Maltese Fisherman's Hat

I love this pattern. I started the hat this morning with my coffee. It was finished by 6pm. It is quick, easy and fun. My daughter wants me to add a tassel. I'll do that tomorrow. I used Nepal 5006 yarn by Katia. It is a self-stripping yarn.

I planned to make the hat for myself but my daughter loves it and claimed it for herself. I'll make a second one for me.

The Maltese Fisherman's Hat pattern is in EZ's Knitter's Almanac. I love this book. It is fun to read and the patterns always work out well.

Two for One

Per usual, blogger screwed up when I posted some socks a week ago. So now you get socks AND a hat.

I just finished my second Maltese Fisherman Hat in Cascade 220 and finished it with "the tassel of my dreams". The hat is ingenious.





And the socks. The sock pattern is a modified version of the Swirl Socks. I worked them cuff down instead of toe up and used EZ's afterthought heel as an experiment. For the "toe" I used in the afterthought heel, it was the wide toe from Nancy Bush's _Knitting Vintage Socks_. Picking out the stitches for the heel is a bit nitpicky and aggravating. But the heel fits fantastically.

Two for One

Per usual, blogger screwed up when I posted some socks a week ago. So now you get socks AND a hat.

I just finished my second Maltese Fisherman Hat in Cascade 220 and finished it with "the tassel of my dreams". The hat is ingenious.





And the socks. The sock pattern is a modified version of the Swirl Socks. I worked them cuff down instead of toe up and used EZ's afterthought heel as an experiment. For the "toe" I used in the afterthought heel, it was the wide toe from Nancy Bush's _Knitting Vintage Socks_. Picking out the stitches for the heel is a bit nitpicky and aggravating. But the heel fits fantastically.

ganomy hat

so i finally did it - i made the super cute ganomy hat - and all it took was one afternoon. i have no idea what yarn i used i pulled it outta the stash without a label. Happy Thanksgiving!

this is my first zimmermania post. how exciting!!

The glass is half-full!

I just wanted to take a moment to encourage everyone in these tough economic times. How lucky we knitters are to be equipped to give gifts of fashion, color, texture, warmth and love without needing to break the bank to do it. True, the budget may only allow for less expensive yarns: Alpaca instead of cashmere, wool instead of alpaca, acrylic instead of wool, cones of fiber instead of balls. What the item is made of is not nearly as important as the thought you put into it.

Remember:

• It is easy to go out and spend money to buy a gift, but much more meaningful to build it stitch by stitch.
• You are not a bad person/parent/friend/daughter/son/sibling etc. for staying within a tight budget in a holiday season. Money DOES NOT equate to love.
• A great gift to give is a set of needles, a ball of yarn, and time to show someone how to use them!
• Even EZ had periods where the money was tight, and she did her knitting part to keep her family warm and happy.

We may not be able to change the course of the economy, but we can pick up our needles and see the fruits of our labor.

Standing on top of the mountain....

....waving at the people.

Saddle-Shoulder Aran Cardigan

• Source: Spun Out #49, $3, Schoolhouse Press. Originally published 2000 as Wool Gathering #63
• Size: 50" Chest (about 6" positive ease)
• Yarn: Cascade Eco Wool (Used 3 skeins, 1434 yds total)
• Color: Brown #8087
• Needles: Size 8 for all the garter edges and buttonband/collar; Size 9 for the rest
• Gauge: 4.5 sts and 6 rows per inch on size 8 needles in stockinette
• Cost: 3 skeins of Eco Wool at $12 each = $36
  6 buttons (from Vardhman, Inc. on 39th Street and 8th Avenue in NYC) at $2.15 each = $12.90 TOTAL COST: $48.90
• Started: October 11, 2008
• Finished: November 9, 2008
• Mods: Well, this pattern is one big mod. You can read my three previous posts, if you haven't done so already. The instructions are more like a recipe, as are most of Elizabeth Zimmerman's patterns. The eco wool makes this sweater more like a jacket and I've been wearing it as such for the past week. The times that it was a bit windier, I threw a denim jacket over it. I made it with 6" of positive ease (it stretches a lot!) so that I could possibly wear a sweater under it if I don't want to wear a coat on any given day. In my excitement of finishing it last Sunday, I wore it to work on Monday with safety-pin stitch markers where the buttons needed to be sewn in. I went at lunch and bought the buttons and sewed them at work! HA! I'm going to give the sweater a REALLY good blocking but I hope it doesn't grow too much!! Because, no, I haven't blocked it. I've been wearing it EVERY DAY! ;-) The steeking, of course, made me super nervous. But it's like anything else in knitting that you have to learn: afraid to jump in but then you do and you feel accomplished! Although, I do admit that each time I wear it, I look at the inside to make sure it’s not falling apart somewhere! HA! It’s not, though. I actually think the cut edges are felting themselves to the inside!!! All in all, a tremendously satisfying knit.

Cross-posted from my blog.

Woodman's Sock

Here is another pair of Woodsman's Socks:



As per usual, there were modifications. I did not keep up the ribbing on the foot and I did a slightly modified heel - I did not do the garter section on the side in lieu of a preferred plainer method. These were knit on size 6 dpns with Raggi wool. These are so nice and easy to make and very warm. This is maybe the fifth pair I have made, but the second pair for my husband.

You can see a few more details and other projects on my blog.

Pi shawl - finished at last

I have, at last, finished my first pi shawl and already I know that it won't be my last! I love the way it lays so perfectly flat and it is so impossibly easy to knit! I have a few more pictures on my blog and the shawl can be found on Ravelry, where I'm know as teeweewonders.