Be Creative this Halloween

Stripes

Hat #3: This was the lesson for carrying colors. Didn't quite have all the kinks worked out. I really like the look of the stripes, but the seam isn't the greatest. Hat #4: So I attempted stripes on circular needles. (First project with those.) Extra practice for carrying colors too. (I think I got a better idea of twisting the yarn at each round, but I'm still making it up as I go.) Since I used cotton yarn I thought it would shrink in the wash... it didn't, so it's still a bit big. The inside has the stripes that I like (similar to above)... I don't know if there's a way to make them be on the outside. (The flat knitted hat was easy to flip.)

Hat #2

Hat #1: A learning experience... A fairly simple task. Being the first, I thought it should be just that.

Hat #2: This time I added to the complexity by picking a (not very, nevertheless...) more difficult stitch, plus decreasing my stitches for the crown of the hat.

My biggest challenge was getting the pictures to be in focus! (Had to bring out the tripod!)

Again, blah blah blah. (I know.) It's an accomplishment for me though. I've gone from learning basic stitches to making wash clothes & directly to hats. Totally skipped the scarf projects (for now anyway).

Next hat project is to use 2 yarn colors (carrying the 2nd color along when not in use).

Baby steps.

And hey, if you know of a fantastic project... send a link!

More knitting goodness

Complete projects this time!

Another wash cloth for a gift...

And, my first hat project...

I figured my first hat should be an easy task. So it's one with a pretty basic technique using straight needles. I did however have to alter the number of stitches to make it fit a larger head. The pattern didn't specify child, but I recognized the circumference would not be large enough for an adult head. (Yeah yeah, I know "blah blah blah." But hey, I'm trying!)

Projects

Remember way back when when I went to NC... A friend of ours picked me up from the airport in Pittsburgh. We stopped back at his place, met up with Keith & went out to dinner. While at dinner he casually mentioned, "By the way, I've got poison ivy..." In my head thinking (& then saying) I used your both towel to dry my hands in the bathroom! Later that week, yep, I got poison ivy too. We gave him a hard time saying he needed a hand towel for guests to use! He eventually came back with "If I had a hand towel, I'd be using it too!" And he was right. A weekend my mom came into town we retold the story & I commented he needs a Phil only towel for when he is contaminated & a guest towel. And with great enthusiasm, we were off! Here's what we came up with...

(I like the poison ivy leaf myself!)

Then there was my friend's birthday. I decided to try my first knitting project. Lesson learned... a knit/purl created design needs a solid color of yarn. Can you see the image?

(It's a steaming cup of tea.)

Next I was on to try & come up with a Mickey ears design. Most of the attempts got torn back apart. The shape was distorted or the circles were being problematic. This was the one I settled on...

It just didn't seem to pop enough. I was picturing a way of using two colors of yarn, one for the design, one for the background. I looked online to brainstorm, since I'm new to this knitting thing. Saw intarsia, but kept looking. I settled on double knitting. Practiced, tore apart, practiced & tore apart. Then I found how to properly cast on with 2 colors. Or so I thought. I used an alternating 2 color long tail cast on. After that I used the basic pattern from above to make the design pop.

But now I don't know how to bind off with the 2 colors. Anybody have any ideas?I tried looking online all morning. I've looked up binding off for double knitting... but the references that show using the strands individually confuse me. And the ones that treat two strands (1 red & 1 white loop) as one look sloppy for a bind off. The appearance is more like the sides, while I want it to be neat like the cast on bottom. Only one site referenced the Russian Bind Off as possible bind off for the long tail cast on. But I don't know if that is appropriate.

Knitters out there... Help! (Please)