The Newlywed Blanky

Well, here it is!



They aren't newlyweds anymore, but I still hope that when my baby brother and his excellent wife pull out this blanky and snuggle under it, they will remember it as made for them on the occasion of their marriage. Even though that was almost two years ago.

Here's another picture of the blanky, because I do love pics without flash:



You can see the vertical stripes in it, one of the reasons I chose this pattern.

Anyway, just a quick check-in here at Stone Age Techie, where we are having a summer filled with health problems and have recently adopted the motto, 'if you can't laugh, you'll only cry, so better laugh.'

Yep, it's been that kind of summer.

We have also had some fun, though, and some personal triumphs - the Newlywed Blanky for me, canoeing on the Saco River in Maine, where Luke did nearly all the paddling for he and I (also where the banner pic comes from), and Owen's big thrill: jumping in the shallow end of the pool from the edge (and not from the steps in the water).

Lots of great stuff! Hope your summer is full of reasons to laugh, and none to cry.

A Knitted Mug Warmer

So, acupuncture seems to work with tendinitis, I highly recommend it to all knitters... with my 'new' arms, I made this mug warmer as a thank-you, and I'm thinking about making one for myself too, it's so cozy!

Finger Puppets Rock.

I made these for a friend with a new baby, who'll need lots of entertainment, and a four-year-old who can provide it. Cute, eh?

A Knitted Hat Pattern, From Me To You

Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I made nine wonderful hats and two excellent golf club head covers (if I do say so myself). Many hats were from a great book called Hip Knit Hats, and I learned some really neat techniques from this book. Here's the hat I made for my sister in law, a felted cloche modeled by Owen:



Noticeably absent, however, was any version of that classic winter cap with earflaps. I decided what the heck, I'll have some fun and make up my own pattern! Of course, I had to make three or four before I figured out how to do it in a size that might fit most humans. Interestingly, Owen adopted the first of these for himself, and even though it's huge on him, it looks very cute. (That's him, wearing the giant red–and–orange cap up in the banner.)


This version is the one I knitted for Firefly Mom, because it looks just like Jayne's hat from this amazing, incredible western-set-in-space, Firefly.

So I decided I would share the pattern here. Naturally, I neglected to get gauge in any one of these hats I did from this pattern; if you know that the person you're knitting for has a small-ish head, you may want to stop increasing at 74 stitches, or even 66. Or, try dropping down a needle size – one thing I learned while knitting all these hats is that eventually, you get a feel for whether it's gonna be too big or too small. I hope that my advice here in this post will help you make a hat that won't be sized for Bigfoot.

Karen's Knitted Winter Cap Pattern
Knitted on size 8 double pointed needles and a size 8 16 inch circular needle; ribbing knitted on a size 7 16 inch circular needle

Yarn: Paton's Classic Wool, worsted weight, one skein each forest green and light gray (This is the pattern for my brother-in-law's Lucky Fishing Hat, knitted just like Owen's but in a different colorway. Here's why it's called a Lucky Fishing Hat:)



Cast on 12 stitches, and divide among three size 8 double pointed needles; join into a round and place marker to show beginning of round on first needle (when you're finished with the hat, make sure to weave the ends in really tightly up here at the top)

Round one: knit one, make one (by knitting into both the back and front of stitch) twice on each needle; six stitches on the needle, 18 total

Round two, and every even-numbered round: knit

Round three: knit two, make one on each of the three needles – eight stitches per needle, 24 total

Round five: knit three, make one on each of the three needles – 10 stitches per needle, 30 total

Round seven: knit four, make one on each of the three needles – 12 stitches per needle, 36 total

Continue increasing on the odd rows, and knitting on the even rows until there are 12 stitches before each make one – 80 stitches total

Somewhere in these increasing/knitting rounds, which took me about 3-1/2 inches from the crown, you may want to change colors. I started with the green, and went to gray about 3 inches in.

Once you are finished with the increasing/knitting rounds, continue to knit in stockinette stitch until you're at about 7 inches from the beginning (the crown). I changed back to green at about 6 inches from the crown.

To start the ribbing: when your hat is about 7 inches from the crown, switch to the size 7 circular 16 inch needle. Knit two rounds, decreasing two stitches in each round for a total of 76 stitches, before switching to knit two, purl two.
Knit two, purl 2 for 3 inches.

Now, we'll set up for the earflaps.
From the marker: bind off 13 stitches, work 18 stitches in pattern in place on a stitch holder (first ear flap), bind off 22 stitches, work 18 stitches in pattern and place on a stitch holder (second ear flap), bind off 13.

Place 18 stitches from one ear flap onto the size 7 circular needle, work back and forth in pattern for 2 inches, finishing with the inside part (wrong side) of the ear flap facing you.

Turn the hat so that the outside (right side) part of the year flap is facing you.
Knit one, knit two together; work in pattern to the last three stitches, slip slip knit, knit one.

Turn the hat so that the inside (wrong side) part of the ear flap is facing you.
Purl 1, purl two together; work in pattern to the last three stitches, slip slip purl, purl 1.

Continue in this fashion, knitting the decreases on the right side and purling the decreases on the wrong side, until there are four stitches left.

At this point you have two choices: knit these four stitches in I--cord for at least 12 inches, or make a braid that's at least 12 inches long by weaving a few more skeins of yarn into those four stitches and making the braid.

Make the other ear flap the same way.

Weave in the ends, make a pom-pom for the top, and you're done!

If you find that the hat is ridiculously big, you can do what I did with the Lucky Fishing Hat: I gathered the top by taking some of the green yarn, turning the hat inside out, and using a darning needle to pick up a stitch every inch or so around from about 2 inches down from the top of the crown. When I got back to where I started, I pulled the yarn kind of tight and tied a knot (all done inside the hat, so it can't be seen from the outside). I also braided three tassels and attached them to the top, which made the whole thing look totally planned and adorable.

If you try this hat, I'd love it if you give me some feedback on it - how many mistakes did I make, was it too big/too small? In fact, anyone who's diligent about gauge, if you make the hat would you let me know the important details about your hat's sizing? Like, what the gauge is, how big the hat is around, how many stitches you ended up with after you finished the increases, what size needles you used... you'll get credit in a future post, complete with a pic of your hat.

Happy knitting!

Knitted Gifts

I'm so excited, because this holiday season is the first I've ever known how to knit. We always celebrate Hannukah around Thanksgiving because that's when hubby's family gets together. So, while I've been making these babies for the last month, only now can I share them online.

Here's the purse I made for my Mom-in-law:



That bead, used to weigh the flap down and keep the purse closed, is one of those that you feel you can gaze at for hours, like a crystal ball. Soooo pretty....

And, I made felted bowls for my sister-in-law:




Look - they even nest one in the other!


Friends tell me that they'd use these bowls to put pine cones in as a centerpiece, or to put towels and toiletries in at the bathroom sink. For some reason, I can see them on the dining table with a bunch of clementines in them. Which is good because to me, because clementines always smell deliciously of December.

Hope your Thanksgiving is wonderful, just what you feel it should be; I will be found on Turkey Day thanking my lucky stars for this life, and everyone in it.

A Very Harry Summer

So, we are all obsessed with Harry Potter. Again.

Only, this time Owen is old enough to enjoy, too; it is just so much fun. Here are some pics of our particular brand of Pottermania:



That's the Hogwarts Owen and I made early on in the summer - when we found out that they're re-releasing Harry Potter legos! Notice the Durmstrang ship in the lake? Owen's.



That's Owen as a Death Eater, a costume he made with the help of his Auntie Lena. Check out the eyeliner veins!



Yes, I knitted them owls... they 'arrived' on the mornings of the boys' birthdays with certificates from Eeylops Owl Emporium.



Here's Luke with his new screech owl...



... and Owen with Barney, the barn owl.

Lastly, here are a few Potter-related links -

Owen was super-sick last week, with a high fever, the most lethargic I've ever seen him. Usually when we listen to Harry Potter on CD, Owen is jumping around, or playing with lego, or something; I couldn't stand just watching him lie on the couch, so I thought back to my own childhood. When I was sick, it was all about paper dolls. A quick Google search brought up Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, a virtual universe of paper dolls with clothes and accessories for all four Hogwarts houses! It is awesome, there is simply no other word.

We also used these directions to make our own fantastic Marauder's Map.

And no paper doll collection would be complete without this, the Severus Snape paper doll. I got a total kick out of the gray skivvies (Luke theorized that maybe there's a Permanent Sticking Charm on them, hence the color) and the Hawaiian beachwear. Imagine Snape at the beach!

Once again, J.K. Rowling's amazing universe is making us muggles feel better, even when we are sick.

Dragons, and Knitting, and Gifts from the Sea

That picture about sums up our recent trip to Myrtle Beach. It was awesome. There's really no other word for it. See how the water is the same color as the clouds? It was like that at twilight each night, it almost looked like the water was invisible except for the seafoam.

We stayed in a campground right on the ocean, took walks nearly every day, and swam. A lot. Also, there was this ever-changing waterway just down the beach, which we enjoyed immensely:







Ben took most of those pics up there. He also took several pictures of these dogs, having a blast in the waves:



Together, we took a sum total of about ten pictures on the whole trip. There was just so much else to do!

I brought all kinds of knitting books, and a couple of projects-in-progress, and got a whole afternoon to myself for yarn shopping. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought I'd spend so much of my vacation thinking about yarn, but it worked somehow. In fact, it worked well.

And, when I wasn't knitting or frolicking by the sea, I was thinking about dragons. We all were, because Myrtle Beach, South Carolina is home to this amazing place called MagiQuest, where you get a wand, and it really works. This was extra-special since it was Owen's first time, and going on quests and adventures with him reminded me how truly magical things can be, even if they originate with an RFID chip.

Purely coincidentally, I brought the four amazing Dragons of Deltora books for Luke; we shared them back and forth over our trip. So, when I wasn't thinking about evil dragons and wizards and the runes of MagiQuest, I was thinking about the good dragons in the mythical land of Deltora.

These were the threads that ran through our vacation by the ocean. They were brought together into a lovely bright cloth by means of a book, written in the 1950's and loaned to me by a friend: Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh. It's about being a wife, mother, and woman in modern America - it could have been written last week, it feels so relevant. Reading it at night, with the surf pounding outside, elevated a merely great visit into an amazing, meaningful holiday.

It Beats the Alternative

I'm thirty-nine years old today. Isn't that freaky? It's dangerously close to doddering old age, but I still love my birthday, the only day when I don't feel guilty eating a jar's worth of Nutella.

Here are some favorite pics from my thirty-eighth year, one of the best so far on this merry-go-round:


This was the year that the chickens came on the scene.


Ditto the Chicken Palace.


Last spring we went to Gettysburg, and I got extreme goosebumps watching Luke and Owen play in the woods where Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain and his 20th Maine fighters held the Rebels back, determining the course of history.


Old Sturbridge Village, a place where the boys visited for the first time just this past June, has become a constant source of interest and excitement.


My brother's wedding was a highlight, too; here is his bride with all four of her new nephews.

I've looked in on the adventures of my parents:


and learned to knit.


Best of all, I've gotten to enjoy my kids:














And just be in love with, and in awe of, my husband, the sane guy in our crazy madhouse.


Yeah, it's a damn good life.

The Zen of Knitting

My hands are better! Not 100%, but with the miracle of braces, ice, and ibuprofen (not to mention stretches recommended by some of you - thanks), I am back in the knitting zone.

Here are a few of my recovery projects:


My Mom sent me some of the loveliest wool from New Zealand a few months back, and here's what I have done with it. This is a vest made so that I look well-endowed-yet-svelte while wearing it, instead of like a big balloon with legs as with my previous attempt at vest-making. It's finished now, and my goal is to put up a pic of me in it - but first I need to wear it somewhere, which means going somewhere, so it could be a while.

Then, just as I was finishing up with that project and casting about for another, my brother emailed me a pic of something called a golf club headcover, and asked if I could make one? In time for an upcoming golf vacation that he's taking? Heck yes! I said, and here it is:



These two projects together probably represent twenty or thirty hours of knitting, and to pass the time I've listened to audio books, primarily Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie. They're fun, especially the short stories, because they hold Luke and Owen's attention and so make for good listening all around.

Also, while I've been healing my hands, I've been riveted to this amazing book, The Best of Vogue Knitting. It's twenty-five years' worth of articles from the magazine, which range from history and philosophy of knitting (seriously - and sooo cool!), to about fourteen different ways to cast on (my new fave: the cable cast-on), to clever ideas like knitting back backwards, to celebrity knitters and what they're making.

And so now you must picture this: me, in my backyard, hanging out with our hens - and knitting. If anyone had said to me this time last year that either of these two pastimes would be even on my list of fun things to do, I would have laughed at them.

But that was before I got over my fear of chickens - and awoke to the zen of knitting.

Cease and Desist

So, I have apparently knitted myself into a corner: my hands are killing me. They are numb and painful at the same time, something that came on very suddenly. I blame the socks; last week I started working on a totally cute pair, on size 2 (cold, metal) needles, and now I can't even make a second pot-holder on size 11 (warm, bamboo) needles. And the first one looks so lonely!

Keyboarding is a problem, too, which is why I haven't been my wordy, commenting self on my favorite blogs over the weekend.

I am an addict, denied my two key habits.

I've decided to give myself a few days to let the nerves settle down. Then, once I have some feeling back in my left hand, I will give knitting another try. It goes without saying that, while my blog may be less typing and more photos, I'll keep at it - I would miss my bloggy friends too much to stop!

Here are pics of two projects recently finished:

These slippers are the first project I've done on double-pointed needles. Once I got the hang of it, I enjoyed knitting them very much. The lower pic is them before felting. They looked like cozy slippers for Andre the Giant.

Finally, about a week ago I finished this vest, from 25 Gorgeous Sweaters for the Brand-New Knitter. While some of the projects in the book are dated, I still found a winter's worth of relatively easy things to make. Here's a close-up:

Anybody have advice to fix hands? I'd really appreciate it...

Big Bad Bunny Slippers

My obsession with knitting, and especially felting, continues. I love how you can take a big, lumpy, odd-looking batch of knitting and turn it into just the loveliest, softest, coziest pair of slippers:

Here is what these looked like before I felted the heck out of them, in a bucket in my bathtub:

They were too big even for me, and they were intended for Luke, whose two favorite colors right now are blue and brown. I was skeptical about them ever felting down enough to fit either of us, but thankfully they did. Here is one next to my foot just to show you:

Now they fit Luke perfectly. And, I have to say it's very gratifying that he keeps them at the bottom of his loft ladder, so he can slip right into them in the mornings!

Owen really, really wanted bunny slippers - but they'd have to be big-boy, kinda tough bunny slippers for a manly five-year-old like him. So we made them in his favorite color, fire-engine red, and I'll give them a brown tail ASAP (probably tomorrow). These are the unfelted slippers:

The pattern (which, along with the pattern for Luke's stripy slippers, came from Knit One, Felt Too, an awesome book for obsessed felters) says to sew on the ears after felting, and so that is what I did - they aren't attached in that pic up there.

And here they are all done:

Aren't they SO freaking cute?

It makes me smile that this boy, who recently has begun to lecture about how the color pink is good for girls, but not boys, and who has attempted to ban music with female vocals on the grounds that he is a boy and boys do NOT listen to music sung by girls, is running around in bunny slippers.

But only very masculine bunny slippers, of course.

I am the Queen of Felting

I love the idea that homeschooling isn't just for the kids, it's for the parents too; while the young ones learn about whatever they want to, so can we. It's in this spirit that I took up knitting over the holidays and, while I have been knitting for only a month or so, I've certainly dived right in.

I finished this sweater last week, and I love it. I called it my experimental sweater, a good name because it doesn't really fit me all that well - it's too long in the arms and too broad in the shoulders, while at the same time it's not quite long enough in the body and so I end up looking like a gorilla wearing a sweater that's too short. It is not pretty, which is too bad, because it is such a lovely sweater.

As I was finishing it up, I realized that this knitting stuff is habit-forming, and that I felt really strange without something somewhere on needles. So I decided to make a felted tote from the best knitting book ever (the one we've taken to calling 'Stitch n' Complain' in our house because the real name contains a swear.) I figure I'll use the tote to keep my knitting in, so that I can take it with me wherever I want, instead of using the far-less-transportable basket that houses current projects now.

But the felting presented a problem: to take wool and turn it to felt requires very hot water and agitation. Most people toss their projects into the washing machine to accomplish the task. But we have a front-loader - great for saving water, and cutting down on drying time and wear on clothes - but sucky for felting because you can't stop the washer to see when it's time to stop felting, and also it hardly agitates at all (hence the less wear on clothes). I would have to find another way.

First I tried boiling the heck out of a gauge swatch, but after ten solid minutes of rapid boiling, all I had was a house that smelled like a herd of sheep lived here. So then I found a blog post on the web in which the blogger stuck her project in a bucket on a towel in her bathtub and used a (clean, new) plunger to agitate in very hot water. I must admit I was skeptical, especially after the boiled-on-the-stove experience, but I tossed the swatch into the bucket along with a bit of dish soap and a pair of Owen's jeans, and in about three minutes, voila! I had felt.

Now, it was time to take my finished bag and try it with that.

There it is. I was afraid to stick it in the bucket, because I worked so hard on it.

And here we are mid-agitation. I am getting scared at this point, after five or so minutes of hard labor, that maybe it won't take.

But after another few minutes, less than five, it worked! It felt all felty. So I rolled it up in a towel to get out some of the moisture, and then laid it flat to dry.

And THAT is why I feel that I can call myself the Queen of Felting. Best of all, I ended up with about two combined skeins of yarn in three different colors, so I can make other stuff to felt! Socks, mittens, perhaps another purse... habit-forming, I'm telling you.