Things My Auntie Should Have Told Me

In my adorable basket of crochet themed gifts was a pair of shiny wooden knitting needles. Little did my Auntie know that she had planted a seed of addiction. But I couldn't remember how to knit! Thank you YouTube...after a long search I found a tutorial on how to knit from someone I could understand and got to work knitting this scarf. The yarn was lovely to work with but I was very careful not wanting to slip a stitch having no idea how to fix that issue. There was enough yarn left over to make a crochet hat, but I had never made one before so I searched for an easy pattern on YouTube. It was stitching up too large so I decided to salvage it by continuing to make it larger turning it into a beret. Even though it's now March there's still plenty of chilly days left to wear and show off my newest projects.

Stylish Beanie

This is another beanie, but the difference is I knitted one half and crocheted the other just to give it a bit of style. Again it knits up easily. The wool is from Peru, the colour is called tintada, it is 40% wool, 40% acrylic and 20% alpaca. The hat pattern is under "The Red Slippers".

By Christine Neary

Fun Beanies

These two hats (which are really called beanies) that Logan is modeling for me were knitted with spare wool I had left. They knit up very quickly and just fun to wear. From the same pattern already on The Craft Basket under "The Red Slippers". The blue hat is made from Lion Brand Yarn in cobalt, it is machine washable and dryer safe, made of polyester and acrylic. The multicoloured hat is made from what I call my "freaky" wool. The brand is Moda Dea Yarns using Jai Alia yarn in damsen. It is 100% polyester. This is a fun hat for fun things!

By Christine Neary

Purple Poncho With Matching Hat

Oh...my Aunties are so clever and creative! This is my chenille poncho and matching hat my Auntie Chris made for me as a Christmas present in 2005. She was not following any pattern so for them to fit without seeing me (I have a large noggin) was well done.

The Red Slippers

I knitted these two wee hats thinking they would turn out to be two big hats for adults. But I may have used the wrong size needles so now they will fit a child. I will have to try again. I also knitted some slippers (see "Going Green" Slippers blog entry). These two items knit up very quickly, so if you have lots of slippers and hats to make then try these.

Hat Pattern:

Use 6.5 mm needles with bulky/chunky yarn.
Gauge: 12 st x 24 rows = 4" square.

Cast on 60 stitches (for slightly tighter hat, cast on 56 stitches and adjust following counts accordingly; a child's size should start 52 stitches).
Next 4 rows *K2, P2* repeat.
Next 16 rows stst to end.
To decrease:
*K2, K2tog* repeat to end (45 stitches on needle); purl row, knit row, purl row.
*K1, K2tog* repeat to end (30 stitches on needle); purl next row.
*K2tog* repeat to end (leaving 15 stitches on needle).
Purl row then cut yarn and draw end back through remaining stitches. This will leave a little hole in the top which will make it easier to attach a pompom. Sew the seam together from the inside of the hat.

By Christine Neary

Reunion In Oban

This is a photo of the hats that my sisters and I knitted. We all decided when we meet for our holiday in Oban, Scotland this summer we would knit a hat. When we all got together they were all very different. They were nice and it was a fun thing to do. Christine (the one with the camera)