On the Needles: Jill

It's that time of the year... the air is cooler and I'm itching to start a lot of new projects. And you know how hard it is to limit yourself to just ONE project.

I'm really trying to be good about not having a million half-finished projects all over my house. But the other night my family room had about 8 or 9 vinyl project bags scattered about. In truth, some belonged to my kids (they have slacked off on their knitting since school has started. I'll cut them a break!)

I have a number of things on the needles right now. I recently finished the Little Boater Crew sweater (Thirteenth Little Sublime Hand Knit Book, knit in Sublime Extra Fine Merino DK), but it needs to be seamed! We're working on that today, so it should be hanging in the shop in the next day or so. 

Front of sweater

I started a Color Affection Shawl this summer. I loved these 3 bright colors of Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine and thought it would be a simple knit. It is easy, that's for sure. But it's a little too boring for me... so I haven't made much progress. I have a trip coming up next month and will have some time to knit on the plane. Maybe it can be my project for that!?

Colors (l to r): Frove Mix, Grapefruit Mix, Orchid

I started a baby hat in June and really need to finish it! I must have misplaced it (I mean the yarn is SO tiny... it's My First Regia in 25 gram balls!) but now that I've found it I'm determined to finish it. Size 2 needles are a bit painful for my hands so I'll have to do it on a day when there's no gardening or interior painting on the schedule...

Pattern is in My First Regia Journal #005

This is what it will look like when it's finished: 

I started a sweater for myself two weeks ago with Berroco Remix, one of my all time favorite yarns. So far it's going really well, but I did set it aside when I found all of these other projects that are SO close to being finished. It's the Chic Knits Ariann Sweater. The feel of the Remix is just lovely!

And my Dreambird shawl is nearing completion! I think I have enough yarn left for one more feather, which will be a total of 14. It's going to block out nicely and I'm eager to see the finished result. The pattern was confusing, for sure! All of the moving of safety pins had me pulling out my hair, so I ended up making a spreadsheet in Excel that had row by row instructions. It was much easier to follow! But this was certainly NOT a project I could work on while watching tv. I pretty much needed to count each stitch. Oh well, it was still a fun project. 

Ella Rae Lace Merino and Noro Silk Garden Sock yarns

So that's 5 unfinished projects. Eeeeek! I better get a move on!

NICU hats needed!

The NICU is looking for some knitters to help them build up their supply of baby hats!

One of our customers just dropped off a flyer asking for preemie hat donations. It says:

"The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)at Vermont Children's Hospital at Fletcher Allen is home to the smallest and often sickest patients in our hospital. The babies in our NICU can be born up to 3 months early and weigh less than one pound. Premature babies often have trouble regulating their own temperature and we rely on volunteers to make hats to keep our babies warm. Each hat can only be used for one baby - so we go through donations very quickly! 

I have included a size chart for your reference, but in general we are looking for hats small enough to fit on a lemon, large enough to fit on a grapefruit, and everything in between. The more creative the hats, the better! Parents prefer gender-specific colors and the babies prefer soft, washable yarn.

If you have questions or have hats to donate, please contact Whitney at wlthomas@med.uvm.edu."

The brown bear pattern shown on the flyer is the Baby Bear Hat for Newborn or Preemie by Jennifer Dickerson, and is available online for free. Try worsted weight Plymouth Whitney or Classic Elite Seedling & Seedling Handpaint yarns.

We also have a free Preemie Hat Knitting Pattern written for sport/dk weight yarn. Best choices for yarn are Plymouth Dreambaby DK, Berroco Comfort DK, Sirdar Snuggly Kisses DK or Sirdar Crofter DK yarns.

Whatever you do, please remember that certain yarns are just not appropriate for preemie hats. If you're unsure about a yarn you have, you are welcome to stop in to ask us our opinion. We'll be happy to help determine if your yarn is right for a preemie hat!

And as always, preemie hats can also be dropped off here at the shop. We will be happy to get them to their final destination!