19 Hats

I went on a hat making tear and the pile grew to nineteen before it was over. I combined leftovers from lots of other projects and chose sizes according to how much I had of each color. Most are for babies or toddlers. These are headed for donation; probably I will give them to Navy Relief or the Soroptimist Thrift Store here in town.

 

These two are made from the Little Scallops pattern. I like this hat best when the lighter color is on top. Because of my supply, I only made two of these but this hat is so cute, it would be worth buying yarn just to make it. 

I also made seven or eight Barley hats (shown in picture at top of post). It's another great pattern for leftovers as it is easy to memorize and is very adjustable for different weights of yarn and head sizes.

Stripes are always fun!

Gloves for Patty

I made a couple more pairs of gloves - this set is for Patty. She is always outside, taking care of the goats and the chickens and the dog so she needs to use her fingers and keep her hands warm.

Needles: US 3

Yarn: Lavender - Rowan Felted Tweed

Leaf Green - Rowan Baby Merino Silk DK

Even though I have the formula figured out for making these gloves in all weights of yarn, using a different yarn usually requires a little tweaking of the numbers. I've learned to make both gloves at the same time with two sets of needles so I can make adjustments as I go. Baggy gloves do not work!

Bjork Socks - Cookie A Sock Club

Luanne and I were talking about going on a knitting retreat in Friday Harbor this spring and we ended up joining a sock club instead. After registering and paying the fees, we had to wait about 6 weeks for our first package to arrive.

There was one skein of pretty yarn, two patterns and a project bag. The first pattern I made is called Bjork. The socks are a simple lace motif and the yarn was great. One of the reasons Lu and I wanted to participate in this kind of club was the opportunity to try new yarns. This Plucky Knitter yarn is in high demand and she usually sells out her orders online within minutes of it being offered for sale. 

Another feature of this particular club is the cookie recipes. Each shipment includes two recipes and pictures of baked goodies are posted enthusiastically on the Ravelry forum. They were yummy, too; almost as nice as the socks.

QAYG Blocks for Soy Amado

These four blocks are on their way to Alison, of Little Island Quilting, who is gathering QAYG blocks to make quilts for street children in Mexico City. Her original post is here. There are some real obstacles to getting the finished quilts delivered but she has it worked out in a way that ensures their safe arrival. She is sewing the words "Soy Amado" on the tops - it means "I am loved". I hope my bright blocks will help in some small way. 

February Bee Blocks - 2014

It's too late to try for better pictures as these blocks have already been mailed out to the quilter. The block is called Pyramid Scheme; white/low volume and aqua were the assigned colors. I thought the block looked better with a solid background so I went with white. It was an easy project this month and the finished quilt will be so pretty. 

Our group is called Cheer and is a part of the Do Good Stitches charity quilting community.

California

I love California! Dave delivered his father's old truck down to its new home in Los Angeles and I rode along as far as Oakland. We took our time and had a leisurely trip; we stopped frequently and visited with friends and family along the way. 

The Lost Coast of Northern California is quite remote and sparsely populated and there was hardly anybody else on the road. It is really pretty country with broad, empty beaches and miles of crashing waves. The cows grazing in those lonely seaside fields have million dollar views! 

The redwood trees are so impressive. We had both read Richard Preston's book, The Wild Trees, a few years ago and went out in search of big trees in Washington on a trip a year or so later. We saw the biggest spruce tree in the state and a couple of great big Douglas firs but nothing really compares with the redwoods in California. They just took my breath away. We went through Jedediah Smith, Prairie Creek and Humboldt Redwoods State Parks, and we drove along the Avenue of the Giants. Isn't that a perfect name for a scenic highway?

We stopped in Ft. Bragg for coffee and then lunch and spent a while at the harbor entrance watching two Coast Guard boats doing some training exercises in the surf. A small crowd gathered. Big excitement in a little town.

It was good to get away from home for a few days and it's always nice to see some new country. I love seeing ripe lemons on trees in January. On this coast, that only happens well south of here.