December FO: Chimborazo Textured Hat

December 10, 2014 | Verónica

This year, my niece Victoria started college. She is an exceptional student who finished in the top 5% of her class. (It’s my blog so I am taking editorial license to be a proud aunt). She is a scholar-athlete who competed in both individual and team sports and even broke a track record. She received scholarships and grants but it was still a stretch to cover all those college costs. I honestly don’t know how regular middle-class Americans can afford to send their kids to college. So, she is living with us and commuting to school every day. We emptied the guest room, picked up a great daybed from IKEA that pulls out into a full-size bed for guests. We also got her a desk and a really cool chair and let her decorate the rest of her “dorm” room. She has black-and-white posters of Marilyn and Audrey and the New York skyline on her walls and small LED lights around the perimeter. It has been a delight to have her in our home. We have two boys so she is the daughter we never had.

As the weather started turning a bit cold, I decided to knit her a hat. I found this pattern which she promptly approved of with the request that it be in a white or cream color. I found this off-white bulky yarn at the fiber festival. It was half off and perfect for the hat. It’s Yearling by Juniper Moon Farm, a wonderful blend of 60% merino wool and 40% cotton, and it has been discontinued. I love this yarn! I already have several skeins of it in bright colors in my stash. It’s a great yarn for knitting in Texas because the wool brings warmth but the cotton tempers it a bit.

Once I got past the brim, the basket weave texture started to show itself.

I love the look of it! My niece loved it too.

I topped it off with a big pompom.

Now she can keep her head warm as she goes from class to class.

August FO: Purple Ribbed Hat

August 19, 2014 | Verónica

I had a knitting fail last month. This lovely Habu 100% linen yarn was to become a loosely knit flowing sort of scarf. I diligently knit and purled alternating rows. Simple, repetitious, relaxing. And then I dropped a stitch.

It unravelled two rows down. I carefully un-knit and un-purled a couple of rows. But the stitch kept dropping further. As I kept undoing rows, more stitches dropped, and dropped. It simply wasn’t meant to be. I ripped it all out, wound it back into a little ball, and put it away.

I still had a couple of balls of the purple gradient yarn leftover from the hand warmers. I wanted a ribbed, stay on my head kind of hat, so I knit one up. Very simple pattern – KKKPPP Repeat.

Now I have a nice set and continued using up the stash.

The next project is a big one, a blanket for the other son. No more purple for a while.

January FO: Molly Knit Hat

January 20, 2014 | Verónica

After all those hours on garter stitch, my hands were itching to knit something with more variety. I found this lovely textured knit hat pattern called Molly … for free!

I dug into my stash and found this lovely Tosh DK in the gauge called for in the pattern. I loved the interplay of the lights and darks in the hand-dyed yarn. I rolled the three skeins into center pull balls but ended up only needing one for the hat.

Here it is in progress. It was the perfect little project after the large blanket.

Remember those Made in China project bags from the giveaway? Well, I kept one for me! It was just the right size for the yarn, notions and needles. The pattern stayed within easy reach tucked into the outer pocket.

I love the texture created by the color variations of the yarn combined with the pattern. The cabling is easy and I really like how it tapers down as you decrease.

There may be enough yarn left for a cowl or small scarf. I may reuse the cabling and textured pattern in the hat and whip up a matching scarf …

We have two winners!!

December 8, 2013 | Verónica

The response to the “Made in China” giveaway was so amazing that one winner just didn’t seem to be enough. In looking through my China stash, I had enough goodies for two care packages so we have two winners!

If you will recall, any of the following actions entered you into the drawing:

Follow Agujas blog
Reblog this post or blog about this giveaway with a link back to Agujas
Follow Agujas on Twitter
Like Agujas on Facebook
Follow Agujas on Tumblr
Like this post
Comment on this post

The original drawing included “passive” entries or followers of Agujas on any venue who did not necessarily comment or retweet or reblog, etc.; but also included multiple entries for those who did. Using a handy random number generator from the web, the first care package goes to:

hipoptimist

Hipoptimist has been following Agujas for almost a year and half! Thank you and I hope you enjoy your goodies.

For the second drawing, entries only included those who actively promoted the “Made in China” giveaway either by liking the post, commenting, retweeting, reblogging, liking on Facebook, etc. As in the first drawing, multiple actions earned multiple entries and you were included in both drawings. Using the same random number generator, the second care package goes to:

idiosyncratic eye

Idiosyncratic eye had multiple entries and one of those did the trick! Thank you for being part of the Agujas family.

Please contact me at veronica (@) agujasblog (dot) com and provide me with your preferred mailing address. If you are outside of the United States, I will probably use an overnight carrier and may need your phone number as well. (Don’t worry, I will not share it and will promptly delete the information once you confirm receipt).

This has been so much fun!

A Made in China Giveaway

November 30, 2013November 30, 2013 | Verónica

One of my favorite pastimes in China was shopping in local markets. The chaotic aisles and aggressive salespeople in the touristy markets got old after a while. The local markets were much calmer. They were still busy but mostly filled with locals who needed basic household items. While haggling was still expected, the starting prices were usually much more reasonable.

As I wandered the aisles, I found these bags that I thought would be perfect for knitting projects. There were all sorts of patterns and color schemes. The size is just right for 4-5 balls of yarn and a small project, like a hat or scarf.

I love the drawstring top and inside zippered catchall pocket.

It’s easy to clean – just wipe with a damp cloth. It has this nifty side pocket for needles or a pattern.

Then I came across these tin pencil boxes. Some had hinged lids and others like this one a zippered closure. I thought they were perfect for crochet hooks and other notions.

My next finds were these pill boxes. Some were clearly for medicines with their standard labels for each day of the week. But others were just for small stuff.

For a knitter, crocheter or seamstress, they’re the right size for stitch markers, safety pins, buttons, sequins and whatnot.

Lastly, I was in need of stitch markers and had not seen any in the yarn stores I located, so I had to improvise. Every market had bins full of these little charms. There were lucky cats, teapots, and colorful beads. They were very light and made the cutest stitch markers.

To celebrate the end of an amazing overseas experience, I am having a “Made in China” giveaway. I will send a care package of various items like the ones above (plus some yarn and a few surprises) to one winner selected at random.

Any of the following actions will enter you into the drawing: