Jobo Designs

A friend recently had a cute bouncing baby boy... so of course, I wanted to be able to make him something! 

Baby hats are a great project for many reasons... Basically they are a quick knit, so instant gratification; they don't take up much yarn; and they are so stinking cute!

For this little hat, I mostly winged it using measurements from some other free square hat patterns.  I just cast on a guess at the right number of stitches to work in the round (the yarn is worsted weight 100% super soft hand dyed Merino... left over from these mittens)  worked about an inch in twisted rib then plain stockinette until I thought it was tall enough for a toddler noggin and cast off the top with a 3 needle Bindoff.  The tassels were an afterthough, but I really enjoyed working on them!  I had hoped to make a hat that might fit the little guy a little longer than just his newborn phases, so it is a little big, but almost fits the little dude already at just over a month old. 

I also made a pair of teensy mitts to match, with fluffy 100% Angora (Ruttiger Brand) yarn used as soft thrums.  Basically I didn't cut thrums, but I wove in the loosely plied single as if it was a thrum with short floats so that little fingers woudn't get stuck, but would still feel the warmth that Angora brings.  The mitts fit right away! (Sadly I was not smart enough to photograph them before giving them away)

Baby Liam is as cute as a button... and I hope someday I'll get to see him with his Tassel-hat on!

I don't know what these mittens should be named in the end, but they definitely turned out great! 

The pattern is my own design... featuring a horseshoe cable running asymmetrically over the ring finger of each hand, and some great shiny glass beads.  The yarn is my own bulky handspun 2-ply... in all it's barberpole-y wonder!

I didn't have thread to match the yarn, so I even spun a few yards of extra fine lace yarn with the leftovers, so I could sew on the beads and have everything blend in and match correctly.  I love the way the glass beads shine and bring out the colors of the yarn.  I decided to play up the asymmetrical-ness and only add the beads along one side of the cable.

Also, I really like the way the thumbs turned out... using a little different method of increasing stitches for the gussett... I ended up with a unique forking pattern, almost like the veins running out from the centre of a leaf.  I also adorned these with beads :)  (can you have too many?  I'm not so sure...  I think it's like marshmallows or chocolates... you have to keep going!)

I had originally planned on doing a lining with this pair, but I loved the way that the extra fat yarn worked into a soft, squishy, thick wool layer.  I bet these will felt nicely inside, and the wearer won't have any problems with chilly fingers.  I also love the gentle stripes and smatterings of color spread throughout the green shades.  I don't think I'll ever get tired of knitting with my own hand dyed, handspun yarns.

I plan on knitting these through one more time, perhaps with a more commercially available chunky/bulky yarn, and finalizing my pattern... then I will be looking for a couple of test knitters to run through and give me some feedback... then hopefully will be able to release the pattern on Ravelry without too much delay.  The idea of other people knitting my designs is exciting, but also terrifying at the same time.  I've always been the sort of knitter to make things up as I go, but I have not had much practice trying to write out the creatures of my imagination so that others could try to make them too.  I have a feeling this will be an adventure :)

I've been chugging along on my Christmas knitting... trying to make a little progress each day.  Last night, I completed the outer shell of my Moody Blue Mittens... and got the Angora/Merino Blend carded up to start on the linings asap.

Here they are... complete with the shiny Mother-of-Pearl Buttons and tiny cable cuffs.  I really like the way this yarn has knit up... the 3-ply really did break up the colors from the roving, and gave a nice overall grey/blue coloring. 

I decided against doing a full button plackett, and instead settled on a small button "tab" as it were. The square buttons I had originally considered for this project turned out to be too angular for the mittens.  In the end, I think the round shape compliments the girly cable ribbing better, especially since the mittens are not such a feminine color - they needed some softness to balance out the design.

I've carded up the lining blend... 10 - 15% Angora... and started spinning a bit of it too.  The drum carder really comes in handy with carding large batches of fiber.  I was able to blend all 3 ounces I needed in about 30 minutes, which is great!  I wanted the lining to have a bit of soft fuzzy halo, but not so much that it would shed, or be excessively warm.  These mittens already have a nice lofty 100% merino outer shell, if I had made the linings with 100% Merino, they likely would have been too warm to wear (unless you live in Nunavut!)

As for the outer shells themselves... I just have to tie in the dreaded ends, and they are complete :)