Woolies For Winter

I have finished knitting the scarf I was working on, and am about half done weaving in the ends (see photo, left). You can read about the details here. That's the part that gets put off regularly around here, the seaming and weaving in of ends. Who knows when it will actually be ready to wear?

The same goes for this little Baby Surprise Jacket knitted in Patons Classic Wool Merino in a solid and a marled denim blue color (see photo, right). It's waiting for seams and buttons. I am debating whether to add a collar or a simple I-cord edge. It needs that touch of the darker solid color around the neck to make it look complete.

I have managed to accumulate a tidy little pile of things to donate to afghans for Afghans this month. They were seamless and didn't have nearly so many ends to weave in, so they got finished in short order.

In the photo at left: 3 baby Folk Art hats that I've already blogged about here, and 3 pair of solid colored socks (to go with the Folk Art Hats). I used the free Blossom Knitwear pattern for these.

In the photo at right: A striped hat that I made following the free Scrap-Happy Celebration Hat pattern, but altered it to make it baby-sized. Also a pair of striped socks to match the hat, applying the same method of striping from the hat pattern to the Blossom socks mentioned above. I'll have to play around with more color combinations with this pattern.

I understand that the sets of hats and socks will be separated for shipment to Afghanistan, and that it doesn't matter if the items match or not, but I like to make matching sets. If I were making these for a local charity, a friend or for a neighbor I would make a matched set. That's just the way I roll.

One more project to share today:

These purple socks are finally done. I started them back in November and suffered second sock syndrome for a while. I had thought I might try using some wooly nylon reinforcement in the heels and toes, but couldn't find a suitable color. As it turns out, the Socka is a little thicker than the Regia and feels more durable. We'll see what happens after I wear them for a while.

Folk Art Hats

Yup, I'm knitting more of those baby hats and socks for afghans for Afghans.

You know, it's a lot of fun playing around with color and pattern combinations, and a baby hat makes a great test swatch. This batch of hats are based on the free pattern Folk Art For Your Head, which is an adult sized hat. I've made changes, of course.

Basically, I followed my pattern for Infant Earflap Hats for the shape of it. I prefer a fold-up cuff to the rolled brim of the Folk Art hat because it allows the hat to grow with the baby. It's also warmer.

I had to fudge the stripe pattern to make it fit onto a smaller hat. Here's the row counts for what I did:

Color 1- k1p1 rib 10 rounds, k 2 rounds.
Color 2- k 8 rounds.
Color 3- k 1 round, p 1 round.
Color 4 and 5- *c4 k2, c5 k2* across, 4 rounds.
Color 6- k 1 round, p 2 rounds.
Color 7- k 5 rounds.
Color 2- k 7 rounds, at the same time begin decreasing on alternate rounds (starting with *k6, k2tog* across) on 5th round.
Color 1- Continue decreases and complete hat with this color.

Year in Review

What did I do this last year? Why, lots of stuff of course. Most of it is on my weblog, so I can review it when I like. Here's a tally of it all:

I sewed 1 handbag and 1 crib sized quilt top.

Yes, I know I didn't blog about the quilting. I was too busy, and had packed it away before I resumed my blogging. I made a bunch of quilt blocks too, but didn't get them sewed together.

The pink quilt top I have pulled back out, hoping to finish, and am able to photograph it, so there you go.


I knitted 2 tea cozies. I never thought I'd make a tea cozy, but that was before I had children and interruptions that left my pot full of cold tea.

I value my rare moments of peace with a cup of tea, although most often I'm not drinking proper tea. As Poirot would say, it's a tisane.



26 dishcloths, scrubbies and bath mitts. Can you imagine such a thing? If you had suggested to me last January that I would make a couple dozen dishcloths this year, I would have laughed.

I found a pattern I really enjoyed knitting and ended up making lots of these for gifts. Who knew?



8 pair of socks. That's 5 pair of adult socks and 3 pair of child's socks.

I discovered that both my mother and my youngest son greatly admire handknit socks and can't wait for me to knit them another pair.

Sorry, guys, I am going to finish my purple socks first.

And speaking of socks,


7 pair of baby socks and 7 baby hats for charity. These went to afghans for Afghans.

17 afghan squares for charity. These went to Oliver's Blanket project, hoping he will be able to get some much-needed new equipment.



5 hats for holiday gifts. 4 adult sized and 1 toddler sized, for family living in colder climates.

Trying out different patterns, some I loved, some not so much. The fit varies a lot from designer to designer.

I prefer to make my hats snug-fitting so they don't blow away in gusty winter winds.



I knit One pair of mittens in wool for the boy to wear when we go to the mountains to visit the snow. Who can resist a pair of buggy mitts?

1 doll's outfit. A sweater and leggings in a premie baby size just fits the doll my mother made years ago to teach the children how to hold new baby siblings.


Last, but not least, the sweaters.

3 little sweaters for babies and children. A seed stitch coat for my cousin's 1-year-old. An aran style cardigan for the 4-year-old.

A simple Baby Surprise Jacket with a matching Baby Beret for a future baby shower.

That's the list of finished projects for the year. I wonder what the coming year will bring?