10* Minute Ribbed Hat

Hello fellow knitters! I know my blog posts have been non-existent…health issues will do that for you. But even in the midst of it all I try to knit a hat for charity once in a while just to keep my brain (and the machine) from turning to mush! 😊 I know you all probably have a favorite hat pattern you use, but I thought I’d share my 10* Minute Hat pattern with you.  But I do have to qualify the 10 minutes for several reasons that make it super-fast. These are not my new ideas – but ones I have learned in my years of knitting and I put them together to make this hat very quickly! This method requires the use of a Brother Transfer Carriage. I have no idea if it works on other brands – I am a Brother girl! It took me years to learn to use the Transfer Carriage – it seemed like it only would jam even after following everyone’s instructions. I figured out it all boiled down to the distance between the two beds. You do have to follow the instruction manual, but by adjusting the beds just slightly closer it zips across like butter and transfers stitches in a couple seconds as opposed to several minutes of hand transferring each stitch. It is a jewel once it works! Although it certainly is possible to transfer the stitches by hand!  Another time saver is that I use a pattern where the hat is mostly ribbed. Since I am knitting for charity and I have no idea how big someone’s head is or even what gender they are – this hats fits everyone! But to speed up the process even more I only use the ribber connecting arm for the whole process – even though part of this hat is knit in stockinette stitches, I never change the sinker plate at all. I will give further instructions for that technique in the pattern. I do also knit with a motor – but even though that sounds like it would be faster than pushing the carriage by hand – it is not. It just bears the brunt of the hard work that I cannot do anymore. I could actually push the carriage by hand faster than I have my motor set for! I also begin my ribbed hats with the Broken Toe Cast on. I have seen so many convoluted cast on’s for double beds that are time consuming and do not produce a better result. See Diana Sullivans video on how to do the Broken Toe Cast-On. When I remove the hat from the machine and pull that cast on yarn up so the stiches all lie flat and in order,  I give it a quick shot of steam and let it dry before removing the yarn from the cast on. I then have a quick, beautiful edge that is not wiggly and wonky as some ribbed edges can be – but it lies flat and holds its shape well.  Another time saver I utilize when I am transferring stitches over, to reduce bulk at the top of the hat, is to set my machine to knit a lace pattern that transfers every other stitch over one needle. They can certainly be hand transferred, but this is really fast! I use 2 strands of 2/24 yarn for this pattern. In my large stash of 2/24 yarns, I really do not have 2 cones that are the same color. I would have to rewind and make a second ball to have enough of the same color. So, I began experimenting with putting 2 colors of cones together. I dislike the result if the colors are too different like using a yarn from 2 different color families. But when I began to pair 2 colors that were in the same color family but different tones or shades, I got rich looking textured fabric that is much more interesting that just a solid color. I have a yarn twister that I could use to twist the 2 colors together so they do not pool in a strange way – but that is just another step and a time killer for me. I set one cone on the floor and run the yarn up through a hole in a board that sits behind my machine. I thread that yarn end on a large upholstery needle and run up through the bottom of the cone on top, setting the cone over the hole. Then I thread the machine with the doubled yarn as one. The weird color pooling stopped and I get rich, interesting colors for my hats! I will post a few photos below of some of the color choices. I wish I had photos of several hats I have already given away – the color combos were especially nice…but no photos.

*So those are the tricks I use to knit a hat in 10 minutes or under. Each one is not that big of a deal – but all together it makes for a 10 minute hat! I hope you will try some of them if they happen to be new techniques to you – although I know some require certain tools. Since I make hundreds of these hats for charity – these steps add up to be a real time saver for me! I will post the pattern in the pattern section above.

Pumpkin orange and a pinky persimmon

Mauve pink and bright neon pink

Burgundy and raspberry

Make Mine Pink Cardi

It has been an unusual spring/summer for me in lots of ways. Between some health issues and being busy with family it has been a little hard to get to my knitting. But I decided it was time to design a cardi. I had some pink yarn in my stash so…Make Mine Pink! 🙂  It is made with a tuck stitch on my standard gauge Brother 940, and I used the purl side as the public side, so it brings to mind both ribbing and maybe a little lace. The bottom bands are faux garter stitch, and the center band is full needle rib. I don’t usually put buttonholes in my cardigans even though I know how to do it and have made a lot of them with buttons. But I never button a cardigan, so I have not bothered on this one. So many purchased ones do not come with buttons either. Now that I finally got some knitting done it is too hot to wear it – I think it is in 90s today. But come fall I’ll be ready!

Soft and Luscious Mohair Scarf

I have not been knitting for myself for over a year even though I have kept busy knitting for several different charities. Just not the year for making myself anything, I guess. So, I took a break today from knitting charity hats to knit this Slant Lace Scarf. It is Diana Sullivan’s design, and it was quick to knit. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acjEMmS42vE I found some skeined yarn to knit on the standard gauge. I am not a fan of skeins as they have to be rewound, but I felt this was worth it. It is Nako Moher Special Ebruli, a 100 gram Turkish skein of yarn that is mohair, wool and acrylic. Soft and luscious! I was happy how the variegated yarn works so well with the slanted design and the lace knit so easily on tension 8. I used about 3/4ths of the skein and it ended up about 56 inches which was a little longer than I intended. But, you can see it wraps around twice nicely or can be hung as is.  I have several more skeins and a couple have a sparkle to them. Sounds like Christmas knitting!

Needle Beetle Experiment

I received a Needle Beetle at our family Christmas gathering and I was so excited to try it! This accessory for the mid-gauge (and some other non-patterning machines) is really great. I did learn to knit on the LK 150, but I must admit I did not use it much due to the lack of patterning capabilities. The Needle Beetle is not quite like a punch card or certainly an electronic machine, but it does make the mid-gauge more usable for me. I got into a rhythm and it did not take long to knit the hat at all. I made the ribbing on the standard machine and then transferred it to the mid-gauge after ending with ravel cord and waste yarn. The Needle Beetle instructions had a pattern and that is what I followed for this Tuck Hat using the knit side as the outside. My pattern notes are in the files above under Adult Hats if you want to see how I did the hat. Since I sold my bulky machine and ribber I am down to the mid-gauge and the standard and this will encourage me to use the mid-gauge more and use up some of that yarn stash! https://www.kriskrafter.com/product-page/needle-beetle-needle-selector

A Question of Purpose

We’ve heard it over and over…2020…what a year! The reaction to the virus has surely turned everyone’s lives upside down and we long to get back to normal – whatever that is. And people wonder – where is God in all of this? We do not know what is coming but we can know that this virus or anything else is not out of God’s control. He does not cause widespread suffering, but He uses even the wicked intent of man for His purposes and that is to draw people to himself. God always has purpose in everything. He came to earth one time over 2000 years ago as a baby and we are celebrating that birth this season. He came for a purpose and that was to die to pay a debt we could not pay. So many compare themselves to others and are sure they will be fine when they will eventually stand before the perfect God. But God compares us to himself and not to others. No grading on the curve. We cannot measure up to God, so he sent Jesus to pay the price of sin for us. May you receive the greatest gift ever given in this season of giving – free eternal life paid for by Jesus Christ by trusting in His work on the cross. What a way to end 2020 – with great confidence in our future whether we are facing the controls of the virus or facing the end of our life. Merry Christmas to you and the ones you love!

Reindeer Hat

Adult Size

I wanted to try a different lined hat for charity than what I have been making. Doubled hats are great for someone that is homeless to endure the cold. I remembered this pattern I had that is for all sizes – baby to adult- but I had never made the adult size. I found a cute hand knitting design for the reindeer and transferred that to the PPD – then to my electronic machine. With a lined hat all the floats are in between the layers so it is a great choice for some fair isle. One can make long ties for it, but I preferred to not do that. The pattern is under the adult hats section. It is knit on the standard machine with some short rowing to make the flaps. Toasty. 😊

Happy Thanksgiving!

Double Cuffed Hats

Animal Blankets

I cannot believe I have not posted on this blog for so long. In fact, I just have not been knitting or writing patterns for months. We had such a busy summer filled with so many things that knitting just had no place. I used to do a lot of knitting for our knit club charities, but they are not accepting any donations at this time. So, I found other charities to knit for. I found several animal shelters that wanted cat and dog blankets, so I have made and sent off piles of those. Then I found a charity that provides hats and such for the homeless and I began making all kinds of warm hats. After Thanksgiving I will make a trip and deliver those as well as more cat shelter blankets.  Some of these hats are lined and cuffed, so they are super warm with 4 layers over the ears. I made ribbed ones are 2 layers over the ears and soon I am going to make some lined ear flap hats. All should be great for someone out in the cold this winter. I really like the instructions from Stephanie Widmann’s free pattern on how to begin and end the lined, cuffed hat. The middle is just stockinette so very easy and quick. I made some changes to her instructions to add fair isle. Since it is a lined hat all the fair isle floats are inside the layers. I will add my pattern notes in the files for the blankets and the double cuffed hats but give credit to Stephanie for the hats! I am thankful I can knit warm hats and blankets and help others less fortunate than myself as well as some animals during this cold winter. It is the time of year to think on what we are thankful for. So much has transpired this year with the virus and restrictions among other things. But if we will just stop and perhaps even make a written list of what we are thankful for – it changes our perspective. So many have so little but as you are reading this on some kind of a device, you are richer than most in the world. But material riches, even though we are indeed grateful for them, do not compare to the gift God gives us in his son Jesus Christ. He loves us with an everlasting love and we only need to trust in Him. Thank you for your encouragement and love you have sent over the years on this blog. Perhaps next year I can contribute more free patterns to it – to inspire my fellow knitters! Happy Thanksgiving!

Garter Carriage Blanket

Close up of design

I have never knit a garter carriage blanket before. I make hats and borders, but I knew it would take quite a while for a GC to get through a blanket because it is so much slower than knitting with a motor and my regular carriage. A friend shared this pattern http://www.knitwords.com/linus/hearts.pdf  by Evelyn McNabb. I have had it a while but finally decided to try it. I moved my machine to another room since it normally sits in my family room because I knew that many hours of noise would not be conducive to either TV watching or conversation. I like how it turned out, but it did take quite a few hours and I am used to finishing a blanket in a short amount of time. It is knit on the standard gauge with Bramwell 4 ply – sunflower yellow. That sounds cheerful for a baby! It is lightweight and soft and only took a light steaming to make it look the best. But I’m not sure I will do that again. Even though I did not have to push a carriage, I think I will stick with my motor and a much quicker result. 😊

The Blessing of Easter

We are surely living in an unusual time in this world of ours, aren’t we? A virus that has folks panicking, making unusual purchases fueled by their angst and fear. It is agreed that one must make wise choices in exposing ourselves to this virus, but we either have forgotten or choose to ignore the fact that there is a God who is in control in this world and He will use even these times for His purposes. Our response does not have to be fear or relying on the comfort of the amount of stuff we can buy. God knew all about this way before we did, and it is an excellent time to take spiritual inventory of our lives. This Easter will definitely be much different than the ones of the past. No gathering together to commemorate the rising of Jesus Christ from the dead. But gathering together is not necessary for us to individually stop and remember why we celebrate Easter. Jesus Christ came to this earth and willingly died a horrendous death on the cross for you and me. But the truly good news is that He arose from that grave and lives forever and we have one lifetime to trust in Him. Don’t let these few short days on this earth pass without choosing your eternity. No one chooses your eternity but you. No one weighs your good and bad works in this life and then decides for you – not even God. You choose your eternity by trusting in Christ’s finished work on the cross or by rejecting Him openly or by being passive and not making any decision and hoping for the best. Choosing an eternity of life means you say yes to Him, acknowledge you need Him and ask Him to save you from your own sin. Seems too simple. That is what God does – makes it simple. He already paid the price and the choice is yours. May this Easter be one of tremendous joy and peace in the God of hope – whether we are speaking of getting through a virus or choosing our eternal home!

Plus Size Pullover Hoodie

I made this Hoodie this winter but wanted to share the pattern with you. You know… winter weather is not over yet. They are predicting more snow this weekend for the Colorado plains…in spite of the fact we have been gardening in the 70 degree weather today! 😊 This pullover hoodie pattern is written for the bulky machine in 3 plus sizes and is sure to keep you warm for the rest of the season. Pattern in drop down menus above.