Lady Butterfly Hat and Vest

Pattern:  Lady Butterfly Hat and Vest (can be found on Ravelry.com)

Yarn:  I think it is Plymouth but I've misplaced the ball band

Size:  6 mos-6 yrs.

Needles:  Size 4

 

My older daughter, Amy, and I are knitting this pattern.  She's knitting the hat and I'm knitting the vest.  She lives in Rhode Island and I live in Vermont, of course, so it is nice when we get together and work on this project.  It's quality mother/daughter time together.

 

The pattern is a simple 4 row repeat, well-written and very easy to follow.  The bottom edge of the both pieces is picot which lends a very nice look to the pieces.  

 

The back is completed and the front is almost done.  The assembly and picking up stitches around the arms and neck is what will be more time-consuming.  The cable is the "body" of the butterfly and notice that the top cable is larger as that will be the "head" with the antennae later attached along with the wings.

This little gadget was purchased at WEBS.  It makes twisted cords.  You can also purchase it with three or more clips for additional cording (i.e. three colors, etc.) Here's a link to YouTube to see how it works..... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8b2jL4UgsfA

I blogged recently after a long absence.  It was so nice to hear from old friends.  The knitting/crocheting community is so wonderful.

Happy Knitting!
 

Heritage Print Socks

Oh, poor neglected blog.  I think of you often with promises to return soon and finally I have done so.  I periodically receive e-mails from some of my faithful followers asking me what I am up to.   I am always so pleased when that happens.

I have several knitting projects on the needles.  Starting a new project gives me an excuse to buy more, newer and better needles.   In the next week or two, I hope to gather some of those projects and complete them. 

I’ve been knitting a pair of grey socks for my daughter and because I can’t remember the pattern repeat and the color is downright boring, I decided I needed to knit something totally mindless.  I selected a “vanilla” pattern, the kind where you can just knit on and on and on while watching tv, stuck in a traffic jam or watching a softball game.

I purchased the sock yarn at Webs, “America’s Largest Yarn Store”.  Affordable at only $12 for a 100 gram skein that will knit an adult-size pair of socks fit the bill.  The twist in the yarn is nice. 

However, as I knitted along, the center-pull skein started to fall onto itself and I had quite the mess.  It took at least a couple of hours to untangle it all.  If you have been knitting for awhile, I’m sure you can relate.   I had such a mess and I now wish I had taken a picture so you could give me a little sympathy, I contemplated just throwing out the project.  I was so desperate that I even invited the cat to lend a little help.  Fortunately, my daughter who is also a knitter, came to my rescue.

I used the “Knitter’s Pride” Karbonze knitting needles.  They took a little getting used to but I do like them a lot.  At first, I felt like I was knitting with plastic needles from days gone by.   They have proven to be quite sturdy.   The stitches glide easily and the points are just right for fingering-weight yarn.  The only disadvantage is that the black needles are not friendly when it comes to knitting with darker yarns.  On the positive side, it is just an excuse to buy other needles.  Buying needles is like having lots of crayons as a child.  You agree?

Happy Knitting!