Nutcracker Hat Challenge - The Results Are In!

I did it! I stretched the time period out a bit...last hat was finished on December 14 but I knitted Nine hats in just over 2 weeks! Yay! My fave was A Hat Fit For A Boyfriend. I knitted six of those. I absolutely loved the way the top of the hat turned out. I'd knit this hat again and again and may have to knit one for me in January if the weather here in Georgia stays as (unseasonably) cold as the past 3 weeks have been! I'm probably going to try to get one more Turn A Square done before Christsmas. I want to make this for my son in his school colors (green with gold and a little white). In the meantime, I'm finishing two "girl" hats - Brattleboro Hat which I'm knitting for my daughter's ballet teacher and (shhh! its a secret) Hermione's Deathly Hallows Graveyard Beret  (for my daughter). I should be finished with both of those today! And then maybe a Christmas Stocking for my niece who is coming to visit us for Christmas! Here's some Pics of the hats (now all wrapped and mailed!).

Buddy modeling the "Rudolph" Hat

Wanna Join Me?

The Challenge:  How many hats can I knit in eight days! I'd like to get nine done Before Christmas...one for each of the guys in my family.  I'm choosing pretty plain patterns mostly because the guys in my family are not fancy hat guys.  I'm hoping that each one will only take about 4 hours. 
Sounds like a lot of daily knitting right? Not this time of year. 

This afternoon started The Eight Days of the Nutcracker.    Haven't heard about that time of year? It is a bit specific to dancers and their families.  Today was the "in-studio" rehearsal for the Nutcracker at my daughter's dance school.  Then, a regular day of dance classes (where certain Nutcracker dances are almost always practiced).  Followed by a "tech" rehearsal at the theater. (The dreaded "tech" rehearsal might be over by midnight; it is supposed to start at 6pm - it won't.  There will be  hours of making sure everyone knows where to be on stage for two casts - my daughter's dancing in both of them).  Wednesday and Thursday bring dress rehearsals, Cast A one night and Cast B the second.  Cast A's dress rehearsal will last much longer than Cast B's.Finally, show time! Friday night, Saturday afternoon and evening and Sunday afternoon.  It is a long, long week.  But I think I love it as much as my daughter.  I'm not even a once upon a time dancer.  But we've been going to Nutcrackers since she was two and she's been dancing in them since she was seven.   It's a family event that starts off the holiday season.  Even my son loves the Battle Scene.  I never get tired of watching it.  The rehearsals though get a little tedious.  But there's a Starbucks nearby.  Perfect for several evenings of knitting.

So what am I going to knit?  First up, Rib-a-Roni.  I started this in an adult size large today...we'll see how far I get this evening.  Later, I will knit A Hat fit for a ....   nephew or a brother-in-law.  Then, of course, another Turn A Square.  I think that will be my 5th Turn A Square.  I love the crowns of all three of these hats.  The decreases in the pattern create very beautiful crowns on these hats.
And, I promise not to buy any more yarn! I have several skeins of worsted weight yarn that I can choose from.  So, Stashbustarmy, I promise not to go AWOL this week!  Wish me luck!
I can't wait to see how many hats I can knit this week! Wanna join me?  Take the hat challenge!

Four Hats, an Ishbel and a Twitalong

I can’t believe that we are already two weeks into our summer break! We’ve just returned home from a wonderful family vacation. I knit four Turn a Square Hats by Jared Flood. A very easy knit for relaxing evenings watching movies with the family. No stress except for adjusting the size a bit. The instructions as written resulted in too large a hat for my husband and son…I hope the large one fits my father in law…I guess he will love that my daughter has a matching hat! Because the lovely Malabrigo yarn that I used for the first time yielded two hats per skein!! A quick length adjustment resulted in a nice hat for my husband and decreasing the number of stitches and shortening the length worked for my son’s and daughter’s hats. My adjustments are found here: Turn a Square for My Son

The next time I knit this hat, I’m going to follow the striping directions because it’s a very cool looking hat! Now, back to the Malabrigo merino worsted yarn - I love, love, love the softness of this yarn and its slightly felted quality. I can’t wait to knit something larger with this yarn. Definitely a sweater. For me. Maybe even an afghan.

And since I’ve last blogged, I finished my first Ishbel Shawl by Ysolda Teague. Ishbel was a huge challenge for me! It really tested my patience. I’m very thankful for that center stitch marker, letting me know that I was halfway through a row and letting me know that I was knitting a row correctly (or incorrectly as the case was several times!!) I used Shadow Tonal Lace Yarn in Queen Anne from KnitPicks.com . I love the peachy-pink color! I think if I were to start Ishbel again for the first time, I would use a fingering weight yarn. The lace weight yarn was so delicate that I lost track of stitches in counting and double checking resulting in numerous recounts.

I am most certain to tackle this project again. Probably in a fingering weight to get a heavier shawl. But before I knit another Ishbel, what am I knitting next?

I’m joining a Twitalong! So far, @Cheekytart, @Jbee42 (and hopefully @Killerlashes) and I are going to knit the Cotton Bamboo Smocked Top by Rebecca Hatcher. I’m going to knit this for my daughter using Shine Sports Yarn from KnitPicks.com in blush and cream. Who else wants to join the knitalong?!!