Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Hangin' in there
I haven't had time to post lately because I have gone nuts over these preemie hats that I have publicly pledged to knit over the next year. At the rate I am going, I will have them done well before my self imposed deadline. When I started I really didn't realize how quickly they would go. I also didn't realize how much satisfaction I would get from doing them. I think it's the fact they go so quickly so I know they will not languish on the UFO list. That fact alone brings me joy!

So here is what I have been up so since my last post. I have over 12 hats done and there is always a new one of the dpns.
First...



This is the Preemie Twinkle Hat. It's made with Pylmouth Yarn, Dreambaby D.K. This pattern can be found here. It's very easy and any beginner who can knit in the round can make this hat. It's pretty small. I think this one is done with #5 dpns.
Second is...


This hat was made with Bella Stripes from Universal Handknitting Yarns. The pattern is called Shadow Stripes Hat. I did this one on #5 dpns. It take a little longer than the basic hat pattern but well worth it. I will make it in different yarns and colors to see how they all compare.

Third is..Large Preemie Diamond Lace Hat. I did this one on #5 dpns and was really surprised at how large it was. I am still wondering it this will fit a preemie. I need to find someone with a baby so I can try it on them. I used the 80 stitches the pattern called for but after researching where I got the idea from, this person used 48 stitches and #3 dpns. I don't currently have #3s so I used #5s. Hopefully Santa will bring me the #3s for Christmas.

I wanted to show how many hats I got from one skein of the Bella Stripes. Most were done with #4 and #5 dpns. The yarn was priced at $5.99. It was more expensive than the other yarns I have been using, but I just loved the stripes and I had to have it.

So when there's a time lapse when I post, it's only because I am knitting my little fingers to the bone. Ha!


Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Wee Thoughts
I am just in love with the current knitting project that is #1 on my list for '08. I am feeling so good about this project! I really have not done charity knitting and I sure don't down load too many free patterns to do on my own. I am a pretty conservative knitter. My colors are usually earth tones because I feel most comfortable surround by them. I am a fall and winter season person. I have always been like that and it's hard to break out of the color comfort zone.

I have two sons so soft girly colors were no where to be found in my home. Now I am having to look at things that I think will fit little girls as well as little boys. I hate to pigeon hole things into pink and blue, but when babies are so small and hooked up to all kinds of tubes and monitors, it's pretty hard to tell what sex they are. So maybe the pink and blue thing are okay.

This is the first pattern I down loaded from the internet after seeing it here. I found this site to be a huge resource for Preemie patterns, not to mention the color choices she uses. She is very creative and such a giving person. I have been this blog for a few years now and love it. She posts very often two or three times a week. My inspiration to do 100 Preemie hats came from her and she gets all the credit! Boy will she be a bit surprised that I have written my blog entry for today about her, since we don't really know each other and I didn't ask permission to do so.

Here is the Preemie Eyelet Cap done Vickie style (that means, not reading how many row repeats I should have done)
Just looking at these, you have no earthly idea how small they really are so check out this next shot. I did use #4dpns and #5dpns, mostly because I don't own any #3 dpns. So until Santa comes, I work with what I have! I used the tape dispenser because hubby was working on Christmas packages and it was handy. These guys are pretty small aren't they. Can you imagine how small the head it that these little hats would warm up?

Monday, December 10, 2007

Ready for Eight
I am a planner. I try to be organized with things so that I can get them done. I am not obsessed but I am committed. I am a list maker. If you could see my desk, you would see tons of little pieces of papers that have lists on them. If I know that I am under the gun of a deadline, I make a list. I don't really put things in the order I want to achieve them but I need to see them so that I can get them done. I am not getting any younger and things do get forgotten.

I have observed a lot of knitters who have lots of WIP and UFOs. I decided that I didn't want to be that kind of a knitter. So I have "the list" for knitting. Frankly, it started out as a joke and now has evolved into something more important. As a newer knitter, I knew there were lots of things that I wanted to learn. I would get side tracked and miss a chance to take a class that contained something that I wanted to learn. So to avoid that happening, I made a list. Of course there will be things that aren't on the list that will get done but for the most part, I stick to the list. I know that this method is too rigid and not flexible for others but this works for me.

When I cross something off the list, I usually end up adding something else to it because of fellow bloggers. You folks have inspired me to challenge myself to do more complicated things. So I have made the list for 2008 with that in mind.

Here is the list for 2008 as of today. I know it will get longer as the year goes by because of classes at my favorite LYS and because of things I will see on the net.

2008 List
1. Knit 100 baby hats (this is inspired by Wool Windings who has knit some pretty wonderful things for the Preemie Project) I admire those who knit for charity. Since I don't knit a lot for charity I thought this would be a pretty simple goal for the year. I figure that I will have to knit about 8-10 a month. They are so small that you can get 4-5 little hats depending on what size needle you use. I have already started on my goal.


I had no idea just how small these guys would be until I knit my very first one this weekend. I got so into it, that I knit 5 already and have #6 on the needles. It was so quick and they are just so cute. Looking at this picture, it's hard to explain the size, so...
I used this tape dispenser to illustrate just how small some of the hats are. The one behind the tape was knit of #5 dpns. I was shocked. The rest of the lot was knit was #4 dpns. I don't own any 3s but put them on my list for Santa.

I will talk about the hats in more detail in a later post. I just had to show just how small the hats are, so doing 100 in a year shouldn't be too much of a drain. I want to challenge all of you to think about doing at least one or two charity knitting items.