Another Hat and a Few Flowers

Despite our recent spring-like weather, I've been working on a hat with a pattern I got from a knitting friend.  The pattern turned out to be free, and I even had some appropriate yarn. I decided to try to convert the pattern which was for a slouchie hat and make just a "normal" one. And here it is!  Boy, does bulky yarn ever knit up quickly!

Since we've had some nice weather lately, we've been doing some raking of leaves and

enjoying some spring flowers. 

Hurrah for spring flowers!

 

Done!

What in the world is this? That's probably what you thought when you looked at this photo, isn't it?

Well, as you can see, it's a two-sided hat that's supposed to be extra warm!

It was kind of like knitting a giant sausage! It's not a difficult pattern, however, I am not sure how to block it.  Any suggestions?  As for warmth, I will let you know after the recipient wears it, and that won't be for some time because she's off enjoying the sunshine at the moment.

FINISHED! (Finally)

I have been working on some WIPs lately and finally finished these mitts, one of which was completed in the last century. Sigh, and now I know why: after finishing that one, I decided it was enough. This pattern is probably the most difficult one I've ever done.  However, I have enough beads to do it again, but not for a while, that's for sure.  Besides, I have more WIPs to attend to. Are you surprised?

 The pattern is called Winding Stairway Mitts and includes vikkel braid and some beading. The beading is done one by one using a crochet hook which isn't difficult. However, the vikkel braid was hard, at least for me, and that's what makes the steps. The photo is of the left glove front and the right glove back, and it shows the vikkel braid plus mostly left cross cables. So, if you are bored, give this pattern a try and see what you think. 😉 You can rest assured that I will be doing some stockinette stitch tonight! (Just edited this to delete all those spaces and don't know where they came from!)

Another Dishcloth Along with Some Crazy Weather

Here's another Purple Passion dishcloth. I really like this pattern, but could someone please tell me the trick to get dishcloths square!

This is what we woke up to yesterday morning!

Now today's high so far was 32 degrees, but last night it went down into the twenties, and these primroses were not happy. I suspect they will need to be replaced as they don't look like this anymore.

Thankfully, the indoor plants seem happy and are glad to be inside.  A friend of ours posted that temperatures at his house were in the eighties, but I'd be happy if ours would go back to the forties!  Stay warm!

 

More Photos from the Cross Kirkland Trail

This morning we woke up to snow which was a surprise.  My newly planted primroses are not happy!

 Yesterday though we went back to the Cross Kirkland Corridor to take some before and after photos of the metal sculptures.

Here's a much different view of the bird on my earlier post.  What you see, is where you are!

Can you tell what this is?

A beaver, right!

We got distracted by a busy little squirrel and didn't get a before photo of the fish.  The squirrel was  collecting leaves to build its nest and then leaping up onto the stump and climbing up to the hole at the very top.

Now back to knitting!

Happy Saturday! And a Couple Finishes ~

We've had some nice weather lately and actually walked sans umbrellas! There's a fun trail not too far away where you can see a lake, some metal sculptures, and ends up at a fun playground. We also saw an eagle thanks to the lady in the red jacket but were too slow to get its picture. Then we saw a man who told us that it was part of a flock of 7 that he'd seen earlier.

Along with taking walks, I've also been knitting. I know you're not surprised by that. Here's another dish cloth from what has become one of my favorite patterns. Now, if only I could get it more square!

And I finished a WIP using Bamboo Pop yarn which I don't think is available anymore. However, I just discovered a lot of it in my stash. Are you surprised?

And my Minion hat fits with room to grow.  I've been promised a front view where you can see its eyes.  This little guy is our daughter's nephew and a real cutie.

Have a great weekend!

 

Fair Isle Hat Number 2! The First February Finish!

I just finished this hat yesterday and am happy with the results. If you are wanting to try Fair Isle knitting, I'd recommend this pattern!  (It's even a free one.) You may recall that I did it once before recently, but this time I used the correct weight yarn as well as cast on the correct number of stitches, and both things make a difference! I will probably make this pattern again but have a few other WIPs that need my attention. 😉 (I'll bet that's not too surprising, is it?)

~~~~~

Hope you are having a great weekend!

 

The Last Hat of January!

 Done!  I finished this hat yesterday evening using one of my favorite patterns and will probably donate it to charity.  I need more practice making pom poms though! (That yarn color is called "Beethoven Fancy" which I thought was kind of different.) This makes 11 finishes for January; now to get going on some of those WIPs!

Three More Hats and Then Some

Seems like I've been making hats lately.  This one was for my granddaughter who's a freshman in high school, and it's their school colors. (Much to my delight, these colors were the same as my high school in Wisconsin.

I started the hat below with a different pattern and then switched to this one, a free pattern. But  I failed to caste on the correct number of stitches for the pattern, so I could only do 3 of the Fair Isle designs.  (Just yesterday I started another one with nicer yarn and the right # of stitches.)

Then the other I received a request from our daughter's mother-in-law for a Minion Hat with 2 eyes.  It's for her grandson who just turned 2. I sure hope it fits!

How's your weather today? It's chilly (for us) but the skies are clear and bright blue!  Just the other day I got this picture from my sister!  It was taken in Duluth, MN, where her husband's cousin and wife live.  I get cold just looking at this photo!

On the very same day, this is what was happening at our house.  It actually rather spring-like, and some plants were beginning to sprout. Early today, however, it was in the twenties when we got up, and I'm hoping those sprouts survive!

Enjoy your week!

 

Another Finish and Some Nice Walks

Both sides of this dishcloth look nice, and it's supposed to wash stuff well.

Despite this morning's snow, we have taken some nice walks lately. The other day we went to Coulon Beach on Lake Washington. Part of it was closed for renovation, but it has an interesting spot called Bird Island where you can see some of Boeing's unfinished planes as well as interesting birds. We think that group of black birds is coots. It was a chilly day, so maybe that's why they are cuddled together!

Just yesterday the sun was shining, so we walked up a nearby hill for some nice views of the University District and also downtown Bellevue which isn't far from our neighborhood.

Apparently this rhododendron doesn't know it's January, and it would snow today!

Have a good week.

 

Lots of Finishes!

I Made this guy for our son-in-law's birthday after hearing his family talking about getting another dog. They already have Lulu who's fairly high maintenance, so I thought he'd enjoy an easy/no care dog.

When I made this dishcloth, I couldn't find the pattern for the similar pattern below. This stitch pattern, which isn't quite the same, was in one of my books called A Treasury of Knitting Patterns. 

As you can see, they are similar,  but the second cloth is from this pattern which is part of a book.

While looking for the Purple Passion, I found this kitty pattern and just had to try it. I'm not crazy about the color, but this was the only appropriate color in my stash. (I am trying very hard to work from my stash!)

These hair ties are fun to do and a great way to use up small amounts of yarn. And the pattern is FREE!

This interesting yarn was in my stash! It's the Minimalist pattern.

It's been gray and rainy here which makes lots of knitting time, but the other day, the sun came out, and we took a fun walk and got to see a new trail as well as a murder (of crows), a pair of ducks, and a brand new play ground.  Too bad we didn't have any kids with us!  This trail exists on what used to be train tracks and is nice and flat!  There are a couple of spots that aren't yet finished including a very cool bridge. Eventually it will go the full length of the tracks that used to end at a winery and hosted "The Dinner Train," which was a fun experience.

Enjoy what's left of the holiday!

 

A View of the Olympic Mountains!

 The other day on our walk when it wasn't raining like it was today, we got a great picture of Seattle. It shows the Smith tower on the far left and the Space needle on the far right which were once the tallest structures in town. Supposedly the pointed top was added to the Smith tower so that it could be taller than the Space Needle. Now there are lots of tall building including the black one which now stands above everything else, at least for now!

And yes, to get this view, you have to walk up a pretty steep hill!

The mountains in the background are the Olympics and they have quite a lot of snow right now.

Have a nice weekend!