Save our Fawns!

 Apparently too many people are speeding through our subdivision and we have lost a couple of fawns and a mama deer. So these signs appeared this week. I want to find out who did this and THANK THEM!

Sunflowers for Evelyn

 If you are a knitter and only have boys, you tend to envy all those cute girly baby things you want to make. However, my best friend Sheila has a daughter who I always claimed as mine. I told Sophie that she was really my daughter but I let Sheila raise her.  Now Sophie is having her own baby. Baby Evelyn Sheila is due the first part of November so I finally get to make some cute and adorable things for her. I am going to mail them this week so she will have them in time for a baby shower.

I love sunflowers so I had to incorporate that into the sweater for her. I think I did a total of three other sunflowers before I made on I like. Anyway, here is the sweater for my make-believe granddaughter.

 

The free pattern is the Play Date Cardie by Red Heart at http://www.yarnspirations.com/red-heart-play-date-cardi/RHK0229-021502M.html.

There are lots of sunflowers on Ravelry, but the one I used does not appear to be in print anymore. I modified it anyway and made the petals longer. The buttons I got from a YouTube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHkGNAQ_Hr0. 

Woolly Diagonale Hat

 One of the most creative hat designers is Woolly Wormhead. I think I have made several of her hats over the years. 

This one was about as easy and fast a hat as you can make. It is made on two needles instead of circular if that matters to you. It is just garter stitch with increases and decreases. And if you want to take a break from casting on and binding off, you start with three stitches and end with three stitches. Give it a try.

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/diagonale-3

By the way, it is a free pattern. Be sure to thank the Woolly Wormhead.

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/diagonale-3 

It's Fawn Season

 One of the best parts of living in a mountain community is sharing it with the wildlife. This mama and her twins are stopped among the trees. I understand that there is also a set of triplets here in Roxborough Park as well. 

Only a Few Weeks Until Football Season!

I love football. That is, American football. I live just south of the city of Denver, so I always follow the Denver Broncos. So here is a hat with the Bronco logo on it. I know I can't sell this because it is a copyrighted logo, but I can give it away. I think my husband wants it though.

Gotta love a blue-trimmed horse.

Simple and Snug

It's simple and snug. The star of this hat is actually the yarn. It is purple or dark lavender, not sure what it is called, and slightly variegated in lighter and darker hues. It is a simple reverse rib with a twisted knit stitch on every sixth stitch. 

Is It a Cowl or a Hood? Doesn't matter -- it's free

I don't know why I don't make more hoods because I really like them.

This pattern is a lacy cowl / hood that I made in teal (although it looks blue) and light green.  It's also a fun lace pattern so go for it! I used Lion Brand Amazing Lace and am working on one in Loops and Threads Woolike. Both are perfect for this pattern.

This is a free pattern on Ravelry at this link. https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/jennylous-lace-cowl 

 

Owls to the wise

 This is a cute hat for a child with maroon owls around the brim. The brim is double thickness so it will be especially warm if the cold weather ever comes back. 

It is wise to be prepared.

Making Hats in the Heat

I know it is ironic, but in this heat, I am making hats for winter. I don't even know what I am going to do with them. Some I will put on Etsy to sell, some I will give away to friends and family, and some I will donate to our local shelter. The truth is that I gotta knit! 

This isn't even all of them.

Purple Kitties

 No, I didn't dye my own kitties. They are still black and tortoiseshell. 

However I made a baby hat in lavender with purple kitties on the brim. Once again, I had to work the design from the top down instead of the bottom up. 

Also the first picture is the true color, not the second one. I should retake the picture with the flash, but I have a cat on my lap right now, so I can't move for an hour or two.

Wolves in the Hunt

 I used my Lorne hat pattern and put wolves around the rim. It got bigger than I like, but it is still cool.

The wolves are hunting in front of the mountains. I used a pattern that started both the wolves and the mountains, but I had to reverse it to make the brim of the hat. I had to stop and think about it a couple of times so I didn't put the legs of the wolf on top of its head.

I Don't Know Why People Like Summer!

 I am not a fan of summer. In fact, I downright hate it. The heat, the allergies, the bugs, the heat, the wildfires, the sweat, the heat, the humidity, the heat, the smoky air -- oh, did I mention the heat?

I think it came from growing up on a farm in South Dakota on the Vermillion River. Summer meant getting up at the crack of dawn to do our chores so we could go into the bean fields before it got too hot. My three brothers and I had to cut cockleburs out of the soy beans because there was no herbicide that would kill them without killing the beans. I hated it. I couldn't wait for school to start again so I didn't have to go into that heat. Maybe that's why I was such a good student. Put me in a classroom instead of a field. Still to this day, I don't garden. 

So I am hunkering down in the cool of the Colorado mountains and knitting. However, it is supposed to hit 100 degrees today so it is not so cool anymore. 

Anyway, check back for the next few days because I am going to post the hats and cowls I have been making this spring. 

Additional Lorne Hats

 I used Big Twist for these hats. Big Twist is a cotton and acrylic yarn with a soft feel available at Michaels. It is a striped yarn with a design so all you have to do is knit to get all this texture. I got four different colors and made up the blue one and the lavender one. I am working on a red one now, and I think the other is a yellow color. 

I also got a bunch of striped sock yarns and I plan to use to make more hats. They are solid colors instead of the designs 

Switched up to a Cowl

 

I took a break from my hat knitting to put together a cute little cowl. Cowls are really fun because you don't have to increase or decrease to hit your head. This is a bright cobalt blue with a design of a mock cable and rib. This retirement knitting is really fun. 

More April Snow -- and squirrel

 It is still snowing in Colorado in late April. We live in the foothills so we are a bit higher than the rest of
the cities of the Denver area. Unfortunately, the forecasts are for more rain than snow this week, so maybe the snow is gone for the season. I like the cool weather and snow, so I am not looking forward to the heat of summer. 

Wookie is looking out the window at the squirrel on the deck. Both stare at each other in relative peace.

Another Alaska Hat

I love this pattern. This is the second one I have made and I will probably do more. I like the fiery orange and red in the background. I have more yarn in sunset yarns that I will have to try. Since some are pretty dark, I will use a light gray for the trees. 

I posted another hat using this pattern on February 22. The pattern is by Camille Descoteaux and it is worth paying for the pattern. It is also very fun to knit even if you are new to stranding. 

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/alaska-6

 

White and Striped

I made one of my Lorne hats in white. Not a good idea. I spent more time picking little black kitty hairs out of the hat than I did knitting it. It's a pretty hat though. 

I also made the other hat in a self-striping sock yarn because I have given up on knitting socks for awhile.

I will be packing up most of these hats and taking them to the Gathering Place. It is a day shelter for women and children. I just cleaned out my closet of my working clothes and will bring those as well.

I am truly addicted to this pattern. I have several WIPs (Works in Progress) with this pattern, including a pink one and a purple one. I need to move onto another pattern but I just can't help it.

4th Largest Snow Storm?

This picture was taken about half way through the storm. It was the 4th most snow in our history. We were snowed in for only a day, which was a Sunday, and we were able to drive out of our subdivision with no trouble. The schools were already on spring break and many people were working from home anyway. 

Now really that big an impact.

Lavender Hat Just for Me!

This is is a sock yarn but I love the color and pattern so much, I have to put it on my head instead of my feet. I wanted it bigger so it doesn't crush my hair but still covers my ears. The pattern is a free pattern called the Lorne pattern. If you want the pattern, it is written out on the post for February 17, 2021. 

 

Knit to Keep Warm with a Free Pattern. Big Snow Coming.

 The prediction is somewhere between 1 and 3 feet of snow, starting tomorrow (March 11). The snowiest month in Colorado is actually March, so this is not unusually. In March of 2003, we had 3 feet of snow but my family was in New Orleans at the time and could only watch it on television in between trips to the French Quarter. We had three underage boys with us, so we went to hear the jazz. 

However, we are batting down the hatches for the next mega-storm: candles, flashlights, firewood, grocery run. We are set. I will post about the snow when it starts. 

Meanwhile, I have been knitting. This is a ball of yarn I found in my stash, and I loved the color.  I didn't use a pattern because it is very basic. Keep in mind, I have been knitting for over 60 years, so I often "just knit" instead of using a pattern. But I thought I would post the pattern here anywhere.

Materials:

Bulky yarn (I didn't use the whole skein so one should be enough.
Size 9 16"circular needle
Stitch marker
yarn needle

Using the long tail method, cast on 96 stitches. Place marker and join being careful to not twist the stitches.

Knit 1, purl 1. Continue until the piece is 13 inches. 

Begin crown (changing to DPNs when needed): 

K1, p1, k2tog. Repeat for entire round.

Next row: k1, p1, k1. Repeat for entire round.

Next row. K2tog, k1.

Next row: K the entire row.

Next row. Remove marker. k2tog around until there are about 8 stitches left. Cut yarn. Using a yarn needles, gather the remaining stitches. Weave in ends.

You can fold up about 4 inches. I did a whip stitch to keep the cuff in place but that it optional. 

The Wild Turkey Visit -- not the kind you drink

Here is the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, we have wild turkeys. They often hang out at our house because we don't have dogs. (No one is barking at them).

We have curious kitties trying to figure out what these big birdies are. Wookie and Omi will chatter at birds in the bird feeder, but they seem oddly silent while watching this gigantic sparrows. 

Wookie decides to keep quiet and just watch.

Turkeys will often perch in the trees. This is right outside our deck. 

(In fact, it is taken from inside the house.

By the way, a group of wild turkeys is called a rafter.

Omi is watching very carefully.

I am in my kitchen taking this from the window.

This turkey is about 10 feet from me.

Also, turkeys can fly, but only for short distances, 

usually just to get into a tree.

We counted 15 birds in this rafter of turkeys.