Psychotically Sane

Archive for the ‘Ravelry’ Category

Owls seem to be a big trend currently. I get on etsy and I see owl EVERYTHING. The cutest fabrics are owls. The neatest jewelry is owls. and the most adorable knitted items are owls.

I’m adding my own owl touch.
Sleepy Owl Pillow

Mini Owl

Right now I’m using just regular fiber stuffing. But I want to find something better to use for stuffing the owl pillow. To make it more pillow like. But Skyler loves the owls. I guess that’s really all that matters.

The Monster Chunk King…

and his monster chunk minions..

I decided that I needed to update my ravelry stash and project photos. So while taking photos of the yarn, Skyler decided to jump in and get in on the action.

I love my sweet booger butt.

Saturday, we spent a few hours at the zoo with some wonderful friends.

And I got over my fear of fingering weight yarn and took the plunge to knit a shawl.

I’ve more than doubled my progress since taking this photo this morning.

And today we spent a few hours outside, in the blistering heat & scorching sun. Splashing and swimming in the pool.

what a wonderful weekend it was.

I wanted to knit an earflap hat with some fantabulous bulky weight Knit Picks yarn I had. And I couldn’t find a pattern that I liked. So I made my own. :D

And I’m posting the pattern for anyone that is interested. It’s my first pattern, so please excuse if there are any errors and confusions. I’m trying to get the pattern listed on Ravelry, so soon I will have it available in PDF format :)

Chunky Ribbed Earflap Hat

Yarn Weight: Bulky
Gauge: 4 stitch/per 1inch
Needles: 10.5 (dpns & circular will be used, although can be done on just dpns)
Knit to a 18 inch head circumference

Earflaps (make two):
CO 3 stitches
knit I-cord for 6 inches
row1: k1, p1, k1 (3 sts)
row2: k1, m1f, k1, m1b, k1 (5 sts)
row3: (This will be done with all wrong side rows) k1, purl to 1 st before end, k1
row4: 1, m1f, knit to 1 st before end, m1b, k1 (7 sts)
row6: 1, m1f, knit to 1 st before end, m1b, k1 (8 sts)
row8: 1, m1f, knit to 1 st before end, m1b, k1 (10 sts)
Contine until you have 13 stitches. Make sure the last row is a wrong side row.
Repeat the following rows 1 & 2 until ear flap measures 3 inches.
row1: knit across
row2: k1, purl to 1 st before end, k1
Keep the live stitches on a dpn.

Brim:
Knit across one ear flap and then cable cast on 26 stitches (front of hat). Knit across the
next ear flap and cable cast on 20 stitches (back of hat). You should now have 72 stitches
total.
Place stitch marker and start knitting. Your first stitch in the round should start at the first
ear flap. Knit 12 stitches, p2, k2 (ribbed) until you get to the next earflap. The last two
stitches should be purl. Knit 12 stitches and then p2, k2 (ribbed) to finish off the round.
Continue for the next 5.5 – 6 inches.
It might be easier to put stitch markers between the 24 earflap stockinette stitches and the
46 ribbed stitches, just make sure that can distinguish between the stitch marker for the
start of the round and the others.

Time to decrease!

Decreasing can get a little confusing so it’s really important to make sure that you pay
attention to whether you are decreasing the earflap stockinette stitches or the rest of the
ribbed part.

Row1 – (for the 1st stockinette section) k2tog, k2 (for the 1st ribbed part) p2tog, k2 (will end
with a p2tog), (for the 2nd stockinette section) k2tog, k2 (for the 2nd ribbed part) p2tog, k2
(will end for a p2tog)
row2-5 – knit stockinette sections and p1, k2 ribbed sections
row6- (for the 1st stockinette section) k1, k2tog (for the 1st ribbed part) p1, k2tog (will end
with a p1), (for the 2nd stockinette section) k1, k2tog (for the 2nd ribbed part) p1, k2tog
(will end for a p1)
row7 & 8- knit stockinette sections and p1, k1 ribbed sections
row 9- k2tog the whole round
row10-12 – knit to end of round
row13- k2tog, k – repeat to end of round
row14- knit to end of round

cut a 10 inch tail and weave in through remaining stitches. Pull togetherly tightly and
weave in ends.

Make two tassles, sew on to icords, weave in all remaining ends and ta da!

Wear, and enjoy :)

I highly suggest the Knit Picks Wool of Andes Bulky yarn for the hat. It is a great priced yarn at 3.99 for a skein of 137 yards. It knits up beautifully and it feels great. Definitely my favorite yarn.

I’ve done horrible keeping up with both my knitting blog and this blog. So I’m putting the two together.

In a previous post I mentioned a Twin Leaf Scarf that I’m currently working on.
Check out the pre-blocked lace work

and the deep maroon color. It’s exquisite

And of course the finished Grumpasaurus a friend special ordered. I love the face.

Now I’m off to work on the Twin Leaf scarf. Or… work on a hair kerchief if I can find a pattern I like. I know the perfect yarn for it.

When I found a friend was pregnant, I knew right away I was going to knit her something. She and her husband had been trying to get pregnant for several years and they are both beyond ecstatic that they are now expecting their first. When she found out she was having a boy, I was determined to knit her something that was cute and boyish and hopefully sporty but on the edge of trendy.

I found these booties and I made the colors just a little different. I wanted them to look more like socks. Cute boyish, sporty socks. And they turned out PERFECT.

Baby Blue Booties

see bigger

and they go perfect with the stocking cap I knit too.

just admit it, you are swooning over the booties and hat ;)

I spent very little time on my knitting and photography this past week. But with good reason. I’ve spent the past week living in a surreal world where I lost a close friend. Between mourning, healing and giving my support and sympathy to her family, I haven’t had time or the energy for much else. Now that things have calmed down, I’ve picked up my knitting and my camera and it feels good. I finally updated my ravelry with pictures of these two projects:

I knitted this hat about a month ago. It started with a simple ribbed brim

and it turned into this soft and warm wool hat.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE how the colorway worked out with this yarn. It is simply divine.

And then I have this project:

This was my first time knitting with Malabrigo yarn. I was warned I would get addicted. I was told it is a knitter’s crack yarn. I didn’t believe the warnings but alas, I am ADDICTED. But I’m going to be good and I’m going to just indulge when I need a soft yarn fix. Or I’m going to avoid buying it at all costs until I get through the stash of yarn I currently have. Whichever comes first ;)
Anyways….
I wanted to knit a newborn stocking cap with the malabrigo yarn. This is how the hat started out.

I was semi happy with how the colorway was working out. I was informed of the weird pooling that can come about while knitting with the yarn, so I was relieved to see that it was working out pretty well for this hat.
And this is how the finished hat looks.

I still can’t get over how soft the yarn knits up and I like how the hat turned out. It was a stocking hat that was kicking and screaming for a tassel instead of a pom-pom.

Now I need a new project. And I have no idea what I want to knit up….