New Stuff to Share!

Ta-Da!!! I present a non-knitting F.O. - this is a Kuspuk. It is a traditional Alaskan Native garment. It is a lot like a hooded sweatshirt, but involves brightly colored fabrics. Usually it is made of cotton and it another layer for summer or for indoors in the winter. This is my first sewn garment with my new sewing machine. I have started a second one for myself, but this one is a gift for Sandy. It is a late birthday gift, so I have to get it mailed off to her now that I finally have it finished. Like everything else I do, I did not sew this quickly, so that's why it is so late.

Now, in knitting news:

I finished this hat. It is the Basket Lattice Cap. I picked up this pattern when I was in Portland and I visited Twisted. I also picked up the yarn at that time. I liked the pattern, it spoke to me. I also really like the yarn. I did modify that pattern a little bit to accommodate my extremely large head. I have decided to keep this one for myself, highly irregular, but I really like this little hat!
In the pattern it is knit in two parts, first the hat band is knit back and forth until it is long enough to go around the intended wearer's head. Then pick up stitches along one edge and knit in the round doing decreases to make the top. When I had finished all of this the hat was beautiful, b a little short for covering my ears. So, I picked up stitches along the other edge of the hat band and added some rows to get some extra length and voila! It fits very nicely! I would take a picture of myself wearing it, but Lola really wanted to model it. Here's the details:

Pattern: Basket Lattice Cap by Cathy Campbell with O Wool and Tunney Wool Company
Yarn: Mochi Plus by Crystal Palace Yarns
Color: Violets Rainbow
Needles: US #8 - 16" circular and dpns
Started: July 15th
Finished: August 11th

I like the yarn a lot too! It is a super wash yarn that is very soft to the touch. I also love the colors - greens and purples are my favorites! I think this is a fun little hat that I will enjoy! I may have to knit another of these!

In other news: in mid-July we traveled to Portland again for a week. I returned to work a week after that to get ready for the start of the school year. Then Winston got an injury to his shoulder, that has gotten a lot better. In getting his injury checked out it was discovered that he had a cancerous tumor that he had removed right away. He's in the process of a full recovery and the good news is that all the cancer cells were removed. We just have to keep an eye out for any new lumps. So, we've been busy! But, still productive! Here's to the start of a new school year!