Functional Knitting on the Soccer Field

Being a single Mama of two very active, involved children can sometimes be stressful.

I find a lot my evenings & weekends spent driving here & there in the car to take one or the other to some event, party or game.  After a long day in the office, I admit, knitting is my meditation.

After taking on so much energy massaging people & doing energy work, I see my knitting as my Mala and each stitch a reminder to be present.  It allows me the time to clear my mind of all I took in during the day, while keeping my hands busy.

So, I have a confession to make... I knit in the carpool line.

And at stop lights, waiting for cross country practice to end,  horseback riding lessons & even on the soccer field.

And for the last couple weeks, that knitting has been purely for a functional purpose.

(don't you just love it when you can make something that is useful around the house?)

The simple kitchen washcloth.

My Grandma had many of these and I have fond memories of standing by her side washing dishes when I was little..the smell of the green Palmolive dish soap, the way the fluorescent light glowed over the sink while the rest of the kitchen was dark, the wrinkles on Grandmas hands and the sound of Da's laughter watching television in the next room.  In an effort to green up my house cleaning even more, I decided to ditch the kitchen sponge & create a nice stash of hand knits.

So, for the last two weeks, I have had a dishcloth in progress in my purse at all times.

Quick rows & such a simple pattern that I don't even have to look when I'm working on them giving me more time to watch the kids kick about on the field..or for the light to turn green in some cases.  ;) 

The original pattern I found on Ravelry turned out much too big for my liking when washing dishes so I modified the pattern a bit making it smaller. 

These are easy enough that you can whip out several in a day knitting a line here & there. 

Here's to functional knitting & my favorite time of year... Soccer season! 

Grandma's Dishcloth's

Use any of the 100% cotton worsted weight yarns,

such as Peaches & Creme, Lion Cotton, Bernat Handicrafter.

size US 7 or US 6 needles

CO 4 Stitches  

Knit the 1st row.

K2, YO, K to end *** repeat this row until you have 30 stitches (small) or 44 stitches (large) on your needles.

Begin decrease

K1, K2tog, Yo, K2tog, K to end *** repeat until you have 4 stitches left on your needles.

Bind off. 

 Weave in all ends & enjoy. 

~ Everyone's Favorite Hat ~

Today, I want to share with you my new favorite basic hat pattern.

It is a simple pattern that takes just under 3 hours to knit up.

I've been having so much fun playing with different yarns, stripes, ribbed brim, garter brim..

There is so much you can do with it.

As I cast on for another, my son gently said, "Mama, I think I have enough hats this Winter."

It is certainly an addictive, mindless knitting project.

At the urging of many friends over on Facebook,

I decided to put it up in an etsy shop as a custom order.

Go over & take a peek if you'd like.

Or, better yet, pull out the needles & give it a try.

The decreases create a really fun spiral on the top.

If you make one, send me a link to your photos.

I'd love to see what you've done with this pattern.

{ Everybody's Favorite Hat }

Sizes: Infant (Youth, Adult)

Yarn: 2-50 g balls of Dale of Norway's "Ara" 100% virgin wool. {or play with yarn of your choice}
Needles: One set of size 10 1/2 US (6.5mm) double-pointed needles, or the size necessary to obtain the correct gauge, below. {I actually use circular needles for the entire project}

Gauge: 13 stitches and 18 rows = 4"/10cm in stockinette stitch
Abbreviations: CO = cast on; K = knit; K2tog = knit 2 stitches together; P = purl; rd(s) = rounds; rep = repeat; st(s) = stitches.

Hat Instructions:
CO 60 (66, 72) sts distributed on 4 double-pointed needles. Place marker. Taking care not to twist CO sts, join work circularly and P1 rd, K1 rd, P1 rd to form garter st ridge. Work in stockinette st (K all sts circularly) until work measures 3 1/2 ( 4, 4 1/2)" from beginning.

Top Shaping:
Adult size only: *K 10 sts, K2tog, rep from * to end. K 2 rds.
Adult and youth sizes only: *K 9 sts, K2tog, rep from * to end. K 2 rds.

All sizes:
*K 8 sts, K2tog, rep from * to end. K 2 rds.
*K 7 sts, K2tog, rep from * to end. K 1 rd.
*K 6 sts, K2tog, rep from * to end. K 1 rd.
*K 5 sts, K2tog, rep from * to end. K 1 rd.
*K 4 sts, K2tog, rep from * to end.
*K 3 sts, K2tog, rep from * to end.
*K 2 sts, K2tog, rep from * to end.
*K 1 st, K2tog, rep from * to end.
*K2tog, rep from * until only a few sts are left on needles.

Break off yarn, pull yarn through remaining sts, gather sts tightly together.

Happy Knitting!!!

W.I.P. Wednesday

Super Cupcake Hat by Chic Knits in Cascade yarn.

Should be a quick knit for Miss Maya.

W.I.P. Wednesday

This weekend, I went to a class titled Wild & Woolly at the Arboretum.

It was a really special day that I had been looking forward to for a couple weeks.

A dear friend of mine offered to take the kids for the morning & I was scheduled off work!

Hooray!

I spent three blissful hours learning to dye raw wool with different leaves, berries & nuts.

We did a little carding, spinning & weaving.

We built a simple drop spindle & I asked many, many questions.

(it's not that often this Mama gets to spend time with

other women who love wool as much as she does.)

It was really a perfect morning.

Afterwards, I took advantage of having a sitter & went to the yarn shop.
I had ordered Last Minute Knitted Gifts after hearing so many fellow bloggers say it was a must have book & I have to say, I was not disappointed.
(I know..I know... I'm that nerdy lady who gets a sitter to go yarn shopping. ha!)

Also in the photo above is the scarf I started making Maya last week
& some sweet pink Cascade yarn for a hat to match for my super sweet girl.




Rivers hat in progress.

Hand spun Alpaca from our Farmers Market.

The Alpacas name is Haas...this is his natural, beautiful color.

And...Rivers Autumn hat finished!

He was so excited, he decided to wear it to bed.

The first of many hats to made this fall.

I was recently asked by a local natural parenting store to knit up some baby hats, wool diaper covers & wool toys. I'm really excited for this.

I also have a couple other orders lined up.

This makes me want to quit my job & play with wool all day.

Do you think this single Mama could raise two kids on that alone?

I've been dreaming more & more of that farm I hope to have one day.

And bringing my eggs, organic produce, honey,

herbal products & woolen goods to the Farmers Market.

Dreams.

*sigh*

I finished two ear flaps tonight for the birthday boys surprise snowboarder hat.

If all goes well, I will be able to finish it tomorrow & move on to a few other handmade Mama presents. He told me the other day, those are the ones he most looks forward to.

That makes me smile..he knows, in each stitch, I say a blessing.

"For people allergic to wool, one's heart can only bleed." ~Elizabeth Zimmerman