The Addiband! (or Addison Headband)

I had a hank of my favorite turquoise yarn left over from the "vogue scarf" I just finished that I planned to make a hat with. I cast on 72 stitches and after about an inch of K2, P2 ribbing, I realized it was going to be too small. Instead of ripping it out, I decided to make it into a headband for one of my girlfriend's adorable little 4 year old, Addison.

Earlier in the week I spent a fun Sunday at a "stitch and bitch" brunch at my knitting guru's new shop up in Andersonville. It was all complete strangers as my teacher wasn't even there, but I ended up having a great time... AND, someone taught me to crochet! All I've been wanting to do is learn how to make flowers so I can stick 'em on hats and such, so in about 10 minutes I learned to chain, single crochet, double crochet, slip stitch... I think that's it. Anyway, I picked it up really fast and now I'm on my way to being a crocheter as well! So psyched.

So- I finished off the headband after making it about 2 inches thick. It's just a simple knit ribbed band.

I added on 2 flowers that are the same pattern but different sizes. This is ALL I can crochet at the time, but I expect to be expanding my experience on that soon ;-)

Here is the pattern I used:

1. Chain 4 and join with slip stitch to form a ring.

2. Chain 1, work 9 single crochets around ring, join with slip stitch to turning chain.

3. Chain 1, double crochet & single crochet in next stitch, *single crochet in next stitch, (single crochet, double crochet, single crochet in next stitch), repeat from * 3 more times ending with single crochet in next stitch. Join with slip stitch to starting chain and slip stitch to top of first double crochet.

4. Chain 2, 2 double crochet in same stitch (top of double crochet of previous round), *chain 2, skip 1 stitch, single crochet into next stitch, chain 2, skip 1 stitch, 5 double crochet into next stitch, repeat from * 3 more times ending with chain 2, skip 1 stitch, single crochet into next stitch, chain 2, skip 1 stitch, work 2 double crochets into same stitch where this round started and join to turning chain with slip stitch.

5. Chain 2, 2 double crochet into same stitch (middle stitch of 5 double crochets), *chain 1, skip 1 stitch, 1 double crochet into next stitch, chain 2, skip 1 stitch, single crochet into next stitch (single crochet of previous round), chain 2, skip 1 stitch, double crochet into next stitch, chain 1, skip 1 stitch, 3 double crochet into next stitch, repeat from * 3 more times ending with chain 1, skip 1 stitch, double crochet into next stitch, chain 1, skip 1 stitch, single crochet into next stitch, chain 1, skip 1 stitch, double crochet into next stitch, chain1, join to turning chain with slip stitch. Finish off.

I sewed them on and that was that! Its super cute and I hope that Addison will agree. I can't wait to see her and get a picture of the cutie wearing it!

the Vogue Scarf- Part I

For Christmas my Aunt Shelly gave me this AMAZING (seriously, one of the top best gifts ever) peel-a-day-off calendar that had a new stitch from Vogue Knitting on each day. I know you're not supposed to, but I went through the whole calendar and picked a stitch to use with another amazing Christmas gift I got... this beautiful dark turquoise yarn from my step-Grandmother, Rosemary. So this stitch was from August 26th and I hate to say that it was actually called the Faggoting Pattern (I swear, it was in VOGUE) but this was the one that I felt worked best with what I was trying to make. Just to prove this is a real thing (Faggoting Lace), check out this... believe me now?

I guess this term explains a Lace-type pattern in which every stitch is either an increase or a decrease... which explains my YO, and K2tog pattern well. The YO adds one on, the pulling two knit stitches together takes one away. Whatever.

It was actually an easy pattern:
Knit 1, Yarn Over (YO), Knit 2 together (K2tog)

This obviously has to be cast in multiples of three, and I chose to cast on 27 stitches because I wanted it to be nice and thick.

It's literally just that same row over and over. Once I got in the groove, it went pretty fast. It's nice and long and took exactly 2 skeins to create. I used size 6 circular needles (I find it easier to use circulars easier sometimes, especially for the smaller needles) and it was just a Cascade 220 Superwash Wool. I love it! It's a bouncy scarf and I have one skein left to make a hat with next!

So thanks to my family members who contributed to this, I am actually going to KEEP this one for myself :-)

PS- does this need tassels? I can't decide!

Baby BenJAMin Set

One of my favorite people that I've met in Chicago is someone who I worked with at my first job in the Windy City. He was my team lead with like 5 degrees from Northwestern and the respect of everyone in the office... and then he became a great teacher and mentor for me, and although our professional lives have taken separate turns, he remains one of the smartest, however angriest, yet kindest (but we won't tell) people I know. Mike is a good friend, a buddy, a confidant and still the smartest guy I know. Him and his beautiful wife, Corrin just had their first baby on January 10th, 2011.

I had originally started making a yellow baby blanket (yellow because we didn't know the sex) but it just didn't seem personal enough because I've literally made a baby blanket for every baby that has been born since I started knitting. I wanted to do something different, and lets be honest... I have yet to finish the blanket. boo.

Anyway- I made this ADORABLE (I must say) hat and baby mittens... Here is how:

I used the basic hat pattern but since I was using a chunky yarn and it is for an infant, I had to adjust it to work. I cast on 40 stitches to size 13 double pointed needles and joined to knit in the round on three needles. This is actually the first hat I've ever made on DPN's so it was a rough start. I simply did K2, P2 ribbing until the hat was maybe 7 inches (enough to roll a brim). I decreased by following the pattern for 6 stitches and K2tog. Then did a round of knitting the knit's and purling the purl's. Then 5 stitches in the pattern and K2tog. Then a round of knitting the knit's and purling the purl's... and so on and so forth until it was like 4 loops left in which I used a darting needle to finish. Then I made a pompom for the top in a floppy style and sewed it on. Super cute.

For the mittens, I cast on 16 stitches to the DPN's and followed the same ribbing for 6 rows. Then I did straight garter stitch for another 2 inches. To close I did one round of K2tog for the whole row, followed by another of just a knit round. Then another of K2tog and sewed it shut with a darting needle. I read that you should never make these tiny little hand warmers without something to tie them together as they would be easily lost. I did a tight braid and pulled the knot on the end through with a crochet hook. And that's that!

I hope to see Baby Benjamin James this week to have him model my new set :-) Congrats Mike and Corrin!

The Ruffle Scarf- Part 2

An oldie but a goodie, I had to repost this fun and very well received scarf as a part II. Please see my first Ruffle Scarf blog for the pattern!

This one was made for one of my new favorite people, Debbie Corcoran. She is the wife of a guy I work with... someone who I actually hired as our new Salesforce.com trainer and has not only exceeded our expectations in becoming a great trainer but become a wonderful friend, confidant, co-worker, and party buddy extraordinaire. We recently had our annual company meeting and kickoff, and significant others were flown in to join in the fun... Kevin brought his wife Debbie who I've had the pleasure of meeting and hanging out with this past weekend. I gave her this scarf to force her to like me (I mean how can they not with a handmade gift!) and welcome her to FREEZING Chicago for the first time.

So... welcome to Chicago, Corcoran's!

Mom's Piano Scarf

Let me start by saying that this silly scarf is the epitome of what blood sweat and tears means to my knitting career. It was by FAR the most difficult and frustrating project I've ever worked on, but also the most satisfying to offer as a gift. Especially to my mom, who knows the meaning of homemade projects and appreciates them more than anyone I know.

My mom is a piano teacher and fellow craft enthusiast, so once I had started knitting, I had this picture in my mind of knitting a scarf that looked like a piano keyboard. I had no idea what kind of undertaking this could turn into when trying to find a pattern that was JUST what I wanted (since obviously I stubbornly passed on several easier versions as I already knew exactly what I wanted it to look like). My knitting teacher and guru, Lisa, helped me put together a double-knit pattern from a simple piano chart that I found online here.

I honestly couldn't even tell you how she helped me cast that bad boy on, but using a ball of white and black each in Cascade 220 yarn, I (Lisa) cast on 39 stitches of EACH yarn in alternating colors. I placed a stitch marker where the black keys would end, so I knew (and didn't have to count each row) where to change colors mid-row on some of the rows on the chart.

So basically everything was knit or purl... but you were doing it at the same time, holding both yarns together. Whatever yarn you were knitting with, was the color that you wanted to be on that side... so if you were doing white keys, you'd be knitting with the white and holding that yarn with your index finger. Whatever color was the opposite of what you were knitting, you were purling that one and holding it on your middle finger. Following the chart, the first row was read right to left and knit with that color. The second row, and all subsequent even rows were read from left to right and knit with opposite color of what was shown. It took me a good 4-5 hours to get the hang of knitting with two yarn, one on each finger, till I could finish one row mistake free in under 20 minutes.

I had a fairly major setback about 7 inches into the scarf where I took an ambien for sleep... DO NOT KNIT WHILE ON AMBIEN. I basically "slept knit" and without following any resemblance of a pattern knotted my poor scarf into oblivion. Since I knew I couldn't cast on again by myself, I spent the better part of 6 hours taking out (unknitting) what I had done.

Ironically enough, my mom saw this mistake and knew it would take a miracle to recover from that enough to continue on with the scarf let alone finish it (this was in October). She even said she would be happy with a potholder of the piano pattern (liar) but I knew I was somehow going to make this happen for Christmas. That being said, I think I spent an average of 4 hours a day for the next 2 months working on that silly scarf and now am so glad I did, as it was truly one of my most proudest crafting accomplishments and I was thrilled to give it to mom for Christmas.

So the finished product is essentially two scarves in one... the front being white with black keys and the back being black with white keys. I learned that in double knitting you have to always start each row with a purl, and make sure you twist the yarn at the beginning of each row so that your two scarves stay sewn together as you go. And again, always hold the yarn you're knitting with on the index finger and the purling yarn on the middle finger. Other than following the chart, there wasn't much else too it... but this in NO WAY says that it was easy from here! Admittedly, this scarf made me cry and then of course made me even more determined to conquer the damn thing!

I actually wasn't sure how to bind off for this one, and after taking the scarf with me to a knitting shop AND having a neighbor take a look, we decided that the best method would be to bind off using the black yarn only, and just weave the white in. It looks only okay... I don't love it... but it works and I was honestly just happy to call it a completed project! I made mine to be a full keyboard of 88 keys (on each side obviously since it's essentially two scarves in one) and all in all ended up using almost 3 full hanks of Cascade 220 of each color on size 7 circular needles.

After I finished this scarf, I found THIS site that shows an almost identical project. It just offers additional insight as to how I got this done.

I have heard a few times that "knitting a sweater is like saying 'I love you' 150,000 times in a row" and as corny as that is, with the work and effort I put into each of my projects (especially this one) it is really true. I love you mom, at LEAST 150,000 times.

The Cabled Bag

I had been thinking about how I could break out of my "Scarf and Hat" knitting plateau so I tried to find something that I could knit that wouldn't be a scarf, or a hat, or a disaster. This Cabled bag actually came out really cool, but I can't decide what to do with it now that it's made. I'm not sure it's cool enough to actually use as a bag. I thought about giving it to one of my friends (who ironically enough ended up getting a scarf) for Christmas, but I didn't want to put them in a situation like "hey, here's this really ugly purse that you'll now be forced to use since I handmade it and you'll feel guilty if you don't." I know, I'm so thoughtful.

Anyway, I will probably make another because I bought 3 sets of handles and it was fun to make, soooooo, if anyone would like a bag that looks like this, please let me know so I can knit for a purpose. :-)

I found the pattern here

but following is another illustration of the pattern:

STITCH EXPLANATION:

CABLE PATTERN
Set up Row (WS): K1, *k2, p6, rep from * to last 3 sts, end k2, k1.
Row 1 (RS): K1, *p2, 3/3 LC, p2, k6, rep from * twice, p2, 3/3 LC, p2, k1.
Row 2 & all WS rows: K1, *k2, p6, rep from * to last 3 sts, k2, k1.
Rows 3, 5, & 9: K1, *p2, k6, rep from * to last 3 sts, p2, k1.
Row 7: K1, *p2, k6, p2, 3/3 LC, rep from * twice, p2, k6, p2, k1.
Row 11: Knit.
Row 12: Rep Row 2.

STITCH EXPLANATION
3/3 LC (3 over 3 left cross)
Slip 3 sts to cable needle and hold in front, k3, then k3 from cable needle.


BACK
Cast on 60 sts.
Work Set-up Row.
Work Cable Pattern Rows 1-12, 3 times, Rows 1-8 once. Slip sts to st holder.

FRONT
Work same as Back.

FINISHING
Sew side and bottom seams.

Handles
Transfer sts from first st holder back onto needle. From WS, insert crochet hook through first purse Handle and draw up a loop. Bring yarn around ring and draw a second loop through the first loop and through the first st on needle. Slip st off needle. Continue to work crochet wrap in this manner across remaining sts, then continue to work crochet wrap into ring Handle alone until ring is covered. Repeat for sts on other st holder and second ring Handle. Weave in ends.

Now, I actually followed this pattern word for word and the ONLY thing I didn't end up doing was covering all the handles with the yarn because I got halfway done and decided it looked better like it was. I even used Lionbrand yarn- the "thick and quick" in a basic "taupe" color. I thought the cabled pattern was really nice though and came out well. I'm thinking I may use the same pattern to make a cabled scarf. But then there I go again with the scarf thing... I am going to be the old lady with too many scarves and a cat. Ugh.

SO there you have it. I shall call it the "cool to make but ugly cabled bag that nobody wants" project. Unless of course somebody wants it... LMK.

Dave's Girly Hats

Two little sweethearts, Adelaide and Havana, are the daughters of my boss, Dave. I wanted to make them something cute and pink, partially because they are so darn adorable and mostly because I'm such a brown-noser (remember the boss's wife's wine coozie? yeah)... but really because I just love making stuff for kids.

I picked out this AWESOME yarn from a little yarn shop in the South Loop of Chicago in neon pink. It's just a chunky/bulky weight acrylic wool blend and required a size 13 needle. I also used a hold-along yarn called "bebop" by Crystal Palace that was a mixture of neon green, pink and whatever else fuzz.

For Adelaide, who's a bit older, I cast on 56 stitches on size 13 circulars holding the two yarns together. I just did a simple garter stitch so it would curl up at the brim. I did this for 6 rows around. Then I switched to size 11 needles and did about 4 more rows of garter and started the decrease.

For Havana, I cast on 48 stitches and followed the exact same process.

For the Decrease- I counted 6 stitches in knit, then knit two together. Then knit a row. Then 5 stitches knit, knit two together, then knit a row... so on and so forth until I knit two together all the way around. I used a darting needle to close the top.

For the pompom, I literally just wrapped both yarn around two fingers a whole bunch of times, tied it, and then cut the circle open and fluffed it out. Easy enough.

I know my boss will take a picture of them wearing these for me, so stay tuned :-)