Lets start the list of signs this shoot would not bode well:
1. My boy did not get a good nap in that morning, most of his nap was on the 45min car ride over to Brandy’s place.
2. Brandy’s AC broke and the temperature was in the mid 90s that day.
3. Brandy’s eldest was just not having a good day. It is tough being a toddler.
4. I am still getting used to my new camera. I packed my 50mm lens because it is fast but it only had manual focus on my camera body.

Well the first thing you might need to know is that at least my half of the baby duo does not wear hats. Ever. That is why I developed my Harper’s Hood pattern after all. Brandy’s LG was more willing by a hair. So I did manage to get a single shot of LG in the hat. It was ripped off about .4 seconds later.

So we gave up on acutely having pictures of the kids wearing hats. Maybe it would be okay if we had them sitting near the hats or playing with them. Sounds good right? Well it would have been great if there were not much more interesting things in the room like say curtains and electrical outlets.

awww look how nicely they play.

Still playing nicely ignoring the hats until my son wanted to put his fingers in the same outlet as LG. Sigh. A loud smack followed by a crying LG later I am apologizing to Brandy while putting my kid in time out.

Brandy stayed cool the whole time despite the fact I think all 3 kids were crying at this point. Putting the hats on her older daughter stopped one set of tears.

And I even got brandy to put on a hat herself.

Maybe we would have better luck outside on a picnic blanket? Oh wait they can both crawl.

Brandy went all out and got a cake in Petite Purls colors for the kids to eat with the hats near by. Sounds nice right? While my kid did not appreciate the cake LG did. Wow.

So I do not think we got a good photo in the bunch. But it was fun, or at least funny, in a frustrating way.

A few months ago I sent co-editors Brandy and Allegra a goofy tweet saying they should knit party hats to celebrate. I almost immediately got an e-mail asking me if I would be willing to design the hat in Petite Purls colors. No problem!

Photo by Brandy Fortune

I had no problem envisioning how to make a crocheted hats – spots and a shell edge seemed like a must. But they wanted a knit hat too. So I spent far too much time trying to make the same crocheted hat into knit. Nothing looked right. I must have swatched 5-6 times. Then I remembered something I already knew. Knit and crochet are different. Trying to design the same way for both crafts just will not work.

Photo by Brandy Fortune

So out went the shells and spots and in came a ruffled edge and french knots to quilt the layers together (a step that the stiffer crocheted fabric did not need). The knit hat was also worked differently. For the crocheted hat you started at the tip of the hat and increased while for the knit it made more sense to start at the base of the hat and decrease on the way up.

Photo by Brandy Fortune

It was a fun challenge. I hope you guys enjoy the patterns. And they are free!

Celebrate – Knit | Celebrate – Crochet

Later I will share how this was the most redonkulous photo shoot ever.

Available for $5.00 via ravelry.

There is just something about kids and fair isle caps particularly ones with ear flaps. It is just so classic and so right. I wanted to make a modern twist on the classic caps with bright colors but still simple.

The first time I knit this hat it was for my nephew. Ian, seen here, loves hats in a way that if he was an adult would be called obsessive. He always wants to have a hat on his head and would like others to have one on too thank-you-very-much. It felt right when my husband suggested naming the hat after an island because of the fair isle. To my knowledge Ian has one been to one island – St Augustine. Perfect.

Available for $5.00 via ravelry.

I sit.

I knit.

I’m still.

Life is good.

p.s. I got a new camera and having fun playing with it.

I am happy to announce my newest pattern Ear-a-ma-jigs. I am trying out Ravelry sales and would love to know what you think.

You know a kid that needs an extra set of ears? Well I knew a few. These 3 fun hats are great for keep little heads warm or for dress up play. Short row shaping means no annoying seams and perky ears that will not just flop over.

Craft: Knitting
Type: Baby
Published: February 2009
Yarns suggested: Dark Horse Yarns Fantasy
Yarn weight: Aran / 10 ply (8 wpi)
Gauge: 20 stitches and 26 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch
Needle size: US 7 / 4.5 mm
Sizes available: preemie, baby, toddler, child
This pattern is available for $5.00.

The first tinglings of the knitting urge hit last week I went to a new local yarn shop called Sheepish. I got some beautiful Lorna’s Laces yarn but after knitting about a foot of scarf and scratching off about half my neck I reluctantly admitted that I was having some sort of reaction to the yarn. So I had to put that aside, still not sure what I am going to do with it. Yarn swap maybe? But now I am working up a new slightly different design in my new favorite cotton yarn Blue Sky Alpaca’s Dyed Cotton bought from Atlanta’s hippest yarn shop and my new knitting group hang out Knitch. Almost all my Plush You toys were made out of this stuff so finding some fall inspired striped to go with the tan base was not hard at all.

I think I am in love with fisherman’s rib. Is it wried to say that about a stitch pattern? It just feels so chunky and soft.

The last of my Plush You toys for this year. Despite my husband suggesting the name Dropy McSplat I think I am just going to call this guy a gremlin, the kind that wrecked airplanes, not the kind that you cannot get wet.

He has the same base as this blue guy I made last year. But this year’s model sports spiffy goggles and a parachute.

The parachute was a real challenge to make but a lot of fun. Boning in an i-cord casing makes a frame that holds up the chute that is attached to the swanky backpack.