Basic Baby Hat

I've been knitting like crazy here, and I love it!

The most recently finished project is a really basic baby hat.

I used a self-striping sock yarn, and I like how it turned out. Would you like to knit your own?

Basic Baby Hat

Materials:
Less than 1 skein sock yarn or other lightweight baby yarn. I used Lion Brand's Magic Stripes yarn.
US size 4 straight needles or dpns

Gauge:
6 stitches per inch in stockinette stitch

Notes:
This pattern is knit flat, but could easily be adjusted for knitting in the round. To knit in the round, CO 72 instead of 74sts, join for knitting in the round, and then k1p1 around for 8 rounds. Follow pattern as written.

Pattern:
CO 74 stitches using the long tail cast-on method, and leaving at least an 8" tail.
Row 1: K2, (p1, k1)repeat across to establish 1x1 ribbing pattern
Rows 2-8: knit in pattern
Row 9 and following: knit in stockinette stitch until piece measures 4" from the cast on edge.

Decreasing:
Row 1: (k8, k2tog)repeat across
Row 2 and all even rows: knit even in stockinette
Row 3: (k7, k2tog) repeat across
Row 5: (k6, k2tog) repeat across
Row 7: (k5, k2tog) repeat across
Row 9: (k4, k2tog) repeat across
Row 11:(k3, k2tog) repeat across
Row 13:(k2, k2tog) repeat across
Row 15:(k1, k2tog) repeat across
Row 17: k2tog across

Finishing:
Draw a 6" tail of yarn through remaining stitches and pull tightly, fastening off.
Seam the sides, from the ribbing to the top, using the 8" tail from the cast-on and mattress stitch to create an invisible seam. What's mattress stitch? Find out here.

 

Let me know what you think! Link back to my blog if you try it, please! 

refashion

use it up,
wear it out,
make it do,
or do without.


For much of my life, this has been the theme. Buying new was the lesser choice when there was a thrift store, and repurposing or reusing was more highly esteemed than spending hard-earned cash. Garage sale-ing was an event! Even my little brother, according to my mom's anecdote, wouldn't wear the new clothes that Nanny bought for him because, "these can't be mine;" he was used to our brother's broken-in hand-me-downs.This attitude has come in handy in these first four years of my married life, as we have very little in the way of extra pennies.

I've come to love thrifting, creating-from-thrifted-stuff, plain-old-creating, and finding new uses for stuff. For instance, there's a cotton tablecloth covering a mismatched armchair, rather than me paying close to $90 for a new slipcover. There's my full-length mirror that my parents found at a garage sale, whose adjustable angle is held in place by a ribbon tied across the bottom of the oval frame. (you can see that ingenuity in the picture below) There's a ribbon tied to my pull-on overhead light fixture so that I can reach it. There's a clip-on desk lamp above my apartment kitchen sink instead of built-in under-cabinet lighting. I'm currently using a couple of picnic baskets, one on top of the other (neither of them new), to make a night stand for my side of the bed. So many of my clothes are second hand that it feels special, even extravagant, to buy something brand-new. I love vintage dishes, for more reasons than just because they can be less expensive to buy.

Not that I don't recognize quality, or want really nice things. I treasure the beautiful jewelry from my grandmother, the china I got for wedding presents, and my J. Crew jeans (second hand, of course). It would be awesome to have under-cabinet lighting in the kitchen, matching new furniture that's my style, and all of the latest fashionable clothing. It would be really convenient to have a light switch for that pull-on light by my dresser.

But that's not where we are right now. Right now, we find the best things we can at the best prices we can - even if it's not the most convenient. We wait for the right thing to come at the right price, sometimes to my husband's chagrin. Sometimes he does want me to just buy it new. :o)

All of this to say: I've done it again!

Back in May, at the end-of-year community free swap, I got a really soft J. Crew t-shirt in a men's size medium, much like this one. It's a nice, light blue color, with a couple of stains - a bleach stain on the v-neck, and a small stain on the shoulder. I was pretty sure hubby wouldn't want it, so tonight, I cut it up...

...and now, it's an XS flutter-sleeve maternity shirt! Hooray!

First, I folded it in half down the middle - sleeves together, and the v-neck matching up in the front. I lined it up with another one of my v-neck shirts that's nicely fitted around the bust, and cut a bit off of the sides, including cutting off the sleeves. I then cut the excess fabric off the sleeves, and cut off the hem on the sleeves. I sewed up the sides of the shirt, re-attached the sleeves (backwards, though, so that they'd be fluttery), and ta-da! I have a new shirt.

free to me!

remember how I mentioned that swap meet in my previous post? The one where everything was free? I donated some of my stuff, and picked up these awesome finds:

1.

Tommy Hilfiger boat shoes in plaid oilcloth, lined with canvas, rubber soles. They're almost ballet flat style - just feminine enough. Love! Can't believe I found my size (5.5). Similar shoes sell for $59 or more!

2. This one was a real surprise - I don't usually like Vera Bradley stuff, but this ID holder in "pinwheel pink" caught my eye. It was originally $12, but is on sale for $8. And for me, free.



3. A light blue wool cable-knit scarf and hat set. Beautiful! The scarf is a snuggly 9" wide and hangs to mid- thigh when I don't wrap it. Unbelievably, I'm actually wearing it comfortably right now because it's in the 40's here. In May. All sadness aside, I love it.
4. A cute red swingy tank top - shirred at the empire waist with wide straps that cross over in the back. It's made of cotton t-shirt material, so it will be super comfy for summer.
5. a wool sweater that I have already shrunk (on purpose!!) to use as a reinforcement for my hubby's wearing-thin boiled wool slippers. He loves those slippers - I'm going to try to extend their life.
6. new-ish cleats for my brother's golf game.

I would've stayed longer and dug for more, but Hubby was with me and was getting antsy. All in all, a total success. Yay!

me minus a job = God has other plans

but it doesn't mean i like it.
sure, this wasn't my favorite job, but i have been grateful for it. i'm thankful for the money that i made by doing this.
i feel angry at my managers for the way they handled this. not only did they give me just under 2 weeks notice, they then asked me to stay silent about it until today, when they announced that i was leaving at the weekly meeting. oh, and the reason? they're downsizing. the economy is poor. we have more staff per agents than other offices in other cities. we're not making as much as we used to. they're cutting my position and spreading out my jobs around the other staff members (who are already quite busy, thank you).

and all they said at the meeting: "she's leaving, she has some leads on jobs, and we wish her well." nothing about "our company is downsizing" or "this was not her decision." it makes me angry, because now i have 75 agents saying to me "oh, we'll miss you," "why are you leaving?," "do you have a teaching job?" No, actually, the truth is that i'm completely unemployed.
my husband is also unemployed.

this is when i have to thank God for the money he has allowed us to save, and that we will somehow make it through the summer, even if neither one of us gets a job.

breathing.

all that said, it hurts. i want to cry. i want to yell at them that this puts me in an extremely difficult situation, that my husband's grad school expenses and our housing have eaten most of my salary, that i'm not sure if i can make it through the summer even if i do get a teaching job for next fall. i feel angry, disappointed, dropped, discarded, worthless, and betrayed. not to mention scared.

i just want to cry, and i can't do that here. can i?

i realize that God has other plans, and that something will work out rather well for us. We need to try to trust Him. i know. it should be easy, right? He hasn't failed me, and I know He won't.

it still hurts.