Penguin Hat

I have been having all these ideas of things that I want to make, but do not have enough time or looms to make everything that I am thinking of.  I have decided that once I sell 3 hats on etsy  I am going to buy myself a fancy loom.  I haven't decided yet which brand to go with.  If anyone that reads my blog and has any suggestions, please feel free to leave a comment with the loom that they like.

A week or so ago I signed up for a craft show.  I have a great collection of hats already made, but I wanted to have some new things made.  I came up with a penguin hat.  I looked on-line to see if there was already a pattern that I could follow.  Nothing was out there for knitting on looms, but there were a couple of ones for needle knitting.  I was unable to use the pattern though, so I came up with my own design.  I had to make it in a few parts.  I needed a white belly and an orange nose. I added white buttons for the eyes.  

I think he is cute.  I am pretty happy with the way he turned out.  I made the white belly part first to make sure that I would be able to get the shape that I was wanting.  I made the first one too big, so I think I will make an adult version of the penguin hat.  

I had the looms out again today and worked on another hat.  I made a hat using lace stitches and it came out really nice.  It is very different from anything else that I've made.  I am hoping that I get a chance tomorrow to post a blog with pictures.

September Craft Show

It has been so very hot here it is hard to think about knitting.  But, that needs to change because I have officially signed up for my first craft show of the year.  It will be close to the end of September, so it will be a great one to show off some knit items.  I plan on making a bunch of cupcake hats and some panda hats.  I would also like to make sure that I have some choices for adults too.  

Now, I just need to get motivated to pull out my looms again.  This will be a great opportunity to complete my 52 projects for 2011.  I am looking forward to this event.  It will be at a spot with a lot of other events going on, so it will be ok to take the kiddos.  

Getting ready for this event will also make me get back to blogging on a regular basis.  I will update here with my projects as I complete them.  Wish me luck.  :)

Honeycomb Knit Hat

This is another hat that I made using the book "I Can't Believe I am Loom Knitting".  The hat was made using the honeycomb stitch.  I made this hat and then listed it to my etsy shop and it sold within 24 hours!  

I loved the way this hat turned out and plan to make it again.  I plan to make it with my favorite Simply Soft yarn.  

Rainbow Flat Top Hat

Someone requested a pattern for this hat, so here it is.

You can make this hat on whatever loom you like.  It does not matter if has an even or odd number of pegs.  I will write out the pattern with the color combination that I used, but you will be able to use whatever colors you like.  The important part will be doing the color changes the way I describe.

You will need to be able to knit and purl to make this hat.


Starting with the brim - 
Cast on with the pink yarn
 knit 12 rounds
 purl 1 round
 knit 13 rounds
Then pull the first row (the cast on row) up and over to make a folded brim.  The row that is purled will be on the bottom and makes a nice edge to the brim.

Keep using the pink yarn                             '
knit 1 round

Here you will start your orange yarn - knit 1 round
                                                                    purl 4 rounds
                                                                    knit 2 rounds
Change to your yellow yarn - knit 1 round
                                                    purl 4 rounds
                                                    knit 2 rounds
Change to your green yarn - knit 1 round
                                                   purl 4 rounds
                                                   knit 2 rounds
Change to your blue yarn - knit 1 round
                                                 purl 4 rounds
                                                 knit 2 rounds
Change to your purple yarn - knit 1 round
                                                    purl 4 rounds


Now you need to decide how you want to make your flat top.


Way 1: Take a piece of scrap yarn and take the loops off the pegs.  Fold the hat in half and turn the hat inside out.  Take a crochet hook and do a single crochet through the first loop.  Single crochet through the second loop and pull the stitch through the loop that is on the hook.  Continue doing this until you reach the last loop and then run the yarn through the last loop.


Way 2:  Take a piece of scrap yarn and take the loops off of the loom.  Turn the hat inside out and fold the hat in half.  Then just use the yarn needle and sew up the top.  




I hope you enjoy this pattern.  I plan on adding pom-poms to the sides before I list this hat on etsy in the fall.  :)


Please let me know if you have any questions.  


I have not been knitting much, but have been spending a lot of time in my garden.  Last week we spent our days harvesting cherries from our tree and canning them.  My husband and I  made cherry jelly and cherry syrup.  Both are delicious.  I plan on doing a blog post soon with pictures and the recipe for the cherry syrup. 

What's Going On

I have not posted in a while, but I am still here.  I have been spending my time at soccer practices and games, outside as much as possible, and reading book 2 in the Outlander   series. Another thing taking up time is my husband and I have been getting our raise-beds ready and we have a new puppy that we have been spending time with.

Maple likes asparagus.

 I have to be honest and say that I have not touched my loom since last Saturday.  One whole week without loom knitting.  I haven't gone this long since the fall.  I finished a rainbow Rib-It hat and then I started working on a spiral design with two colors.  It was taking longer than I thought it would and I just got bored with it.  :( So, it is still on my loom, just hasn't really had much work done on it.  

I need to get back to work though.  I would love to have enough hats to go to a craft fair in the fall.  I also started a new etsy store with the same name as the blog and would love to have enough stock to open it with at least 30 hats.  

I would love to find some great patterns for light hats for spring, but really have not had a lot of luck.  If anyone has any links to patterns they would like to share please leave them in the comments.  

Just Finished 2 More Hats

I finished two hats.  I knit my Favorite Knit Hat with a small change and I had this idea for a rainbow hat in my head for weeks now and finally knit something.  I thought it was going to be a hat and now I am wondering if I should do something else or keep it a hat and add pom-poms.  Or would pom-poms be too much?  Not really sure.  I am up for others opinions though if anyone wants to comment.  

My Favorite Knit Hat Pattern

 When I knit this hat I made small changes.  One being the kind of yarn I used.  I made the hat with Caron brand Simply Soft.  The color is pistachio and it is a really nice light green.  The other change that was made is on the yarn over.  On the first hat I used the e-wrap for the yarn over.  This time I put the yarn in front of the yarn over peg.  I am really happy with this hat and it still is My Favorite Knit Hat. 

Close-up of the pattern.

 This was going to be a hat.  And it still might be a hat, but I also think it would be cute to add a handle and turn it into a cute little purse.  I am not sure.  I planned on adding two pom-poms, but for some reason I think it might be too much?  I don't know, maybe I am way over thinking it.  I love the flat top that I made to finish it and it looks super cute on.  The brim that I used for this hat makes a really tight brim and it doesn't have a lot of stretch.  I even made it on the purple round loom and it is too tight.  I love the way it looks though.  Is anyone interested in this pattern?  It is simple to knit up and if you wanted to change that would be super easy.

Feel free to comment.  I love to know if my patterns are being enjoyed or if you want more info on any of the hats I've made.   

Spring Knitting

We had 2 weeks here of this amazing Spring weather and I thought I was going to put away my looms.  I decided that I want to keep knitting this year through the Spring and Summer.    I want to get hats ready to add to my etsy shop in the fall and maybe enough to set up at a craft fair. 

With weather that was too gorgeous not to be outside and two kiddos that want to enjoy playing in the yard, I had to figure out the best way to knit on my porch.  I have animals that love yarn (new puppy and cats) and the porch is not exactly super clean.  I ended up finding a gift bag that was deep enough and sturdy enough to stand up without falling over.  I put the yarn in the bags and this worked out perfect.  It was a great solution and makes knitting on the porch possible for me.  :)

Last night after the kids went to bed,  I started knitting my favorite knit hat again.  I am using Caron brand Simply Soft this time and making a small change on the yarn over.  On the first hat I used the e-wrap on the yarn over and this time I am laying the yarn over the front of the peg.  I am liking the way it is turning out so far.  I am using the same light green yarn I used on the Spring Hat.  I am hoping to have it finished by this evening.  I will post pictures and then you can see the hat with different yarn and a small change.