A Good Yarn

Saturday, October 21, 2006

FO!

I joined the Day of the Dead Knitalong at the end of the summer. The KAL is inspired by the Summer issue of Knit.1 which had patterns for some Day of the Dead dolls. For the KAL, you can knit the dolls or you can knit something special in memory of someone special. I'd really like to knit a Day of the Dead doll for Katie, but I also wanted to knit something in memory of my grandmother, who died last year.

My nana was not your typical grandmotherly type. She didn't cook and as far as I can remember, she never made cookies or knitted or anything like that. However, she was as kind and caring as any person can be. She was always reaching out and helping people. She had a special place in her heart for children. When she was raising her own children (including my troublemaker mom), she took in several other children who were having problems at home. When my brother was having problems, she took in him too, long after she should have been done raising children. So, in this spirit I decided to knit some children's items in Nana's memory for the Day of the Dead KAL.



Project Name: Cabled Hat with Earflaps
Designer: Zoe Mellor
Pattern Source: Adorable Knits for Tots
Yarn: Knitpicks Merino Style
Yarn Source: Secret Pal 8

I really like how this came out. It's the best pom pom I've ever made - except that it's maybe too big for the hat. But it's full and cute instead of limp and scraggly looking, like most of my pom poms. I wanted to try out this Merino Style that my SP, CJ, sent me. I love it! it's a new favorite yarn for me. In fact, I ordered some in red for the cabled Kimono sweater from Knitpicks:



So, 2 skeins out of stash, but 13 back in. That's NOT the way it's supposed to go.

I had about half a skein of the brown left, so I combined it with the Gems merino for another baby hat:



Project Name: Jailbird Hat
Designer: Jil Eaton
Pattern Source: MinnowKnits, Too
Yarn: Knitpicks Merino Style and Gems Opal Merino
Yarn Source: Secret Pal 8 and Beaded Knitting Kit leftovers

I am donating these hats to the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. I haven't done much charity knitting in the last year or so, so I decided it was time to get started again. I'm donating these hats, the lozenge socks and some other hats and stuff that I have been knitting with no particular recipient in mind over the last year or two. The Pine Ridge Reservation is in South Dakota and is one of the most poor communities in the U.S. Unemployment is around 85% and 97% of the community live below the Federal poverty guidelines. Average annual family income is $3,800. Many families have no running water, no electricity, no telephone. And it's darn cold in South Dakota - those winds come over the prairie and take your breath away. If you would like to knit something to contribute, I am collecting any knitted item until December 1.