Double Warm Hat

This FO is all about me. It's no secret that this winter has hit me hard. I've complained about to everyone I know and complete strangers alike. But in case you missed the memo: I. Hate. Winter.

I don't mind a little cold. Heck, I even like snow. But the kind of bitter cold we've been having this winter just saps my will to live, or, on less melodramatic days, my will to leave the house. 

So I made myself a hat. An extra warm hat. Double warm, if you will. I call it that because it's actually two hats, one inside the other. The pattern comes from Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitting Without Tears, and like all her patterns, it's delightfully simple.

I made the brown hat first, just a simple roll-brim number  in the size I would normally make it. The only difference was that I used the provisional cast-on instead of my usual long-tail start. Once the brown hat was done, I removed the waste yarn, joined in the blue-gray color and commenced to make the other hat in the opposite direction.

When done, just push one hat inside the other and voila: a doubly warm, fully reversible, awfully cunning hat.

Okay, so there's one thing I like about winter. My new hat.

Zoe's Baby Hat

Another long time between posts. January's finished objects seemed to all be gifts that needed to be kept under wraps until after given. I know, I know. Most people do their gift knitting and giving in December. But, as usual, I'm just a little bit off the beam.

One of the things I made in January was a baby hat for Zoe, a friend's first grandbaby. 

I don't know Zoe, but I'm acquainted with her Big Mama, so something classic but classy seemed in order. Basic with a little bit of flair. So a simple hat with a flourish of cables was settled upon.

I'm a little addicted to cables now that I've practiced them more. Ordinarily I'm all about the flashy colors, but I like the way the texture of the cables looks on a solid color.

So, inspired by Zoe, I am now learning to read charts and making a cabled scarf for myself.

Knit One, Save One Hats

Have been neglecting my FO blog during the holidays, but I wanted to start the new year off right.

During my time off, I made a few of these little hats for Save the Children's Knit One, Save One Campaign. Save the Children distributes hats like this in developing countries, where something as simple as a baby hat is beyond the means of many new mothers and could make the difference between life and death for a low-birthweight baby.

These little hats are easy to make, easy to take along as a portable project, and awfully cute when done.

Red Scarf

Made this red scarf for the Orphan Foundation of America's Red Scarf Project. Managed to get it mailed in on time despite all the holiday craziness lately.

Baby Hats and Bright Colors

This week I made 2 baby hats for the Caps to Cape-Haitien project, which you can read about here.

As I was making these, I started thinking about color. Color is one of my favorite things about knitting. I love watching the way two colors come together as they grow away from the needle. And I love the way that colors in variegated yarn pool as the stitches accumulate.

But if you know me in person, you might not guess how much I love color. Oh sure, I wear lots of colors. But all of them are in the earth-tone family. My dress shirts are a little brighter. There are 6 of them hanging in my closet. Four are different shades of blue. The other two are the same shade of pink.

I think that's one reason why I like knitting for charity so much, and for kids in particular. I can use bright colors that I would never wear myself.

So if you see some yarn that calls to you but you can't think of how you would use it because it's not your usual taste, consider making something for one of the many charitable knitting or crocheting groups on Ravelry or anywhere else on the internet. 

Because we can all use a good excuse to buy more yarn.

Afghan Squares

Made these for the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. There's a lovely woman in my home state of Louisiana who assembles them into finished afghans, so this project couldn't be easier: just knit some 6x6 squares, don't even have to weave in the ends. 

If you're on Ravelry, check out the Afghans for Pine Ridge group. Great way to bust some stash while helping to keep people who live in a harsh climate warmer.

More Dash Cloths

Can't stop making these little suckers. Here's a pic of a couple of them taken with my iPhone. I've said it before and I'll say it again: this pattern is perfect for Mason-Dixon fans, because it's like the love child of the Baby Genius Burp Cloth and the Ballband Dishcloth.

It's a good thing I have a place to donate all these, because seriously. Can't. Stop. Making. Them.