Holiday knits?

I spent the last two weeks at my childhood home in central Kansas where I spent time with my family and made some good memories.

Some highlights were my mother making Steamed Red Bean Buns (which were super yummy) and watching the full, 312 minute long version of Fanny and Alexander directed by the talented Ingmar Bergman (it was still just as profound and confusing).  I was also able to meet up with my close friend Lisa and knit with her, which is always wonderful.

My mother and I visited one of our favorite yarn shops, Oh Yarn It! in McPherson, Kansas.  In addition to having a hilarious name, it is run by a super nice woman who tries to carry mostly U.S. and local yarns.  The store is also a few shops over from a pretty, old opera house.

Uncharacteristically, I also quickly knit up some gifts for my cousin (although I didn't finish them quite in time). 

The hat is Opus Spicatum, a pattern I've knitted before and loved.  The matching gloves were to use up the leftover yarn, I now wish that I had used a pattern to knit them.  Both projects were made out of Cascade 220.  Hopefully my cousin likes them!

I also went flying with my father, which is always fun because we are both private pilots and he has some great stories.  I was able to take some gorgeous aerial photos during the flight, Kansas looks super pretty after it snows a little.

That was my vacation home, I hope you all had a memorable and relaxing break as well!

The lovely Miranda Hat

I had been having to knit away on this project in absolute secrecy because it was a test knit for the super amazing Evelyn of Project: Stash.  Let me tell you, it was difficult having to keep this project a secret because I enjoyed every second of it.  Also, I learned that knitting an awesome project gets even better when knitting to help a friend.

Here it is, the Miranda Hat:

This was a super quick knit for me, partially because I enjoyed it so much and partially due to the simple construction.  The pattern is very easy to follow (I would recommend it to beginners ready to leap into the world of decreases, circulars, and dpns) and the stitch pattern can be memorized quickly.

I used left over Cascade 220 Superwash from the colorwork sweater of doom.  I really love this yarn, it comes in so many great colors, is superwash, and knits up so nicely!  So, I was able to have the satisfaction of using up scraps as well!

Evelyn was kind enough to make the Miranda Hat a free pattern, but in addition, she has also organized a charity KAL to go along with it!  I will be proudly participating (you can find me and others on the corresponding Ravelry group).  To reward those knitting for an excellent cause (providing people with warm hats), there will also be prizes!

I would like to commit to knitting at least four additional hats for this cause (see my progress in the side bar) and I hope that you will join us in what will be a fantastic KAL!

Also a note to Blogger users, I recently discovered why my photos have been uploading all grainy looking lately.  Apparently, a lot of the time (although not all the time) Blogger will really, really compress images uploaded. One way around this is to upload them on Picasa Web Albums then access them through the upload menu in the post editor.

Fair Isle Hat - Perfect Success

I've been a little slow with the crafting lately, actually my entire life has been on hold for the last week and a half due to a truly nasty cold.  It's funny how you can have so much free time while you are sick, but you oftentimes cannot do anything beyond what is absolutely necessary.

However, I somehow managed to finish this fabulous Fair Isle hat!

Now, this is an accomplishment for me, because this is the first colorwork project I have attempted since the great "colorwork baby sweater of doom" debacle (we don't speak of it).  This project started because I suddenly had this strong urge to knit something with Berroco Ultra Alpaca after reading a post by one of my favorite fellow bloggers, Evelyn over at Project: Stash.  She has been working on the most beautiful cardigan in Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light.  

I happened to have some Berroco Ultra Alpaca (the worsted version) left over from another colorwork project and wanted to use some of it up.  I almost instantly decided on the pattern Opus Spicatum because it seemed doable and looks really adorable.  I half expected for this project to go horribly wrong as well, but behold my success!

It also knit up very quickly and was surprisingly satisfying to work on.  I can certainly see why people get hooked on these kinds of projects.  After the success of this one, I hope to have more patience and courage to try another in the future.