happythings

Hats!

 
 
My first knit hats are done.  Finally.  They took FOR.EV.ER.  But the good news is that I am now quite proficient at rib stitch!  I was inspired to learn to make hats for a local Knitzvah (cute, eh?) project.  Last year it was scarves (notice no purling.)  This year it was hats - for distribution to homeless people during the December holidays. 

I searched the internet for the easiest hat pattern I could - one that used just regular straight needles since that was all I had.  This one is what I used.  The pattern said it was one-size-fits-all and it is true it really does stretch but it doesn't seem like it would fit really large heads.  You cast on for 88 stitches and then do a rib stitch (knit2,purl2) for 11.5 inches (or a little less in my case cause I was running out of yarn!)  Then you decrease for a few rows, slide everything off on to a big needle, pull the top tight and whip stitch the side closed.  I decreased for a few rows past what the pattern said because I didn't want to add a pompom to the top and I was afraid the hole at the top would be too big.  It didn't end up making it too cone-head-y thankfully. 

It was a really easy pattern once I got better at rib stitch.  Easy if you don't count the fact that it took HOURS and HOURS and HOURS!  And HOURS! 

 

I made another one casting on for 66 stitches that would work for an infant/toddler.  It fits Bea but it is not quite roomy enough. 

Bea's first quilt

 

Bea and I collaborated on this little sampler quilt as a result of reading Quilt Block History of Pioneer Days by Mary Cobb.  This book caught my eye at the library because I like the idea of teaching history from the point of view of home life - women/children etc.  The book includes activities for kids to do but they are paper/coloring/scissor type quilt blocks.  Here at the happythings home, we can do better than that! 

Bea picked out the all the fabrics and puzzled the blocks together after I cut them.  Log cabin, rail fence, 9-patch, shoo fly, album, and modified square in a square.  Then she helped me sew them (on "turtle" speed), even pressing the presser foot for the first time.  She lost interest in the sashing stage but was back into it with the quilting, helping me move the quilt around for the wavy line quilting and even doing the short rows herself.  She is really proud of it, especially of her "album" block where she wrote her name.

Quick (if a little stinky) craft with the girl

We have done these sharpie "tie-dye" circles before.  They really are fun and addictive and so easy.  Bea and her friend were big on concentric circles this time and they all turned out cool.

This link will take you to the instructions that we used - basically you just color a design on fabric with sharpies and then add rubbing alcohol to let the colors bleed out.

We decided to make a t-shirt with it - her friend had made one before so Bea needed one too!  I drew the stems of the flowers on after it dried.  

I'm thinking that a very cool quilt could be made from these circles... Ideas percolating...

For some reason, I decided to learn to crochet...

 

...and I do like it.  Really - I love it.  Doing it anyway.  It's fast and fun and it makes SO much more sense to me than knitting does (which is not saying much... but still.)  And when I make a mistake I instantly see it and I can take it out and fix it, unlike knitting where I have to solicit help or abandon the whole thing.  It is important for me to be able to fix my own mistakes for I do make them at a rapid pace!

I require fluency with a stitch before moving on so after I "got it" with a few small projects -- doll house blankets/rugs, wrist cuffs, little "pocket" purse --  I did a big square of single crochet and then a big square of double crochet and sewed them together and stuffed them to make a pillow for Bea.  It turned out really wonky but she cares not, lovely girl.  

This weekend I learned how to do double crochet in a circle and it was so fun.  I made this hat which I do not love at all.  It just sits on the head - no stretch.  I tried it with another yarn.  Same thing.  Just not a stretchy stitch.

So here's the thing, and I am completely rambling now, but even if these things had turned out well, I'm not sure I really love how crochet stitches "look."  At least the stitches that I've learned in the way I've done them.  Do you know what I mean?  What to do, what to do... 

Such tribulations we face in the name of finding something to do with our hands while we wait at our kid's classes, eh?

New.

Megan and I have conspired to re-energize our Equinox project in honor of the new season. 

New things are exciting.  Sorry, but Typepad keeps crashing when I try to insert a picture here so I guess you'll have to go there to see it. 

Lots of sewing then. Now, nothing.

 

I sewed my little heart out for a while - sewing blankets for some folks that our church is hosting through Foundation for the Homeless.  Among the people were 10 children, ages 17 years through 2 months.  Our sewing bee had fun and lots of people made blankets.  A stuffed animal lover donated some animals to go along with the blankets and my little stuffed animal & blanket expert helped match them up and drew little cards to go on them.  I've updated my photo album with shots of the quilts/blankets I worked on.  My favorite was this blue, gray, and orange shot cotton with sharks on the back.

We made the fleece blankets for the the teens in the group.  I cut 4.5" fringe on a single layer of fleece and tied it on itself.  It kinda shrinks but you can stretch it back to shape pretty easily.  I'm not a giant fan of the feel of inexpensive fleece but it is a quick, affordable project that I'll probably be repeating. 

We haven't had any feedback on this project so I can't really say if it was a good thing or not actually - but we had a lot of fun doing it and hopefully it brought a few smiles to a few kids.  I finished my work on these in mid August and haven't sewn a stitch since.  I'm in the mood to get back into it but keep getting called in other directions...