New Pattern: Knitted Turban Style Chemo Hat

October 1, 2017| LindyBeir| 0 Comment | 2:55 pm

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To all the women that read this post: When was the last time you had a mammogram? Are you overdue? I was one of those women that put off getting my mammograms done — and when I was diagnosed, I had just had my two years overdue mammogram done. Please ladies, if you are over due for your mammogram, schedule it and get it done as soon as possible.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. I am celebrating my seventh year as a breast cancer survivor. I feel blessed and very lucky that I am cancer-free.

In honor of my being cancer-free for seven years, I am making a pattern for a turban style chemo hat that I created available on my website. I created this pattern because I have knit a number of different patterns for chemo hats, but I wanted something that was a little more stylish for an older woman.

I knit this hat using one of my favorite cotton yarns: Knit Picks Comfy Sport Weight Yarn. Chemo hats knit in cotton are washable and are very soft — they feel good on the head that is sensitive due to chemo and provide a degree of warmth as well.

The pattern is here: Turban Style Chemo Hat.
Please feel free to knit this hat for any loved one going through this experience with my blessings.

FO: Fancy Feet Anklets – “Monday”FO: Fancy Feet Anklets – “Monday”

It’s been a busy summer and I haven’t done much posting of late. Now that summer is winding down along with the Labor Day weekend, I intend to post a bit more often. So I will start with my latest FO. Awhile back, I purchased the “Fancy Feet Anklets” kit from Knit Picks. This kit contained 7 balls of Comfy Fingering weight yarn in 7 different colors and a set of 7 patterns, one for each day of the week. The idea being that you have a pair of anklets for each day of the week. Now, I have to confess that this kit has been hanging around it my stash long enough that it is no longer available on the Knit Picks website. (I just checked.)

I started knitting one of the patterns in the kit (Monday) earlier this summer when I was looking for a small, portable knitting project to take with me here and there as we traveled throughout the summer. This was a perfect portable project. The Monday pattern is a feather and fan type lace pattern. I used the colorway Blackberry and size US 0 (2.00 mm) circular needles, 47 inches long so that I could do magic loop and two-at-a-time. Now, because this is a lace pattern, it does require keeping track as you knit. The anklet is knit toe-up — which is not my preferred method for doing socks — but I think it is the most practical way to knit this type of short ankle sock.

A couple of comments/notes to myself for the next pair: The socks seem a bit too tight across the middle of my foot, so I think I will knit the next pair on slightly larger needles. The socks are also a wee bit short for my size 8.5 foot, so the next time I will knit them about 1/2 longer before starting the heel. The heel on these anklets is made by doing 60 short rows (yep, 60). You really have to keep track of where you are in the pattern when knitting the heel. I found it best to do the heel in one long stretch of knitting rather than attempting to stop somewhere in the process. I also have decided I really don’t like the wrap and turn technique used for the short rows, so the next pair will be knit using a different technique.

I like the socks, but since they don’t really fit me, my sister (who has smaller feet) will be getting this pair.

Summer Knitting: Washcloths/Dishcloths – #1 – #3Summer Knitting: Washcloths/Dishcloths – #1 – #3

During the summer months, I like to knit smaller projects that knit up quickly, are portable and don’t require a whole lot of intricate knitting. So, 2010 is the Summer of Washcloths. I recently came across a booklet with 10 different knit dishcloth patterns: “Kitchen Bright Dishcloths” from Leisure Arts (2004).

Now, I had already downloaded a few patterns from Ravelry and knit up 1 of those, plus I decided to finally knit the “Ball Band Dishcloth” printed on the back of the Peaches and Cream yarn label. So — if I knit the 10 in the Leisure Arts booklet, by the end of the Summer, I will have …(count ’em)… a Dozen new knitted dishcloths.

I am a quarter of the way through my dozen. Here are the three completed projects:

#1 – Waffle Weave Dishcloth

Pattern found on Ravelry. Yarn Used: Peaches and Cream, Winterberry Ombre. I like this pattern, though I’m not sure I like the way the yarn pooled when I knit it.

#2 – Ball Band Dishcloth

Pattern on back of Peaches and Cream yarn label. Yarn Used: Peaches and Cream, Teal Blue and Teal Ombre. I like the end result, but really did not like knitting this pattern. Not sure why — I just didn’t enjoy knitting it.

#3 – Bee Stitch Dishcloth

Pattern from Leisure Arts booklet. Yarn Used: Lion Brand Kitchen Cotton, Natural. I really enjoyed knitting this dishcloth. The Lion Brand yarn feels softer than the Peaches and Cream (probably due to lack of dye) and I loved knitting the Bee Stitch — it’s an easy 4 row stitch pattern.

Progress on Socks for SoldiersProgress on Socks for Soldiers

I am making progress on my first pair of “regulation socks” for Socks for Soldiers. It has been slow going. I had knitted about four inches in 2 x 2 ribbing when I decided that I had an issue with laddering. Usually when you knit on two circulars, you don’t have a problem with ladders developing between the needles – but there they were… I figured out that I was causing the problem by tugging too hard on the yarn when I knit the first two stitches on each needle. The Regia Stretch yarn is really stretchy and because I was pulling the yarn too tightly I had ladders. So, I made a trip to the frog pond and frogged the socks all the way back to the beginning. (Sigh…)

9 inches of sock leg.

Well, I now have 9+ inches of leg done on both socks. The first 8 inches were knit on size US 2 (3.00 mm) circulars, with a stitch gauge of 8 spi. Following the directions of the official pattern, I switched to Size US 1 (2.25 mm) circulars, which have a gauge of 9 spi. The leg continues in ribbing until it measures 12 inches and then you begin the heel. I’ll post an update when I get to the heel.