second one is light blue and white.  I highly recommend this pattern.   I of course used RHSS for two reasons.  One I am classy like that and two machine wash and dry!

Onward!  I am still working my way through the modern library list.  Wendy you are so right some of the books are boring.  Life is too short to read boring books.  I am enjoying Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler and am getting more interested in The Wings of the Dove.   I am pattern shopping for a waistcoat pattern.  Mom is heading to Ireland in the fall and is going to bring me back some wool.  Oh boy I can't wait.  I want something very classic or traditional so I am drooling over all my aran pattern books I collected when I first started to knit.  I think I am ready to dive into those again. 

Oh and Kitty who was called Marley but is now called Kitty loves to assist in blocking of hats, especially the all wool ones.  Next time I promise no hats.  I am starting a crochet project for a friend at work!

Opus Spicatum (rav link)
Kelbourne Woolens (check out the other patterns, I love the vest)

Now an even classier Classy People House

So today is my birthday. Nate being a great son and a computer whiz has made me a new banner for my blog. This one features the offical Classy People model J.R. and is my favorite color green. If you are a cph fan and read it in a reader bust out and check out the banner. Of course adding a banner has led to an overall desire to spruce the joint up so I did some tweaking on the colors and side bar background. Thanks Nate. I hope you don't think your act of being a good son will spare you the humilation of modeling hats ands scarves for me. I am just glad I raised you to be comfortable with yourself because I have a whole slew of ladies hats that need modeling!

Speaking of hats....
Here are a few more hats done in the never ending wool ease gray left over from mom's Tree of Life Aran. I swear that I only had four skeins left over but it seems to go on forever. I did two pairs of mittens and at this time four hats from it and still have one skein left!

The first hat is the Sneaky Snakes slouchy beret I did for Becky. I made the cabled beret for her mom. I think it is fun to make matching hats but a mom and teen age daughter don't always (ok never) like the same thing. The Sneaky Snakes is nice and floppy and looks good perched on the top of the head. The cabled beret is more classic and grown up. I think my aunt will appreciate the tradtional irish cables and the neutral color. A perfect set for a rock on girl and her exasperated mom!

I also did the Valentine's cable hat for my cousin's step daughters. Both have long straight hair which looks good in a beanie style hat. I love the cabling on this one it, is girly without being in your face.

In other news I am still reading Catch-22 by Joseph Heller and listening to The Wings of the Dove by Henry James. Oh boy what a snooze fest! I have friend who studied victorian literature in college and even he things James is boring! I nodded off on the bus with my knitting in hand listening to this drone.

That crazy guy at the beginning of the post is an acorn squirrel with a moustache that Jazzy I made during her sleepover. It is supposed to be Nate if he was a squirrel. I can totally see it.

Cabled Beret (rav link) free from Caron

Valentine Cabled Hat (rav link) from the new Knitscene

Sneaky Snakes (rav link)

A brief update

I have been knitting hats this month.  I already finished 2 droplet hats from Knitting Nature, a Toque for Nate and a Marsan Watchcap for Andrew.  Things are clipping along on a Chullo for Mr. Luke.  I am decreasing for the top and should be finished by the end of the week.  I am planning on two slouchy berets to round out the end of the month. 

I have also been reading and listening like crazy.  I finished Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man this week and started The Way of All Flesh by Samuel Butler.  I am also still working on The Sound and the Fury which is really good but I got bummed out by the chapters narrated by the brother Quentin.  So I have completed the first five titles in the Modern Library list.  Onward to the rest of the 95.

On a happy family time note we had family movie day today.  The ladies (myself, sister and Jazzy) went to see Ponyo and the boys went to see District 9.  I remember when family movie day meant we went to the same movie but that is what happens when you have teenagers.  The movie was very good and well done but what do you expect from a Hayao Miyazaki's film?  We then went to the buffet and had some sushi and watermelon!  Boy is it crazy hot in the city right now.  Poor J.R. is drooling and panting like crazy.  I gave him a haircut last week with the boss man's clipper and he looks great.

Here are some snaps of Nate wearing his Toque.  He really likes the hat.  I made it from bulky black wool blend that  I had in the stash.  I think it was left over from when I did the cabled purses a few years ago.
I made the two droplet hats from the handspun I won during the Mitten Month thing on Ravelry.  I got two hats one full size and one slightly smaller from the two skeins I had.  One will go to Amelia and the other to her mother for christmas.

Ponyo Trailer
Laire Toque (rav link)
Droplet Hat from Knitting Nature (rav link)

Molly Bloom is a knitter!

Wow today I finished Ulysses by James Joyce. What a roller coaster. I have to say that I really enjoyed reading it. I guess I was in the right place to be able to devote the time to get to know the novel and delve into it. Some parts were rough to digest but I dug in and kept reading. I have to say thanks to the internet I found some great analysis of the book and it did'nt hurt that I listened to the audio version and read the book at the same time. I was able to get more out of the book. Oh and Molly Bloom is a knitter she mentions knitting three times in the book. So let's take a look at the list and see where we are:

1. ULYSSES by James Joyce (done)
2. THE GREAT GATSBY by F. Scott Fitzgerald (done)
3. A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN by James Joyce (reading right now)
4. LOLITA by Vladimir Nabokov (done)
5. BRAVE NEW WORLD by Aldous Huxley (done)
6.THE SOUND AND THE FURY by William Faulkner (reading right now)
7. CATCH-22 by Joseph Heller (bought a copy)
8. DARKNESS AT NOON by Arthur Koestler (looking for a copy)
9. SONS AND LOVERS by D.H. Lawrence (done)
10. THE GRAPES OF WRATH by John Steinbeck (done)

So I am reading The Sound and The Fury right now and I am loving it. It is such a fascinating book. I also got a audio copy of Portrait of the artist and will do the same thing I did with Ulysses.

Here is a finished object from the WIP Wrestlemania event. I did this for my big brother for his birthday. He digs weird hats! Nate is modeling it for me!

Luche Libre (rav link) It's from Son of Stitch and Bitch by Debbie Stoller.

Modern Library's 100 best novels

LibrVox (free audio books)

I'm on Facebook! No J.R. is not on there yet.

Recycling is not trashpicking!

I have been recycling like crazy this week. I took our old computers to the recycling center along with some old wires, video cameras and assorted computer pieces that we no longer needed. I found a great place in Philly called Elemental that does recycling of computers. I also started saving our papers for the fundraiser at N8's old elementary school. They use a service called the Paper Retriever to raise money and recycle. I even have Jazzy looking around for paper. She was so excited when she realized she could recycle her movie ticket from Bolt!

Work continues half heartedly on the Tree of Life Aran for mom. It just takes so long to make progress. I did do a naughty and take on two side projects. I did a scarf for my cousin and a replacement We call them Pirates hat for my baby. Other than that completely monogamous I swear.

I also finished the christmas shopping and spent an enormous amount of time watching the holiday movies on Hallmark Channel. Oh how addicting. Back to work on monday and to bus knitting the Tree of Life.

Hats!

Boy I have fallen in love with making hats. This week was a bumper crop of hats. I even started a new bulky yarn beret on Saturday and cranked it out by the end of the day. I can't stop wearing it around the house. Pictures to come soon. Until then enjoy the hats I finished last week. Not a new hat but a new photo. I finally got a snap of Amelia in her Bulls Eye hat from Kristen Knits. I also did the fingerless gloves but left off the flowers I think it was a bit much. Also of note: N8 did some photoshop magic and got rid of her red eyes. He is a whiz at photoshop.

Here is Alex modeling my brothers Watermelon hat from this summer. I made this up using a roll brim hat pattern. Those seeds are intarsia and a pain in the butt.

Here is mike wearing his birthday hat. An awesome candy corn! He got it early because he is a big baby. Also much cuter is Luke rocking the hat.

Finally we have Alex's Chullo in Eagles colors. This pattern is from Andean Folk Knits. A nice book but not as popular as the folk mittens book she did. You can always count on Amelia for a goofy ass face.

We call them teenagers

Today was back to school shopping. N8 and I spent the entire day shopping for clothes, shoes and school supplies. I remember when all he needed was his Dragon ball Z lunch box to be happy to go back to school. Now he wants things and has preferences that I don't even know about. When did he stop wearing jeans or only write with black pens? He also doesn't wear things with skulls on them unless they are ironic and doesn't mind have purple folders.

Here is a hat I made for him from Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light in a green and orange. These skulls are cool because it looks like a Norwegian fisherman's hat and is not in goth colors. Oh my baby I remember when he went off to first grade in his explorer shorts and dinosaur backpack. Back to school is weird to me this year. It is the first time since 2004 that I am not taking a class. Oh I guess that leaves me more time to knit hats that have ironic skulls on them.

Bus transfers indicate adultness

When people talk about their children they always say I can tell they are growing up so fast. How can they tell? Recently I realized (I may have been the last to notice) that my boy is growing up. No it wasn't the shaving or the first job or even the fact that he is getting his driving permit it was his bus transfer. When he was little and we would take the bus into town he was so afraid of losing his tranfer he wanted me to hold it. Last week he came into town to go to the comic book store and to meet me for lunch. So he come in town on the bus and el alone, comes to work gets called mister by a temp receptionist, decides he wants sushi for lunch and disappears until closing time. When he comes back to commute home together he gets his transfer and puts it in his pocket. I have my hand out and he says oh come on I'm like sixteen. Fine remember that when you win the pulitzer and I tell everyone how you refused to get dressed unless you had your spiderman undies on.

Photo is some christmas knitting I am getting a jump on. All three items from Kristen Knits. For the ladies.