Knitting Retreat

I've just returned from a knitting retreat, it is my third year going and each time has been something special. This year was misty and grey each morning, a bit cool, perfect for walks and quiet times of solitude.

I worked on 2 hats, the first in a nice gray alpaca wool for my husband, and the second in this marvelous Liberty Wool in a shade called Painted Desert. It was donated by a local yarn shop, in the hopes that we might make something they could give away, which I did.

I cast on 88 stitches on size 6 and 7 needles, and as I knit pretty tightly it was rather small, hopefully perfect for a child's hat.

I really loved the unique colors in this yarn!

It was such a marvelous gift, watching these ladies knit, and spending time with them in quiet and sometime raucous and silly talk. :)

As I always say, I can't wait for the next one!

Baby Hats for my godson

We had an unusual cold snap in early January, and all I could think about was my little godson's tiny head - yes, I'm sure his parents had prepared for winter, but as cold as it was, I knew he needed wool. I finally put to use some beautiful wool my dear friend Amanda had sent me when I was recovering from surgery over 2 years ago - this alpaca yarn was so divinely soft, I knew it must be for a special project:

I couple of my dear friends in NY sent me that adorable ribbon, and it was perfect for this little gift.

I used the free Very Basic Baby Beanie pattern on Ravelry and lo and behold, it was a perfect fit!

He also seems to find the wool quite tasty, added bonus. :)

A brief history of my knitting

I've been knitting a lot lately, so I decided to pull out the old behemoth monster that was my first hat (above). The thing could freaking double as a tube top on me (and no, I won't demonstrate!) :)

I was amused because, without even intending to, I chose almost the exact three colors of yarn the last time I went yarn shopping:


Those 3 are Patons Beehive Baby Sport yarns, by the way. What can I say, I guess I'm a sucker for teal and pink. I hope it's not the mauve of this generation. Because boy, do I hate mauve.

Anyhow, since I was never happy with that big, lumpy, HUGE first hat I'm gonna re-do it as a baby hat (pictures soon!)

In the meantime, here's my third baby hat:


Here it is unrolled, looking kind of like a PacMan ghost:


And here's a brief summary of my recent baby hat knitting:


Do I like this color palette? Of course I do!


Here's a few Flickr faves on that pink and teal theme: