Isn't it cute? It was done on size 6 needles. I increased to 80 sts, and started the garter stitch when the hat measured 5" from the tip. I also did an extra decrease row on the flaps.
Last Friday I finally got to give it to her in person. Miss Ilsa will now have a toasty warm head for the rest of this winter. It's a wee bit big, but we all know how fast new babies grow, so it should fit her well in no time.
The pattern is Thorpe, a top-down hat with flaps. I made a medium, and it's a bit big. Rav project page is here. Look at the cute baby variation she has too! I'll be trying that one next, for a friend who had a little girl last Thursday. Calvin also wants me to put a pom pom on top. As I said, I finished this at practice last night, and one of the coaches saw it and practically begged me to make one for him. :) So, Calvin and I will go back to Loop and he'll pick out some yarn for Dave's hat. 
On Friday, Caleb slipped on the ice on his way to school. He hopped home (he had only made it to the next door neighbor), and said, "Mama? I fell down." I took one look at his now very swollen ankle and paged the doc. She said to take him to the ER or the clinic, so I took him over to the Urgent Care clinic. Two hours and four x-rays later, we were sent home with crutches and a boot, with instructions to call later on in the day for the final radiologist report. That came back as a possible distal fibula fracture (and it is) and instructions to see an orthopaedic doctor. We did so on Monday morning, and Caleb now has a cool black cast for the next six weeks. He also now is out for soccer, out for the snowboarding/ski club at school, and out for the next few scout campouts. :( The cast is a chick magnet, though. :)
Isn't it great? I got 4 skeins of a lovely red bamboo yarn, oodles of dpns (my partner knew that I like to knit socks and mittens), a little candle, and a book on home preservation, from the LDS church. I have wanted one of these pamphlets for a while, since I'm all into preserving and gardens and stuff like that. It's going to be fun to read and from a quick skim I can see it'll help me organize and inventory my 'pantry' in the basement. So, I want to say a big Thank You to MaggielSelah!
(pictured on one of my pretty Japanese painted ferns) 
I must say, I love it. It's frakkin' hot today, too hot to put on for even a photo, so Ms. Belinda is modeling for you all. It's soft, warm, and cozy; I'm going to be living in it this winter. 
Ravelry project page is here. If you don't have a Rav account, more pix are on my Flickr pages. I used Rowan felted tweed and size 4 needles. They are knit from the top down, so you can easily make them as long as you want. I had plenty-o yarn leftover.
Calvin is a delight to knit for, as he LOVES anything handknit. He has been wearing these All. The. Time. He wants more pairs. He hasn't decided if he wants anything embroidered on the fingers yet.
David loves it. He put it on right away, and didn't take it off until bedtime. Then, he put it on right when he got home after work last night, and didn't take it off until bedtime. I think we have a winner! I used Sublime Yarn's Cashmere Silk Merino DK, and knit the pattern in the round, like these instructions. This yarn is divine. It is so so soft, and David says it is very warm too. I eliminated the rolled edge and did ribbing instead. The hat itself is too tall (I started shaping at 4.5", and should have started at around 3-3.5"), but David just rolls the edge twice now. I really like the look of the raglan style decreases, and will definitely make this again. I needed to use just a bit of a 2nd ball of yarn, but if I had made the hat with the right depth, one ball would have been enough.
I finished Calvin's mittens. They were a fast project for me; I finished them in 10 days. Just in time too, since it was -4 with a wind chill of -23 when we got up yesterday (consider that it was 48 when we got up on Monday. Quite a temperature change!). My Ravelry project page for these is here.
He was thrilled when he saw I had finished them, and I tried to get a photo of his happiness, and this is what I got. :( My camera seems to have died! I think I'm going to have to get a new one -- I've tried all sorts of things, and cannot get anything but black photos. The viewfinder doesn't work, I can't get any photos no matter what setting I put it on, and the video won't work either. I can't complain too much, since I've taken 10,000+ pictures with it, so it certainly got used. Anyone have any recommendations for a camera? This was a Kodak EasyShare DX4330 (with a whopping 3.1 megapixels!), so I already have a 256mb card that I'd like to be able to continue to use.
I also started a pair of mittens for Calvin on the 19th. I'm farther than this picture now, all that is needed is the thumb on the 2nd mitten, and weaving in the ends:
Connor had picked out the color, and once these are done, I'll start a pair for him (red).
I've been slowly working on my purple sweater. I finished one front, and then started on the sleeves before working on the other front. One sleeve is completely finished, and I'm halfway through the other. Indoor soccer started last weekend for Caleb, so I have at least one hour a week of knitting time. :) I'm starting to think I might not have enough yarn. I have 2 unused skeins left, and the rest of one sleeve, one front, and the neckband to do yet.
It's the sweater on the cover. I'm using Classic Elite Duchess yarn (color is Priveleged Plum), size 10 Brittany needles (gotta have pretty needles), and it's coming along fast. I cast on for it a few weeks ago, and finished the back on Tuesday, at the dentist's office. 
The iris are in full bloom just outside the kitchen. I love seeing them out the window when I come down in the morning to make David's coffee. I think our yard is going to look pretty nice this summer.
Look, I finally finished this sweater for Connor! It actually got finished during the Winter Olympics, but then languished in a bag because I don't like seaming. My friend Beth took it for me and finished it this past weekend. I like it, but the neckline is a bit wide. It's a Debbie Bliss pattern, which I lengthened, but I also should have done another row or two of decreases at the neck. Next to knit is a hooded sweater, from a different Debbie Bliss book.
Calvin lost a tooth on Sunday! This is lost tooth #3, and I still need to get over to the bank and get a golden dollar for him. I didn't even know it was that loose, and all of a sudden it was out! He looks pretty cute with a 'hole' in his mouth. :) The 'matching' tooth on the other side is loose as well.
We worked it out that I wrap the pegs, as he had a really hard time with that, and he uses the hook to flip the loops over. He does really well, and got 3 rounds knit last night before bed. His teddy should have a new hat by the weekend.
On Saturday night, after finishing the quilt top (and before working on the nappy bag), I cleaned my sewing room. I'm trying to get in the habit of cleaning up after a project, because it is SO much nicer to work in a clean room! While clearing off the desk, I found a bag with this sweater in it. I started this in November 2004, for Connor. Thankfully, it's the largest size and I think it'll still fit! Thankfully, I also had made some notes, so I knew where I was in the pattern. It's the raglan sleeve sweater from The Baby Knits Book, by Debbie Bliss. I've made it once before, when I was pregnant with Connor. This time I decided to knit it in the round (I hate seaming, so now all I'll have to seam is the armholes), and I made the body of the sweater 2" longer. I'm almost done with that sleeve pictured there. It looks like I bought an extra skein of yarn, probably so I could make a matching hat. If I work on this consitently each night before bed, I should have it done fairly quickly.
As promised, here is Connor in his new Knifty Knitted hat. I used the red loom, and it's just big enough. I tried making a beanie style, though once I got it on him, I think I could have done about 2 more rounds. It does look cute, though, doesn't it?
After seeing the hat I knit up, Caleb wanted to give it a try. So I've shown him how to do it, and now he's knitting a hat for Connor as well. The baby is going to have lots of hats. :) Caleb told me that he might make hats for everyone for next Christmas. That kid is a planner!
