Nine Tiny Hats

I was able to make nine preemie hats with the Red Heart Buttercup yarn that was given to me a couple of weeks ago, so that's just about three hats per skein.  I added top-knots and crocheted pom-poms to some and stripes to others, so they are all different.  All of these baby hats will go to the Janet Weiss Children's Hospital in Danville, PA.  You can find my pattern for these hats HERE.

Hot Mess Preemie Hats

I came up with this simple pattern for preemie baby hats using Red Heart Buttercup yarn given to me by a friend who declared it "hot mess" yarn. They may look like a hot mess, but they are also the softest little hats ever! Once I get them all finished, the hats will go to the Janet Weiss Children's Hospital in Danville, PA.

 

Hot Mess Preemie Hats

 

Size 13 double pointed needles

 

One skein Red Heart Buttercup yarn yields several hats

 

Gauge is not important...preemies come in all sizes!

 

Cast on 24 stitches. Join to knit in the round being careful not to twist the stitches.

 

Knit to 5 inches from cast on edge

 

Decrease for crown

 

Round 1: knit 2, knit 2 together, repeat around 18 stitches

 

Round 2: knit

 

Round 3: knit 1, knit 2 together, repeat to end of round, 12 stitches

 

Round 4: knit

 

Round 5: knit 2 together around, 6 stitches

 

Cut yarn about 12 inches from last stitch. Thread tail through tapestry needle and through remaining 6 stitches. Pull tightly to close top of hat. Tie off. Weave in ends.

*To add a top knot 

Round 6: knit 2 together around, 3 stitches

Knit around on these stitches for about 3 ½ inches. Bind off the stitches, weave in ends & tie the top tube in a knot.

Almost Finished

Checking the gauge was well worth the time it took, because the little Bug Warmer sweater is turning out to be just the right size for my friend's new grandson!  I just need to bind off the hem and sleeves and it will be ready to go in the mail.

Gauge?

Usually I just throw caution to the wind when I start a new knitting project and don't bother with checking the gauge, but because I am using a different yarn than the pattern calls for I thought I better take the time to knit a swatch or two.  Hopefully the extra time it takes to check the gauge will pay off in the end.  Question for you knitters...do you check your gauge before starting a project?

Button, Button...

Button, button, who's got the button?  Remember that game that we used to play when we were kids?  That memory came back when I was trying to find just the right button for this Wee Speedy 2 baby vest.  The pattern calls for one button in the center, but I can't decide which one to use.  Which is your favorite?  

Wee Speedy 2

This little knitted baby vest is certainly named appropriately!  The pattern is called Wee Speedy 2 and it's knit with size 13 needles and bulky yarn, so you can have it all finished in just a couple of hours!

On The Needles

During a conversation with my seven year old granddaughter, she mentioned that she would really like a new pair of knit socks.  Of course, I said I would make her a pair!  There's nothing better than having one of your grandkids ask you to make something especially for them.  These socks work up quickly with worsted weight yarn and size 5 needles.  It's probably a good thing they are a quick knit, because once Miss Four gets her new socks, I expect that I'll be getting a few more requests for new socks from the other girls.

On The Needles

This skein of Sockotta yarn was a gift from my daughter-in-law quite a few years ago.  I started a pair of socks with it, but didn't care for how they were turning out, so I frogged it and put the yarn away.  I came across the yarn the other day and thought I should really make something with it, so started a simple Baktus Scarf.  It's a great project to work on while watching TV...just knit, knit, knit and increase one every 4th row.  It doesn't get much easier than that and it's going to be the perfect scarf for the cold weather that's coming!

Handknit With Love

A longtime friend just entered into hospice care this week.  Although we are close at heart, we are not close in miles, so I can't be there to help her and her family.  I'm one who needs to DO something and I had already made and given her a quilt a couple of years ago, so I went to work on knitting her a pair of cozy slipper socks.  Very little in the grand scheme of things, but it brightened her day when they arrived in the mail and I know she will be reminded of how much I love her when she wears them.

The pattern is Chunky Knit Slipper Socks and the awesome printable wrapper is from Cobberson & Co.

What Happens?

What happens when your friends find out that you are knitting hats for charity to use up your yarn stash?  They give you their stash!  Thanks, Kathy.  It's probably a good thing that I have more yarn though (not that I was in any real danger of running out) because our internet issues were only solved temporarily.  This weeks "solution" is to bump our our speed, but that's not working either and service is still sporadic.  Oh well...less time on the computer means more time to knit!

No Internet Means...

We have been having trouble with our internet not staying connected for the past couple of months.  Multiple calls to tech support, visits from the cable guy, a new modem, and a new router weren't of any help.  Last week I reached my breaking point and threatened to change ISP's if the problem wasn't corrected.  Apparently they didn't want to lose a customer because they sent someone right out to change the line into the house.  Low and behold that fixed the problem and our internet is running full speed without interruption.  No internet means, no blog posts, but it also means that I was actually doing something a little more productive than blogging and pinning patterns to Pinterest. I knitted eight hats that will be donated to a local pre-school!  Maybe the internet should go out more often...

Knitting For Pre-Schoolers

The local yarn shop is collecting hats and mittens for pre-schoolers, so I thought I would give my fingers a break from binding and knit a hat or two.  Working with size 11 needles and a double strand of worsted weight yarn is a nice switch from sewing bindings with a tiny needle and thread!

Spring!

It's finally starting to warm up a bit and the grass is just starting to get a hint of green to it.  It won't be long and we'll be seeing some yellow daffodils too!  That's all I can think of while knitting these little baby socks...spring!

Color!

The snow is finally starting to melt around here, but it still doesn't look much like spring.  Everything outside is still a dirty muddy brown (including my car) so I decided I needed a colorful project to work on.  I pulled out the brightest yarn I could find and decided it would make a fun pair of baby socks!

Zombies And Knitting Do Not Mix!

I have made so many of these basic baby hats that I've said that I can knit them in my sleep.  While that may or may not be true, I found out Sunday night that I can't knit these little hats and watch The Walking Dead at the same time.  I was just a few rows short of finishing when I realized that I had made a mistake in the decreases.  Dang!  I ripped out all that I had done and will finish up while watching a less exciting TV show.  Zombies and knitting do not mix!  

Sockies

From the looks of the long range weather forecast, we still have plenty of very cold temperatures to get through in northern Pennsylvania before spring settles in for good.  I guess that means that there's still lots of time to knit and wear wool sockies, especially when the pattern uses big needles and bulky wool yarn!  Find the free pattern HERE.

A Little Knitting And Crochet

I finished a baby boy set not long ago, so I've been working on one for a baby girl in-between working on Christmas gifts.  Just one more little sock to go and this set will be finished!

For this set I used the Basic Baby Hat pattern and Susan B. Anderson's Jelly Bean Baby Socks pattern.  My instructions for the crocheted blanket edge can be found HERE.

Little Boy Blue

I love knitting and crocheting baby things!  They are usually easy and fast to finish, plus it's always good to have a few extra on hand for when you need a quick baby gift!

On The Needles

If the long range winter forecast for our neck of the woods is correct, heavy wool socks are going to be on everyone's wish list this Christmas!  This Chunky Socks Pattern uses bulky yarn and size 6 needles, so they knit up in no time too!

Finished!

I've hardly picked up my knitting needles at all this summer, but now that the days are getting shorter and I'm not spending as much time outside, I have more time to knit.  This baby hat and sock set has been waiting patiently to be finished since last winter, so just an hour of knitting and I was able to finish up and now I'm ready to move on to a new project!

For this set I used the Basic Baby Hat pattern and Susan B. Anderson's Jelly Bean Baby Socks pattern.