Of course I did! the Melt-the-ICE hat

I usually keep my politics off my knitting blog, and for the most part, I will continue to do so. But I had to make this hat for a friend of mine. I had a couple of more orders for them so I am getting my needles going. Yes, I am a rabid liberal who knits, so just extrapolate from there.

There are several patterns on Ravelry, both paid and free. I made this one up on my own as I went along.

And now hats!

Ken's favorite new hat

And now I am back to knitting hats. I have been enjoying knitting the Musselburgh Hat by Ysolda Teague.  If you are on Ravelry at all, you already know about this pattern. It is a paid pattern but worth every dollar. The link is https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/musselburgh.

I have finished four so far, and I have three (yes, three!) more on needles. Once the cast on and increased are done, it is just knit, knit, knit. With the cold weather, we are staying in, which is one of the benefits of retirement. So I am just watching TV with my kitty in my lap and knitting my hats. Life is good.

Looking good!

My new favorite!

Relaxing knitting. Free pattern!

 I have been doing what I call "relaxing knitting." I'm not trying to produce, catch up, get things done, all the things that the holidays make you do. I am just knitting. 

I first did a bunch of face towels. I could just combine colors or make a face cloth in one color. What I love about doing these is that it is a set amount of stitches and I don't have to think, count, or measure. 

I am using size 4 needles and Bernat Cotton Terry. Gauge doesn't matter. 

Cast on 65 stitches. 

Foundation row: K 32, place marker, k1, place maker, k 32.

Row 1: Knit to the marker, slip marker (sm), P1, sm, K to end.

Row 2: Knit to two stiches before marker, k2tog, sm, k1, sm, ssk, K to end. (2 sts deceased). 

Repeat these two rows until there are three sts left.

Remove markers. k3tog. Fasten off and weave in end.

You can make them bigger or smaller by casting on more or less stitches as long as you have an odd number of stitches. You can easily add stripes by just adding another color on Row 2. 

Just have fun!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Merry Christmas to all!! May all your wishes come true

This is a free pattern from Lisa Hannan Fox so put it on your list!

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/christmas-tree-potholder-8

 

Kitty in front of Christmas Tree

How much do I like Christmas Cat?  Lisa Hannon Fox is the author of this potholder as well as my kitty scarf that I worked on for almost a full year (See September 5). Her most recent pattern is this sweet kitty is sleeping in front of a Christmas tree. I purchased it right away and had it knitted up within a day!

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/christmas-cat-potholder

 

Hark, How the Bells! Sweet red and white bells!

Getting all my Christmas potholders out there. A Christmas bell in red and white is always a welcomed sight. Again, this was picked up somewhere on Pinterest. 

 

My Divas gift this year

Every Christmas, my Diva group has a holiday party and gift exchange. Normally, we meet every six weeks or so, but this is the gathering in which we invite our hubbies. It is one of the best celebrations of the year. 

Our group met years ago when our children were in high school and we were all active in the theater and music departments. Our kids moved on to college and careers, but we stayed together. Those kids are now in their 30's and 40's, but we are still together.

I try to make something special for my friend for this Christmas so this year, I got some cotton terry cloth yarn and made face cloths. I also purchased some fancy soaps to go with them. I got wonderful gifts too, such as a hand painted pictures of the five of us, hand soap, socks, a journal, and ornaments. Great Christmas haul! 

 

Christmas Dove

This potholder is celebrating peace for the holiday season. The colored yarn is Hipster in Desert Skies  and the other is dark blue. It came out so beautiful. The pattern is, again, from Pinterest, just typing in "dove."

The dove is flying hoping for all of you to have wonderful holiday season.

 

What a Good Stretch!

This potholder is in honor of our wonderful black kitty Omi. She still misses our kitty Wookie (oh, so do I) so she is more affectionate now. She is in my lap right now, and will stay there until I move her. 

 

 

Catching up on some Scrubbies

I am doing a small craft gathering this weekend, so I had to catch up on my supply of scrubbies. These are really one of my best sellers. I give one to a friend and she almost always comes back to me willing to buy more as gifts. They are really quick to knit up; in fact, I can complete one on the trip from our home to Fort Collins to visit our son.

So here is my most recent stash of scrubbies.