Knittin' and Sewin'

A couple more FO's to report and then I think I'm caught up.

Although it was a Xmas gift, this is actually the first knit of 2009. A friend of mine who also knits emailed me the link to this pattern a couple months ago asking me how hard it was to knit cables because she LOVED this pattern. Yup, all caps 'loved' -- I can take a hint!. Like my mom, this friend does so much for others that she never gets around to making things for herself. It was an easy decision to knit this up for her as one of her gifts.


Pattern: Ardelle from Moebius Sock
Yarn: 3/4 skein of Brown Sheep Lambs Pride Bulky; color grey heather
Needles: US 13 (9mm)
Project Duration: 1/2/09 - 1/8/2009 This was a quick knit and really only took a few hours. A slight modification that involved ripping a portion of it (and the time required while in denial, not wanting to rip), made it take a little longer.
Modifications: Knitting to a total length of 6.5 inches before starting the decrease was too long. I ripped back and started decreasing at 5.5 inches instead. After seeing it on her head, could have gone back another half inch almost. Comments in Ravelry suggest this is a common modification. I also removed the knit rows between the last 4 decrease rows to make the top a bit more flat.

Final note is that the pattern suggests blocking the cabled band before joining and picking up stitches for the body of the hat. I didn't do this. Instead I just was careful to block the cables apart when blocking the whole hat. The cables do actually separate when the hat is worn and I like that look.
Ravelry link: Here
Verdict: I really like this hat and it seems so does the recipient. After blocking, the yarn really softens up and it is extremely warm. I wore it around the house for a couple hours one day and it definitely is warmer than anything I own. Which means another one may be on the horizon for myself! I still have another skein of yarn left!

Those readers who pay attention to the timing of sewn items presented on this blog will notice that they coincide with visiting my Mom. I rarely take the initiative to sew on my own although I have a machine given to me by a friend when she bought a new one. I instead wait with patterns and fabric in hand so Mom can hand walk me through the steps. One day I hope to change this and start sewing more. But in the meantime, this system works!

This was a gift for the same friend...who is 'jealous' of all the cool sewn things I get from my Mom! So again, thought I'd remedy that with baby steps...starting with a table runner. A more 'modern' table runner pattern in colors that I knew she'd love. The quilting was done by a lady with a long-arm quilter and my Mom generously offered to do the least pleasant (in my opinion) part of the runner...sewing on the binding. I'm very pleased with how this turned out.
And finally, on request I did a few more Ballbands for stocking stuffers for Xmas. They are on my Ravelry projects page if interested in the details...but here are some pictures.


Final note: I sort of lost motivation to keep my projects in process section of the sidebar as well as the currently reading section up to date. I'm hoping to be more diligent about that this year and so they have now been updated. (said projects are also now updated in Ravelry which I've also been bad about keeping up with!).
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Now playing: Two Step by Dave Matthews Band