SM5 - Eisregen

Round Five of Sock Madness brought me to my knees. It used more stitches and yards than any of the other rounds. It was just filled with bobbles - I was not a fan.

They were also far too big for me. Far too big. Since I started a day or so late, and a few of the speedy teams had finishers already, I knew this going in, and decided to knit it for my mom. I used the yarn I had bought for her - Knit Picks Stroll in Wine Tasting - and knit them on size 2 needles. When she visited in April, I tried them on, and they fit comfortably.

So I had her Christmas Gift! I wrapped them up and set them aside in my "gifts" bin for the end of the year.

Ravelry Project Page

Amethyst Diamond Socks

I don't have very many pictures of these, but my brother, one of the guys in my life who is obsessed with hand-knit socks, will be getting these for Christmas. He picked out the pattern and the colors - he needed professional looking socks, and he liked the argyle effect in the original pattern (the Border Socks), but the blue and brown were not colors he would wear, so we went with his favorite color - a bright purple - and black. I love them, and I hope he does too!

Ravelry Project Page

Sontag

My mother-in-law works at a working historical farm. She works in authentic historical garb, and cooks, spins, and cleans in an authentic historical manner, giving tours to visitors and explaining her processes.

She mentioned to me last year that at the later-season (fall and winter) gigs, her co-worker had a bosom-buddy, or sontag - a historical woolen shawl that wrapped around to allow a woman to work while she wore it. She mentioned that she would like that for Christmas this year, and then she (hopefully) forgot about it.

So, I made one! It's humungous, and I followed a basic pattern from 1860 that I adapted, due to my gauge. I also created a button using Kate Davies Button Tutorial. The garter edge was knit with the body, and when I broke for the "wings," I cast on the 6 stitches needed for the "inside" garter ridges. Later, I went back and knit from the cast-ons, and applied a garter ridge by picking up a stitch from the neck edge, and knitting two together near that edge to maintain the six stitches.

I knit a 6-stitch garter ridge strip, and knit about 300 rows, and then continued that same applying technique to attach it to the bottom back of the sontag, and then knit another 300 rows. I then knit an applied i-cord all the way around that garter strip, which stabilized and strengthened it.

I sent it off to her for a late birthday/early Christmas gift, so she could use it this fall season, and thankfully, she loves it!

Ravelry Project Page

Ben's Birthday Moss Socks

Between rounds three and four of Sock Madness, I somehow had the urge to...knit more socks.

Well, I guess that's a little misleading. I had already knit these socks for my brother, and I had knit them with exactly the same construction of the Firefly socks I had knit him, and then I got a call, literally the night they were blocking, saying he had a few fit problems with those socks.

Don't get me wrong - I'm really glad he called. I would much rather knit him socks that he'll wear, especially since he likes them so much, but the timing was...non-ideal.

Well, during Round Two, I had gone to my Uncle's party, and while there, I tried the socks on his feet for heel alignment. I had already knit toe-up, and the problem area had been the heel, so I tried (for the first time) a toe-up heel flap. I frogged the cuffs, finished the two heels, and then headed home.

In April I got the bug to finish them. They were, after all, supposed to be a March birthday gift. So knitting back the Ramen Yarn, I finished them up and sent them off!

And the best part is? This was deep-stash yarn!

Ravelry Project Page

October Mittens

I recently fell for a KnitPicks sale. You know how it is - they send you the pattern for free, and before you know it, you're buying the kit. Well, I bought the kit. It's for the Woodland Winter Mittens, a set of six patterns of colorwork mitts, one for each month October through March.

Jumping right in, I made the October mittens in the large size, and once blocked, discovered they were far too big. No trouble! My mom would love them - and so to her for her birthday they went, and as predicted, she fell absolutely in love.

I used the colors called for in the stormy colorway, as seen on the project page.

Ravelry Project Page

French Braid

As the holidays approached, I was panicked and overcome with the need to finish all of the gifts, but when I noticed that this was the November KAL pattern on the Ravelry Mega-KAL group, I could not pass the opportunity up. I was even able to use stash yarn from my Brantingham Tree Rings blanket!

I was not that difficult of a knit, and I even managed to get through most of the body before we left. After taking a break from it to finish up my brother's Christmas socks, which I had put on hold to do a heel-sizing test on the first one, I got right back on it, and I managed to finish on Christmas itself.

It wasn't blocked, of course, but I still wore it the next day, and while we were grass-sledding, it came in handy for my cousin Anna (very front - and yes, those are sleds being pulled by an ATV). I blocked it the minute we got home, and I've been wearing it ever since.

Hacky Sack - Kids' Puzzle Balls

And here we are - we've reached the end of the Christmas posts! This'll be the last one!

Today I present to you the hackysacks I made for the kiddos - they're all puzzle balls! Each one uses a different pattern, but they all come apart in a series of puzzles.

First, I made one for Owen using Dedri Uys's Mini Crochet Amish Ball pattern. Owen liked green, so I used a variety of green scraps for the inside, and made the edging in yellow. 

This one was completed in June.

Ravelry Project: Owen

Second was Ellie's flower ball, and this one was an adapted version of another one of Dedri's patterns, the Flower Crochet Amish Puzzle Ball. I adapted the pattern to try to make the ball smaller, and so the flowers only contained one row in the center, and the outside DCs were HDCs. I adapted the wedges accordingly, and though it worked, it still wasn't quite as small as I had hoped.

Ellie liked blue, but I also knew she really liked flowers, so this was a perfect fit for her, and I finished it in July.

Ravelry Project: Ellie

Third was Caleb, a kiddo who liked red, so I simply turned Dedri's Crochet Pumpkin Segment Ball into an Apple segment ball for a delightful finished product, completed in October.

Ravelry Project: Caleb

And finally, last but not least, I've got a Spikey Star ball for Grayson, whose preferences I never got, so I just made him a rainbow of color using an adapted version of Dedri's Crochet Star Ball. I simply made each of the wedges about half the size, and the end result works great, though it does tend to bulge in the center.

The best part is that all the rings are completely reversible, so he can decide which side he wants out!

Ravelry Project: Grayson

Stay tuned next week for the first non-Christmas post since December!

(Oh, and in case you were curious, yes, these are the same Ellie, Owen, Grayson, and Caleb as the quilt recipients!)

Hacky Sack - Fuzzy Bobble

A few of the Hackysacks I made were essentially pattern-less, in an effort to let the yarn speak for itself, and I present them to you today!

Peter's, which was finished in September, used a fuzzy blue yarn. Unfortunately, the fuzz didn't really show through in the final project, but I chose to make just a plain sphere in order to highlight it. 

Ravelry Project: Peter

Uncle Andy S requested purple and green, so knowing that I had this yarn, it was really a no-brainer. I worked another simple sphere, but after the boring results I got from Peter's, I decided to add a few bobbles haphazardly. When I finished it in October, I decided it had worked.

Ravelry Project: Quog

Finally, we have my hackysack. I chose a green fuzzy scrap for mine, and somehow mine came out much fuzzier than Peter's - go figure. Anyway, I finished in October, and packed it up with the others.

Ravelry Project: Lily

Hacky Sack - Easy Peasy Baby Ball

Another one of the patterns I used for this project was the Easy Peasy Baby Ball by A la Sascha. I absolutely love this one, and though I adapted the pattern a few times by adding rows or changing needle sizes, it was still one of my favorites.

Dad's was first, and his selected color was blue. For a man known for wearing only blue for years of his life, this was not a surprising choice, and I striped his ball accordingly, with two of his favorite shades. This one was completed in September.

Ravelry Project: Gary

Aunt Jody requested red, green, and blue, so this stripey duet seemed perfect. Hers was completed in September as well.

Ravelry Project: Jody

Also a September ball, this one was for Elizabeth S, and she liked the colors green and grey, so hers was the perfect excuse to use up some scraps. I am particularly proud of this one because I only had a few yards of the light green left, and I was able to use it up almost perfectly, with less than 10 inches to spare.

Ravelry Project: Elizabeth S

Finally, I made one more as an extra, and quite frankly this might be my absolute favorite of all the balls I made. This one was finished in November and just might end up in my classroom.

Ravelry Project: E1

Striped Double Crochet Ball - Pattern

Once again, I present to you the pattern for the hacky-sacks I previously posted.

Materials:

• Yarn in chosen colors (worsted)
• size F crochet hook
• scissors, darning needle, filling (stockings, stuffing or rice)

Directions (Detailed):

• Round 1: With color A, create a magic loop. Into the magic loop, chain one, and then make 6 single-crochets. Slip-stitch to the top of the first SC. (6 stitches)
• Round 2: Make a standing DC, and in the same stitch, make two more DC. Make 3 DC in each stitch around, and slip-stitch to the top of the standing DC. Cut and bind off color A. (18 stitches)
• Round 3: With color B, attach to first stitch with a chain, and sc in the same stitch, and then sc in the next stitch. (sc twice in one stitch, sc in next two stitches) around, and then sc twice in the last stitch, and slip-stitch to the first sc. (24 stitches)
• Round 4: Make a standing DC in the first stitch, and then two DCs in the next stitch. (DC in one stitch, make two DCs in the next) around, and slip-stitch to the standing DC. Cut and bind off color B. (36 stitches)
• Round 5: With color C, attach to first stitch with a chain, and sc in the same stitch, and then sc in the next four stitches. (sc twice in one stitch, sc in next five stitches) around, and then sc twice in the last stitch, and slip-stitch to the first sc. (42 stitches)
• Round 6: Make a standing DC in the first stitch, and then DC in the next five stitches. (DC twice in the next stitch, DC in the next six stitches) around, and then DC twice in the last stitch, and slip-stitch to the standing DC. Cut and bind off color C. (48 stitches)
• Round 7: Attach color A, sc around
• Round 8: dc around
• Round 9: sc around, cut and bind off color A
• Round 10: With color C, make a standing DC, and DC in the next 5 stitches. (DC 2 together, DC 6) around, Dc last two stitches together, and slip stitch to standing DC. (42 stitches)
• Round 11: Chain one, sc in same stitch and next four stitches. (sc 2 together, sc in the next five stitches) around, sc the last two stitches together, slip-stitch to first stitch. Cut and bind off color C. (36 stitches)
• Round 12: With color B, make a standing DC. (DC 2 together, DC 1) around, Dc last two stitches together, and slip stitch to standing DC. (24 stitches)
• Round 13: Chain one, sc in same stitch and next stitch. (sc 2 together, sc in the next two stitches) around, sc the last two stitches together, slip-stitch to first stitch. Cut and bind off color B. (18 stitches)
• Note: At this point, you should stuff the inside of the ball in whichever way you choose, before attaching the last color.
• Round 14: With color A, Make a standing DC 3 together, and DC 3 together around. Slip stitch to the first stitch. (6 stitches)
• Round 15: Chain one, sc in each stitch, slip stitch to the first stitch, and bind off. (6 stitches)
• Sew all ends in

Directions (Simplified):

1. (A) magic loop, 6 SC (6 sts)
2. (A) DC 3 in each sc (18 sts)
3. (B) SC 2, SCinc across (24 sts)
4. (B) DC, DCinc across (36 sts)
5. (C) SC 5, SCinc across (42 sts)
6. (C) DC 6, SCinc acorss (48 sts)
7. (A) SC all
8. (A) DC All
9. (A) SC all
10. (C) DC 6, DC2tog across (42 sts)
11. (C) SC 5, SC2tog across (36sts)
12. (B) DC, DC2tog across (24 sts)
13. (B) SC 2, SC2tog across (18 sts)
14. (A) DC3tog across (6 sts)
15. (A) SC across (6 sts)

Hacky Sack - Striped DC Ball

This was another pattern I created myself, so once again, I'll be showing you in two posts. In the mean time, here are my creations.

First up, Cole's hackysack. He said he liked blue, so here it is. This one was completed in September.

Ravelry Project: Cole

October brought us Randall's hackysack. He likes orange and green, so this was a perfect fit.

Ravelry Project: Randall

Another October creation, Aunt Kathy's was done with scraps, and slightly adapted since the yarn was thicker, so all Double-crochets are half-double crochets instead.

Ravelry Project: Kathy

Finally, we have the one I made for Adi, completed in November. I never got color requests from him, so I just went with red and brown.

Ravelry Project: Adi

Hacky Sack - Christmas Ball

These hacky-sacks were made following the Christmas Ball pattern from ATERGCrochet on Etsy.

I made a modification in round 9 - instead of doing separately and then seaming together, I simply treated it like the join, working single-crochets through both pieces of fabric.

These took only an hour or two to work up, which was a great relief after some of the longer projects!

Kristine

First, I made Kristine's from Brava scraps. She said she liked fall colors, so this is the one I made for her. It was completed in August.

Ravelry Project: Kristine

Whitsun

Whitsun's was next, and he said he liked Black and White, as well as red, so this was a perfect decision for him. I finished it in September.

Ravelry Project: Whitsun

Heidi

Heidi's was created in September, when she said she liked blue and white.

Ravelry Project: Heidi

Extra7

This extra one was finished in September, using Brava scraps.

Ravelry Project: E7

Granny Square Hacky Sack - Pattern

As I mentioned in my previous post, this set of hackysacks was made using a pattern of my own creation, and as promised, here it is.

Materials

• Yarn, in desired colors. If you choose to follow the schemes above, you'll need 3-4 colors.
• size F crochet hook
• scissors, darning needle, and stuffing material (pantyhose and rice or batting)

Directions:

Squares: Make 6

• Round 1: With color A, create a magic ring. In the magic ring, make one standing DC, and then 2 normal DC. (Chain 1, make 3 DC) three times. Chain 1, and slip-stitch to the top of the standing DC. Cut and bind-off.
• Round 2: With color B, make one standing DC in any of the ch-1 spaces, and then make 2 more DC in the same space. (Ch-1, make 3 DC) in the same space, then (3 DC, ch-1, 3 DC) in the next ch-1 space three times. Slip-stitch to standing DC, cut and bind-off.
• Round 3: With color C, make one standing DC in any of the ch-1 spaces, and then make 5 more DC in the same space. (3 DC in the stretch between the sides of DC in the previous round, 6 DC in the next ch-1 space) three times. 3 DC in last stretch, and slip-stitch to standing DC, snip and bind off.

Finishing:

• Once you have all six sides done, begin binding them together. SC two corners together, and sc across, ending in the next corner stitch. Then, hold another piece up, and stitch in the new set of corner stitches (yes, you will be making two stitches in one of the corners), and follow that side down. Continue in this manner until your ball is all stitched up, except for one side, which is only attached at one side.
• Fill the bottom of an old pair of stockings with rice, beans, or stuffing, depending on how heavy you want your ball to be. Tie a knot in the stockings, cut above the knot, and stuff it into your ball. 
• Seam across the rest of your edges, and use a darning needle to weave in all the ends.

If you want to make each side different, you can follow this color schema, making one of each.

• A, B, C
• A, C, B
• B, A, C
• B, C, A
• C, A, B
• C, B, A

If you want to keep the centers the same, and use only three colors, follow this color schema:

• make 2: A, B, C
• make 4: A, C, B

You can, of course, use any color schema you would like!