First Draft: Cabled Moss Beanie*

Well, I finished the first draft of my attempt at a more "boy-friendly" beanie for the CLICK for Babies campaign.  (I definitely need a darker purple!)

It looks a lot different than what I had in my head, but that's why it's a draft! It's still a perfectly good hat that will keep some newborn's head warm. 

I decreased using my standard 5 round/row decrease, but it looks funky in moss stitch and ends up making a bit of a flat top that doesn't look as good on this beanie as I'd like. 

I've decided to add another large cable and some smaller cables with small sections of moss stitch in between. I like moss stitch, but I feel like it was overwhelming in this beanie. 

It'll go something like [Moss Stitch | Wide Cable | Moss Stitch | Small Cable ] repeated two or three times. I'll probably use a C4F or C4B for the small cables. 

If it works out like I think (hope! haha) it will, it will only take adding another repeat of the pattern to size up the beanie. 

I still need to work on the decrease quite a bit since it is pretty wonky. I'm hoping to carry the cable pattern up the decrease, but I'll work on that later. My mom and dad are coming up to visit this weekend! Yay! And they're bringing fresh beef! Woohooooo!

CLICK for Babies Campaign - Period of Purple Crying

Do you remember those radio and television commercials with bold, black and white lettering and a stern, deep male voice ordering you to "NEVER, EVER shake a baby!!"?


CLICK for Babies is a handmade, more gentle reminder to parents. 

"CLICK for Babies is a North America initiative to help educate caregivers about normal infant crying, how to cope with crying and the dangers of reacting to crying in frustration by shaking or harming an infant."

-CLICK for Babies website

CLICK for Babies is one of my favorite charities to knit beanies for since they spread the word through purple baby beanies! 

an example of a CLICK for Babies P.U.R.P.L.E. beanie, the Purl Bumps Hat

There is a good reason those beanies are purple, too. 

They remind parents of the Period of PURPLE crying (see the link for more thorough information). Sometimes babies cry, and there doesn't seem to be a reason. The PURPLE acronym (and the purple beanie!) helps parents remember that crying is normal, and while it can be heart-wrenching to hear, it is alright for them to walk away when they are frustrated. 

You can help spread awareness and reduce Shaken Baby Syndrome through knitting or crocheting!

This year, the CLICK for Babies campaign says they are getting requests from parents for more "boy-friendly" beanies. I guess that means darker purples or stripes with other colors. 

They also reminded knitters/crocheters that a lot of value yarns (I'm looking at you, Red Heart Classic!) are way too scratchy for newborns. 

Caron Simply Soft (worsted weight) and Lion Brand Hometown USA (super bulky weight) are good options. Both cost around $3.00 at Wal*Mart and get even softer when washed in gentle detergent. 

I can normally get at least four beanies out of a skein of Caron Simply Soft, and I can get two out of the Lion Brand Hometown USA with a little left over for stripes in a multi-color beanie. 

I'm planning on designing a few new patterns for beanies to send to our local collection center here. I'm going to have to remember to shoot for more "boy-friendly" patterns. Be sure to look for those in the future!

We have until October 1st to knit or crochet those beanies! That's plenty of time to buy some soft, inexpensive yarn and crank out a few beanies for a good cause! 

Be sure to check out the CLICK for Babies website for more information about the campaign and local drives near you!

WIP: Entrelac Scarf

Entrelac is so much fun! I definitely recommend trying it if you are looking for something new to do with your knitting. It's really just knitting, purling, increasing/decreasing and picking up stitches, so it's not difficult at all!

Left: right side of entrelac
Right: wrong side of entrelac

I've been working on my entrelac scarf most of the time.

I'm almost finished with the Eyelet Cowl, but the entrelac is so distracting! I worked on the Eyelet Cowl at the doctor's office today and got a lot of compliments! Yay!

(Want a way to swell your ego? Take your knitting with you!)

I have a medical procedure tomorrow, and instead of getting things like dishes and laundry finished and out of the way, I'm just knitting. 

It's a problem! 

Oh, well! I can always do dishes when I'm NPO later tonight, right?

Entrelac!

New yarn! New yarn! New yarn!

Yay!!!

It's Plymouth Yarn Gina in the 01 colorway. 

I'm trying out entrelac for the first time. 

The base triangles and the first "tier" of rectangles are complete!

Honestly, knitting entrelac is a little weird. It's not difficult, but it is different. 

The green yarn is waste thread for the crocheted provisional cast-on. I think I might graft the ends of the scarf to make a cowl after a few feet of entrelac, but I'm not sure exactly how grafting entrelac works. 

Scarves tend to bore me after about 2.5 feet, so maybe shooting for a cowl or infinity scarf of some sort is a good thing. 

Come to think of it, I have a couple drop stitch scarves that could use a few more inches and then be grafted to become cowls/infinity scarves. There are always new directions in the creative process. :)