Small But Mighty

A couple of stocking stuffers for the girls:

One for Jess:

And one for Chels: I know, they LOOK the same but there are slight differences in the colors. Now we won't have any fights over who's is "cuter". Yep, this Mom thinks ahead! Just a simple Beanie made a bit oversized for comfort.

Pattern: Noro Silk Beanie
Needle Size: 7
Colorway: 285 (I think, I'll have to check on that one day).
I used a bit over 1 skein each because it seemed a bit too short for my taste as written. My girls have a lot of hair, plus, I like more coverage down around the ears. I hope they like them, Christmas will be pretty "skinny" around here this year, so a little handmade love will bring a smile. Noro Silk Garden feels kind of "icky" to me while knitting it up, but it does feel softer in the finished product. Weird. I know.

My nephew recently asked for a helmet liner for when he's out running early for his ROTC. I ordered the Cascade 220 Superwash and away I went.

The Big Guy scared me when he was wearing it around the house, it's kind of spooky with Halloween right around the corner and him being sneaky and all....Anyway, I changed up my decreases around the face this time and it's soooo much better. None of that weird bunching and puckering that a lot of people get on the sides. I did mine more "staggared" per rounds, and it rounded it out better.

Helmet Liner
Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash in Black
Size 6 & 8 circs.
One skein! Whew! That was close, I was seriously sweating it out, hoping I could finish without having to order more yarn. I was soooo happy that worked out. Unbelieveably, I totally blanked out on which way to cast on addtional stitches around the face this time. You'd never guess I'd made this before! I ended up trying all three ways and liked the e-cast on the best in the end even though "they say" you shouldn't use it for more than a "few" stitches. I ripped so much I thought I'd have to replace that section of yarn, but it looked so cool when it was done!

My other little project:

Bella Mitts,
(confession: not big Twilight Fans - by the middle of the first movie we were yelling for him to just eat her already! But these mitts are SO COOL!)
Needle size: 8's
Yarn: Knit Picks Swish Bulky (in purple): which I doubt I'd use again. To me, "Superwash" means I can machine wash, gentle cycle and dry on low (just like KP's instructions). Not these. I was already making two pairs, one for me and one for Mom (for our Fibromyalgia, these feel GOOD when on), so messing up the first pair in the wash wasn't the end of the world but it sure ticked me off. The second pair will have to be "hand washed" and layed flat to dry (could've just bought regular wool!). Anyway, they're done and it's a really cool pattern to knit. It's fast, fun, and if you do use this yarn you can make a pair with 1 1/2 skeins.

So those are my "small but mighty" projects lately. Small feels good. Makes me feel like I'm accomplishing something even though I move at a snails pace. Happy Knitting.