Simple 2×2 Rib Trim Hat

Posted on December 15, 2010 by Lisa Musella

Back in August, I made a pink capelet for my Grandma Ethel. A little birdy told me she might be interested in a hat, so I decided to make her a matching one for Christmas. It’s a very simple hat, but also very cute so I thought I’d go ahead and share the pattern with you.

A beginning knitter can absolutely knit this hat. You need to know how to cast on, knit, purl, k2tog (knit 2 stitches together), knit in the round and use the magic loop method.

You’ll need approximately 100 yards of worsted weight yarn. I used Berroco Comfort in #9705 Pretty in Pink. You’ll also need one 16″ size US 9 circular needle.

For an adult, cast on 80 stitches. To make the hat bigger or smaller, add or subtract stitches in multiples of 8. This will make the decreasing easier. This makes for a fairly loose-fitting hat, which is what my Grandma wanted. Join to knit in the round and knit one round.

Now you’ll start the 2×2 ribbing. K2, P2 over and over again until you have about 2 inches of 2×2 ribbing.

For the body of the hat, simply knit all the stitches. Knit and knit until the hat measures 7 inches long from the very bottom to the very top.  Here’s a picture of it a little less than half way done:

Now you can start your decreases.

K6, K2tog (10 times)

K70

K5, K2tog (10 times)

K60

K4, K2tog (10 times)

K50

K3, K2tog (10 times)

K40

About now, you’ll have to start using the magic loop method mentioned above.

K2, K2tog (10 times)

K30

K1, K2tog (10 times)

K20

K2tog (10 times)

K10

Cut a 12 inch tail and use a yarn needle to pull it through the remaining stitches. Now pull the tail through to the inside of the hat and weave in. Weave in the tail at the bottom of the hat. You’re done!

Posted in Hats, Knitting, Learning to Knit, Lisa, Patterns | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Ahem…

Posted on August 13, 2010 by Jen

Yeah, we’re still here.

But since there are only two of us that equates to four hands. And we have lives. Seriously, if we could sit on our bums all day knitting (and I crochet/quilt/annoy my husband with various crafts as well – then that fab Lisa chick cooks like a mofo) we would.

Seriously. We’d have the world covered in yarn crafts in no time.

Unfortunately that life thing gets in the way. And I am in the process of buying a house where I’m going to get a whole craft room. Yeah, I’m still in a full body orgasm over that.

So, please stick around and we’ll be posting when we can and I believe that there will be some new item posts up soon. And, I’m going to have access to natural light for my items soon, so my pictures won’t have that fabulous glare of light bulb anymore.

If you all have any questions about, leave a comment and we’ll run quickly to answer. Much knitting love!

Posted in Jen, Knitting, Life, Yarn | Leave a comment

Great-Grandpa’s Buttons

Posted on July 31, 2010 by Lisa Musella

My great-grandpa Socrat owned a dry-cleaning business starting in the late 1920s here in Los Angeles. He also did alterations during that time. Grandpa Socrat passed when I was in Kindergarten so I didn’t know him well, but I hear he was a great, kind man.

A few weeks ago, my Grandma Ethel (his daughter) told me she had a bunch of his buttons from the old days. I immediately told her I wanted them if she would part with them. Lucky for me, she was happy to!

Here are a few of my favorites.

Clear with blue rhinestone:

Tiny Stars:

Clear and purple flower:

You can see the rest of the most interesting buttons here.

It just so happens I am knitting my Grandma Ethel a capelet for her birthday. It’s based on Edith Eig’s Pink Mohair Capelet from her book Mother of Purl.

I am completely done with the knitting part. All it needs is a button or snap closure for the front.

I would love to use one of his buttons and I am trying to decide what to use. Vote for your favorite in the comments!

#1 – Purple (it’s pink enough to work) flower from above

#2 – Rhinestone Button (not sure it’s big enough, but I could try)

#3 – Pink Button (this is actually shiny on the flat part)

#4 – Pink Pearl-Finish Button

Help me decide! I’ll be giving the finished piece to her on Tuesday, August 10, 2010 so I’ll tally up the votes and make a decision that Monday morning. Thanks for your help!

Posted in Crafts, Knitting, Lisa | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Sweater Power

Posted on July 21, 2010 by Jen

In April, I went to Stitches South (yarn Mecca for me!) and was on a mission to do things: spend lots of money on yarn goodness and find the perfect yarn to make my mother a sweater.

My mom doesn’t ask for a lot but when she said she’d like a cardigan in a neutral color to wear to church (in the AC goodness that is indoor Florida) or something to keep her warm in the cool weather that blows through in the winter, how could I say no? Now good yarn is expensive, ranging anywhere from $5-$10 a skein and a sweater could take up a lot of skeins depending on the yardage in a skein. Honestly, I was estimating spending around $100-$120 on this project.

As Karen (another awesome yarn friend) and I were exploring the many booths, I came upon Adirondack Yarns, from Lake Placid, New York. The exciting part about this find is that my mom was born and raised an hour north of this fine town, so I was really interested in looking at their product line.

Perusing the wares, I stumbled across the kits – pre-packaged yarn and patterns – and there it was…the perfect sweater for my mom! It was a long, open cardigan made out of seven strands of lace weight cotton yarn (in white, cream, beige and brown) that made up the perfect neutral color.

It screamed, “MAKE ME FOR YOUR MOTHER!” Seriously, it was like listening to the Sorting Hat from Hogwarts.

How could I not comply?

Now that the sweater has been delivered to Mom (and she LOVED IT! thank you very much), I can share it with you guys. It took about 10 weeks to complete from start to finish and it was actually the perfect project for someone who had never made a knitted garment.

Now, I have several sweater project in the wings to tackle me.

Posted in Jen, Knitting, Sweater, Yarn | 1 Comment

Warm Fuzzies

Posted on July 13, 2010 by Jen

My dear friend Amber is going to be moving to San Francisco at the end of the month, B and I will surely miss her. Amber is full of awesomesauce because she saved our eldest child (cat) Sassy La Rue Diva Superstar. See, Amber is a vet. Not just an ordinary vet but a SUPER vet.

Amber has been doing her residency in Houston in one of the best specialty veterinary clinic in the nation.  Unfortunately, we met her when Sassy was on the brink of death but with Amber’s great bedside manner and knowledge, we were able to save Sassy. And Sassy-cat has been doing great for the last three years – even though we do have to stab her (give injections) on a regular basis.

So, Amber, being the fabulous person that she is, graciously took care of Sassy and Lola when we were on our trip to L.A.. All while studying for her final vet exam and preparing to move. Did I mention that Amber is super woman? She is.

B and I are sad that Amber (and her girlfriend of great, Erika) are moving. But the least we could do for Amber is make her something fabulous to remember us by (okay I made it but I’ll give B credit too – and yes, I love parentheses), a knitted cowl.

The cowl was made using the Brennan pattern by Sara Peterson but I did a few modifications. I used an alternate color to finish off the i-cord bind off, which was quite easy to complete, and then I used that same complimentary color to make an edging. I crocheted around a single crochet then on the second row,I skipped two crochets and on the third I alternated six double crochets and a single crochet to anchor the scallop design. That’s it. I hope the cowl keeps Amber warm when the winds blown in off of the bay and gives her warm fuzzies of her friends back in Texas that miss her.

Posted in Cowl, Jen, Knitting | Leave a comment

Top Secret

Posted on July 8, 2010 by Jen

We’re still here knitting away. Really, we are knitting.

And I finished up my top secret project but I can’t reveal it here until the recipient receives it via UPS. Thankfully, the knitting fairy did show up and assist me with my super secret project so that it could be finished up for shipping. I can’t wait to hear the exclamation of joy (or shame that they are going to be wearing my work in public) over the phone.

But I will share with you all the item that’s taken 10 weeks of my life.

Posted in Jen, Knitting | 1 Comment

8 1/2 Weeks

Posted on July 1, 2010 by Lisa Musella

I have now been knitting for eight and a half weeks. I told you I was new to it! In that time, I have finished 7 projects. Not bad, right?

Two garter stitch scarves, two simple hats, 1 robot hat, 1 felted water bottle cozy, and a lace scarf that has taken me 3 of those 8 1/2 weeks.

It is this project I am most proud of. It’s my first attempt at lace and I think I did pretty darn well! The yarn was a gift from my friend Jenny. I made the scarf for Emelia’s birthday. She’s the teenage daughter of some family friends. I’ll give it to her in 3 days on the 4th of July. Teenagers can be picky, but I think she’ll like it.

My next project will be a pink capelet for my Grandma’s birthday. I have to finish it by the beginning of August. I love having set goals like this and I love giving out my projects even more.

Posted in Crafts, Hats, Knitting, Lisa, Scarves, Yarn | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Knitting Fairy

Posted on June 24, 2010 by Jen

I’ve been working on a present for my mom for two months and I’m on the last leg but it’s not done. The end doesn’t appear to be in site and I’m knitting every spare moment that I have so that I can get this project done. I need a knitting fairy to come in the middle of the night, pick up my needles and finish the piece. FINISH IT FAIRY!!!

The project is really simple because it’s just a stockinette and reverse stockinette stitch, pretty quick huh? No. It’s mind numbing and has no pizzazz.  The piece looks great but the actual work doesn’t make me want to get to it except that it’s a gift for my mom.

I will post the actual piece once it’s been delivered so you all can share the agony and joy of the work that caused me to lose my mind.

And a preview of whats to come on our happy little blog home: YARN and how to use it to drive your husband bonkers.

Posted in Jen, Knitting, Learning to Knit | Leave a comment

Naughty Reindeer Washcloth

Posted on June 20, 2010 by Lisa Musella

This is a fun one! I adapted it from this chart. I’m giving you plenty of time to make tons of these for the holidays and give them out as gifts. But choose your recipient wisely! Not everyone will appreciate the naughty humor.

I’m using Lion Cotton (worsted weight) in Poppy Red. You can use any color worsted weight cotton yarn you want.

Gauge is not that important (it’s a washcloth for crying out loud!), but if you must know: 4.5 sts per inch

Here is a chart for you chart people. I’m a must type everything out in detail person, so here’s that.

This pattern is knit from the bottom up on US 6 straight needles

CO 44 stitches (I use longtail cast on)

Knit 1 row

R1, 2, 3, 4, 5: K2, P2 (repeat until end)

R6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26: purl all stitches

 

R7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25: knit all stitches

 

REINDEER PATTERN STARTS:

 

R27, 29: K17, P1, K2, P1, K4, P1, K1, P1, K1, P1, K14

 

R28: P14, K1, P1, K1, P1, K1, P4, K1, P2, K1, P17

 

R30: P14, K1, P1, K1, P1, K1, P4, K1, P1, K2, P17

 

R31: K18, P1, K1, P1, K3, P1, K1, P2, K1, P1, K14

 

R32: P14, K1, P2, K4, P2, K1, P1, K1, P18

 

R33: K18, P1, K1, P1, K1, P5, K2, P1, K14

 

R34: P15, K1, P1, K10, P17

 

R35: K16, P13, K15

 

R36: P14, K15, P2, K2, P11

 

R37: K11, P19, K14

 

R38: P13, K6, P3, K10, P12

 

R39: K13, P3, K5, P10, K13

 

R40: P13, K10, P5, K3, P13

 

R41: K12, P3, K6, P8, K2, P1, K12

 

R42: P17, K7. P1, K2, P1, K1, P2, K1, P12

 

R43: K11, P1, K3, P1, K1, P8, K19

 

R44: P21, K5, P1, K3, P14

 

R45: K15, P1, K2, P3, K23

 

R46: P24, K1, P19

 

R47: K18, P4, K22

 

R48: P21, K1, P2, K1, P1, K1, P17

 

R49: K16, P1, K2, P1, K2, P1, K21

 

R50: P21, K1, P1, K3, P18

 

R51: K19, P1, K1, P1, K1, P1, K20

 

REINDEER PATTERN DONE!

 

R52, 54, 56, 58, 60, 62, 64, 66, 68, 70, 72: purl all stitches

 

R53, 55, 57, 59, 61, 63, 65, 67, 69, 71: knit all stitches

 

R73, 74, 75, 76, 77: K2, P2 (repeat until end)

Knit 1 row

Bind off

**Please note: There are less rows of stockinette between the reindeer and the 2×2 ribbing in the washcloth pictured than in the chart and written pattern. I added more to the pattern to make it longer and more square

Now be careful or you might find tiny knit reindeer all over your house! They just can’t seem to keep their hooves off each other.

Posted in Crafts, Knitting, Lisa, Patterns | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

So you want to knit! Part 1

Posted on June 20, 2010 by Jen

Have you ever walked into a craft/yarn store and was overwhelmed by all the yarns and needles facing you? You see women whipping around needles making garments at lightening speed and think, “I could never do that, I’d hurt myself!”?

Bottom line, do you want to learn how to knit?

Last year, I was in the exact same spot you were. I had all of this knitting paraphernalia that was once my grandmother’s going to waste because I didn’t know what side of the needle to connect with the yarn. Also, there were different sizes of needles, different types of yarn and how did the two things go together?  I was flummoxed. Yes, I said, flummoxed.

So, let’s get you started because dang it, I need more knitting friends!

In this post I’m only going to focus on resources so that you can look at videos and books to determine if you want to pursue the fabulous world of knitting. You know you wanna, you wouldn’t be here if you didn’t. (Or you’re here because you’re our fabulous friends and family, in love with my writing.)

Books:

Stitch N’ Bitch – A great book with attitude that shows you the basics of how to handle needles and create thing with skulls on it. HELLO, SKULLS!!

Knitting without Tears – Breaks down knitting to the basics, with a few starter patterns that will get you on your way to knitting up the robot hat Lisa created.

And, in my opinion, those are the top two knitting books when you’re learning how to manipulate yarn.

But, if you’re like me, you need to see the knitting needles fly, like I do, then here is your primary video source: Knitting Help.  The owner of this site rocks my socks because, without her site, I wouldn’t be able to knit socks.

And if you want to see the craziness that is knitting, head over to Ravelry where you can meet up with people like me and Lisa. There are over 500,000 people signed up for Ravelry where there are tons of free patterns, knowledgeable people that want to help you with your knitting woes and others who are there just to have fun. I know, FUN!!!

Now, your assignment, click on the links and check knitting out. Seriously, if Lisa and I can accomplish it with no blood lost but with knitting goods gained, you can too!

Posted in Crafts, Jen, Knitting, Learning to Knit | 1 Comment