Shawls in balls

Recently, Lion Brand Yarns ran a sale on their Shawl in a Ball yarns. Normally, they're about $10 per ball, but the sale was 5 balls for $10 + shipping cost. Not that I needed more yarn, but it was a sale I could not resist. Rather than just add the yarn to my stash, I decided I needed the knitting motivation that comes when I have a specific recipient in mind. I asked my sister, daughter, sister-in-law, and niece to choose one of the balls I'd bought, and I would make them each a shawl. So far, I've finished 2 of the 4 shawls. Please note that I haven't washed and blocked them yet so they are more scrunched up than they will be when they are given out.

My Sister's Shawl

The colorway is "Reflective Crystal." The pattern, "Sedona Triangle Shawl", is a free pattern from Lion Brand specifically designed for the Shawl in a Ball yarns. It's an easy pattern made up of  alternating rows of stockinette and garter stitches. Below is a closeup.

My Daughter's Shawl

My daughter wanted a rectangular wrap with greens and browns. The colorway she chose is "Graceful Green." Sorry, but the photo does not do it justice. The free pattern is  "Nova Lace Pattern Wrap" from Tahki Yarns. It's knit lengthwise. I cast on fewer stitches than the pattern called for so I could have a bit more height than length in the final piece. It's a super-easy pattern with yarn-overs added on one row and dropped on the next to provide a lacy effect which will be more pronounced once I block the piece

Getting Ready for the 2019 NC State Fair

Registration deadline for entries to the North Carolina State Fair is coming up fast so I'm now working on several projects that, up to now, had just been vague ideas. So far, I'm finishing up (1) a knitted baby sweater, (2) a tatted edging for a pillowcase, and (3) a crocheted edging for a tea towel. I have ideas for a few other items but I will need to give them some more thought. I won't post photos of any pieces until they are actually entered in the fair in October. Stay tuned...

This Summer's Charity Knitting

Although I've been pretty inactive on the blog this summer, that doesn't mean I haven't been busy crafting. One of the projects I've been working on is making items to donate to the local charity Note in the Pocket. Their mission: "We provide clothing to impoverished and homeless schoolchildren in Wake County [NC] with dignity and love. Note in the Pocket believes that it is unacceptable that children are limited in their educational and social development because they do not have appropriate clothes for school.

This is the latest batch I've finished: 2 scarves and 34 hats. I've gone through so much of my stash of acrylic yarn that I've had to buy more to continue making the hats. The majority were knitted using a simple pattern that I modified from one I found in my library of knitting books. The pattern works up very fast so that I can make a hat in just a few hours of knitting.

Here's the pattern that I used for the majority of the hats:

Child's Simple Knitted Hat

Hat body
1.       Cast on 80 stitches on 16" circular needle.
2.       Join & place marker.
3.       Work K2 P2 rib for 8 rows.
4.       Continue in stockinette stitch for 28 rounds.
Crown Shaping Decreases
Change to double-pointed needles when there are too few stitches to fix on the circular needle.
1.       (K8, K2tog) -- repeat pattern to marker
2.       K next round -- 72 stitches
3.       (K7, K2tog) -- repeat pattern to marker
4.       K next round -- 64 stitches
5.       (K6, K2tog) -- repeat pattern to marker
6.       K next round -- 56 stitches
7.       (K5, K2tog) -- repeat pattern to marker
8.       K next round -- 48 stitches
9.       (K4, K2tog) -- repeat pattern to marker
10.   K next round -- 40 stitches
11.   (K3, K2tog) -- repeat pattern to marker
12.   K next round -- 32 stitches
13.   (K2, K2tog) -- repeat pattern to marker
14.   K next round -- 24 stitches
15.   (K1, K2tog) -- repeat pattern to marker
16.   K next round -- 16 stitches
17.   K2tog 8 times -- 8 stitches

Cut yarn leaving 8" tail & thread through the remaining stitches.
Pull together tightly & secure end.
Weave in any loose ends.