Finished and started
1. Finished: One adorable baby hat 
I made this hat for a friend's brand-new baby girl. I love garter stitch for babies -- maybe because it is the most basic stitch pattern, the first one a knitter learns, so it seems appropriate for a baby's first garments. (Plus it's very stretchy, which is obviously a good thing.) This particular hat is knit flat in a zig zag -- before seaming, it looks like a section from the zig zag on Charlie Brown's sweater. Then you sew the points on one side together and sew up the two flat ends, and voilà! I added the pompom, but if Finley's parents find the pompom hazardous in any way, it can easily be snipped off.
The pattern is a free one from the bountiful resource that is DROPS Design: Hat, Scarf, and Mittens in Alpaca. I used a long-discontinued fingering-weight acrylic yarn that I bought recently at Value Village, called d'Aoust Perla. The hat would be lovely in alpaca, but there's no way I'm giving my (non-knitting) friends a handwash-only baby garment.
So I'll be sending this hat off to the West Coast. I wanted to be able to show you how cute the hat will be on a baby, but I don't have one of those. This is as close as I can get -- you get the idea: 
2. Started: Cable Rib Socks 
Hmmm -- you're going to get the impression that I like purple. Not true. Purple knits are gifts for others; in this case, the recipient has specifically requested purple socks. I'm using a pattern from the spring 2005 Interweave Knits: Cable Rib Socks. (I think the pattern also appears in Favorite Socks.) The yarn is Reynolds Soft Sea Wool, which may become my default sock yarn -- it's great stuff to knit, the colours are awesome (this purple is grape-ier in real life), and I can get it locally.
These are to be an Xmas gift, also to be mailed to the West Coast, so I've got to get them done soon. I decided against the Azure pattern because every row of its chart has increases and decreases, and I needed something speedier (because I will always be making my Xmas gifts at the last minute). With these Cable Rib Socks, it's all just k2p1 ribbing, with a cable twist every 10 rounds. Perfect.
I hope you're having a good weekend! I'm going to spend this afternoon sewing and the evening knitting, cranking out surprise Xmas presents like a one-woman sweatshop.
20 comments:
That baby hat is adorable! I love the vintage look of it. You are definitely making more progress than I on the holiday handknits.
That baby hat is achingly adorable! I'm always on the lookout for bay patterns that offer both simplicity and function.
Great job!
I myself am a great lover of purple so I am particularly in love with these two latest knits. Purple.Cabled.Socks. Seriously girl. What a great gift. :)
sincerely, the purple princess.
the baby hat is super adorable! what a cute design.
Love the baby hat! Very cute design!
That hat is damn cute.
The hat is really clever, thanks for sharing the link to the pattern. If I'm really speedy, I might be able to crank one out for my new nephew for Christmas.
Are you knitting for me? West Coast, loves purple, loves handknit items... I totally fit the bill! heehee.
Great hat! Those socks are so fun to knit plus, that purple is über pretty!
Funny, this week you will find these little one-woman sweatshops all over the world! I, myself, am busy working on the remaining gifts for a prolific blog-reader, not to be named (the gifts AND the reader, that is! VBG!)
Lovely knits! I'll have to try out the hat pattern. I will admit that I use handwash-only yarns for baby knits that are out of the main mess zones. Sweaters most definitely must be machine washable, but I get the feeling that most babies grow out of hats before the hats see a washing.
that hat is adorable! looks cozy....that sock pattern has been in my queue forever - i'll get to it one of these days! it looks amazing in that yarn!
What an ingenious design!
Thank you for the suggestions for the mittens!
I love the hat. I'm really into the quick simple knits right now (which is why I'm churning out little stocking cap ornaments like there's no tomorrow), so I'm going to have to try that one as soon as I have a few seconds of breathing room.
That hat is so very cute. Knit on!
I cut my list down this year--but every year I end up doing the same one woman sweatshop gig. Good luck!
Loved your comment about the one-woman sweatshop! I wasn't planning on Christmas knitting but decided last minute to churn out dishrags and coasters. By the tenth dishrag, I couldn't take it anymore and have turned to coasters. Smaller and quicker to start/finish!
Cute hat model :)
The hat is so incredibly adorable. So so cute!
That is a great hat. And I love the manly mitts.
What a great hat! I have been looking for a cute garter stitch baby hat pattern.
bonjour
j'admire ce petit bonnet de bébé si bien tricoté, sa forme sobre le rend encore plus joli
moi aussi, je cherche un modèle simplissime
merci et bravo pour tous ces ouvrages merveilleusement réussis !
de Paris
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