Multiple Minions Man My Manoir

Sorry, couldn't resist that alliteration.

My Minions are done.  Two hats that will either be received with delightful squeals or a great rolling of the eyes.  At ages 11 and 13, I expect the latter.  But no matter. I had fun  knitting them and if the grand kids don't like them I am sure they know some little person who will.

Minon Hats. 

Pattern:  Minion Hats by Lauren Irving

Yarn:  Cascade 220 Superwash DK

Needles: 3.75mm

Mods:  Lauren's pattern is for KW weight yarn but I used DK.  So I simply adjusted the number of stitches to cast on by referring to my hat pattern encyclopedia and then followed Lauren's pattern.

Lauren also had the eye done in half double crochet stitches and I found them too large.  I created mine using single crochet.

I know a Mother  knitter is not supposed to have favourites but I like Mr Two Eyes best.  

Have a fun weekend everyone.  Happy Black Friday shopping to all those who are so inclined.  Instead, Fred and I will be attending the tree lighting celebration in Clarksburg - Thornbury's  twin town  on the banks of the  Beaver River.  Free hot turkey sandwiches for dinner.  Fred likes free.

Thursdays Are For Knit Group

Knitters love snow.  It not only puts a knitter in a great knitting frame of mind, but gives us an excuse to do nothing but  knit.  All day.  Or at least all afternoon as we did today. 

Even though some of our knitters would rather be in Florida.  Like Sandy B  still in Canada nursing a husband who had recent back surgery.  Wearing Citron,  

she showed us the two different shades of purples in the shawl.  It's what happens when you lose your first ball of purple yarn, apparently.  

Sandy has started knitting this 'Owl' set.  Clever designer .  Look how those cables mimic wild life.

 

 
Someone ought to tell Lauren that socks 'soar' on two circs.

   Right now, Lauren's expression doesn't say 'soar'.



Sharon re-did the neckline on her Mothed. 

She said she tore apart the house looking for  her little bit of leftover yarn.  But once found, she put it to good use.  A  much-improved, stay-in-place neckline, Sharon.

Wilma took a liking to Nan's mittens. 

Sew the body with pieces cut from old sweaters, add a cuff and voila!   mittens.  Nan lined hers with fleece making for  very warm mittens indeed.

Lots of sock knitting going on today. Carol, Lauren and Lorrie all knitting socks. I expect there will be stockings stuffed with hand knit socks hanging from  many mantles this year.  


Here's hoping for more snow.  More, can't go outside - more knitting weather.

More Time With Minions

My first Minion, the one-eyed Mnion is totally done -eye, mouth and hair.

 

 

Minion number two , the two-eyed Minion, awaits eye implantation.

 
 His eyes are a bit smaller.  His crocheted mouth will have a slightly different 'crook' to it but his hair will be the same.  Full details of these little guys later this week.

The Minion Modelled

Teddy is shown here, modelling my first Minion Hat.

 

 Since Minions are not part of this senior's world,  I    have no idea if   can claim  either  this hat is perfect, or it is badly skewed. 

It looks like the picture, minus the hair and  mouth yet to come.

But to this knitter's eye, I'd say the black stripe on my Minion is too close to the top. Re-positioning the eye so that the majority of it falls beneath the black stripe would probably look more balanced. I think I will do that.

However those in the Minion know - like my grand kids - probably can tell exactly how the hat should look.  And I expect, kids being kids,  they will let me know.

On to Minion Number Two.

A Fun Weekend

Fred and I are home, recuperating from a terrific big-city weekend.  Toronto called with  some important missions to fulfill. 

First mission was to see artist son Peter and the  Lady of Spain's new downtown condo.  They purchased  it in September and  moved in about a month ago.  The move, however,  was followed by the discovery of bed bugs - a gift from the previous occupant. As anxious as we were to  see the new digs, we waited until  given the bug-free signal.    That was mission #1.


The weekend was also to be a family gathering.  Dad's express wishes on his death were -'No funeral.  Instead, have a party.'   The plans were for the family to get together at Grossman's  - one of Dad's favourite spots - on Saturday afternoon to listen to The Happy Pals - one of dad's favourite bands.  Mission #2.


And since the whole family was coming, Mission #3 was to see Baby Jack.  18 days old isn't too early to introduce the newest generation to Dixie Land Jazz.  Although Mom and Dad did keep him in the anteroom to protect his little ears from the amplification.

It was great fun and I leave you with some pictures.

Friday afternoon at The Rex.  Friday afternoon, Fred and I did the real city thing and took the street car to see

 The Hog Town Syncopators

We were back at the same place for lunch Saturday.  

 
This time we were there to see Danny Marks. Too bright a day and too much light on Danny to get a good photo.  Sorry, Danny.


The highlight of the day was baby Jack.  They say this can be catching.  A Mom can only hope.

Then there was the entire Southern Ontario part of the family.  

Those glasses make the situation look worse than it is.  The huge crowd always at Grossman's and the weary, eons-old waitress mean service is slow and infrequent.  They never have trouble with inebriated customers.

and The Happy Pals.

 

Certainly the best celebration of life I've been to.  Great family fun.

Thursdays Are For Knit Group

No skipping Thursday this week.  And such a good thing too, as it was Animal Farm of a sort today.

Wilma brought two little mice to show me.  They  are for her B.C. grand daughters and are headed to the post office soon. 

 

Not to be outdone in the animal department, Jean knit two chickens this week. 

 

 

The hilarity-inducing  chicks are destined for the sale - the Pottawatomi Spinners & Weavers Guild Sale.  Owen Sound is definitely the place to be this weekend.  There is the sale at the library all day Saturday and Sunday, the Festival of Lights along the river and of course  - there is always Riverside Yarns. Time well spent, it would be indeed.

I can't say that I have ever before seen a knitted chicken.  It will be interesting to find out if they are hot sellers.  Interesting though - little knitted animals that started life on the back of a sheep only to become mice and chickens.

Sharon,  just beginning her life as a spinner, was thrilled to get a box of fleece from Jean. 

  

Jean included a brush and gave Sharon a demo of how to use it.

Moving so quickly, that she blurred the photo.

A unique, animal-centred day at knit group.  Glad I didn't miss it.

Hats Again

Hats are on the horizon here still.  Hats were not part of my scheduled knitting plans - I have sweaters a-plenty I plan to knit.   But the leftover Noro was good enough reason to knit the Ziggley Zag hat.  Then I caught sight of these little guys on ravelry.

Another free pattern - designers are so generous aren't they? I had seen a young fellow wearing one of these hats the day I attended the Woodstock Fleece Festival.  Wearing the hat and grinning from ear to ear, I should add.   When I spotted the free pattern I wondered if I could elicit that same grin from my Grand Kids.  It is worth a try.

First, though I had to educate myself a bit.  What the heck is a Minion?    To truly appreciate them, I  suspect you need to be of a certain age - and certainly not my age - but you can look here to see them.

Hat number one is ready for the black stripe.  

 

 These hats are fun to knit - and the decorating should be super fun.  Once I have  two Minion Hats complete, then I will return to my sweater knitting.

Noro. Nice.

My  Noro hat is finished.  A fast, fun, weekend  knit.  The directions suggested the hat would require one ball and a bit   of Noro Kureyon.  That estimate could not have been more accurate.   It took just a teeny, tiny bit of ball number two.

Off the head, the hat appears to have an over-zealous curl to the bottom edge.

 

 On the head though, it behaves very nicely.  And this, in it's unblocked state.   

A solution  to the tendency to roll  would require only a minor change to the beginning.  The directions  say to knit one round then begin the pattern.  Instead, maybe one round knit then one round purl.  Or perhaps a few rounds of knit for a more decided roll, then one round purl to stop the curl.  Even so, I am not unleased with mine.

Pattern: Ziggely Zag Hat.  Free on ravelry

Needles:  4.5mm

Yarn: Noro Kureyon - one ball and a very little amount of a second ball.  

This worked for me, as I had leftover Kureyo from my Mitered Square Pillow.  

It doesn't work so well if you must  buy yarn for the hat.

Mods:  None

This is a nice little hat.  Just enough pattern work to keep it interesting but not so difficult as to torture the knitter.  The type of project I like to call - A Double Feature Hat.  Needles, yarn, two movies and you have a hat.

I Skipped Thursday

I skipped knit group this week.  My apologies to all readers who look forward to seeing  FOs and catching up with the Meaford Magnificents each week.  Especially Nan, now down in Toronto and waiting, I know, for her weekly fix of Meaford Knitters.

I had hoped to get to knit group but instead, this 'king' was in the counting room, counting all the money.  Poppy money that is.

We are lucky enough in our area to have a multi-million dollar business that offers us a day with it's coin counting machine to count our Poppy money.  I cannot imagine the hours  days it might otherwise take to count all that coin.  We did the  job in two hours.  Unfortunately, the two hours they were able to accommodate us was the same two hours as knit group.  Dang!  The responsibilities of being committee chair. 

With the money counted and deposited, my duties are winding down.  Knitting can now recapture it's right-ful, first-place position in my life. There is some knitting news.

The gift I was preparing of tam and potential  scarf   pair of fingerless mittens, is to be a tam only.  Sandra  wisely suggested I weigh the yarn and use half for each mitten.  Great idea Sandra  - if the knitter remembers to weigh BEFORE starting to knit.  At about my 3rd attempt I did, in fact, remember.  I had 36 grams total, weighed off 18 and cast on.  I am here to tell you that 18 grams of DK weight yarn is not enough to make an adult sized fingerless mitt.  So tam and chocolates will be the gift I take to the luncheon.

An idea that did work out for me though was a lucky chance sighting of the Ziggly Zag Hat  -free- pattern on ravelry. 

The pattern calls for one ball and a bit  of Noro Kureyon.  Left over from my Mitred Square pillow, I have exactly one ball and a bit.  How often does fortune smile so brightly? 

The hat is a very easy to follow, mini lace pattern.  Last night,  instead of posting about knit group,I skipped the Thursday thing altogether and started the hat.  

Sorry about skipping Thursday.  Next week, I promise.

Various And Sundry As Assigned

Monday was Remembrance Day and I have mentioned here before my association with the Legion and  in particular, my position this year,  as Poppy Chair.  As chair of this committee you need a willing and strong husband, or at least one who is agreeable to being 'voluntold' for duties various and sundry as assigned.

Fred took inventory of all the wreaths a few days before the 11th.  He replaced broken poppies and banners.  Early the morning of the 11th, he took the  wreaths  to the cenotaph, laid them out in the order of the service to make it convenient for the wreath layers.  Following the service,  he gathered them all up and brought them home, ready to box up for next year.

But the weather wreaked havoc on his plan. The wreathes were soaking wet and wind whipped.  Today, our laundry room looks like this.  Wreaths -a- plenty, drying out.

 

The photo on the wall you see there was taken at the Quebec City Winter Carnival in 1993.  It is my Mom and the Bonhomme d'Carnivale.  M. Bonhomme is really tall and Mom was really  short.  It makes for a fun photo.

Good Intentions

A week from now, I have a ladies event to attend.  A Christmas luncheon and the event requires that we each bring a small gift.  Being a knitter, I think, wouldn't it be a good idea to take a hand knit gift?  Imagine the ooohs and aaahs.  Imagine the compliments.  Imagine the ego boost.  Imagine the stress!

I went searching through my already-knit box.  It is low on FOs.  The only items in it are  the Kitimat hat and mittens. 

 

But my gift recipient doesn't strike me as a toque and mittens kind of girl. 

There is also this,

 

 The tam I knit with Classic Elite Liberty, purchased last winter on a yarn crawl to Barrie.
Hmmm.  I can see her in a tam. 
 


And - since the tam took a ball and a bit, there remains  almost an entire ball of   the Classic Elite Liberty.  

 

To go with the Tam, maybe a little cowl  - or  cache-cou as my French speaking grand kids  call it.  And an entire weekend to do it in.  Piece of cake.

Except that version one didn't suit.  Nor did version two.  Or three and four for that matter.  Change of plans.  How about fingerless mitts?  Great idea.  Number one is almost done.

 

 Is there enough yarn for number two?   The next day or two shall tell.  A one-armed,  paper hanger my recipient is not. 

Perhaps a tam is enough.  Throw in some chocolates and call it  done.  I'll let you know.

November 11, 2013.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

Not Your Grandma's Pillow

Two specials FOs this week, have made me ridiculously - as in grinning like a Cheshire cat ridiculously -  pleased.
First up is the mitred pillow.  I like it - a lot.  Fred is so-so about it. 

 

Details:

Pattern: Free Bernat Pattern, called 4 Squared Mitred Pillow.    While you are at that site, take a look at some of the other pillow designs.  Who knew hand-knit pillows could be so cool?  Certainly not this Grandma.

Yarn:  Sorry Mr. Bernat, I used Noro Kureyon. Colour 268. Just over 2 balls.

Needles:5mm

Mods:  The border instructions didn't make design sense to me, so I did something different.  The instructions said to pick up 45 stitches along each of the 4 edges of one of the pillow covers.  Knit stockinet for 2 inches, increasing one stitch each side of the corner stitch on each row, then cast off.  Sew the border to the other pillow cover.  

But to my way of thinking, that would mean despite having  picked up 45 stitches along each side , I would be trying to sew many more than 45 stitches to the other side, because of all the increases that happened in the two inches of knitting.

So - instead, I did as directed for the first inch, then purled one row to create a sharp edge and make it good for turning.  Then I worked in reverse - that is decreasing one stitch each side of the marker until I was back down to 45 stitches along each edge.  It fit perfectly.

 Comments:  My 4 squares measured 10 inches across before blocking, 12 inches after blocking.  The border added an inch on each side.  A perfect fit for a 14 x 14 pillow form.

 

The second FO that has me broadly grinning is in this photo, sent to me by the new Grand Parents. 

Baby Jack swaddled - yes that is the only word for it - in the baby blanket knit for him by his Great Aunt Brenda.  The hat I didn't knit. Whoever did  knit it must have thought the baby would be a girl.

At this moment, I imagine there are many of you ridiculously grinnning.  As well you should be.

Have a great weekend everyone.

I feel.  Have a great weekend everyone.

 

 

Thursdays Are For Knit Group

A full house of knitters  spent today's rainy, sleety hours with their needles.  Nothing wrong with that.

Wilma was in wrap mode today.  Finished, after a bit of a re-do on the picot edging, is her Sundry.

 

 The pattern she purchased on line and the yarn, she purchased at the KW Knitters Fair.  It is from Shelridge Yarns so it is the softest  soft in the most gorgeous colours.   Wilma says it provides a lovely warm-ness when wrapped around her shoulders.

Worn to the back, shows the great colouring and picot edge of this asymmetrical design.

Worn to the front, and Wilma has a wonderful decorative piece of fibre art for a plain white blouse.

Sundry she brought along for show and tell.  But Fern Kerchief, another nice piece of fibre art,  she was wearing. 

Lightweight, and just plain pretty, Wilma.

Who is this woman without glasses?

 

Why it's Miss Gail who underwent recent cataract surgery.  With one eye renewed and one yet to be done, Gail finds dizziness an issue.  No counting, no fine yarn or tiny needles.  What keeps her knitting habit fed without dizzy spells is this blanket.  The first of two  dishcloth  'blankies' for her granddaughters.

Carol, despite the stress of nursing a husband who has a new knee,  did a masterful job of matching stripes on the front of this little  Crofter cardigan for her granddaughter.
She said there was some cutting & pasting required to  get those perfect matches.  I bet.

Then she knit some great knee socks for the same little girl  What a treasure to have a little girl in the family who appreciates Grandma's knitting.

Today's colder weather is  the harbinger of winter days to come. The year's best knitting months are about to start.