Baby Sheep Hat

I've been working on a few baby things lately.  Here is a sheep hat I made with a different color combination than Melissa Burt's pattern Baby Sheep Hat based on the Sheep Yoke Cardigan by Jennifer Little (available on Ravelry).  I have a few other hats and socks I need to get pictures of someday!

Meet Parker Boling!

Brooke (our niece) and Gregg  just had their new baby girl - Parker Boling.  She was born on November 15th, 4:42 a.m., 8 lbs, 7 ozs.  Isn't she cute?

Baby Booties!

I have been into making baby foot wear lately.  After a lot of experimentation, I came up with this crochet pattern.  Each of these booties are made with the same pattern but are made with different yarns and ways of finishing them.  Some have ties, some slip on only and another one has a bow sewed to the front but there is elastic woven into the cuff.  After I took this picture, I added a cream ribbon rose with green accent to the red booties.  It finished them off nicely.  I forgot to take a new picture before I gave them away.  One of my co-workers has a new baby so she will be my tester as to how each one wears or stays on the baby's foot and to what age the booties fit.  After I get all of my notes together, I hope to write up the pattern.

Home At Last......

I am so excited!  We get to go to Seattle today and see our daughter and future son-in-law for the first time in six months!  They are just getting home from their journey of Traveling Around The World.  We also get to meet Carson's mom, brother, his fiance and son, and see our old friend Mo.  I have been looking forward to this for a long, long time.  What a great day!

2 Baby Earflap Hats

I made these two baby earflap hats for some of my co-worker's (one a new mother and one a new grandmother) latest addition to the family . The hat on the left is knitted with Bernat Chunky yarn. I single crocheted a border around the edge with Lion Brand Cotton-Ease. The hat on the right is crocheted from my stash with Red Heart Soft Yarn. I crocheted a flower in Lion Brand Chenille and added a butterfly button.

Crochet Purse - Purple & Green Suede

I made this purse sometime in January and just made up the pattern as I went along.  I took some notes, but now since it has been awhile, I don't if I could write up the pattern easily.  I would have to make it again.  I would still like to line the purse but will have to wait until my sewing machine is repaired.  It can still be used without a lining as there are no holes for items to fall out of.  I used Lion Brand Jiffy green suede yarn and purple suede yarn.  The purse measures a little over 12" wide at the base, 7" across the top, and 8-1/2" tall.  Most of the purse was made in single crochet.  I really like the gold button used from my stash on the flap.  I added a purchased strap from JoAnns.......though I much prefer to buy old purses from Salvation Army, Value Village, etc as you can get real leather straps for a reasonable price.

"HOPE" Hat Pattern

I originally made the “Yes We Can” hat designed by Knitcircus and that inspired me to come up with another design for supporters of Obama. I designed this hat to make for the students at our university who sit out in the cold at the table for Obama in Vendor Row. The hat pictured here is the first one I made using up some of my stash. The colors are similar to the colors of the Obama logo. I plan on making some more using some other color combinations. You can use any colors you wish. Enjoy!

Yarn: Any worsted weight.
Needles: Size 8 – 16” circular needles and size 8 dpns.
Tapestry Needle for duplicate stitch and weaving in ends.
Size: Adult
Colors: Red-R, White-W, and Light Blue-LB

I knit the hat first and weaved in all of the ends and then did "HOPE" in duplicate stitch.

Cast on 80 stitches with red yarn. Join in the round being careful not to twist the stitches. Place marker to mark join.

Rounds 1-5: K2, P2 ribbing.
Rounds 6-8: Join W, knit 3 rounds. (Do not cut white yarn. Let it dangle so you can carry the yarn up on Row 11.)
Rounds 9-10: Join R and knit 2 rounds. (Do not cut red yarn.)
Rounds 11-12: With W knit 2 rounds. (Do not cut white yarn.)
Round 13: With R knit 1 round. (Cut red yarn and leave a tail to weave in later.)
Rounds 14-15: With W knit 2 rounds. (Cut white yarn and leave a tail to weave in later.)
Rounds 16-28: Join LB and knit 13 rows. (Cut light blue yarn leaving a tail to weave in later.)
Rounds 29-36: With W knit 8 rounds. (Hat measures a little over 6” at this point.) Proceed to decrease rounds.

DECREASE ROUNDS: (Change to dpns when necessary.) Continue with white yarn.
Round 37: K8, k2 tog around. (72 stitches) (It helps to place markers during this round after each decrease to make it easier on the following decrease rounds.)
Round 38: Knit.
Round 39: K7, k2 tog around. (64 sts)
Round 40: Knit.
Round 41; K6, k2 tog around. (56 sts)
Round 42: Knit.
Round 43: K5, k2 tog around. (48 sts)
Round 44: Knit.
Round 45: K4, K2 tog around. (40 sts)
Round 46: Knit.
Round 47: K3, K2 tog around. (32 sts)
Round 48: Knit.
Round 49: K2, K2 tog around. (24 sts)
Round 50: Knit.
Round 51: K1, K2 tog around. (16 sts)
Round 52: Knit.
Round 53: K 2 tog around. (8 sts) Cut yarn leaving a 10”-12” tail. Thread yarn in tapestry needle and pass through remaining live stitches twice. Pull yarn tightly to close gap. Weave in end. Weave in all other ends of the hat so it is complete and ready for duplicate stitching.

FINISHING: (I cut my yarn long enough so I could finish all letters with one piece of yarn. I don’t know how long it was……..but it was nice to only have to hide two ends when the letters were completed.

HOPE in Duplicate Stitch (DS) The letters in “HOPE” are done in duplicate stitch. The word “HOPE” is 19 stitches wide and each letter is 7 stitches tall. There are 13 rows of the light blue color in stockinet stitch. Since each letter is 7 stitches tall, there will be three light blue rows both on the top and bottom of your letters. Count 31 stitches to your left from the back of the hat (join). Start at the lower right side of the “E” on the fourth light blue row from the bottom and work in DS to the left. If you are not familiar with duplicate stitch, there are several tutorials and videos online. On my hat, I did one letter at a time and it seemed to look a lot better if you worked right to left and bottom to top. When I was done with the E, I carried the yarn through some stitches back down to the bottom of the chart where the “P” would start and worked that letter upwards. Continue until all letters are finished. Weave in any ends. ENJOY!

I have not had time to test this pattern since I wrote these instructions. Please feel free to contact me if you notice any errors and/or have any questions. Thanks………Tobinknit