A Long-Suffering Beret and a Wild Hat

I had this silvery-green wool yarn from a local shop, so not cheap. I knitted a beret. The band was much too loose, so I carefully handsewed a little knit headband inside. I wore it last winter, as in, the winter of 21-22. Great color, not a great fit. I wanted it to be a classic shape, the band not too tight or too loose, and a simple decrease. 

 I decided to undo the whole beret and knit it again with a different pattern. I did. It was a eensy-weensy beret. I almost gave up and gave it to Phoebe, but no, I took the dumb thing apart again. Now the yarn was so crinkled that I soaked it in cool water as a skein and laid it out to dry. I used the original pattern with different needles. Still NOT RIGHT. Now I read patterns very carefully, furiously, and doubtfully and finally finally finally, after knitting and re-knitting this beret over the course of the winter, I made a lovely beret that I like! The wool yarn was resilient and wonderful through this laborious process - thank you sheep, shearer, and spinner. 

Photos of me by *Phoebe*!

In a much shorter process, Phoebe and I realized one cold morning just before her bus arrived that she did not have a beanie. I was delighted to solve this problem with my stash. I had seen and noted a local artisan who knitted hats from different weights and kinds of yarn. Like yarn patchwork! Using the little bits! Phoebe was game for a wild hat, and it was SO much fun. Some of the yarn in my stash comes from balls I let my children choose at the creative reuse store as a treat for coming along. That explains this weird pink chenille yarn that becomes excellent next to the other colors and wool. There's also one little strand of eyelash yarn in there, too, making a great texture. I am definitely making more wild hats. 

So Many Sandoval Hats

Look at my loves, just look at them! I'm here taking photos of their hats, but they themselves are so dear and happy in the cold breeze.  Let's say it's because their heads are warm?

I knitted up a Sandoval hat for my husband with grey worsted wool, and then Genevieve tried it on and asked for one, too.  There was a little grey yarn left from my husband's hat, and I had a little light blue yarn left from my nephew's baby hat, so we agreed a light blue brim would look cool.  I dearly wanted to use the rest of the light blue in a pom pom, but Genevieve was firm and kind: no way.

This hat is easy to knit, super comfy to wear (okay, I snitched my husband's hat a few times now), and looks good.  I've now cast on to knit my own Sandoval.

Keeping Phoebe Warm

I took some oddments of sock yarn and made Phoebe some wool socks.

 I aimed to make the heels and toes red, but I colored outside the lines on the one sock.  And also, this is some vintage sock yarn I picked up somewhere, and I think it's a little fragile.  I caught the sock unraveling in two red spots, where I joined the red to another color.  Or perhaps the socks are already wearing out because Phoebe has worn them almost non-stop?

Phoebe is suddenly so much taller that her pajamas were inches too short at wrists and ankles.  When I asked her if she'd like a nightie, her face lit up and she asked if she could wear it that night: I had yet to even search out a pattern and fabric!

 But the nightie was fast and easy, and Phoebe has rarely slept in anything else since it came off the sewing machine.

 I let her choose a button - she chose a lamb.  She's my little lamb! And look at my precious 6-year-old Genevieve in a nightie from the same pattern.  Little girls in nighties - so dear.

The Homemade Christmas Gifts

It has been a good Christmas, complete with a new baby born to my brother and his wife!  I knitted him a wee cap back in November.

I also made my sister a Nola Cloche.  She had admired mine, and dropped copious hints that she would love one (and a quilt, too - she has let the universe know that she wants a Margo quilt; the universe is listening, honey).

 I had to rip out a large section of the hat when I was making it because somehow I miscounted stitches or added stitches or something.  But my knitting has progressed far enough that I can fix some mistakes, so I'm extra-gratified that it fits her (and her guy!) so nicely.

And I made him some hotpads, too.  We drew names for Christmas gifts, and I got his name.  In typical guy fashion, he only had one boring gift on his wish list. Since he's an amazing cook, I made him some hotpads to go with the boring gift he was expecting.

I am deeply grateful to all the wonderful adults who teach and care for my kids.  I made two dishcloths for Phoebe's preschool teachers - I still intend to do something for the other teachers.  No law that says gifts and notes of appreciation can only happen at Christmas, so I'll aim for January.

So that's some of the homemade Christmas goodness On the Record.  How was your Christmas?

A Cloche and a Cowl

I tried again with a navy hat for myself; the previous one just couldn't hug my ears the way I wanted it to. Was it too big? Too small and thus sliding up?  It's a mystery to me.  There's stretch in the yarn, stretch in the stitches, and I'm baffled.  So I switched to a different pattern.

The Nola Cloche has a dramatic twist that appealed to me.  I struggled with understanding the twist (done like a cable), and got help from Christy and the hat designer herself.  Finally, I got the cloche done and the band was too loose for me while the top was too shallow!  But the hat itself was fine, so I chucked it over to the thrift store and started again.  This time, the hat fits perfectly, but I messed up my decreases at the top so it's a little lumpy.  I swan.  I might have to do it again, but not until next winter.

I taught my sister to knit back in December because she wanted to knit her boyfriend a scarf for Christmas.  I gave her some chunky yarn and needles to practice with, and when she knitted her practice square, I admired the yarn so much that I made it into a cowl when she was done with it (she made a great scarf, by the way!). 

The yarn was passed on to me by a neighbor who moved, so I don't know what its content is or anything.  I do really like the cowl (which I made up) and I especially like that I knit it in one day while I went with my parents to Virginia for a great-aunt's funeral.  Knitting is so slow, at least the way I do it.

Hopefully I will now jinx winter by posting this.  It's been an unusually cold spring; in fact, it snowed for several hours yesterday afternoon.  Even the kids were disgusted! We're all ready for warm weather.

Meadow-Stripe Mittens

Phoebe had her mitts from last year, but now that she is so big, she is out of the stroller and down on the sidewalk needing to pick things up.  That is hard when you don't have your thumbs! So I made her some mittens. I figured if I could knit socks, I could surely do mittens. 

The pattern, World's Simplest Mittens, has the ribbed cuff being knitted with size 0 needles, which felt like knitting with flexible toothpicks.  And the resulting cuff is almost too tight to get over Phoebe's hands.  I think the idea is that mittens would fall off without a tight cuff, but since I put them on an I-cord, that's not an issue for Phoebe. So I'll remember that for next time.  I also found the decreases confusing at the top of the mittens, and the mittens don't lay flat the way I think they should. 

The yarn is called Meadow Stripes by Patons, and I adore the colors and how the mittens are fraternal, not identical, twins. 

Phoebe also adores her mittens and handily picks up any old thing she finds on the sidewalk; we've now had lessons in What Phoebe Can Pick Up (basically, sticks and pennies).

A Clever Zippered Pocket

My aunt Esther got me this handwork bag and I love it.  But the metal zipper on the pocket developed bent teeth that could not be fixed by orthodontia.  I looked at it more closely, and marveled at the clever design of this zippered pocket.

The zipper is topstitched on one side to the top of the pocket flap, and then topstitched on the other side to the bag itself, with both ends sewn down.  So simple and functional.  It was easy to remove the broken zipper and put in a new one.

This is my knitting bag, so I keep little items in the pocket like a measuring tape, rubber needle tips, yarn needle, etc.

Currently, I'm working on a Nola Cloche for myself that I fell in love with from the photos.  I hope my version turns out just as beautifully.

Phoebe's House

Genevieve seized the big box that her Christmas beanbag chair came in and made it into a house for Phoebe.  She did it swiftly with a box cutter and so effectively with the fold-up door and a handhold. Let us not overlook the curtain, either.

Phoebe was thrilled. She wore her new red socks, fresh off my knitting needles, and sat down for a good play with her doctor kit.  I used the same pattern as before, with thrift-store red wool.

Flushed with success, Genevieve made a more ambitious cardboard structure, a boat of sorts, for her little cousin.  I am afraid it may have gotten smashed in the presents' melee at my parents' house, but no one seemed upset.

I Made Myself a Pair of Socks

Phoebe is modeling my socks - more interesting than my modeling, I assure you.

I am really curious to wear my own knitted socks.  The people I have made socks for (my kids) love them, and I like wool socks in the winter, so will I like my own handmade socks?  It's starting to get cold enough to think of long underwear and wool socks.  I'll report back!

Balloon's from Genevieve's birthday

I got the yarn for these socks at A.C. Moore.  It's self-striping, and I love the colors.  I used Wise Hilda's Basic Ribbed Socks, although I forgot the ribbing along the top of one foot.  Oh well.