Sunday Craft Update - February 22

I've been knitting like crazy, to keep up with my yarn purchases. Elann is still having incredible sell-offs of discontinued Needful Yarns stock. In a moment of madness, I bought three bags of Santa Ana, in the colours shown above. When I made my Siesta Blanket, Kate loved the Santa Ana so much that she begged for an afghan of her own using this yarn. So I am working on one now, using the purple and blue Santa Ana along with a bagful of Takhi Durango (also purchased from an Elann close-out sale) and some Elann Peruvian Highland Bulky wool.

One of my co-workers took 3 skeins of each colour off my hands, but that still leaves an awful lot of Santa Ana .... I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it, but at 12 USD for a bag of 10 skeins, it was impossible to resist. I'm itching to buy more too, as there are still bags in many colours available at Elann. This yarn is a mixture of nylon and real wool, not the plasticky "fun fur" stuff that's usually available. I'm thinking this would be great for making soft stuffed animals. I'd like to make a wrap or cardigan out of this too, but the trick is, as one Raveler put it, "to find a pattern that doesn't make you look like a Muppet when you wear the finished garment."

Alysha's Flower Hat Pattern

I made this hat for a four-year-old girl named Alysha, who is the neighbour of one of my close friends. Alysha was diagnosed with leukemia in November 2008 and needs a bone marrow transplant to be cured. Her situation has inspired Operation Alysha, which encourages people to donate blood products and to join the the Canadian Blood Services' national bone-marrow registry, One Match. Alysha is undergoing chemotherapy right now, and I thought she could use a new hat to keep her head warm until all her hair grows back.

I used an easy-to-wash acrylic yarn, Bernat Satin Solids, to make this hat, but any worsted-weight yarn would work. I hope you enjoy using this pattern. Comments are always welcome.

Materials

Bernat Satin Solids, 1 100 g (3.5 oz) skein each of Maitai 04732 (MC), Sunset 04605 (A) and Sapphire 04141 (B).
Note: a full skein is needed only for main colour (MC); small amounts of any worsted-weight yarn may be substituted for colours A and B. Approximately 110-140 m (120-150 yds) are needed in all.

4.0 mm crochet hook
3.75 mm and 4.5 mm double-pointed or circular knitting needles
Note: If using circular needles, you can use either a 40 cm (16 in) needle for the body of the hat or two circular needles simultaneously. For shaping the crown, you will need double-pointed needles or two circular needles.

Measurements

Final measurements of hat are 42, 45 and 48 cm (17, 18 and 19 in) around. Stretches to fit head sizes 48, 51 and 54 cm (19, 20 and 21 in). Corresponds roughly to Child's Small (2-4 years), Medium (5-7 years) and Large (8-10 years).

Gauge
For hat: 20 stitches and 26 rows over 10 cm (4 in) square in stockinette stitch, using 4.5 mm needles.
For crochet flower: width of completed flower is approximately 9 cm (3.5 in).

Abbreviations
K - knit
P - purl
K2tog - knit 2 together
M1 - make an additional stitch by working into the previous row
ch - chain
sl st - slip stitch
st(s) - stitch(es)
sc - single crochet
dc - double crochet
tr - treble crochet

Instructions for Hat

With MC and 3.75mm needles, cast on 76 [80, 84] sts and join in a round.
Next round: *K2, P2*. Repeat from * to * until end of round.
Repeat the last round until there are 8 [9, 10] rows or 3-3.5 cm (1.25-1.5 in) of ribbing.

Change to 4.5mm needles and start working in stockinette stitch.
Next round: *M1, K 9 [8, 7]*. Repeat from * to * 7 [9, 11] more times. K 4 [0, 0]. (84 [90, 96] sts)
Continuing in stockinette stitch, work 2 [3, 3] more rows in MC and then work stripe pattern as follows:
- 2 rows A
- 1 row MC
- 3 rows A
- 1 row MC
- 2 rows A
Change to MC and continue in stockinette stitch until piece measures 14 [15, 16] cm (5.5 [6, 6.5] in) from beginning.

Shape crown as follows:
Largest size only: *K2tog, K9, K2tog, K19*. Repeat from * to * 2 more times. (90 sts).
All sizes: *K2tog, K26 [8, 8]*. Repeat from * to * 2 [8, 8] more times. (81 sts)
Next round: *K2tog, K7*. Repeat from * to * 8 more times. (72 sts)
Next round: *K2tog, K6*. Repeat from * to * 8 more times. (63 sts)
Next round: *K2tog, K5*. Repeat from * to * 8 more times. (54 sts)
Next round: *K2tog, K4*. Repeat from * to * 8 more times. (45 sts)
Next round: *K2tog, K3*. Repeat from * to * 8 more times. (36 sts)
Next round: *K2tog, K2*. Repeat from * to * 8 more times. (27sts)
Next round: *K2tog, K1*. Repeat from * to * 8 more times. (18 sts)
Next round: *K2tog*. Repeat from * to * 8 more times. (9 sts)
Cut yarn, leaving a long tail. Weave tail through remaining stitches. Pull tight and secure, weaving in tail on wrong side of the hat.

Follow the instructions below for the crochet flower and sew onto hat.

Instructions for Crochet Flower

Work in rounds, starting with colour B.
Round 1: Ch 2, 6 sc in second chain from hook. (6 sts)
Round 2: 2 sc in each sc. (12 sts)
Round 3: *2 sc in next sc. 1 sc in next sc.* Repeat from * to * 5 more times. (18 sts).
Sl st in first sc of round and fasten off.

With colour A, make slip knot on hook.
Next round: Starting with the first sc from previous round, 2 sc in next sc, 2 sc in next sc, 1 sc in next sc. *2 sc in next sc. 1 sc in each of next 2 sc.* Repeat from * to * 4 more times. Sl st in first sc of round. (25 sts)
Next round: *Sl st in next sc. Skip next sc. 2 dc and 1 tr in next sc. 1 tr and 2 dc in next sc. Skip next sc. * Repeat from * to * 4 more times. (35 sts)
Sl st in first sl st of round and fasten off.

With colour MC, make slip knot on hook.
Next round: Starting with first dc of previous round, *sc in each of the 2 dc, 2 sc in each of the 2 tr, sc in each of the 2 dc, sl st in the sl st.* Repeat from * to * 4 more times. (45 sts).

With colour B, make slip knot on hook.
Next round: Starting with first sc of previous round, *sc in next sc, 2 sc in next sc, sc in next sc, 2 sc in each of the next 2 sc, sc in next sc, 2 sc in next sc, sc in next sc, skip next sl st.* Repeat from * to * 4 more times. (60 sts)
Sl st in first sc of round and fasten off.

Weave in yarn ends on back of flower.

Julia's Cabled Headband Pattern

Since headbands are about the only thing Julia will wear on her head unless it goes below -15 Celsius, I designed another one. Here is the pattern below.

Note: If any of you had printed this pattern off the first couple of days it was published, please reprint. I've corrected an error (4 cable repeats instead of 3).

Update (Jan. 13, 2011): Fellow knitter Olga (ignia on Ravelry) has created a very useful chart showing all the pattern stitches. You can find a link to it in this blog post.
(Jan. 8, 2014): Unfortunately, it seems as if the chart is no longer available.

Wide Cabled Headband

I made this headband with Elann Peruvian Uros Aran (wool/llama), but you can substitute any aran-weight yarn (one that gives 18 stitches and 24 rows over 4 inches square using stockinette stitch). Approximately 50-60 metres were used. You can also use worsted weight yarn (20 stitches and 26 rows over 4 inches square), in which case you should add 4 more rows of ribbing at each end.

Materials:1 50g skein of Elann Uros Aran (83 metres / 91 yards)
1 pair 4.5mm knitting needles
1 cable needle

Measurements:
4.5 inches by 19 inches

Size:
One size, stretches to about 21 inches.

Gauge:
Each 12-row repeat of the cable pattern is approximately 1.8 inches in length.

Abbreviations:
C4: slip next two stitches onto a cable needle and move to front of work; knit next two stitches on left-hand needle and then knit two stitches from cable needle
T3R: slip next stitch to cable needle and move to back of work; knit next two stitches on left-hand needle and then purl the stitch from the cable needle
T3L: slip next two stitches to cable needle and move to front of work; purl next stitch on left-hand needle and then knit the two stitches from the cable needle
M1: make an additional stitch by working into the previous row between the current and next stitch
M1P: M1 purlwise
SSK: decrease one stitch with a slip, slip, knit
K2tog: knit two together
P2tog: purl two together

Cable Pattern (over 30 stitches)
Row 1 (RS): K2, P2, K4, P5, C4, P5, K4, P2, K2
Row 2: P2, K2, P4, K5, P4, K5, P4, K2, P2
Row 3: K2, P2, K4, P4, T3R, T3L, P4, K4, P2, K2
Row 4: P2, K2, P4, K4, P2, K2, P2, K4, P4, K2, P2
Row 5: K2, P2, C4, P3, T3R, P2, T3L, P3, C4, P2, K2
Row 6: P2, K2, P4, K3, P2, K4, P2, K3, P4, K2, P2
Row 7: K2, P2, K4, P3, K2, P4, K2, P3, K4, P2, K2
Row 8: P2, K2, P4, K3, P2, K4, P2, K3, P4, K2, P2
Row 9: K2, P2, K4, P3, T3L, P2, T3R, P3, K4, P2, K2
Row 10: P2, K2, P4, K4, P2, K2, P2, K4, P4, K2, P2
Row 11: K2, P2, C4, P4, T3L, T3R, P4, C4, P2, K2
Row 12: P2, K2, P4, K5, P4, K5, P4, K2, P2

Instructions:
Cast on 9 stitches.
Row 1: K1. *P1, K1*. Repeat from * to * until end.
Row 2: P1. *K1, P1*. Repeat from * to * until end.
Repeat last two rows 4 more times.

Next row (RS): K1, P1, K1, P1, K1, M1, P1, K1, P1, K1. (10 stitches)-
Next row: P1, K1, P1, K1, P2, K1, P1, K1, P1.
Next row: K1, P1, K1, P1, M1, K2, M1, P1, K1, P1, K1. (12 stitches)
Next row: P1, K1, P1, K1, P4, K1, P1, K1, P1.
Next row: K1, M1, P1, K1, M1, P1, K4, P1, M1, K1, P1, M1, K1. (16 stitches)
Next row: P2, K1, P2, K1, P4, K1, P2, K1, P2.
Next row: K2, P1, M1, K2, M1, P1, K4, P1, M1, K2, M1, P1, K2. (20 stitches)
Next row: P2, K1, P4, K1, P4, K1, P4, K1, P2.
Next row: K2, P1, K4, M1P, P1, K4, P1, MIP, K4, P1, K2. (22 stitches)
Next row: P2, K1, P4, K2, P4, K2, P4, K1, P2.
Next row: K2, P1, M1P, K4, M1P, P2, K4, P2, M1P, K4, M1P, P1, K2. (26 stitches)
Next row: P2, K2, P4, K3, P4, K3, P4, K2, P2.
Next row: K2, P2, K4, M1P, P3, C4, P3, M1P, K4, P2, K2. (28 stitches)
Next row: P2, K2, P4, K4, P4, K4, P4, K2, P2.
Next row: K2, P2, K4, M1P, P3, T3R, T3L, P3, M1P, K4, P2, K2. (30 stitches)
Next row: P2, K2, P4, K4, P2, K2, P2, K4, P4, K2, P2.

Work rows 5 to 12 of cable pattern.
Work 4 repeats of cable pattern (48 rows).
Work rows 1 to 8 of cable pattern.

Next row (RS): K2, P2, K4, P2tog, P1, T3L, P2, T3R, P1, P2tog, K4, P2, K2. (28 stitches)
Next row: P2, K2, P4, K3, P2, K2, P2, K3, P4, K2, P2.
Next row: K2, P2, C4, P2tog, P1, T3L, T3R, P1, P2tog, C4, P2, K2. (26 stitches)
Next row: P2, K2, P4, K3, P4, K3, P4, K2, P2.
Next row: K2, P2tog, K4, P2tog, P1, C4, P1, P2tog, K4, P2tog, K2. (22 stitches)
Next row: P2, K1, P4, K2, P4, K2, P4, K1, P2.
Next row: K2, P1, K4, P2tog, K4, P2tog, K4, P1, K2. (20 stitches)
Next row: P2, K1, P4, K1, P4, K1, P4, K1, P2.
Next row: K2, P1, SSK, K2tog, P1, K4, P1, SSK, K2tog, P1, K2. (16 stitches)
Next row: P2, K1, P2, K1, P4, K1, P2, K1, P2.
Next row: K2tog, P1, K2tog, P1, K4, P1, K2tog, P1, K2tog. (12 stitches)
Next row: P1, K1, P1, K1, P4, K1, P1, K1, P1.
Next row: K1, P1, K1, P1, SSk, K2tog, P1, K1, P1, K1. (10 stitches)
Next row: P1, K1, P1, K1, P2, K1, P1, K1, P1.
Next row: K1, P1, K1, P1, K2tog, P1, K1, P1, K1. (9 stitches)
Next row: P1. *K1, P1*. Repeat from * to * until end.

Next row: K1. *P1, K1* to end.
Next row: P1. *K1, P1* to end.
Repeat last two row 4 more times.

Cast off. Sew ends of headband together and weave in yarn ends.

Happy Birthday, Julia!

Julia turns 14 years old today! She dashed off to school today before I had a chance to get a new photo, so here she is, a month ago, at Hong Kong Disneyland. It's definitely not shorts weather here today. We're going to celebrate with birthday cake tonight and a meal at her favourite Viet-Thai restaurant on the weekend. Happy Birthday, Julia! We all love you and wish you a great year to come!

Sunday Craft Update -- January 25

Here's the first Sunday Craft Update of the new year. I bought way too much yarn in December, and now I'm trying to use it up. I made more headbands/earwarmers for Julia, including a bright pink one with matching mittens. I haven't been able to pin her down long enough to get a photo of her wearing both the headband and mittens, though. I also finished this elephant for Julia from Amigurumi World by Ana Paula Rimoli. Now I have to turn to some projects for Kate, who has requested a long cardigan, an afghan and more amigurumi animals. Maybe one day, I'll have time to knit for myself again.

Hong Kong Disneyland

Here, finally, is the last post about our vacation that I had intended to write the first week of January. It took me a week to get over the jet lag and another two weeks to get over the cold that each of us in the family succumbed to in succession. No more excuses ... here is what happened at Hong Kong Disneyland.


We went to Hong Kong Disneyland by subway, which is the most sensible way to get anywhere in Hong Kong. Kate got pretty excited when she saw the mouse-ear windows on the train that connects the theme park to the rest of the city. We were happy to see that the park wasn't crowded when we arrived. The cool and damp weather seemed to discourage the locals and other tourists, but to us, it was quite pleasant. Many of those willing to brave the 15 degrees Celsius temperatures were sporting hats, mittens and even parkas. Yes, parkas -- those big puffy things we put on when it goes below zero degrees and there's at least a few centimetres of snow on the ground. Really, how can you look cool shooting down the villains on the Buzz Lightyear ride wearing a parka? Julia stayed in shorts the whole day, even though I'd packed long pants for her in our backpack. Can you spot the Canadian girl in the crowd?


Hong Kong Disneyland is much smaller than the Florida's Disneyworld, but it was just the right amount of entertainment for us to fill up the day. Julia felt a bit queasy after her first ride on Space Mountain but recovered sufficiently to go back on a few more times. The rest of us stuck to the tamer rides. Of course, we had to do the "It's a Small World" ride. I love the displays in that ride and could have gone through several more times; instead, I had to be satisfied with hearing Kate sign the song over and over the next three days. The Winnie-the-Pooh ride was also a must-do for us. This time, we didn't get stuck in the psychedelic Heffalumps and Woozles section like we did in Florida several years ago.


Oliver wanted to meet all the characters, so Joe and Jill went off on their own for a while. Our kids opted for rides, but Kate did want to visit Mickey's Christmas House, where she got to have her photo taken with the man himself. She was also thrilled to find in Mickey's house a framed picture that matched a Walt Disney cross-stitch picture made by Jill and hanging in Oliver's room.



The final photos below aren't from Disneyland but I wanted to include a few from our visit to Ocean Park on New Year's Day. Ocean Park is a huge marine-themed amusement park set high up on a hill. The weather was wonderful and we had a fun day with Joe, Jill, Martin and Oliver before having to say a sad farewell to them the next day. We had a wonderful two weeks with them and hope we see them all again before too long.

Hong Kong

We spent the last few days of our vacation in Hong Kong, with Jill, Joe, Oliver and Martin. We're back home in Canada now, but I'm just getting to updating the blog now. The days in Hong Kong were busy, busy, busy (as Hong Kong is) so the computer remained untouched for most of that time.

We stayed in the Mong Kok district, which supposedly has the highest population density in the world. Jammed into a subway car with barely enough room to stand, I believed it. We splurged and stayed at a very nice hotel. This bit of extravagence was made possible by the fact that we had free accommodation (thanks to Joe and Jill) and incredibly low food costs in Singapore, and also because Todd booked us the itinerary-from-hell to save us $1000 CDN per ticket on our flights. Miraculously, despite the so-called "snowmaggedon", we completed our flights with no significant delays, no misplaced luggage, and only a low-to-moderate amount of whining from the kids about the long travel days.

The hotel had two great things going for it. It had a large, beautiful, heated outdoor pool in which you can listen to piped-in classical music when underwater. It also included a magnificent breakfast buffet. Kate and I both love breakfast, and getting an East/West breakfast is certainly the best of both worlds: congee, smoked salmon, oatmeal, dim sum dumplings, .... yum! Kate's big thrill was sneaking chocolate croissants when I wasn't looking. The hotel had a very comfortable bar/lounge with an intriguing offer: an all-you-can-drink buffet (beer, house wine, common mixed drinks, juice, tea) for the equivalent of $20 CDN over a three-hour period. The host assured me that, if I would consume a minimum of four beverages, I'd most definitely get my money's worth. I was tempted, mainly because free snacks (spring rolls, satay skewers and dumplings -- no boring Western bar snacks here!) accompanied the drinks, but I declined, as I can't possibly consume four drinks in one sitting and still be responsible for the children. Despite this great $20 deal, the bar wasn't packed; there's probably a very good reason why such buffets don't exist in Canada.

In Hong Kong, we spent a very fun three days touring, covering Hong Kong Disney, the Hong Kong History Museum, Stanley Market, and Ocean Park. More on this in the next blog posts.