Two More Hats

Two more hats are complete.  Now, I just have one left for Christmas, with at least one more for whenever, but will probably still be done before Christmas.  I will want to do it while hats are in my mind.  It will be easier that way.  Anyway, here are my latest two hats.

This is Jackson's cow.  It was supposed to be white with black spots, but I thought the black, with white spots would look more like a bull for a little boy.

Cow from the back.  One change has been made in the cow.  I put pompoms, but had planned on tassels. I had been doing so many pompoms that I accidentally made the pompoms instead, so I made the change, but have no picture with the tassels.

Joey is modeling the hat for Jackson.  He is trying his best to make a mean bull face.

This is Lucy's adorable koala.  The easiest of all the hats so far.  I planned to use the pompoms I made for Jackson's hat on this one, but they fell apart when I took them off the other hat.  I had to make new ones after all.

I will be making a car trip for Thanksgiving.  I will work on the sweater that may or may not be for Cheryl.  I haven't worked on it for awhile, so I will get lots done while traveling.  It is basically all I have left to get done for Christmas, so I will be motivated to work on it.

Two Little Pigs

My friend was probably joking when she said that maybe there would be a piggy hat for her, too, in the package I will be sending out with her Christmas gift, the mobile for her daughter, and the other hats for her grandchildren.  I decided it wasn't a bad idea.  I had made the piglet hat for her granddaughter who is the sister of the twin boys.  Since there were two puppy hats for the twins, I thought it would be cute to make twin piggy hats for her and her grandmother. The hats take so little time to make, that it was no big deal.  Here are my twin piggies.

Maya and Grandma twin piggies.

Lexi modeling Maya's hat.

I have been accomplishing a lot lately.  I did finish my friend's gift, but I will not blog it until after Christmas.  I want it to stay a surprise and I know she reads my blog.  I still have at least three hats and a sweater to finish before Christmas.

Three Dogs and a Pig

I just finished the hats for my friend's little grand children.  I ended up having two extra dogs because when I was first starting out with the animal hats, I was having a difficult time getting the gauge correct.  I was trying to use yarn that I already had, and most of it was not the size called for in the pattern.  The first hat was really small, so I decided I could use it for one of the twin babies.  The next one was bigger, but still too small for my intended receiver.  I thought that it might be big enough for another one of my friend's grandsons, Bennett.  I needed to make another one for the other twin.  Since the twins have a two year old sister, I couldn't give all the boys hats and not one for her, so I decided to make a different animal than I was already planning to make, or have made, for my own grand children.  That pretty much left me with the pig.  I ended up having to add some rows to the front and back of the bigger dog's band so that it would fit further down on the head.  It was too short, and I could not add to the top because of the face already being sewn in place.  After I had finished the pig, I could see that it was going to be too short also, so I took it out from the top to where I started my decreases to shape the crown.  I added six more rows and then did the decreasing rows again.  I was very happy with the outcome of it, even though it ended up taking more time than it should have to make the pig hat.  Also, I ran out of pink yarn and had to go to the store to buy some more before I could do the ears, tail, and snout.  I was happy to be able to get the same color. So, here they are: three dogs and a pig.

These are the hats for the twins.  The black one was the first mistake.  I made the brown one later, then used black contrast for the brown dog and brown contrast for the black dog.  The dogs can have their ears up like in this shot, or...

they can be left hanging down as in this shot.

This shows the pig from the front and the bigger dog with the ears down. This dog has knitted eyes, but the dogs for the twins have buttons for eyes like all my other animal hats.  I was just trying something different with this dog.

From behind, you can see the pig's curly tail and this is the dog with the ears up.

I just have three more hats to make for my grandchildren, and then I will be finished with the hats.  At least, I think I will be.  I do have to make another one for my daughter-in-law, Ellen.  She has requested that I make her a fox hat.  I will make it, but not before Christmas.  It is not going to be a Christmas gift for her.

Something Different and Something Same

Well, I have been doing so much knitting, that I needed to take a break.  I decided to make another play mat set for my friend's daughter who is going to have a baby.  I didn't really want to do another knitted one, so I decided to do a machine sewn animal set.  I wanted to do a farm scene this time, but I didn't have enough farm animals of any one pattern style.  I used what I did have and went on line to find a few more that would look like the same style as what I already had.  I also wanted to make a farmer, so I had to be creative with the pattern I had for a man.  Actually, it was a clown, but I altered things a bit and came up with something that sort of looks like a farmer.  These little animals are really cute, but they create quite a challenge because of how small the little pieces are, and because things get so tight that it is difficult to sew in some places.  Also, the turning right side out is very difficult with such a small opening for turning.  Everything comes out a little bit crooked somewhere or another, but it does add character to these charming little animals.  I was lucky enough to find some material that would do for the mat part.  I liked both so much that I decided to make the mat reversible, so it doesn't matter which side is up.  I also made this mat set with the arches that can be used as a crib mobile, but I am unable to show this one set up as a mobile.  I no longer have a crib set up at my house like I did before.  No more tiny babies that need a crib, so the crib is gone.

I found this adorable little lamb online.  I chose fleece for the material.  Cute for the lamb, but very difficult to sew in such tiny, tight places like the legs.  You can't see from this angle, but the left ear is turned down in a really cute way.

This cow is from a pattern I have used before.  It always comes out so crooked in the head, especially the muzzle.  The ears do not show up in this picture, but they turn down on the side of the head.

Every farm needs a pig.  I also found this little guy online, but he was so little that I had to enlarge him so he would be about the same size as the other animals in the set.  I decided to make his hanger go across the top of his back to  make him look like a piggy bank.

Sweet little kitty has a very crooked left ear.  The right ear is perfect.  The left front leg also does not sit flat when it is on a flat surface, so it looks like the kitty is lifting its leg to start walking away.

This horse is from a very old pattern.  The style is a little different from the others in that it is not three dimensional like most of the others.  I really think it is cute, and it was so much easier to make than the others.

This little donkey is also from a pattern I found online.  He was really tiny and was meant to be hand sewn.  That is not for me, and I wanted him to be about the same size as the other animals, so I enlarged his pattern, too.

This floppy eared puppy is really adorable, but a real headache to sew.  It was the first one of these that I sewed this time.  Though I have made these animals before, I always forget how difficult they are to maneuver with the machine, and how hard it is to follow the instructions.  They are so confusing, and I wonder how anyone could ever come up with them in the first place.  It blows my mind! When I finished him, his ears stood straight out like airplane wings.  I had to tack them to the side of his head so he wouldn't fly away.

This little duck is probably my favorite.  His wings stick straight out like he is going to take flight.  His head was the hardest thing in all of the animals to figure out.  I don't know why, because I have made him several times before.  I think I was really tired when I was trying to do it.  I left for awhile, and when I came back, it went right together without a problem.

This is my little farmer.  He is wearing hip-hugger pants and has no hands or feet, but I think he still looks somewhat like a farmer.  You can't see his hat from this angle, but he has a hat that sort of looks like a cowboy hat.  I hand embroidered his hair which you also can not see much of in this shot.  Although he is not three dimensional either, he took quite a while to do because of all of the detail with his clothes...the belt loops in particular were difficult to sew on. I also put a small bell in his hat, so he jiggles a little when you shake him.

This shot shows one of the sides of the mat.  In this one, the center is made from a flannel that has farm animals, barns,  tractors and trucks, and trees printed all over it.  I cut strips of material like the material I used in the arches (two different blues, and two different greens) for the sides.  I cut corners out of some yellow.  I made a border of these strips and corners to go around the printed flannel material.

This shot shows the other side of the mat.  This is a patch work quilt top.  It looks great and has blocks that look like gardens.  I didn't need to do the patch work.  It already came that way.  I reversed the front animals in this one so that you can see all of the different animals the way they look hanging.

I also completed another project this week.  I needed to make yet another pair of slippers for a friend.  This pair was for a boy about eleven, so I had to really work on downsizing the pattern that I have been using for a man.  Hope they fit.

Two More Hats

I've finished two more hats and another pair of sock slippers.  The slippers were an unexpected job that required being finished in just two days. My son had a friend that would be visiting our church to speak to the youth.  He wanted to give him a gift, but he asked for it on Thursday night and it needed to be finished by Sunday.  I was up for the task, of course.  The friend is a quadriplegic and I was asked to make socks or a lap quilt.  I didn't have enough time to do either of those, so I decided to do the slippers.  I knew that if I pushed myself, I could accomplish the task in the short amount of time.  I would have finished even earlier than I did, if it had not been for the fact that I forgot that I needed to use the smallest pattern size, as opposed to the largest for a man's slipper.  After finishing the first one, I realized that it was going to be way to large, so I had to take it out back to the cuff part.  I was not going to take that out because it takes too long to knit the rib pattern.  Anyway, the slippers are finished and delivered.  I am now working on another pair of slippers.  I received an order to do a pair for a teenage boy.  This is a challenge since I was already using the smallest pattern size that I had.  I have finished the first slipper, and I think that I was able to make the appropriate adjustments.  Hope it will work.  I had already finished the cat hat before I started the slippers, and I made another hat today.  This one is a Panda bear and is for the little sister of the boy I am making the slippers for.  She is the four-year-old girl that I have been babysitting for while her mother has been recovering from hip surgery. She has been watching me make the hats, so she asked me to make the Panda for her.  Works for me.  I love making these hats.  They only take about a day to make, and I think they are really cute.

This is the pair of slippers that I finished for my son to give to his friend.

This is Taylor wearing the mouse hat that I made for Dot.  I posted the hat before.

This kitty hat will go to my granddaughter, Portia.  It was going to be for Lexi, but it is smaller and will fit Portia better.  I had made the chicken hat for Portia, but it is bigger and will fit Lexi better.  Therefore, the switch.

This is the Panda bear for Taylor, who is modeling the cat hat above.

 I still have five more hats to go.  I also need to finish the other slipper for Taylor's brother, my friend's secret gift, and the sweater that may or may not be for Cheryl.  I think I will try to make another play mat set for my friend's daughter who is pregnant.  I already will be sending four hats and the secret gift to Utah, so I would like to also send the play mat.  The baby is not due until much later, but I may as well try to send it at the same time.  Another project that I want to finish, but do not need until March, is the baby quilt for Joey's teacher.  Plenty to do, so I'm loving it.

Animal Hats Thus Far

I have started making the fifteen animal hats that I am making for my nine grand children and a few others, for Christmas.  I have five of them completed, plus the first one I made that was too small for the intended receiver of the hat.  I had to make a larger one for Ellis and will give the smaller one to a friend's grandson. Some of the hats are being modeled by kids that will not be getting that particular hat.

This dog is for Ellis.  It can have the ears turned up like this one...

...or hang down like this one.

Joey is doing his best to be a puppy dog while he models the hat for Ellis.

Joey wearing Ellis' hat and Lexi modeling the smaller hat for my friend, Bennett.

This little mouse is for Dot.  I just finished it, so I have no model yet.

This adorable chicken is for Portia.

Lexi is an adorable chick.

This monkey hat is for my little monkey, Joey.  He is dying to see it, but I told him, "Not until Christmas."

My little friend, Taylor, modeling Joey's monkey hat.

I absolutely love this frog hat for Ezra.  It can also have the ear flaps up like this to look like legs and feet, or...

...with the flaps down.  Either way works for me.  I have no model because it is too small for the others.

So, that is it for hats.  I have also made costumes for Halloween that I want to share. I've already shown some of them, but these are being modeled by the ones the costumes were intended for.

Joey as Leonardo Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle (front view).

Hind view of the Turtle.

Leonardo Ninja Turtle (Joey) and Rapunzel (Lexi).

Batman (Bastian) and the bat (Luthien).

I am still waiting for a picture of Ellis as Ironman.  I didn't get a chance to get a picture of it before Ellis took it back to Maine.  I also need to get a picture of Portia wearing her bunny costume that I shared in an earlier blog.

Now that Halloween is over, I will be working on the rest of the hats, Cheryl's sweater that may or may not be for her, and the secret project I am making for my friend, Nancy.  I just found out today that Joey's teacher is going to have a boy in March.  I have started to knit a blanket that I will finish for her.  My friend's daughter is having a baby, but I will wait until I find out what it is before I start to make something for that baby.