Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Just Finished 2 More Hats

I finished two hats.  I knit my Favorite Knit Hat with a small change and I had this idea for a rainbow hat in my head for weeks now and finally knit something.  I thought it was going to be a hat and now I am wondering if I should do something else or keep it a hat and add pom-poms.  Or would pom-poms be too much?  Not really sure.  I am up for others opinions though if anyone wants to comment.  

My Favorite Knit Hat Pattern
 When I knit this hat I made small changes.  One being the kind of yarn I used.  I made the hat with Caron brand Simply Soft.  The color is pistachio and it is a really nice light green.  The other change that was made is on the yarn over.  On the first hat I used the e-wrap for the yarn over.  This time I put the yarn in front of the yarn over peg.  I am really happy with this hat and it still is My Favorite Knit Hat. 
Close-up of the pattern.

 This was going to be a hat.  And it still might be a hat, but I also think it would be cute to add a handle and turn it into a cute little purse.  I am not sure.  I planned on adding two pom-poms, but for some reason I think it might be too much?  I don't know, maybe I am way over thinking it.  I love the flat top that I made to finish it and it looks super cute on.  The brim that I used for this hat makes a really tight brim and it doesn't have a lot of stretch.  I even made it on the purple round loom and it is too tight.  I love the way it looks though.  Is anyone interested in this pattern?  It is simple to knit up and if you wanted to change that would be super easy.

Feel free to comment.  I love to know if my patterns are being enjoyed or if you want more info on any of the hats I've made.   

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Spring Knitting

We had 2 weeks here of this amazing Spring weather and I thought I was going to put away my looms.  I decided that I want to keep knitting this year through the Spring and Summer.    I want to get hats ready to add to my etsy shop in the fall and maybe enough to set up at a craft fair. 

With weather that was too gorgeous not to be outside and two kiddos that want to enjoy playing in the yard, I had to figure out the best way to knit on my porch.  I have animals that love yarn (new puppy and cats) and the porch is not exactly super clean.  I ended up finding a gift bag that was deep enough and sturdy enough to stand up without falling over.  I put the yarn in the bags and this worked out perfect.  It was a great solution and makes knitting on the porch possible for me.  :)

Last night after the kids went to bed,  I started knitting my favorite knit hat again.  I am using Caron brand Simply Soft this time and making a small change on the yarn over.  On the first hat I used the e-wrap on the yarn over and this time I am laying the yarn over the front of the peg.  I am liking the way it is turning out so far.  I am using the same light green yarn I used on the Spring HatI am hoping to have it finished by this evening.  I will post pictures and then you can see the hat with different yarn and a small change. 

Friday, March 25, 2011

2 Hats for Spring

On my last post I said that I was going to work on the Spiral Lace Hat with some changes and use cotton yarn.  What I tried did not work at all and I ended up breaking both strands of yarn that I was using.  I am still thinking of what I can do with the pattern to make it better.

While thinking about that pattern I found a free pattern for a hat that looked great for Spring.  You can find the pattern here.  I used the repeat pattern that is in the hat, but did not follow the other instructions.  I also made the hat two times with a small change on the k2tog.

 I used cotton yarn and used the purple round loom.  For the brim I did the garter stitch for 6 rows.  I did the normal yarn over (put the working yarn in front of the peg) and k2togI did the 5 steps for the pattern 8 times.  For the crown I took the yarn on the first peg and moved it to the second peg and knit the bottom loop over the top loop. 


When I made the hat the second time I used Caron brand Simply Soft.  For the brim I did the garter stitch for 8 rows.  I then worked the same pattern, but instead of k2tog, I moved the yarn from the peg that was going to be empty for the yarn over and put it on the next peg and just lifted the bottom loops over the top loops.  On the empty peg I put the working yarn in front of the peg and then put it behind the next peg.  For the crown I finished it the same way I did the first one.  I like the way this hat turned out.  



I am not sure what I am going to knit next.  I was thinking of making a rainbow hat or searching Ravelry for another pattern to use on my loom.  As always, I'll post pictures here when I am done.  

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Spiral Lace Hat

The other day I posted that I was working on a new hat.  It turned out pretty good, but I think it still could use some work.  That is my plan for today, to work on this pattern and get a pattern made worth sharing.  I would like to use cotton yarn, so that it would be a light hat that could be worn in the Spring.  The problem I have with cotton yarn is that it does not stretch.  I need some stretch so I can move the yarn on the pegs, but I still want to try and  and see what happens.

Spiral Lace Hat

 I worked on my blog this weekend and have added some new tabs.  You can find links to free patterns, a link to my etsy, and my place to keep up with all my projects for the year.  

I plan to add a tab to add my recommendations.  My recommendations will include looming products, but it also might include books that I think are great and/or homeschooling items that I enjoy.   


Keep checking back for something new.  :)  And, I always love comments.  If you have anything that you would like to see or have any questions please feel free to leave a comment. 

 

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

On My Loom

Right now on my loom is a new pattern that I am trying.  In my head it looks great.  If it turns out like I have in my head, I plan to share the pattern here.  I will have to get to work on it though, because tomorrow is my son's 6th birthday.  He told me today that he wants me to knit as much as I can today, so that I don't have to knit on his birthday.  

Right now there are not enough hours in the day.  I want to be outside enjoying the nice weather with my kiddos, reading my book, knitting, attempting to keep the house in some sort of order, cleaning up the greenhouse for art projects and planting, and making sure that our lessons for school are being done.  I am lucky if I accomplish even half of the things I want to be doing. 

The weather here is really starting to feel like Spring, so I want to knit as much as possible before it is too warm out.  My days will soon be spent in the garden and canning in the kitchen.  I know my blog is This Mama Knits, but I've been thinking of adding recipes we will use for canning veggies and making jam.  I also thought maybe including pictures of the garden and other art projects we work on.  I haven't really decided yet.

Ok, must get started on the hat.  Wish me luck and look for an update or even better a new pattern.  

 

Monday, March 14, 2011

Etsy Coupon Code

I have an active coupon code for my etsy shop.  Everything in the shop is 15% off if you use this coupon code:  SPRING11SALE


I plan to keep the code active until the end of the month.  If you have any problems with the code please let me know.  I hope you find something that you like.  :)



Saturday, March 12, 2011

2 New Hats and a Pattern

In my previous post I said that I found a free pattern for the All Day Beret and would post about making the beret on my loom.  I was very close to being done and had very sore fingers, when I noticed that the hat had some very obvious mistakes.  I had worked on this hat for hours, but was so unhappy with the way it looked that I took it off the loom and started again.  

The left diagonal that is in the pattern was very time consuming, so I figured I would try it a different way.  Here is a picture of the finished hat.  If you would like the pattern for this hat, please leave me a comment.   I would be happy to post it for anyone interested. 


I tried again and made some more changes.  I am very happy with the results of this hat and it is my favorite hat I have made. 

My Favorite Hat with Bulky Yarn


My Favorite Knit Hat with Caron Simply Soft

 Materials needed to make My Favorite Hat:  Yarn of your choice, Loom with multiples of 4, stitch markers, hook, and yarn needle.

Required stitches:  flat knit (k), purl (p), knit two together (k2tog),  and yarn over (yo).


A few notes about this pattern:  When I made my hat I used Loops & Threads Charisma. It is a bulky yarn and very soft.  I only used one strand of yarn when I used the bulky yarn.   I made the hat a second time using Caron Simply Soft and this time used 2 strands of yarn as 1.  
You do not have to use stitch markers, but I did find that it made it a whole lot easier to keep up with the pattern.  I have two small children who always seem to stop me in the middle of a round and it is easy for me to forget where I am. 

 Before you start, if you choose to use stitch markers put one on the first peg and then peg 5, continue putting markers on pegs to break the loom up into sections of fours.  Every peg with a stitch marker will be purled when you get to the body of the hat, another reason stitch markers are really helpful in the pattern.


Brim:  1.  E-wrap cast on
            2. For 8 rows  *p2, k2;  repeat from *to end of round.

Hat Body: Row 1.  *p1, k1, yo, k2tog; repeat from * to end of round.
                   Row 2.  *p1,k3; repeat from * to end of round


Repeat the pattern for 25 rounds or however many you need to get the hat to the size you like, but make sure it ends with row 2.  


If you use bulky yarn you can use this to shape the crown:  Row 1:  *p1, k2tog, k1; repeat from * to end of round.
                                      Row2:  *p1, k2; repeat from * to end of round.
                                      Row3:  * skip the first peg in your set of 4 (leave the loops on the peg)  and then k2tog; repeat from * to end of the round.

**  When I made this hat with the Simply Soft I did not shape the crown as described above.  I just did the basic decrease by 1/2.  Move yarn on peg 1 to 2 and knit over.  Yarn on peg 3 to 4 knit over.  And continue doing this around the loom.


Finishing:  thread needle with working yarn and do a gathered bind off.  




Additional notes:  When I did this pattern on the yo and k2tog, I lay the yarn in front of the yo peg .  It made it easier to knit on the next row.  When you do the k2tog bring the loops on  peg three over to peg four.  Knit like normal.  This means you will be bringing the bottom loops from pegs 3 and 4 over your new stitch. 




I hope that you like the pattern as much as I do.  Please feel free to leave comments.  If there is something that you don't understand in the pattern, please let me know. I want the pattern to be easy to read.  






           


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Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Why did I wait so long to get a Cable Needle???

I just got back from visiting family.  While I was out of town, I was able to go to 3 craft stores!  I have been looking for the purple adult loom and have had no luck.  I was finally able to get one at Jo-ann's the other day.  At Michael's I was able to get cable needles and stitch markers.  Not really sure what I will do with the stitch markers, but I have been wanting cable needles for months now.  I also got new yarn in lots of colors.  Oh, and I picked up a pom-pom maker.

When I got home last night, I was very eager to try out my new loom.  I also started a new pattern.  I found it at Hobby Lobby (I think) over by the yarn where they have free patterns.  It is called the All Day Beret.  It has a stitch that I have never tried on a loom called ssk.  I had to look it up and figure out what that meant and how to do it on the loom.  Pretty easy to do once I read the instructions.   

I got started right away.  Worked the brim no problem, then started the left diagonal stitch pattern.  It was really difficult just using the pick and my fingers.  I only completed two rounds of the pattern and was a little discouraged.  J was having a hard time not losing the yarn when having to stretch it over the the other peg.  When I woke up this morning I remembered the cable needles I bought and figured they would work great for this.  Sure enough, a cable needle has made this project so much easier.  

Hopefully I will get to finish the hat today.  It is not something that works up that quick, but if I don't get distracted or have other things that need to be done, it could be done by this evening.    I will post pictures and if I can find a link to the pattern on-line I will post them later. 

Thursday, March 3, 2011

It's been a Froggy Week

I've been trying to knit something new all week and have had to frog everything.  :(  I like to try new patterns and I just have not been happy with anything I have started.  I keep trying to use patterns made for needle knitting and using the loom, but they just do not look like the pictures on the patterns.  This hasn't been a problem with the last couple of patterns.  Even though they have looked different, I was still happy with them.  

Right now on my loom is a hat from a pattern you can see here.  I have completed two sets so far of the actual pattern and it looks ok.  I do not plan to do anything for the decrease, so the crown won't look exactly like the picture.  I am hoping to have it finished by the end of the night.  I will post pictures soon.  

edited to add:  I was almost done with this hat when I noticed a mistake.  Once again, I had to frog this project.  :(  I will have to try again.  

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Scarflet

I finished a scarflet the other day.  I plan to make more of these.  I think they are a nice quick project.  I used the pink loom and did the figure-eight stitch.  I think it measures around 32 inches long.