Hats.....Hats....and More Hats......

There are two things that seem to go together....winter and hats.  Last holiday season a lot of the family received socks....

This year it was time for a change....so it was time for hats!  Of course you have seen the Minion invasion.....now you can see a variety of other projects that came off the needles this season.

Each hat was different and used a variety of skills.....as you can see below.

My sister-in-law is a very big fan of the Jayne hat and when she saw that I had made one before she wanted one!  So I broke out the needles and got busy knitting her a Jayne hat.  So you can understand her reasoning....her hubby is rather tall and can be easily seen in a crowd.   However,  she is not so lucky and she wanted a hat that was loud enough she could be seen in a crowd...I believe this hat will achieve this for her ;)

The yarn used were Lamb's Pride bulky, colorway "Orange You Glad", Lamb's Pride bulky, colorway "Wild Mustard" and Mirasol Sulka, 208.  If I am to make this hat again, I may have to find a substitute for the Mirasol Sulka yarn because they have discontinued this color.  I am sure I can find a russet color that will work with it....I just have to go on a quest.

My brother-in-law loves the color black and dark grey. When I saw this hat pattern I thought this had Tim's name all over it.  I believe he has a sweater that matches it already ;)  He seemed to like it because he had it on a lot after Christmas.  This hat was a bit of a challenge because of the cable design but it was really fun to knit. 

The pattern is found here:  http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/twisted-raveler 

I used Knit Picks City Tweed Aran/HW in the color Obsidian (55% Merino Wool, 25% Superfine Alpaca, 20% Donegal Tweed; 100g/164 yds; 4-4.75 sts = 1")

This hat was for my dad.  He loves the color blue and I thought he would enjoy the cabled look of this one.  I didn't get it done in time for him to open it on Christmas day but he did get it the next day.  He would have had it on Christmas had I not messed up the cable design and had to frog the whole thing and start over....Cabling is fun but if you mess up too much in it you have to re-do ;)

The pattern is found here:  http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/happy-husband-hat 

I used Knit Picks City Tweed Aran/HW in the color Cobalt (55% Merino Wool, 25% Superfine Alpaca, 20% Donegal Tweed; 100g/164 yds; 4-4.75 sts = 1")

This hat was for my uncle....he loves fun hats and sock monkeys.  So when I saw this hat pattern I knew it was for him.   All of the color changes and the appliques made for an interesting change from a standard hat.  I believe he enjoyed it too, he laughed and immediately had to try it on ;)

The pattern can be found on Knit Picks website here:  http://www.knitpicks.com/patterns/Sock_Monkey_Hat__D11238220.html 

I used Knit Picks Palette yarn in Oyster Heather, Brindle Heather, and Merlot Heather (100% Peruvian Highland Wool; 50g/231 yrds; 7-8 sts = 1")


So as you can see, it was a busy hat knitting season.....now on to the next project ;)

Shopping....Shopping....Shopping

Well as part of my holiday knitting I thought I would do my part for saving the environment.  So I knitted a variety of shopping/market bags.  These were fun to make and are completely washable.  As you can see below the handle is nice and wide, so it will withstand quite a load.  The bag itself is knitted like mesh so it will stretch quite well to hold quite a bit.

I used this pattern for the shopping bags and it was really easy to follow and fun to knit:
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/ilene-bag

This shopping bag was for my sister.  I made it with Gedifra Licati 1823 (84% cotton/16% Polymide, 50g/60m) using two different circular needle sizes.  The base and sides use a US 9 (5.5 mm) and the top and handle use a US 7 (4.5 mm).

As you can see the cat enjoys the bag as well ;)

I also made a variety of bags using two different colors as you can see below.

 

This shopping bag was for my sister-in law in Europe.  I went with neutral colors because I thought that the color combination was nice.  I used Knit Picks Cotton Dishi yarn (100% cotton, 100 g/190 yds, 4.5 sts= 1") in Linen and Coffee using two different circular needle sizes.  The base and sides use a US 9 (5.5 mm) and the top and handle use a US 7 (4.5 mm).

This shopping bag was for my aunt.  I went with her favorite color red.  I really liked the color combination.  I used Knit Picks Cotton Dishi yarn (100% cotton, 100 g/190 yds, 4.5 sts= 1") in Linen and Fiesta Red using two different circular needle sizes.  The base and sides use a US 9 (5.5 mm) and the top and handle use a US 7 (4.5 mm).

This shopping bag was for my mom.  I went with a beautiful shade of blue which reminds me of the water.  It also turned out really nice.  I used Knit Picks Cotton Dishi yarn (100% cotton, 100 g/190 yds, 4.5 sts= 1") in Linen and Azure using two different circular needle sizes.  The base and sides use a US 9 (5.5 mm) and the top and handle use a US 7 (4.5 mm).

So now the ladies are ready to go shopping......I have two more that I am working on but I will post them after I finish them.

On to the next project.......

Oh My How Time Flies.......

So now that the holiday knitting season is over and almost everyone has received their gifts it is time to start posting the results!!!!

So let me start by saying this has been a fun holiday knitting season with a variety of projects....but let me start out with the hats....

I believe this year was the year of the Minion hat.....for I think I knitted six of them....so if you are in Europe you may see a few of them especially around the French, German, and Swiss border ;).  These hats used a bit of crochet in addition to the knitting.  The crochet was used for the eyes and goggle bands as well as the mouths. 

The pattern was found here:  http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/despicable-me-minion-hat-2

As you can see here they came in a variety of shapes and sizes.

This hat was completed with Knit Picks Swish Worsted yarn (100% Superwash Merino Wool/123 Yards/5.5 sts=1") in Honey with accents in Black, White and Cobblestone Heather.

 These hats were created with Knit Picks Brava yarn (100% Premium Acrylic/100g/218 yds/4.5-5 sts=1") in Canary for the main portion of the hat with accents in Black, White, and Cobblestone Heather.

So, I have a bit of practice now with Minion Hats.....now on to the next project!!!!!