the mittens so far

okey dokey. so today i had a nice chunk of time to work on melody's mittens and look!!!




this is what mitten #1 looks like on the outside. almost finished, just have a few more inches to knit for the hand, and then pick up stitches and knit the thumb.




dude. these bad boys are going to be freakishly warm. even in chicago's bitter cold, melody will feel like she is wearing little hand furnaces. i can't wait to finish them and mail them off to her!

for melody's mittens

a friend of mine has asked me to knit her a pair of mittens. she lives in chicago and reported temperatures of -17 degrees ... yikes. it's been cold here, but not THAT cold. anyway, i found some yarn in my stash that i think she will like! this is a good opportunity to learn how to knit thrummed mittens. squeeeeeeeee!

Free Pattern: Erich's A&F Knockoff Hat

My brother Erich has a skull cap from Abercrombie & Fitch that I’m sure cost a small fortune … for a hat, anyway.

I saw him recently, and being the knitter that I am, I inspected the hat and said, “Hmph. I could make that!!” After all, I’d rather take his money than see him give it away to A&F. So he says, “Okay then, I want a gray one.” Your wish is my command, baby brother. And I’ll even do it for free!

WHAT YOU NEED:

Yarn: Plymouth Encore Mega (less than 1 skein)
Gauge: 2 sts = 1 in (stockinette stitch)
Needles: Size 15 US (10.0 mm)

WHAT TO DO:

1. Cast on 40 stitches. You may use your preferred method for circular knitting; I used 2 circular needles.

Note: You may wish to adjust the hat size by adjusting the number of cast-on stitches (in multiples of 4) and/or adjusting needle size.

2. Knit 2 x 2 ribbing for about 8 inches, depending on how much coverage you want on your ears or whether you want a fold-up brim/cuff.

3. Decrease as follows:
- K2tog, P2tog all the way around
- K1, P1 all around
- K2tog all around

4. Finish off:
- Cut yarn, leaving 12 inch tail
- using tapestry needle, thread through the remaining 10 stitches, pull tight and weave in ends.


© 2009 Eboni A. Francis

january update

hi everyone,

charity knitting for the bridge project is going well so far. last weekend i completed hat & scarf set and started another. the scarf is plain garter stitch and i will design a matching hat. once i finish the 2nd set i will send them off to be distributed accordingly. i have also decided i would knit for 2 other charity efforts as well ... making afghan squares for warm up america and making preemie/baby hats for OSU medical center. it feels good to use my talents to help others.

i designed a hat for my brother last week. he has a pretty basic ribbed hat from abercrombie. i'm like, really ... i could MAKE that!! so he said, "okay i want one." i happened to have some encore mega (2 sts = 1") in my stash and couldn't figure out what to do with it ... making a hat was just the perfect thing. i gave him the hat and it fits perfectly. he loves it! i'm going to knit a hat for another brother, and when i do that i will write down the directions and post the pattern to ravelry, and here on the blog as well.

it's time for bed. i've declared today "selfish sunday" and am going to spend lots of quality time with myself today. i've got some books i want to read, tv to watch and knitting to do!! i need some serious "me" time. last night i had a dream that i was being held hostage. that sounds like i need to give myself some attention and do all the things that make me happy. it's not that i mind doing things for/with other people, but i have a lot of stuff in my brain to sort out and sometimes the best way for me to deal with it all is to just zone out and focus on myself. so that's precisely what i intend to do. i'll start "selfish sunday" by getting a good night's sleep!

sleep tight, friends.

~mz