1 down, 23 to go

Knitted Advent calender here we come! 

I can't even believe how adorable this turned out. It fits perfectly in the palm of my hand.

This pattern is great, very easy to follow and pretty quick to knit. Thankfully, since I still have 23 to go. There is a cute little purple and white striped one in the works as we speak.

Take care,

Kate

From elephant to mouse, and back again.

My first non-hat project of the new year! Okay, so I actually started this a long time ago....like maybe December of 2010. It was put aside in favor of the year of hats project and it took this long to pick it up again.  I am glad to cross this one off my 'knitting to-do list."

Watch and be amazed:

It starts as an adorable little mouse.  Can't you hear it squeaking away?  Then something crazy happens:

Oh, wait for it, wait for it.....POP! Now it's an elephant. Super awesome.

This pattern is from a great knitting book called Itty Bitty Toys by Susan Anderson. It has adorable patterns and I particular love the author because she's from Madison! I even have my very own signed copy. I did modify this particular pattern. It is actually supposed to be a cat that turns into a mouse or a lion that turns into an elephant, but I thought it would be way cuter to have a mouse and an elephant reversible.  This little yarn and stuffing charmer is a birthday gift for a little flesh and blood charmer that I know who is having a birthday soon!  I will posted pictures once the gift has been delivered.

Other projects in the works:

I want to make Squeaker an Advent calendar this year. Naturally, it has to be a knitted calendar. My great friend Amanda made one a few years ago--24 little stocking hung by the fireplace with care. I absolutely loved the idea and I plan to copy her. I'm going make 24 little mittens though. I'm starting now, because I figure if I can make a few mittens a month between now and November, it will be way better than trying to make 24 mittens in the month of November (which is what I would typically do) and being completely sick of the project.

Also, a baby sweater!  I found a fabulous pattern on Ravelry for a top down baby sweater and it's on my needles now. I hope to have some pictures soon.

Take care!
Kate

100,000 stitches, give or take.

Well. I'm done. I actually made 52 hats in 52 weeks. Looking back, I can't believe it. I did a rough calculation and I knitted at least 100,000 stitches in that time. Wow. If only I had a dollar for every stitch.....

Here were the work horses of my year: 

2 sets of size 6 bamboo circular needles, 16 inches. I made every single hat this year on these needles. I bet they are glad to take a rest now. 

My other never-leave-home-without-it standby:

My handy-dandy knitting kit. It has my essentials, like scissors, a tape measure, a crochet hook. Plus the really important things like chapstick and hand-lotion. 

So, what now? It makes me sad to think that my blog is all done because I knitted my year of hats.  I went through my list of  hat ideas and I still have a bunch I want to try to design and make. While I don't think I am mentally prepared for another year of a hat a week, maybe a hat a month?  Here's what's still on my list:

1.       Argyle hat

2.       Robin hood hat

3.       Frankenstein hat

4.       Cherry hat

5.       Zebra hat

6.       Tiger hat

7.       Lion hat

8.       Cowboy hat

9.       Octopus hat

10.   Broccoli hat

11.   Sweet pea hat hat

12.   Popcorn

13.   Biker hat

14.   Reindeer hat

15.   Princess leia hat

16.   Darth Vader hat

17.   Mustache hat

18.   Sheep hat

19.   Puppy hat

20.   Hippo hat

21.   Panda hat

22.   Viking hat

That's almost 2 more years right there. Plus, I have all sorts of other knitting projects in mind.....Let's do that then, shall we? My new blog is a year of hats--a new hat for every month, plus some other fun knitting stuff on the side. 

Well, Squeaker is napping, so I'm off to knit something completely un-hat-related!

Take care,

Kate

Week 52: It begins and ends with a penguin.

I finished the very last hat in plenty of time to meet meet the year-deadline. Whew. I then spent the next 3 days trying to get Squeaker to leave the hat on long enough to take a picture.   Most of the time we wound up with something like this:

Finally, I was able to offer an attractive enough bribe for him to sit still for a couple of photos.

Crackers are amazing things. 

This hat turned out so cute. I wanted it to look very different from the first penguin hat and I think I succeeded. I love the floppy little penguin feet and I particularly adore the giant pom-pom. I also stuffed the belly just a teeny bit so it has a nice plump look to it. 

The hat didn't stay on terribly long, but the cracker covered baby was so cute I had to take more pictures.  

Take care,
Kate

Week 51: Moo to you!

Oh, so sweet!  This little cow hat turned out great!  I took a lesson from the giraffe hat I made and created a spotted pattern, complete with darling ears, and the best part: 

Perfect horns!

 It has 2 colored ears--one black, one white, as JM said, "Just like a real cow would." Heehee. 

Squeaker looked particularly darling in his tiny bib-alls and flannel shirt. He now knows "hat" and will regularly point to his head when you say that word, or if you (or anyone else) has a hat on. It is, of course, stinking cute. 

My favorite picture.

 I'm hard at work on hat 52.....

Here's the cow pattern link, if you are interested! http://www.etsy.com/listing/90281102/baby-cow-hat-pattern-knit

Take care,

Kate

Week 50: Turtle on the half-shell

I love this hat! It was a pretty simple intarsia pattern. After spending a lot of time trying to draw some complicated pattern on various bits of scrap paper, I decided to go the easier route. It is a series of octagons in a row, with the two rows staggered. I considered making a third row, but ran out of green yarn. Or so I thought....I finished off the hat then found another entire ball of green. Whoops. 

I love the crazy star pattern on the top! It turned out better than I had hoped.

My two turtles. Oh, right, you may not know this--the chocolate lab is named Turtle. 'Cause she's a chocolate turtle. Clever, I know. 

Squeaks got a sit-n-spin for Christmas from his aunt and uncle and cousins. He LOVES it!

Have a great day!
Kate

Week 49: Aren't you a little short for a stormtrooper?

 

Baby Violet, watching video of herself in her new hat.

 I wish I had a dress like this; complete with frilly skirt, velour top, and feather cuffs.

 Oh, and a pink and brown polka dot ribbon around the waist. So, so cute.

Squeaker and Violet, creating beautiful art together!

Have a wonderful and safe holiday!
Kate

Week 49: The nerdiest thing I've ever made.

By nerdy, I mean totally, completely, awesomely awesome. That's right. I totally just rocked out an original Star Wars hat. Let's look at them side by side.
Mine:

The original:

Dude. It is awesome. Oh, yes, I said dude. And I meant it. Squeaker is so excited about it, he's going to call his agent on his new Christmas cell phone.

 Oooooh! I am so excited about this hat! It is for baby Violet, of giraffe hat fame. Her parents, specifically her dad, are big sci-fi geeks, much like JM and myself, and they are going to love this hat. I seriously considered making a matching adult sized one for baby V's dad, but that will have to wait until another holiday. Or maybe I'll try to make him a Darth Vader hat?  Hmmm. I'll have to ponder that idea.

I hope you and yours had a wonderful holiday! 

 We don't need to see his identification....These aren't the droids we're looking for....You can go about your business....Move along....move along....

The pattern, 'cause you know you need it: http://www.etsy.com/listing/89197161/baby-storm-trooper-hat-pattern-knit

 Take care,
Kate

Week 48: If you give a moose a muffin.....

He'll make a giant freakin' mess. Squeaker actually has muffin in his double chin, hair, and ears.

He thoroughly enjoyed himself however. I have to defend myself a little here, since half the picture of late are of Squeaker eating muffins. They are healthy muffins at least. These are kale and carrot. C'mon. Delicious and nutritious! And he eats them like they are going out of style.

Look at those antlers! This hat is so perfectly winter-y.  I am calling it a moose, but it could probably pass as a reindeer too. 

 I was really pleased by how well the antlers stood up on their own. I did put in a tiny bit of stuffing and stitched them really firmly to the hat to help keep them standing upright. The antlers do "wave" a bit when Squeaks is walking around, but it only adds to the adorability.   This hat is for a co-worker. Her daughter is about 2 months younger than Squeaker, but outweighs him by a solid 5 pounds. They call her their baby moose, which is what gave me the idea for this hat! 

Awww. Makes you melt a little. 

Take care,

Kate

PS The pattern link, if you are interested: www.etsy.com/listing/89165057/baby-moose-hat-pattern-knit

Week 47: Cutie-saurus-rex

I  have had this hat on my list since the beginning of this project. Squeaker has a little friend who loves dinosaurs--or rather her parents do. They really want Cora to grow up to be a paleontologist. What 3 year old even knows that word?  Okay, I guess any kid who listens to They Might Be Giants knows that word....Totally one of my favorite kids' songs:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7zo2zY1Zqg

Sorry, my love for They Might Be Giants is just a side note. Back to the hat. Super cute, adorable in pink, and not hard. It's a regular old hat with some awesome spikes on top.

Oh no! Pinky-saurus is destroying a small village!

Oh! He uprooted an entire tree!

He's obviously a vegetarian pinky-saurus. Just like his mommy. 

One of the fun things about this project is using left over bits of yarn from other projects. The color scheme in this hat may look familiar. Remember the pig hat? So cute. 

Can you believe it? Only 5 hats to go.....

Take care!
Kate

Week 46: Santa's trusty little elf.

 Because other than some reliable reindeer and a speedy sled, what does Santa need? That's right, a trustworthy elf who won't eat all the cookies and break all the toys.

 Well, I can't guarantee that Squeaker Elf won't break the toys, and I can promise you he will eat all the cookies, and muffins, and fruit, and anything else that may be lying around. I guess he'd make a terrible elf.

 He will do his best to make up for it with cuteness though.

 See, he's practicing already!

This hat is for the son of a co-worker. She and I were pregnant at the same time and her son is 7 weeks younger than Squeaker.  She wanted something to match his coat and hopefully it fits the bill. It is so stinkin' cute and I am sad to give it away. Maybe it will clash terribly with his coat and I just have to keep it. Darn.

Here's the etsy listing if you are interested: http://www.etsy.com/listing/87909446/baby-elf-hat-pattern-knit

Stay warm!
Kate