Poco Rojo ("Little Red")

"Once there was a dear little girl whom everyone loved. Her grandmother loved her most of all and didn't know what to give the child next. Once she gave her a little red velvet cap, which was so becoming to her that she never wanted to wear anything else, and that was why everyone called her Little Red Cap."

-Grimm's Fairy Tales

Last year it took me until after Thanksgiving to finish knitting Annie a winter hat. This year I wanted to get it done early so my own daughter wouldn't have cold ears while I spent my time making hats for other people's children. A knitting design contest hosted by the yarn company Manos del Uruguay gave me the perfect opportunity to design and knit Annie a hat well before the first frost.

I designed Annie's hat to be reminiscent of the cap worn by Little Red Riding Hood from Grimm's Fairy Tales. However, since it was designed around yarn from Uruguay I named it "Poco Rojo" - Little Red in Spanish. It is both whimsical and practical - perfect for a little girl!

Annie hates to have hats constrict her ears, so I chose the vintage "pixie" style for this design. It is looser than most stocking caps, but still fits well around the head and has a chin strap to hold it on securely. Plus, it has an adorable curl in back!

The hat itself is a simple rectangle, grafted together at the back and with a neck band attached to the bottom. The red Manos Del Uruguay yarn was perfect for this project. The semi-solid coloring really highlights the cables, and they seem to shine even when there isn't any direct light on the hat. And the deep red really brings out the blue in Annie's eyes!

If the hat wins in the contest, the pattern will be available through Manos Del Uruguay. Otherwise, I might publish it as a free pattern here on my portfolio.

Suggested Retail: $25.

The Plarn Collection: Poppy Hat

How's this for something different? "The Poppy" is a cloche-style hat made out of plarn from white shopping bags, red newspaper bags, and VHS tape! It was inspired by the crocheted pattern by Teresa Wooley, and makes for a really unique and fun fashion statement.

This hat will be one-of-a-kind, because to be honest, I hated working with VHS tape. It hurt my fingers and squeaked SO LOUDLY that you could hear me knitting from across a really big room. But I'm glad I soldiered through! VHS tape offers unrivaled sparkle, plus there's just a certain cool factor of wearing something made from so unlikely a material.

I really love the flower on the hat. I made it on a little flower loom, which I'm especially proud of because I made it all by myself. The loom itself is hideously ugly - it was a plastic jewelry case which looked nice until it got all ripped up when I drilled dozens of holes in it. I'll probably only put up pictures if Collin decides to build me a nice one and then I can show you how ugly the one I made for myself was. But it works, and I really like the resulting flower! It totally completes the look of this hat.

It is an adult-sized hat and doesn't fit Annie at all, but she was so adorable when she tried it on that I had to include pictures. Besides being a fun around-town hat for a woman, it would make a great dress-up hat for a girl!

Suggested retail: $30

Polka-dotted Alien Hat

Sometimes I dye yarn for a specific project, and sometimes I just come up with a fun color combination and the yarn tells me what it wants to be. This alien hat was the latter. I was trying out some new dyes, and the yarn came out brighter and darker than I'd expected. It was a really fun kid-themed colorway that screamed, "Make me into a polka-dotted alien hat!"

The hat is knit out of recycled, hand-painted wool warn. There are short pieces of a bamboo chopstick completely enclosed in knit tubes to stiffen the eyeballs. The eyeballs are ping-pong balls, securely glued into the wool eye sockets.

This hat will fit a toddler or a young child, with a head circumference of approximately 18-19.5 inches. My glass model has an adult head circumference of 22 inches and the hat is too small for it, I just had trouble getting Annie to model a wool hat for more than a minute in the summer heat. But come winter, this hat will make some toddler a very cool (yet very warm) winter hat!

Suggested Retail: $20

Meet Laurel Catherine!

Meet Laurel Catherine, our baby girl! She was born last week, August 11th, at 9:24 in the morning, weighing 6 lb 14 oz and 19 in. long. We are praising God for her safe and uncomplicated arrival!

Almost-two-year-old Annie loves her baby sister Laurel! It's so sweet to see them together.

Laurel is named after her grandmother Catherine, and after the beautiful mountain laurel flowers that grow in the Smoky Mountains. My husband and I have loved the name ever since we honeymooned in the Smokies, and decided we'd name our second daughter Laurel when we were vacationing in Tennessee again this spring. After she had a name, I wanted to make her a hat inspired by a laurel flower.

Photo by Sylvia W. Forward

To save you the trouble of Googling to find out what a laurel flower looks like, here is the one on which I based my design. I also made Laurel a matching set of booties that should fit this winter (look for pictures of those later), and I am planning on making a pacifier clip in the same color scheme. The pacifier clip was one of the things still on my to-do list when Laurel showed up a week early. Since baby snuggles are sweeter than having everything checked off my list, I'm not complaining.

Suggested retail: $15 for a newborn-sized hat like this one. I could make it to resemble a variety of cup or bell-shaped flowers. You'll have to supply your own baby, though, because I'm keeping this one!

The Plarn Collection: Blue Geranium Sunhat

This portfolio has been in need of a good update for a while now. So much has happened since last fall, the most important being that my husband and I are anticipating the birth of our second daughter almost any day now. That makes it kind of a crazy time to try and get my portfolio up-to-date and ready for the fall preview, but I'm going to seize these last few days and try to do just that.

I had a bad case of creative block all winter (too much morning sickness, too little sunshine), and have spent the spring and summer catching up and getting back into creating mode. Fortunately, my inventory is filling up with lots of fun and exciting items, and I can't wait to share some of them with you!

Recently I've been experimenting with new recycled materials, including "plarn" which is yarn made from recycled plastic bags. There are lots of tutorials on how to make plarn, and I found the one from Cindy on MyRecycledBags.com to be most helpful. Most people who are experimenting with plarn are crocheters, so I've been exploring how the medium can be used in knitting. First up: A plarn sunhat.

This hat was made with a large variety of white shopping bags, including bags from Walmart to JoAnn fabrics to those generic red-printed "Thank You" bags you get everywhere from the Asian grocery to the Salvation Army. Combining all these bags makes a cool effect, because although the predominant color is still white, little colored flecks show the origin of the bags which make up the hat. It's fun to hold the hat and think about all the variety of things the bags held in their previous lives.

The flowers and hat band were made with newspaper bags given to me by a kind neighbor. Actually, he gave me a whole laundry basket full of colored newspaper bags, and it took me over a week to sort and turn them all into plarn! You'll be seeing more from those bags later, I promise.

The texture is surprisingly elastic and bendable. As a matter of fact, this sunhat fits both my toddler Annie and me fairly well. We both have very large heads for our respective ages, and although it's a little snug on me it would fit most children to adults very well. A thin wire is threaded through the outside of the brim, stabilizing it and allowing you to shape it to frame your face best.

Suggested retail: $30

FREE Pattern: String Quartet Baby Hat

Here’s a unique hat I designed a while back for a cellist friend (Stephanie) to knit for a mutual violist friend who was having a baby. Since I'd already made a pair of viola booties for this baby, Stephanie wanted to try knitting a viola scroll onto a hat. I knit up this sample hat so I could write a pattern for Stephanie to make, and had a lot of fun both designing and photographing it. I waited to post this until Stephanie finished and sent off the project so that I wouldn't spoil the surprise, which is why Annie is almost a year younger in these pictures. (OK, I could've posted this before Christmas. Life has been a little crazy these last few months.)

Size: 3-6 months (Stretches well, and can be changed easily by going up or down in needle size)

Materials: 3-5 colors of worsted yarn, one in a nice wood shade of brown like a violin, one in a contrasting shade for strings.

Tools: 16 inch circular needle, size 8; set of 4 double pointed needles (dpn), size 8; yarn needle; scissors

Hat

Cast on 60 stitches. Join, and work in k2p2 ribbing for four rows to form the brim. Change to stockinette stitch (k every row), working stripe sequence as desired. Work 4 inches from brim/4.5 inches from cast on edge.

Begin decrease sequence

Row 1: k8, k2tog (54 sts)

Row 2 and all even rows: k all sts

Row 3: k7, k2tog (48 sts)

Row 5: k6, k2tog (42 sts)

Row 7: k5, k2tog (36 sts)

Row 8: k all sts, CHANGE TO DPNs

Row 9: k4, k2tog (30 sts)

Row 11: k3, k2 tog (24 sts)

Row 13: k2, k2tog (18 sts)

Scroll pattern

Arrange all stitches on 2 dpns (9 sts on each needle) with seam in back (5 sts on first needle, 9 on next, 4 on third needle, then knit first 5 onto needle with the 4; 9 on each needle) and work to form a flat tube.

All measurements are from start of scroll pattern. Each increase or decrease row is repeated on both needles, stitch count is for both needles.

Row 1-10: k even (1 in), 18 sts.

Row 11: k2, k2tog, k1, k2tog, k2. 14 sts.

Row 12-15: k even (2.25 in).

Row 16: k1, k2tog, k1, k2tog, k1. 10 sts.

Row 17-29: k even (4.25 in).

Row 30: k2, m1, k1, m1, k2. 14 sts.

Row 31-34: k even (5 in)

Row 35: k3, m1, k1, m1, k3. 18 sts.

Row 36-39: k even (5.75 in)

Row 40: k4, m1, k1, m1, k4. 22 sts.

Row 41-59: k even (8.5 in)

Row 60: k5, m1, k1, m1, k5. 26 sts.

Row 61-64: k even (9.25 in)

Row 65: k6, m1, k1, m1, k6. 30 sts.

Row 66-69: k even (10.5 in)

Row 70: k7, m1, k1, m1, k7. 34 sts.

Row 71-74: k even (11.25 in)

Row 75: k8, m1, k1, m1, k8. 38 sts.

Row 76-86: k even

Entire scroll piece measures 13 inches.

Cut yarn, graft front and back needles together with kitchener stitch. Tie off and hide tail end inside tube.

With contrasting color, embroider with the chain stitch up the center back of the scroll to highlight the ridge.

Roll toward the front so that scroll makes three full circles, consult photo as needed. Sew bottom front edge of scroll to hat with main color.

Pegs

Fold hat in half, front to back. On left edge just below crown decrease, pick up and knit two stitches with one needle. Repeat with second needle: 4 sts.

Row 2-3 knit in the round to form i-cord

Row 4: co 2 sts, k2, co 2. Repeat on second needle. 12 sts.

Row 5-7: k even.

Row 8: k2tog, k2, k2 tog. Repeat on second needle. 8 sts.

Cut yarn and graft stitches together with kitchener stitck.

Repeat for four more pegs, referring to photo for placement.

Strings

Secure strand of yarn to peg, pulling tail through and hiding inside peg. Wind string around peg twice, then bring over the peg and down to the middle front of hat. Yarn goes in at top of the brim, then circles around brim, back inside and secured. Repeat with four other pegs, referring to picture for help.

Finishing

Secure any loose threads, making especially certain that strings are tied tightly.

Enjoy! Let me know if you find any errors in this pattern. If you make a string quartet hat, I'd love to see any of your versions of this pattern on Ravelry!

Little Rainbow Hat

This is another project I made with the lovely yarns I got for Christmas from Yellow Dog Knitting in Eau Claire, WI. I actually finished it back in January, but we only took pictures yesterday because we finally had a sunny day to take pictures.

I totally fell in love with this yarn, Noro Silk Garden Lite, and spent several hours looking for a pattern which could do justice to the beauty of the yarn. I decided on Little Red Cap, a gorgeous and romantic pattern in the original red and which worked nicely in the rainbow-colored Noro yarn too.

I have a pretty large head (23") so I was afraid that this hat would be too small for me. I tried knitting it on bigger needles right off the bat, and discovered after completing the brim that my enlargement was too big. I started over and knit according to the pattern, and the hat fit perfectly. The only modification I made to the pattern was to knit the inside of the brim with a slightly softer yarn in a matching color. This not only made the hat more comfortable to wear, but it also made the hat start with the nice dark red instead of the weaker yellow.

I was very concerned with whether or not there would be enough yarn to complete the hat, and I even counted up every stitch in the pattern and unraveled a swatch to get a very good estimate of the yardage required. The pattern said that it would take about 173 m. of yarn, my calculations said it would take about 115 m., and it ended up only taking more like 105 m. I was holding my breath the whole time I knit it, and ended up with a very small ball of leftover yarn.

This is my favorite winter hat. It's bright enough to defy the depression brought on by grey skies, but muted enough to be grown-up. The cables and lace are feminine and look complicated in an eye-pleasing way. If I were to make it again, I might consider a different (but still simple) lace motif in the middle of the diamond instead of the eyelet climbing vine, but I think this is pretty sweet the way it is.

I've gotten plenty of compliments from strangers on this hat. My favorite was from a slightly aggressive short young woman in the library who asked, while I was standing in the checkout line,

"Where did you get that hat?"
I replied, "I made it."
She continued: "Where did you get the yarn?"
"From a local shop in Wisconsin, but it's a national brand so I can give you the name of the yarn."
She pulled out a notepad and pencil and said,"Ok, go"
"It's Noro (that's N-O-R-O) Silk Garden Lite"
She made a disappointed face and said, "Oh. I know that yarn. I don't know what I'd do with another hat though. I have like 16."
I suggested, "You could give them to your friends or try selling them on Etsy. You do know Etsy, don't you?"
She started walking away and threw back over her shoulder, "I wouldn't want to do that. If you post your stuff online people steal your ideas!"

What an attitude. Just for the record, dear readers, you are welcome to use my ideas for your own projects. While I'd rather you not make exact copies of my projects to sell on Etsy, one of the main things Etsy customers are paying for is the time and skill of the craftsman, not simply the creative idea.

Suggested retail for this hat: Noro yarn is quite expensive ($11 for a small ball) so this hat would have to cost at least $22 to account for the hours it would take me to knit it.

The Sunshine and Salsa Collection

Infant booties, $20.00

And God said, “LET THERE BE LIGHT,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. Genesis 1:3-4

My mom used to call me her “sunshine and salsa” daughter because I lived on sunlight, and life with me could be a little spicy at times. I thought that was the perfect name for my first collection of winter knits because the bright colors bring a bit of cheer into the bleakness of the season. It is also an overflow of my joy in the birth of my first daughter, Annie Sunshine.

Red infant earflap hat, $20.00

This collection is made of 100% recycled wool/acrylic blend yarn which I unraveled from a thrift store sweater, and then hand-dyed bright colors with kool-aid. The yarn has a a beautifully mottled pattern because the wool absorbed the bright colors and the acrylic stayed white. Each piece is a one-of-a-kind item, designed, knitted and embroidered by me. I took inspiration from Peruvian patterns and Latin American colors, invoking the playful warmth of summers remembered.

Green infant earflap hat, $18.00 (SOLD)

Orange infant earflap hat, $18.00

Purple small adult earflap hat, $22.00

Red-soled infant booties $20.00 (SOLD)

Infant moccasins $20.00

Child size medium mittens $22.00

Child/toddler small mittens $20.00 (SOLD)

Annie's booties, which started the whole collection. $20.00 (NFS)

Because the yarn preparation takes so much work (and days from buying, unraveling, dyeing, drying, winding and knitting), I would need to have several items requested before I start a new dye lot.

Sunflower Baby Hat

I just love sunshine and all the imagery that goes along with its pure light, and so I can't help but feel a certain affinity for sunflowers. Sunflowers rank right up with daisies as the happiest flower ever, and this year we finally grew a lovely successful crop of sunflowers in front of our house. So while I was pregnant with my first daughter, Annie Sunshine, I designed and knitted this little hat for her.

This was a very time-consuming little hat, because every petal (there were nine) had to be knit and stitched on separately, with all the stripes, and then there was a fair amount of embroidery. I really love the way it turned out, however, and it made a terrific Halloween (or Reforween, as we call it in our circles) sunflower costume for Annie!

The Hobbs family at Reforween, 2009

Annie Sunshine, 1 day old

Suggested Retail: $40