I’ve been so busy the past few weeks!  So much has happened…including RAVELRY!!!! yay!!! I finally got my invite Sunday and I have been exploring and setting things up.

Miss Dashwood Hat:
The picot cast on was clumsy and took FOREVER.  I usually use the long tail cast on method (the one everyone else seems to hate with one needle and your thumb-i love it!), and for picot cast on, you need to use the knit cast on, which I think takes much longer than the long tail method. 

 After several hours of picot cast on, I was up and running and the rest of that hat knit up quite quickly.  The k4togtbl’s were tricky with my needles, so i ended up using a crochet hook to pull the yarn through.  I also made crochet chains for the ties because I didn’t like the cords in the pattern.

As you can see it’s done, it just needs to be stitched together.  Unfortunately I am away at university and all of my piecing supplies at at home!  I have been improvising with some of my bulkier projects (booties, sweaters, hats, etc) and using, I kid you not, a bobby pin (!!) to stitch things together.  For the most part it is working, but I wish I had my yarn needles!

I only used a little more than half of the yarn, so I made another one in the 0-3mos size.  it’s so tiny!!

Overall I am quite pleased with the way that the hat turned out

Pasha the Penguin:
Pasha is almost done!  I just need to give him eyes and stuff him.  He knit up really quickly and I blocked him a few weeks ago.  He’s sooo cute!!  The only problem I have now is the eyes.  I really like using buttons, but this a present for a one year old, so I can’t use buttons because of choking hazards.  I tried embroidering on eyes, but Pasha just didn’t look right.  It’s tricky to get the right placement, too.  For now he’ll remain eyeless.

New Projects:

I found this really great sweater pattern online from Bella Bambina.  It’s called the Kelly Sweater.  It’s a crochet pattern and it’s supper fast and versatile.  I made one in a newborn size and one in 6-9 month size.  I ran out of yarn, so I need to go buy more to finish the sleeves.  There’s lots of room for versatility in this pattern.  I am thinking of buying a light cotton yarn and making a pinafore-style dress by leaving the sleeves off and adding a skirt (check back for updates).

I also made a sweater for Meghan to match a hat I made for her a few months ago.  It’s big enough to fit her next fall/winter/spring.  I am so much faster at crocheting.  It only took me about a weekend to make this sweater.  Knitting this would have taken me at least a week.  The sweater’s all done, it just need a few finishing touches and buttons.  The sweater is a design of my own.