What I have been knitting lately!

Knit One, Knit Two, Make some more....

Lately I have been knitting like a mad woman! In particular I have figured out how to knit mittens for BeaverJ and hope to scale back the pattern to make mittens for BabyJ sometime soon. Unfortunately it seems that every time I complete a project BeaverJ professes that it is the greatest one yet and begs to have it for himself. Who could deny such enthusiasm?

I am a very cold camper as you may have read on the http://www.4jsadventures.blogspot.com/ web page which is what started the current bout of knitting frenzy! When BabyJ saw me using my winter hat for camping she demanded to use her own hand knit purple fluffy top knot hat for sleeping. BeaverJ felt quite left out from the hat party in the tent despite having several of his own hand knit hats at home.

The solution was quite simple; I would knit him a hat of the colours of his choosing. He picked three shades of green that he absolutely loved. It takes about 1/2 a ball to make one child size hat so there was quite a bit of yarn left over from the hat project.

Shades of Green for BeaverJ

I knit this set for BeaverJ. It started out as a hat for camping and morphed into a hat mittens and a vest. The vest and mittens were a practice run for knitting for the less fortunate.


This set is knit with Bernat Harmony http://www.bernat.com/product.php?LGC=harmony&SPP=999 The colours used are Velvet Green, Tapestry Green and Silk Green.

I mostly made up the pattern for the vest as I went along based on a sweater I had made for BeaverJ almost 2 years ago. The mittens are a mini versions of my basic mittens patterns. These were the first pair of mitts that I had made for a child. I hope soon to make a pair for BabyJ. The hat is my most basic crank it out today pattern with the excellent Pompom of all three colours thanks to the Susan Bate Pompom maker. http://www.coatsandclark.com/Products/Accessories/Crafts/Susan+Bates+Pom+Pon+Makers.htm

Big Hat Little Hat what begins with Hat?

Now quite obviously I need to ensure that BabyJ's head is warm, and that MommyW's was also kept warm on our end of August camping trip. I was not very pleased with how long the first hat on the left turned out to be once it was on BabyJ's head therefore I "had to" knit up the longer hat on the right. Despite the fact that these two hats look to be different diameters is only because I do not have two identical sized balls to use insode of the hats for taking photos.

Unfortunately I do not have a photo yet of the finished hat I knit for MommyW while camping.

Too short and Just Right for summer time sleeping in the great outdoors!

Knitting up MommyW's hat while sitting by the river on our August camping trip.

I can't see you, I can't see you in your Cami gear!

This project is the Cami Cap and Mitts. This yarn is fantastic to work with as you have no idea how the variegated colours are going to turn out. I have used this is three different colour schemes and all three look quite different. The yarn used is Bernat Camouflage http://www.bernat.com/product.php?LGC=camouflage&SPP=999 in Outback, Blue Frost and Desert Sand! Again the two with coordinating mittens are my basic BeaverJ patterns and the last one in Desert Sand is my basic J-Hat.

Unsurprisingly these two projects have been claimed by BeaverJ as his favourite. The green set is definitely his but I think I might rescue the blue set for a gift. Perhaps to BeaverW?

I love how the variegated pattern worked out completely differently on these two mittens!

Adult Hat

I was very surprised at how this hat came together in several rows of stripes.

Testing Out the Possibilities

This hat was a first for me. It went quickly as it was knit for the most part on the drive to Nanton, back home and then finished on the way to Two Jack Lake for some long weekend camping. I have come to feel that since I can make mittens, how hard can ear flap hats be?

It turns out that it is not too hard at all. I highly recommend trying one! Now this hat was knit in an odd colour of yellow which I was originally going to use for a Beehive" hat but in a fit of knitting passion it became this...

Now interestingly BeaverJ has one of the roundest heads I have ever seen which is particularly noticeable when his hair is freshly cut or he is wearing a roll brim basic hat! Thankfully this hat spices it up by making him look like one of Santa's Elves! DaddyJ particularly likes it when BeaverJ is running with it on and the flaps fly out at 90degrees from his head like airplane wings.

I have been thinking if I could knit a red plume on top it could end up looking like a Roman's helmet! Knit in grey and blue it could be an English Knight...... Oh the possibilities

The yarn is Mustard Yellow in Vanna's Choice by Lionbrand http://cache.lionbrand.com/yarns/vannasChoice.html The pattern that I used to make it (with a few changes like the top knot) can be found at http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/na_knitting/article/0,,DIY_14141_4860628,00.html

Now we finally have a hat that I believe will actually make it onto one of our hometowns less fortunate. I have been experimenting with various methods of decreasing from the basic K2Tog (knit two together), K2TogBL (knit two together through the back loops), SSK (Slip Slip Knit), and PSSO (Pass Slip Stitch Over). It has been a great opportunity to see how differently you can make a basic hat turn out while practicing some skills.

Work in Progress

This hat is the first step in creating a Shades of Blue set with a complete sweater where I hope to master the technique of knitting two sleeves at once. I was convinced that I had already knit blue mittens to match it, but if I have I can not find them now. The blue sweater has been half knit, pulled out and is once again waiting patiently for me to return to it.

Best Wishes for Happy Knitting,

MommyJ