Monday, January 25, 2016

The twice knit hat

Sorry I haven't been around blog land very much at all these days . My only excuse is sheer and utter laziness . I have been knitting though and have even completed a project or two . You might remember this hat from my last post .


You'll notice that it is very close to being finished . In fact I was almost at the crown decreases . This is the same pattern Basia that I had finished just recently . I was at Timmie's having a coffee with Shirley and I had mentioned to her how long this hat seemed to be taking to knit . I felt like forever since I had cast on . Shirley was looking at it and asked if I was knitting the same pattern because it sure looked different . Sure enough when I got home and checked the pattern I quickly realized that I was merely skipping 4 rows of the pattern . I assumed that I had the pattern committed to memory , so other than checking for the number of stitches to cast on I went ahead and knit it . Ah hubris !  Rather than try and figure out the crown decreases on my 'new' pattern I just ripped it out and started  again , the right way this time .


I gave it to my friend Valerie at lunch last week . She was so very happy with it , especially since she had just bought herself a gorgeous white parka . The hat suits her , I love it on her .


This little snuggly was finished just in time for a baby shower I attended . I fell in love with this pattern as soon as I saw it on ravelry . I am disappointed in my yarn choice . Looking for softness and washabilty I used some Sirdar Snuggly that I had in my stash . While it is super soft the blankie part feels unsubstantial . In hindsight I wish I had used my favourite acrylic/wool blend of Berroco Vintage . The wool content adds enough substance without losing the washability aspect . However the mom to be loved it , so all's well that ends well . There is another baby due this year in my circle of friends so I might just try again with Berroco this time .

Next time I will update you on more knits in progress and perhaps even on a book that I am enjoying so much that I almost don't want it to end . Till then , have a wonderful week !

PS - Forgive the kind of weird dots appear periodically in this post . Don't know what I did but I cannot for the life of me get rid of them . I know it has something to do with alignment , but this brain just can't figure out where I went wrong , lol .




Friday, January 8, 2016

2016 week one

The last month of 2015 just flew by it seems . Like everyone in blog land I was busy getting ready for the festivities , so much so that blogging got lost in all the hustle and bustle . We had a beautiful Christmas spent with family and visits by and to friends . That time just flew by too and now we already have one week done in the new year . I like the calm after the storm of the holidays . I find that it is a time for reflection . Having come though a really difficult 2015 my hopes and intentions for 2016 are simple , live each day fully and focus on the positive and let go the negative . Trite but true , life IS too short .

Lately I have been cursed with a case of startitis . Currently I am working on socks and a hat for my friend Valerie . I have more than a couple of other knits that are languishing in the knitting basket . Hopefully that can be remedied soon and I will get more of them off the needles .

I have also been trying to get back in shape by watching my calories and walking more . Watching the calories is the most difficult of the two as we still have cookies and sweets left from Christmas , even with sharing them with family and friends . The lesson for next Christmas is to cut down on the baking .

Well that's it for today , better get cracking on my supper . I am having Jessey and Stella over so that mom and dad can have a date night . Early tomorrow Jessey has a hockey game and Stella has dance class . I'm hoping that they will both go to bed early so I can get my beauty sleep , lol .

Wishing you all the best for 2016 and have a wonderful weekend !