Yarn Storage

 

I once was a shoe hoarder.  Shoes for work, shoes for walking, dressy shoes, casual shoes, dancing shoes.  Flat shoes, high heeled shoes, shoes to match my purses.....you get the idea.  Well, now that I'm in my mid 50's, I only wear about 4 or 5 pair and they easily fit in the bottom of my closet.  What to do with my shoe racks?  Yarn storage, of course!  

Have a great weekend,

Sheila

Purls of Wisdom:

No ruler handy to measure a work in progress?  Most everyones pinky knuckle measures one inch.

Baby Slouchy Hats Pattern!

 

I'm a big fan of Bohoknits Sockhead Hat pattern.  It's my go-to pattern for traveling, adult gift giving and knitting-to-relax.  I decided to write a pattern for babies and toddlers as I often need a baby shower gift.  Also, a new mom will get plenty of blankets at the party.  

It's a relatively quick knit and a great project for your left over sock yarn.  The 2 x 2 rib makes for a very stretchy band to fits lots of wee noggins!

The yarn for this one is by indie dyer Abi Grasso.  You might know her from her fabulous picture yarns she has in her Etsy shop.  This particular yarn is Sparkly Sock Yarn in Nebula Cloud.  You can get quite a few hats from one skein as it is 460 yards/420m.  This would make for a fun adult hat too!

 This yarn is one skein of Madeline Tosh Merino Light in Cosmic Wonder Dust.  I love this one as it reminds me of a cupcake.  How cute would this be if you presented it in a little cupcake box?  

This box has little cupcake toys in it.  I have found these boxes in Hobby Lobby, Sur Le Table, Walmart and Michael's.  You can find my pattern for the cupcakes in my pattern stores.  The link is at the top of my blog page or below, at the end of this post.

The pattern includes instructions for making a hat from baby to child size.

Here's the information for the hats:

I would rate this as a advanced beginner or better knitter. You need to know how to knit in the round on circular needles and use double point needles. Increase and decrease skills are also needed. 

Knit up these cute little slouchy hats for a baby, toddler or child. All three sizes provided. Great project to use up your sock yarn.

Complete instructions are included along with yarn brands and shop links needed to complete as pictured.

Mix and match all your leftovers and make stripes!

This is a copyright pattern. Selling, copying or distributing this pattern in any form is prohibited. 

*******Selling the finished product is permitted*******

 Now, a little info about the display.  I have always found it difficult to photograph baby hats on something other than a live baby.  My "baby" is 22 years old and does a great job as my model for adult wear, but what to do about baby hats?

To the rescue....Tamara Kelly of Moogly fame.  Just LOOK at her great idea below and the very cute hats!  Her pattern is free, too!

I adore her idea I first saw on Instagram and contacted her right away.  She explained to me that she used pieces of a olive oil container she has had for some time.  Off to the stores I go!

I found these at Hobby Lobby.  The container on the left is from the craft side of the store where they have glass containers.  The one on the right is from the floral department.  I just took the lid off the jar and put the "fishbowl" on top of it, bottom side up.  I used a little sticky tack to keep the two pieces together.  I think it worked out great! 

Here's a little better photo, before I photoshopped the lines out, of the two pieces together.  

Well, that's it for this week.  Thanks for stopping by,

Sheila

Find my Slouchy Hats for Baby in my pattern stores

Etsy

Craftsy

Ravelry 

Purls of Wisdom:

I find that giving a simple hat as a gift a little uninteresting.  To make it special, it's all in the box.  Think out of the box, so to speak.  Use a cupcake box, like the one above or...

 

look at this sweet Mary Engelbreit hat box.  And this faux tree log box below.  I found all of them at a thrift store for $2.00 each.  The tree log box had potpourri in it.  So, when you run across a container that looks interesting, take it home!

New Pattern! Urban Infinity Scarf

 

I have so much super bulky weight (6) in my stash, taking up so much room, that it had to go!  Of course, it makes room for more yarn buying.

Urban Infinity is a super easy knitting pattern to use up all of YOUR super bulky weight, squishy goodness.  Large needles make for a quick and affordable project.

I love the drop stitch, but find that dropping the stitches can be slow.  I've used a twisted drop stitch that allows you to create a drop stitch without actually dropping.  Also, no purl stitches.  Yay!

Fringe along the sides adds a bit of whimsy. 

This is 3 skeins of Loops & Threads Chunky from Michael's.

 

The pattern includes different brands of super bulky weight and three different sets of large needles to get the most out of the yardage.  This one is one skein of Malabrigo Rasta.

 

 

You can't go wrong with basic black.  This will be my go-to pattern for gift giving this year.  One skein of Lion Brand Thick & Quick yarn and a couple hours is all it takes.  If you've got leftover balls in your stash, knitting one up in different colors would be fun, or use up the balls on just the fringe.

 

This is one skein of cotton t-shirt yarn by Lion Brand.  It's a bit heavier than the rest, but perfect in the fall when wool is too warm around the neck.

You can find the pattern here

Etsy

Craftsy

Ravelry

Thanks for stopping by,

Sheila

Purls of Wisdom:

I measure my infinity scarves by letting it drape around my neck, with the needles still in stitches. When the two ends reach past my waist, I bind off.

More Sockhead Hats

I don't know what it is, but I love knitting Sockhead Hats!  Maybe it's the one skein project I love.  Or, maybe, it's the fact that it's great for anyone.  It also could be the mindless knitting that we all love, or the need for a small take along diddy.  Of course, I think it's all of the above.

To be honest, I have been knitting these for the last few weeks as 3 deaths have been on my mind and mindless knitting was the medicine of choice.  

A lovely girl I went to Jr. High, high school and college with, passed away after fighting liver cancer.  Her struggle was long and difficult often times enduring this all on her own.  Never has there been a sweeter person.  A few of us girls from high school will be attending the memorial this Thursday.  I popped over to Michaels and picked up single, purple flowers, one for each of us to lay on her memorial table.  Purple and white are the colors of our high school.

The second was fellow blogger Wink.  I'm sure you have all read about this sad event from social media.  So sad.  I "talked" to her a number of times on her blog and felt like I knew her just the same as if I did in person.

The third was the death of the homeowner who lives in a house I owned located in Des Moines, Iowa. Very tragic.  

Anyway, enough with the sad and on with the good!  Life does go on no matter what and so knitting has helped me move forward.  Thanks for "listening". 

Back to the hats.....

They make a great graduation gift. Perfect for all those long walks on campus to class.

I love the all day comfort with great style.

I used 

Fiesta Baby Boom in Painted Desert for the band, and

Fiesta Baby Boom in Taos for the hat portion.

I've misplaced the yarn band for this one, sorry.

This one is Patons Kroy in Rusty Stripes.

Here's the link to my Ravelry page

and

here's the link to the pattern designer

Thanks for stopping by, 

Sheila

Purls of Wisdom:

If you have difficulty joining in the round and keeping your stitches from twisting after the cast on, here's what I do.  I knit back and forth for a few rows then join to knit in the round.  I sew up the little gap it makes with the cast on tail.