Knight in Shining Armor Suit

My youngest grandson wants nothing more than to be a knight in shining armor, so for Christmas he is getting a whole knight costume.  His mother is making the sword and shield and I offered to make the suit of armor.  I found the perfect shiny material and I had a tin man costume pattern.  With only a slight alteration to the hood, I was able to convert a tin man funnel into a knight helmet.  I hope it fits him.  I made the suit a size three although he is still two, and a small one at that.  I want it to fit him for awhile.  Here is my creation.  I wish the camera did more justice to it.

Because it is hanging on a hanger, the top is closer to the knee joints that it will be on the child, hopefully.

I tried to get a better shot of the helmet from the side. I created the face joints by taking the two joint parts, and instead of sewing them together to form the joint, I sewed one to the top of the face opening and the other one on the bottom.

This is a great shot of the shoulder joint.  These joints were added to the shoulders, elbows, and knees. Each joint consists of two joint parts sewed together to give the curved look.  Then, I had to hand sew the joints in place. 

I'm actually finished with Christmas projects and I am going to take a break before I start next year's projects.  I still have two more sweaters on order.  I also already know what I am making for next year's presents for the adults.  It is not knit this time.  I am going to do cross stitch for a switch.  I will probably still do knit projects for the grand kids.  I might make sweaters again, since I know they have all outgrown their last sweaters.

No More Knitting Until After Christmas

I just finished another sweater.  It will be the last knitting project I do before Christmas.  I still have orders for two more sweaters for after Christmas.  I need to take a small break from knitting again.  I am now working on the knight in shining armor costume for my youngest grandson who is asking for nothing else this year. When you are two years old, you get one thing in your head and that is what stays there. He's always being either a big, mean, daddy lion, or he is a knight in shining armor.  His mother is making his sword and shield and I offered to make the suit.  It is nearly done. Here's the sweater.

Done in the charcoal gray, I needed a bright background so it would show up better. 

The pattern for this sweater has become a very popular one for many who see it.  I keep getting orders for more like it.  It is quite easy, but is done in one big piece, so it gets really heavy before I get to the bottom.  I start at one sleeve and go all away across the front and back and back down the other sleeve all in one continuous circle.  I break at the center front and switch to straight needles to complete the center front and back sections so I can do the collar. Then, I connect back to the circular needle to go down the other sleeve.  Once the sleeves and yoke are completed, I pick up stitches around the yoke section and knit the body on a circular needle.  That is why it gets so heavy and bulky before I finish. The biggest problem I am having with this sweater is that everyone is a bit different in size.  I finally adjusted to that, but this sweater was also being done in a lighter weight yarn.  I needed to not only make this sweater larger for the lady it was being made for, but I also had to adjust to the lighter yarn.  I finished the whole first sleeve before I could see that it was not going to be big enough, so I had to take the whole thing out and add more stitches to begin with.  I think I finally have it right.  I sure hope this sweater fits because I need to make another one for this same lady.

Did I Say More Socks?

Yes, I have been making more socks.  I always think that I won't make them again, but then someone asks for some and I do them.  I don't really mind doing socks, but I feel it is hard to earn anything doing them.  My labor is pretty much free because I don't feel easy about charging a big price for a pair of socks, although they can take me as long to make as a sweater sometimes. I have decided that in the future I will continue to charge twenty dollars for a pair, plus the cost of the yarn.  That will make it worth the time it takes to make them.  I was disappointed to get my first recall on my last pair.  I guess a small hole has started in the toe.  I'm sure it was the pair that I did the kind of weaving that the pattern calls for.  I have never felt like I was getting a good tight finish that way, so I started doing it my way and it works much better.  I know the toe will be finished securely with my method. Anyway, I told Rhonda to bring the sock back and I will fix it.  I really hate knowing that my work is less than best and Rhonda has been good to me with all her orders. She deserves a good product for what she pays me.

These are the ladies' socks.  The gray pair is the recall.

These are the men's socks.

Now, I need to get to work on another sweater, same pattern, just a different color.  The pattern has become a hit with a lot of people who have asked me to make one for them.  I have at least three more ordered.  One needs to be finished for Christmas, so I will get right on it.  The other two will have to wait until after Christmas.  There isn't enough time for me to get everything finished and still stay sane for Christmas.  I have other things I need to do, like making my candies.