Dishing up knits

Between personal projects and promised products I probably have enough to keep me busy through Christmas — and let's not forget gifts! So what do I do? I ask for more, of course!

Here's a taste of what's still cooking, what's hot out of the oven and a reheated treat:

After I finished my first snake hat-scarf, my husband lamented that it didn't fit his head. Silly boy, it wasn't made for you! So lickety split, I'm working on a larger one for him. And this one is sporting some sweet seed stitch.

Snake hat-scarf, seed-stitch version

You can find the cable pattern for the original snake hat-scarf in this season's Loom Knitters Circle. And the hat is in my Etsy shop — for now. I'm heading to my very first craft fair in early November and I don't think it will be coming back home with me.

It's a busy fall for me and I don't mind a bit. My first loom-knit class is also on my plate. I will be teaching bulky-yarn socks to a wonderful group of ladies. I'm knitting up a sample to go with my original pattern (coming soon).

Twisted Weekend Sock

Between those projects, I got a request I couldn't refuse. My Threadless friend, Lori, bought a custom pair of wristwarmers from my Etsy. They are modeled after the Wacky Wristwarmers I made earlier this year. I dug into my yarn stash, found some crazy Noro yarn and whipped these up in two weeks. They're going in the mail today!

Wacky Wristwarmers

But I have goodies for everyone else, too. I took my twisted cable hat off Etsy to add some ears and eyes. Now I have a kitty hat for a kid out there. I will relist this reinvention later today.

Kitty hat

Some sweaters by Lyn are on the way, too. Brrrr, a sweater sounds like a good idea right now on this rainy fall day. At least the leaves are nice and bright!

RAWR! It's dino hats!

It's the invasion of the Dino Hats. The humans wearing these will be on the hunt for tricks or treats this Halloween. And I have two more beasties in the queue, thanks to a custom Etsy order.

Slimey the Green Dino enjoys frolicking in the summer sun while eating M&Ms.

Slushy the Blue Dino prefers an autumn bonfire and a cup of espresso.

Dino Hat pattern notes

Loom: Yellow 41-peg Knifty Knitter round loom

Yarn: Two strands of Vanna White worsted, 1 skein each of main color, orange for scales, white for eyes

Note: Knit stitch is the flat knit or regular knit stitch, not the e-wrap.

Crochet cast-on 41 pegs.

For the hat base ... Follow a rib-knit pattern (knit 2, purl 2) for 1.5 inches. This is your brim, which can lay flat or be folded up. From here, knit in stockinette for 7.5 inches for an adult hat. If you plan to do a gather bind-off, knit until the hat measures 9 inches total for an adult hat. If you plan to decrease for a crown using the flat-panel method, knit about 7.5 inches and begin shaping.

If you're doing the crown shaping, divide the stitches into four groups. On the yellow KK loom, the last group will have 11 and that's OK. Start the first section with your working yarn and knit 10 stitches. Turn and knit 10 back. Move the loop on Peg 1 onto Peg 2. Move the loop on Peg 10 to Peg 9. Knit the next row, knitting 2 over 1 on the first and last pegs. Then knit a row back. Repeat this decreasing on the end pegs, with a normal row after each decrease, until 2 stitches remain. Move the last loop over the first loop and knit 2 over 1. Wrap one more time and knit. Cut 12 inches and pull the yarn through to make a knot.

Join the yarn to the next section and repeat the above instructions for all sections. For the section with 11 stitches, just work in the extra stitch on a knit-back row at the end. You should have four triangles. Seam them together on the wrong side and you have a smooth crown for your hat.

For the scales, I knit in garter stitch (knit one row, purl one row). You may use any loom with at least 9 pegs. I started with 9 pegs and decreased one stitch on every other row (the knit row) on alternate sides.

The eyes were made on the pink 12-peg Knifty Knitter flower loom. I used the drawstring cast-on by Brenda Myers. Place a slipknot on the anchor peg. Wrap the yarn around the outside of all pegs. Place your working yarn above the strand on Peg 1 and knit the bottom loop over. Purl Peg 2. Repeat Knit 1, Purl 1 for one round.

Using garter stitch, I knit 8 rows of the main color. At this point, you can close the cast-on edge by removing the slipknot from the anchor peg and pulling to cinch it closed. Pull the yarn tail to the inside of the opening. Weave the yarn tail around the opening and knot it to secure the top of the eye. Switch to white yarn and garter-stitch 14 rows. Do a gathered bindoff but don't pull the bottom completely closed until it's stuffed with fiberfill. I used buttons for the pupils. When attaching the eyes to the hat, I found they sit best if I sewed them on the bottom and a little up the back.

download PDF now

If you like the hats but lack the time, you can send me an email to buy baby-size ones!

Purple Dino Hat, toddler size $20

Orange Dino Hat, newborn size $20

Blue Dino Hat, newborn size $20

Etsy excitement

My Etsy shop gained a little weight this week. And that's a good thing for everyone!

I'd like to officially welcome Lyn's creations into my shop. She beads beautiful ornaments and knits, too! For those saying "Bah humbug, it's too early to think of Christmas!" ... Well you'll see some of her items can decorate year-round.

Her collections of ornaments make a great stocking stuffers. Personally, my grandma gives out sets of ornaments to her grandchildren every year and it's been a wonderful tradition. You can do the same with your own children, nieces, nephews and cousins! Even larger sets of Santas and Christmas trees are coming soon.

One-of-a-kind knit sweaters by Lyn are on their way to the shop. In the meantime, I recently added a custom wristwarmers listing. Choose the yarn you want and I'll knit you up a pair in a week or two! Keep your hands toasty and your fingers free!

Season of change

Foliage is falling but some flowers are still on the rise. We just finished our fall landscaping project. Just ignore that big mulch pile still in our driveway. Move along and check out the pretties. More photos are at my Flickr.

My Etsy shop is going through a little fall makeover, too. Watch for classic ornaments and one-of-a-kind sweaters by my friend, Lyn. Here's a sneak peak of what's to come: