Sunday, June 26, 2011

Weeks 21 & 22: Finally!

I am so far behind with my posts! Sorry about that. At least I'm still finishing the hats in a timely fashion.  Here's the reveal of my first ever reversible hat! Drum roll please.......
I know, in this photo, not so cute, just a little odd. It looks like a sock gone horribly wrong. Or something you'd see on regretsy.com
(which I highly recommend--their tagline is "Where DIY meets WTF").
 In reality though, super cute. The watermelon inside has some nice pink and white variegation at the base and I think the seed pattern turned out really well.
 Of the two, I actually think I like the stripey side better!  I think I'd like to make just this one to wear around (for the baby, not for me--although I think I could pull it off).  It has a cute little vine right at the top.
 So cute. So drooly.
 This whole project was a interesting math experiment for me--not my strong suit. I started at the top of the watermelon shell and had to figure out how to increase to the regular hat size which is opposite of how I normally do it.
 It turns back and forth really easily. I was kind of concerned about it bunching up and having to tack the hats together, but no need.
 I love these two pictures--Squeaker is looking at one of the cookbooks I just got from my dad. They were my grandmother's and since JM and I love to cook, he passed them on to me. Squeaks is "reading" Quick and Easy Dishes: Favorite Recipes of Home Economics Teachers. My grandmother, Evelyn, was an English teacher for 30 some years and I'm guessing she must have been friends with the home ec teacher because she has a whole series of those books!
He wasn't reading about watermelon recipes, but he did choose a great one called "Heavenly Pineapple Dessert."  It involves gelatin, pineapple syrup, and cool whip.
Hmm. How cute would a pineapple hat be?  I may have to add that to the list.

Here's the hat pattern, which as agreed, features directions for 1: the outer stripey shell, 2. the inner watermelon fruit, 3. both hats as a reversible.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/76597471/reversible-baby-watermelon-hat-knit?ref=v1_other_2

And here's the link for the hat itself:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/76597471/reversible-baby-watermelon-hat-knit

I am hard at work on the hat for week 23!
Take care,
Kate

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Week 22: The teaser

Hey Folks!  I did finish the reversible hat on Sunday. It was dicey for a bit---we're on vacation in St. Louis and I honestly didn't think I would have time to finish it. As of Saturday night I only hat the bottom band of the inside watermelon done.

On Sunday we spent most of the morning with our friend Erin and I knitted my way through the Arch, a quick trip to REI to get a replacement part for our bike trailer, a fabulous lunch at Fitz's, afternoon nap time, and dinner with our friends Bob and Sara (of Francine's Bunny Hat) at the Tap Room. It was a lot of knitting, but a great fun day!  I'll have pictures and the patterns up soon--hopefully tomorrow.

Take care,
Kate

Monday, June 13, 2011

Week 21: Halfway done (with the reversible that is)....

Ahh, so cool and delicious looking!  I finished part one of my reversible watermelon hat last night. Since one of my goals is to have a picture of Squeaker every week over the course of a year, I needed a picture of him in the partially finished hat. 
 He was very intrigued by the stitch marker that was hanging in his face and by the trail of yarn attached to the hat.
 
It looks so good! I love the stripes and the colors are great. I have the other side to the hat mapped out in my head--the green rind, the white inner layer, a light pink layer, then darker pink with black seeds for the "meat" of the fruit.  I think the trick is going to be getting the sizing right so one hat easily turns into the other.
I'll keep you posted on the progress!
 Take care,
Kate

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Week 20: The eggplant hat and a verdict

You can already tell this kid is going to grow up to be a ham. Look how big he's getting!  
This hat is so cute and so eggplant-y. 
It's made using beautiful cotton yarn. Colors are perfect. 
It has three leaves and a teeny-tiny little I-cord at the top. Just like a real eggplant!


Squeaks with his favorite toy--a Fisher Price phone, circa 1986; a great garage sale find at $0.25!  

On to the verdict! This is concerning the "is it cheating" question. I polled my knitting friends and it was a split vote. So, I decided that I am going to make the reversible watermelon hat and count it as two hats, but in the pattern I will provide the instructions for not one, not two, but three hats!  1--The watermelon shell, 2--The delicious pink watermelon inside, 3--The directions for the two together as a reversible. I think that seems fair. I'm starting on the stripey outside of the watermelon tonight!

Take care,
Kate

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Week 20: Aubergine, melongene, brinjal, or guinea squash

In common nomenclature: the eggplant. Did you know the eggplant is in the same family as nightshade/tomatoes/potatoes? Me neither. I have 3 eggplant seedlings just waiting to get settled in the garden, hopefully this weekend!

The hat I have in progress for this week involves the perfect eggplant-colored-yarn. 
Don't you see it and think, "Mmmm, ratatouille....eggplant parmesan....baba ghanoush...." I can't wait!

Take care,
Kate

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Week 19: Sunflowers

I grew up on a grain farm--corn and soy beans. I think there are equal parts of dirt and blood running through my veins. When I was a kid, maybe 6 or 7, I planted a sunflower garden. It was a huge, thick patch of sunflowers lining the fence in the backyard. It was beautiful and I was such the proud little gardener. The flowers flourished, blossomed, went to seed, and were returned to the soil. The next year, much to my farmer father's dismay, the fields were full of sunflowers. I moved away from that farm when I was 19, but there was still evidence of my first foray into flower gardening. Needless to say, I was never allowed to plant sunflowers again.

 The hat for week 19 pays homage to the sunflowers of my childhood. 
I made a plain brown hat with some lovely cotton yarn, then made several yellow petals and stitched them into place. It actually looks like a sunflower if you check it out from the aerial view. 
If I were to make this hat again, I would make another set of smaller petals to stitch on top of the other layer, to fill things in a bit. Alas, not enough time for that detail. I finished it at about 10pm Sunday night. We were staying with friends that night and I was very pleased because when my friend Janelle saw it, she immediately asked, "Is it a sunflower?"
We spent Sunday night with my friend Janelle--who I've known since kindergarten, her husband Nathan, and their adorable daughter, of giraffe hat fame. This picture was too, too, too cute. I have plans to display it at their wedding.


Should you be interested.
Take care,
Kate