Commission

This is my next project; a hat commissioned from a woman who is heading to Antarctica on a cruise next austral summer. She loved a design she saw on my blog and told me the colors she likes and above that, is letting me design whatever I want. I was inspired to put some little Adelie penguins on the hat so I had to figure out a chart that worked within the vertical space of a hat.  This one is 10 wide (with one white stitch in between each penguin) and 20 tall.

I have to get this done since I'm leaving for the States on June 1st and she lives in the general area I am visiting in California, so I had planned on giving it to her then.

I'm not entirely sure about all the patterning in the hat as shown in my sketch, so I may simplify it somewhat. What usually happens is the hat kind of tells me what it wants to be as I go along, but it helps to have an idea to look at.

Neat Cast On
I want to share with you a little trick for how I do a cast on when I want to make sure the edge is really tidy. I use the smallest size DPN I have and lay it alongside the needle I am casting onto. Then I snug the cast on stitches down quite tight around both needles. Then when I'm done casting on, I just remove the smaller needle. Works like a charm!

Ta da! Nice and neat cast on edge and plenty of room to work into the first row.

Just One More...

The day before my friend's baby shower, I experienced an overwhelming desire to make another pair of booties to match the pink hat, even though I'd already knitted a pair of booties to go with it. I found this free pattern, 'Saartje's Booties,' and thought they were cuter than cute, so I downloaded the pattern and made a pair in pink.

They look like they would stay on pretty well, which is always a concern when making booties...as babies are pretty much always moving their feet.

The lichens on the wall in this picture is also proof positive that I live in a city that has ultra clean air. Yeah for Christchurch, New Zealand!