27 March 2012

the very button...


look!
i found buttons!


i was beginning to think that i would never find the right buttons for this little alpaca baby sweater and hat...


...until this past weekend, when i found all kinds of great buttons at two local stores...

now to decide which of these perfect buttons i will use...



the traditional--but always darling--pewter...


the colorful shell...


the rather grown-up glass...


the sweet vintage bakelite...


the simple little resin...


 the turquoise coconut shell...


or maybe...

the cute little black and brown buttons that I had sewn on originally aren't so bad after all...????


decisions, decisions...

....which would you choose?

20 March 2012

the cable baby beret...



I love berets...

especially on babies...



they are cute, comfortable classics that can be worn with a jaunty tilt

or simply pulled down over the ears for warmth...


today I offer a pattern for a wonderful little cable-banded beret

it is easy to knit
and makes an impressive--as well as useful--baby shower gift

happy knitting!



the cable baby beret...


Materials:
  • One skein Rowan Pure wool 4-ply (or similar yarn...wool works best!)
  • Size 3 (3.25mm), 12" or 16" circular needle 
  • Set of size 3 (3.25mm) double pointed needles
  • Cable needle
  • Darning needle

Gauge:
6 stitches per inch in stockinette stitch and 8 stitches per inch in cable rib pattern, un-stretched. You can fudge a little bit on the gauge, by the way, because this cap, when made in wool, is quite stretchy.

Abbreviations:
K—knit; P—purl; K2tog—knit two together; P2tog—purl two together; C2—turn cable (slip two stitches to cable needle, hold in back of work, knit next two stitches; knit stitches from cable needle); dpn's--double pointed needles


Make 1:   
Insert the tip of the right hand needle into the strand (between the stitch just knit and the first stitch on the left needles) from front to back. Transfer this strand to the left hand needle. Knit into the back of this strand on the left needle and remove as usual.

Directions:
With circular needle (or dpn's if you prefer), cast on 98 stitches using the long-tail or cable method. Join carefully. 
K2, P2, K2, P2, K4, P2; Repeat this fourteen-stitch pattern to end of round. Place marker, if you wish. Work established pattern for six rounds.
Cable turn round (seventh round): K2, P2, K2, P2, C2, P2 Repeat to the end of the round. Continue working in established pattern, turning cables every 7th round, until the hat measures about 2" (three cable twists), and you have worked two or three rounds past your last twist.



Next round:  Knit, increasing 34 stitches (with a make one increase as above), evenly spaced (okay...you'll have to fudge a bit...increasing every three stitches yields 32.  Throw a couple more in the round somewhere.  And don't worry!)--132 stitches.
Work these 132 stitches, in stockinette, for approximately 2 inches.

Now shape the hat by decreasing 6 stitches, evenly, every other row:

1st decrease round:  K20, K2tog to end of round--126 stitches remain.
2nd (and all even rounds): Knit
3rd decrease round:  K19, K2tog to end of round--120 stitches remain.

Continue decreasing, in this way, until 72 stitches remain; change to dpn's if using the circular, then decrease six stitches EVERY row until three stitches remain (decreasing this quickly creates the flat top).  Knit these three stitches as i-cord for a few rounds (more if you wish to knot it).  Break yarn, pull through the stitches and through the cord to the inside of the hat.  Weave in ends and wet block, shaping the beret flat, (block on a smooth porcelain plate if you have one the right size--this creates a really nice, smooth beret), shaping the cable band (don't stretch the ribbing!) on a straight glass, if possible.  



 

et voilà!   




© 2012 pamela w allen designs  I am happy to share this pattern with knitters. It may be used for non-commercial, personal or charity use. It is not to be used in any publication, nor should it be reproduced in electronic/digital format without written permission of the author/designer.



this pattern has not been test-knit, nor has it been professionally edited
if you find an error, please contact me!

19 March 2012

one hundred cable babies...


the cable baby pattern...

originally published in september 2009...


in 221 queues, with 796 "likes" and 101 projects...

many lovely cable baby projects have been posted on ravelry over the last two years...

like this
by christine from skeinny dipping (do check out her gorgeous yarns!)

and this
by barbara from rochester, who blogs here


 there are ninety-eight more lovely projects...you can see them all here!!!



the 100th cable baby project was posted on ravelry 
just a few days ago...

to celebrate, I am offering
a new pattern...


the cable baby beret

which I will post tomorrow on this blog

y'all come back, now!

13 March 2012

the rain...




the rain has returned...


we in mendocino have delighted in the warm sun that has shone during this most unusual winter


but we need the rain...


and of course, the rain gives one a wonderful excuse to KNIT


...not that one needs an excuse


at the moment, I am finishing up a baby beret with a cabled band...it began as another cable baby hat, but while I was knitting, I remembered how much I love the little cable-banded berets that I used to make...

photo by Anna Myers


so...a cable baby beret is on my needles...and, I have decided that when the 100th cable baby project is posted on ravelry (currently at 99!), I will offer the cable baby beret pattern as a way of celebrating...


though it is still MARCH, I am reminded, with this rain...and, indeed, with my own personal "rain" which has been relentless these past months...of this poem by Langston Hughes:



APRIL RAIN SONG 
Let the rain kiss youLet the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops
Let the rain sing you a lullaby
The rain makes still pools on the sidewalk
The rain makes running pools in the gutter
The rain plays a little sleep song on our roof at night
And I love the rain.  

Langston Hughes



08 March 2012

twenty...


twenty-years-old today...

my beautiful son, Warren


love you, honey!

07 March 2012

twenty-five...



she arrived at dawn, twenty-five years ago, 
on a snowy Yorkshire morning...

Rilke Aurore, my darling daughter...




05 March 2012

grey love...




grey alpaca baby sweater
with coordinating beret


the yarn?

the pattern for the sweater?
an adaptation of carol barenys' 

it's free...thank you, carol!


believe it or not, this was my first-ever
 top-down sweater...
not, however, the last

I just love the possibilities...don't you?

01 March 2012

two million and counting...


image from www.groedibles.com



yesterday was "leap day"


and yesterday,

every knitter's favorite site




took a big leap

hitting 

2,000,000 members!


wow...


when I joined in february of 2009

there were fewer than 500,000 members

and now we are 2,000,000


want to help ravelry celebrate?

see this thread

and if you aren't a member, I do encourage you to join...ravelry is an amazing source of 
inspiration
encouragement
knowledge
and
fun
for all knitters!

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...