Easy Peasy re-visited

....Please pause for a station identification break


A long long time ago, (2007) I posted a hat pattern here on my blog that I use for charity knitting. It is quick and easy and pretty much mindless so you can knock out a whole bunch of 'em in a short order of time.

 I have noticed an increase in the number of searches for it, so since there has been such a renewed interest in it and ... since winter is on it's frigid way...somewhere, sorry - not here by my definition anyway, I thought I would re-post this one for everyone who has taken an interest, here is it...Ta Da....my Easy Peasy Charity Hat Pattern re-visited.

There are a coupley of ways to get this pattern. You can click on the link above or to your right if you're a Ravelry member and get it as a PDF file. You can click here and it will take you to the original post.

Or you can shoot me a note and I would be happy to send you the PDF file if you do not belong to Ravelry and are unable to download it.

I also want to thank everyone for your continued interest in my hat pattern and my silly meanderings. It really does give me the warm fuzzies when I see another search for it. I love seeing where everyone is from!

And now...back to that damn wimple... or maybe that footie sock I am really working on.

Smells like Fall

It's that time of year again when the crisp smell of the air hits me, leaves are starting to fall and I start thinking cold weather accessories. Oh wait... I do that all year long.



Last year at Stitches I bought this huuge hank of lace weight yarn. Why? because I mistakenly thought I was going to make one of those pretty lacy shawls like CA Dawn makes. Rrriiight! Like that is going to happen.



I have had my eye on this hood/ snood/wimple/cowl or what ever you want to call it, for some time now. Wavy Feathers Wimple (Rav link) is a lace project, and we all know how those usually go for me. Still, all in all it seems to being going pretty well for me. The original is made from Quvit, which we saw at stitches for a mere $70 a teeny tiny ball. Mine is a merino wool if I remember right, and somewhere in the 6 or 7 balls of yarn I got out of it there is a label. Probably not going to keep me warm in the dead of winter or even on Polar Plunge Day, but I should look awful darn cute in it.



Raine spent Saturday night with me and decided she was going to take up knitting, again.

"For real?" I say.. " and you're going to finish it? Remember the bean bag you never finished?"

"Mommy lost the bean bag" (naturally she blames her mother)

"Ok" I say, and I dug out some chunky yarn and chunky needles, taught her to cast on and gave her the refresher on the knit stitch. 3 rows later I was fast asleep on the couch!

She went home on Sunday and well, there are still only 3 rows.

Not content to have an unfinished sweater, or the unfinished wimple and now a stole, and probably some other stuff I don't remember, but I needed the mindless knit of a scarf too.

I bough some Noro at Stitches this year specifically for the Noro Stripe Scarf by Jared Flood (Rav link). Of course, I never do things exactly the way they are written and I had to make my own modifications here.

To start with, I like my scarves skinnier than what Jared recommends so I started with 36 stitches, and I hate starting a row with a purl so I made it even. I love that it is mindless but doesn't look like it is mindless. And a girl can't have too many scarves now can we? I'm thinking maybe if I have enough yarn I may make a matching hat too.

Now to just figure out where to set up my sewing machine this year to start my hats for homeless project.

Bountiful Monday!

Oh I know it is already Wednesday  but I have had a pretty busy couple of days with the snowfall and all that- but anywho- on Monday when I returned to work I found a box waiting for me from Lynda who lives in Sunny California! Last year Lynda very kindly helped me out tremendously with my Hats for Homeless project and twice sent me a box of hats and scarves to give to the homeless shelter. Lynda doesn't blog but she read them, which is how she found me...as well as knit and crochet and she is very generous. 

This is what was in the wonderful package that was waiting for me at work! 21 fleece scarves, 20 pairs of gloves, 17 knitted hats and 4 fleece hats! I know the shelter is going to be so pleased with this gift. I have 16 more hats cut out and ready to sew this week as well as a donation of fleece from another co-worker to make more with. 

Here is my Crazy Co-Worker Vicki, who after a year of working with her she now tells me she wants to learn to knit! Well thank goodness she is a smart cookie under all her silliness because we don't have much of the year left for her to learn, and she picked it up like a long time knitter! I gotta say... I'm pretty proud of her! She can even talk and knit at the same time! I just love sharing my addiction with others!! I told her before long she will be able to watch TV and knit.

Then my Monday got even more exciting. When I got home, I logged into Ravelry and found a message waiting for me from Irishgirlie knits (a blog/Rav buddy)! I won some really fantastic Christmasy sock yarn from her blog!!! How exciting...it just keeps getting better and better! I never win blog contests so I can tell you I 'bout fell off my chair. I have been doing the Snoopy Dance ever since. IRISHGIRLIE YOU ROCK! Make sure you stop by her blog, she knits up some really fab stuff!

Hat time again!

The change in seasons is clearly upon us now. This is my favorite time of year, I love when the leaves change and the air is crisp. Brodie is completely fascinated with the fallen leaves and is driving me up a wall wanting to go outside and play. He spends a good part of the day begging to go out, and running circles around me in the yard, tasting leaves.

With the colder weather here, I am reminded again of those less fortunate. So I dug around in my sewing supplies for the fleece remnants I bought earlier in the year and dragged out my sewing machine (one of the best Christmas presents ever). I cut the fleece into 23x15 inch rectangles and made some simple hats for my homeless project. Last year I knitted several hats and scarves to donate to my local homeless shelter, but this year I decided that it would be much quicker to sew fleece hats instead. I just felt like I could potentially cover more heads that way.

The economy being what it is today, I fear there will be even more people on the streets here than ever. Even though I am living in a frugal state right now, (by choice) I have the ability to help out where I can. Most people have their pet charities, this one happens to be mine. I think that is probably due to the number of homeless people I see in my line of work so I am very conscious of the fact while I sit inside my nice warm home, there are several someone's out there with no shelter at all. Here are the three that I made so far today. No way I could have knitted three in one afternoon.




While I'm not a completely altruistic person, I still have a selfish streak. I work darn hard for my toys and I am fairly accustomed to buying what I want when I want it. This happens to be one of those times. I found this little beauty at an Etsy shop. I have been wanting one of these for a long time. I knew that I could never have one while I lived with Mr. Narrow-Minded, but here in my own abode... well you get the picture.
What is that you ask?? This just happens to be a hand thrown stoneware French butter dish.

See...butter is packed into the smaller bowl, cold water into the larger bowl.



Then you place the lid on top, like so... This keeps your butter on the counter and spreadable for up to three weeks. Isn't it pretty??? I think our predecessors knew a thing or two. I also prefer to support independent artisans when ever possible, hence the reason I shop Etsy.

Yesterday I got my ears lowered! That's what my dad always called it. I told my friend Nikki that the cute do she gave me last time is the same do that everybody has...I need something different. Since the back was short and stacked I had her blend in the rest of it. Short Sassy and Curly...since that is the way my hair wants to behave anyway (she wanted to do sleek, but straightening these curls is a high maintenance job). I also had my pink extension put in for the Pink Hair for Hope Breast Cancer campaign. I know, kinda hard to see amongst the red curls but she put is the brightest pink she has.

Brodie also had his own campaign going yesterday. To start with, I made the fatal error in thinking he needed to sleep with me. Then he tried waking me up several times between the hours of 2 am and 7 am, which I naturally ignored. And while I was ignoring him, Brodie got himself off the bed and began to terrorize the house.
My fault for thinking he would stay put til a reasonable hour, my fault for being too lazy to throw away my Happy Meal container, my fault for leaving my knitting in an accessible spot, my fault for leaving the closet door open.

He was having a hay day! All over the living room was shredded cardboard, stuffing from one of his babies, itty bitty pieces of one of my hair clips stolen from the dresser, a dowel rod stolen from the closet looking like it had been through a shredder, and I am now one size 8 bamboo DPN short of a complete set.



He appears to be well over his little snit now doesn't he. Clearly he is not ready to sleep in the big bed, especially since he can get on and off by himself now.

But he does lay very nicely on my lap while I knit now, so we are making progress in that area.
And making progress on the Icord scarf. I have the 4 cords finished and started on the contrasting color for the weft cord. It needs to be 200 inches long so I am not even half way there yet...and oh boy, by the time you get to this one you are bored to tears with the monotony of it. I can't wait to be finished with it.


My WIP basket is getting a little too full and my WIP list a little too long so I am going to promise myself some project finishing for the month of October.
Now... back to my sewing machine.

Good Grief Charlie Brown!

Well could I feel any more stupid than I do right now... Sock's for Pete's sake... I can do them in my sleep... well I thought, and well, apparently not. I was happily ripping out my stocking when I noticed, oh horrors of horrors...I forgot to turn the heel... and did I not notice that it looked kinda funny?? Worse, I took a damn picture of it and put it on the Internet, so that nice person in Istanbul that read my blog could see what an idiot I am.

All I can say is Good Grief Charlie Brown! I wonder where my head is sometimes!

Well, I always say that a little public humiliation is also good for the soul...like I don't get enough of that on my job...LOL

Anyway my little stocking is ripped back to the do over part, and sadly, I did not get to work on it. I had planned on running to Hobby Lobby on Monday to look for a green, but I spent the day fighting with Sears to get my washer fixed instead. Fun times!



I think maybe I have Adult ADD! I just flit from project to project, willy nilly. Instead of going to the store in the evening and finishing up one project, I decided to work on the mystery bag...ok the cat is out. It is a bag. Can you tell? I am up to the little snappy parts and then the pocket. The pattern is called Blue Sky Bag from Pursenality Plus. I planned on it to be a Christmas present but if I don't stop spreading my self out I will never be done in time.
Flit again...

I decided I needed to make two pairs of socks for a last minute, overdo Christmas gifts, so I ordered4 skeins of Lorna's Laces charcoal from my favorite Ebay store.
Of course I don't wait for the yarn to get here, but dig around in that ridiculously over stuffed sock yarn bag an pull out a ball of Bamboo yarn from Southwest Trading Co. that I bought at Stitches Midwest this summer.
I have to say, bamboo is absolutely amazing! It feels so incredibly silky on the needles, I can't wait to have it on my foot.Sorry, just another pair of plain ole' boring socks. No exciting pattern for me. I knit for comfort now, since I need to be careful of what I put on my feet. My days of toe socks and cutesy patterns seem to be over.

Here is where I am at with the hats. I currently have 11 finished and 5 scarves. As soon as Sears decides to show up and repair my washer (which better be in the morning) I will get them all washed and packed up to go to the P.A.D.S. shelter. I plan on delivering them along with some donated baby clothes on my next day off, which is Tuesday.

I wanted to have more of them made by now, but I will have to pause on the hat making till I get my other Christmas gifts finished. The little bit of shopping I have done made me realize I am running out of time.

Time to Flit again.

Easy Peasy Charity Hat Pattern

Just your basic hat pattern. This is what works for me. I'll try to be as accurate as possible. writing complete patterns is not my forte, I am usually a chicken scratch type of person with my notes.

Supplies : Size 8 DPN's
#4 worsted weight yarn ( this hat was done in Red Heart Super Saver - to give you an idea of the gauge. I think it tends to weigh in between a worsted and a bulky weight yarn)
Gauge : 5 stitches = 1 inch

Size- Average Adult (child, toddler)
Cast on 80 stitches in your favorite cast on method, (20 stitches on each needle) join to knit in the round without twisting. (72, 64)

Cuff: knit 2 purl 2 for 2 1/2 to 3 inches depending on the size cuff you want.

Cont' in stockinette (knit every round) for 4 1/2 inches (3 1/2, 3)

Decrease rounds: (Note- Decreases are done at the beginning and end of each needle so make sure you still have even amounts on each.)

Knit 1, ssk (slip slip knit) knit to last three stitches on needle, knit 2tog (knit 2 together) knit 1. Repeat on each needle for 1 round.

Next round knit every stitch.

Repeat these two rounds until you have 6 stitches on each needle.
Next round K2tog entire round. Cut yarn and with a tapestry needle draw tail through each stitch, draw closed and weave in ends.



Please note, Red Heart is a very inexpensive yarn, I find the gauge to be a little larger than with a higher quality yarn.

And there you have it, Easy Peasy Hat! Easily adaptable and embellish at will!

Two-Count 'Em Two

I received two invites this month. The first was to Ravelry! I had seen every one talking about it and wondered what all the fuss was about, so I was kinda late in taking the plunge. I felt like I was 9 -bazillion on the list, but it finally came! And Holy Cow, is that place time consuming. I guess once you get your stuff set up it won't be as much of a project in it's self. And pretty cool it is too!
It has forced me to pay more attention to what I am doing with what yarns and what patterns and needles, as well as forcing me to upload more pictures to flickr. All for the better - right?
I do tend to lose myself among everyone else's projects, but it is fun to see what other people are up to. I haven't gotten into the people part of it yet, but have joined a few groups. I have seen some people that have joined hundreds of groups...when do you knit then? I am going to keep my socializing down to a minimum I think. I have add a few projects to my want list thank to Ravelry!

I have found tho, that blogging and Ravelry and forums are time away from knitting, and reading my favorite blogs. I feel like I have gotten behind in both lately. Plus with all the family stuff and extra hours at work lately, I haven't had time for anything else. I don't see how so many people have time to knit such beautiful garments and still have time to spend chatting to other people about what they knit. I guess I am not as good a multi-tasker as I thought!



My second invite came from 25 things for Charity ! I wish I had run across this blog much sooner, I think it would have prompted me to start knitting for charity much earlier in the year. I guess with all the people in need in the world, there can never be enough done. My post can be found here (warning- I was standing on my soap box when I wrote it).


I am up to 9 hats for homeless now and 1 more made for my niece Emily (she's 6).

I use the same basic hat pattern for all of them. I will post it for anyone interested, just as soon as I have time to translate my scattered thoughts onto paper. It is Easy Peasy!

Poor Bingo :(

The strangest thing happened to our poor puppy dog this past weekend. His right ear filled up with fluid. I am not talking his inner ear, or an ear infection like you might think. It is the floppy part of his ear. It was about a 1/2 inch thick!! At first we thought maybe he caught a bee and was having a reaction. (For some reason the crazy dog thinks is fun to get stung) So Mark gave him some Benedril. No go, nothing happened,. Monday I took him to the vet and after several hours of waiting, I notice that his left ear flap started to fill up too. The vet said it was ear hemotoma... in other words, his ear flaps were filling up with blood! I am freaking out now. How can this happen to him. He says, from shaking his head, it is like boxers ears, bruised...BOXERS EARS??? No, my dog does not shake his head a lot. The only thing different was his trip to a new groomer. Now, after talking to the cops at work, I am highly suspicious. Did she get frustrated with his barking?? He likes to talk sometimes. If that is what happened I will be highly pissed! Better that I never find out! The poor baby had to have surgery and now he has to keep stitches in for SIX WEEKS! Plus wear this funny bandage! And to top it off the the vet found a tumor on his mouth (which they removed). Not a good day for me or Bingo!

He looks so sad here, but at least he is home, and happy to report, feeling better, but not to happy about having his head bandaged like that.



I am still plugging away on the Homeless Hats. I now have seven, progress a bit slow due to all the activity. I loaned my camera to my sister in law, so I only have a camera phone picture to share. My basket-o-scarves is slowly becoming a basket-o-hats! I am hoping to have enough soon to make a small difference at the shelter.

Of course the charity work does not end there: Tis the Season for Toys for Tots! This is our annual toy drive and winter coat drive. The officer that I usually assist with this is out of work for several weeks on family leave as he and his wife just had a beauteous baby boy! I am a little overwhelmed right now, but I am sure it will fall into place. I had some assistance tonite with the delivery of signs and what nots. Everything happens so fast this time of year, and calls get busier in general. More crime, sad to say, and, well, just more everything!

I leave in the morning to take a trip to Tennessee to pay my last respects to my Aunt Agnes who passed away on Monday morning. It will be good to see my cousins again, but not under these circumstances. She was another one with the crafty gene. Her favorite craft was crochet, I think she always had something on the hook...runs strong in my family! I think it will be a comfort to her family to have such heirlooms from her and I know she will be missed.

I won't be able to knit much on the trip since I am the primary driver, and haven't figured out yet how to safely knit and drive. My daughter will be going with me but she has never driven in the mountains before so I expect I will be doing most of the driving.

It is going to be a long weekend!

Hats for Homeless

On the Hats for Homeless Front:
So far I have only three hats completed, two adult and one child. I feel like I am making excel ant use of what would otherwise be sitting in the closet waiting to become vintage yarn.
I started out making scarves, those are great one skeiner projects. But then I remembered something that the nurse told me when Sarah was born, babies (people) loose most of their heat through their head, and it is best to keep it covered.
That was when I decided that hats would be a better way of helping the homeless, plus I thought the homeless man that spent the night in our lobby a couple of weeks ago might have appreciated a hat more than a scarf.
So these three hats will get added to the basket o scarves to take to the local PADS shelter (homeless shelter), where I know that they will get used for what they are intended for.

I actually had two more but my girl Raine spied them and absconded with two of them, a pink multi colored one for herself and a green camouflaged one for her new step brother Ethan ( he is 5). I had to make her a new hat this year anyway so I let her take her pick. I thought it sweet she thought of Ethan on her own.
I have burgundy hat on the needles now that I will probably finish tonite. I am going to try to knit a hat a day. Probably a lofty goal, but as the temperature drops I knit faster.
I am trying to recruit a couple of girlfriends into helping. It is a busy time of year, but even if I can get a couple hats each, it will be a help. There are so many people that have so much less than we do.
My mother always said that charity begins at home. I see a lot of unfortunate people in my line of work, so that is where I will begin, in my own community.


On the alpaca front, I dropped of the wall hanging to Alpaca Barb on Friday. She was ecstatic! Seeing her face light up makes every time I ripped it out and started over all worth it! She was going to have it on display this weekend at the alpaca show at the Fairgrounds. I told her we will be able to add to it as she has her other animals shorn for the first time. I think that will be soon, she already gave me a skein for one called Savannah. we will have to add them by three's to keep it symmetrical.

And for payment??? Well all I wanted was a couple of skeins to make myself a hat and scarf, Barb gave me 6 (holy cow!) and then I took one of Savannah to start a square to add to the hanging. So I walked away with an armload of selfish knitting !!

A note on the mill that spun the yarn, I told Barb that I had noticed that some of the skeins had some thin spots and some fatter spots, and that I was surprised at how dirty it was even so far as several skeins had little pieces of straw in them. Not that it detracted from the pleasure of knitting with it but, if I had purchased the yarn, I would have been all over it.
After I washed it the second time you really noticed the difference in the softness, it was incredibly soft! and beautiful!
I told her that I was surprised at the different textures from each animal. I did learn that they are all Suri Alpaca's but she agreed that each animal had a different texture wool.
Just like people I guess.
She has a new mill in California that she is getting her second batch of yarn from. I can't wait to see how that turns out.

Current Project
This is all I can show of this one, suffice to say, I am knitting on size 15's with Knit Picks Wool of the Andes, Blue Ink. It is a nice rich dark blue color, which I noticed with Knit Picks darker yarns that the color tends to adhere to the bamboo needles. I have used this yarn before for felting and it felts up very nicely! Same yarn I used for Mark's hat.

This project is working up very quickly so even with my limited time this week I have managed to get pretty far with it.


And not to forget, I also had chocolate socky #deuce on the needles, which is now complete and my happy feet wore them to work last night!