Skaterhead Beanie with pompoms

My daughters got me into watching this Korean soap opera Boys over Flowers on Netflix. It is such a cute young love story, reminds me of the good old days, crushes and cuteness :D I enjoyed it watching with my girls sometimes with my husband too yep! that's true he did not finish it but he was curious with the ending. My younger daughter and me actually watch half of the season on Saturday.Our favorite character is JiHoo a very caring and gentle boy and Jan Di,the corky and cute girl. We were bummed that they did not end up together. OOPS spoiler !The cast wears a lot of beanies so I was inspired into knitting them, I especially loved the ones worn by Jan Di (main character) and GaEl (best friend). While we were watching I was knitting a skaterhead beanie which resembles several of the beanies I just needed to add an extra large pompom and adjusted the length.They turned out really cute. I will be making several of them for Christmas presents.By the way I am still knitting shawls for the KAL and I am almost done with the September shawl, the Bind off is killing me. I will try to get it done today.
Here are the pictures of the beanies.Enjoy!

2 Simple Knitted Skaterhead Beanie

A week ago I drove by the City park and saw several teenagers skateboarding, they are all wearing different kinds of cool beanie, I have also seen other Young adults  both male and female wearing those kinds of beanie, so I started to think of how I can make them. When I came home, search thru my stash of yarn and found a dark blue and heather gray simply soft yarn, this 2 will be a great start. After looking around ravelry for some pattern, most of them were just really basic knit and purl. I decided I'll make it up as I go. The first one I made a wider brim ,the idea was from the slouchy beret that I recently knitted, then I just knitted in the round endlessly ,while watching the Olympics.then started the crown decrease.Next time I will make another one with stripes and maybe with a design so it does not look too plain.The following day I started working on the Heather Gray yarn and to be a little different from the blue beanie, I knitted the brim in knit and  purl2 ribbing,  I like how it look so I just continue with the pattern instead of just plain stockinette stitch,I like this one better, it is not as plain as the Dark blue beanie and you can choose to fold the brim or not, it is also very stretchy.I have written the instructions in case you want to make one for yourself. This is just basic beanie/hat instructions,  ( I improvised this pattern. Any resemblance/similarity to a copyrighted item is purely coincidental. Yada,yada,yada, etc, legal jargon. :D) you can also find other pattern thru Ravelry.com. Have Fun!
  
Skaterhead Beanie #1

Materials:                                                                                          

1 skein of yarn, Dark Country Blue ( I used Simply Soft Caron)             
Size 8 Circular knitting needles 16"           
Size 8 DPN                                                            
Stitch Markers                                                        
Darning Needle.

Finished Measurements:    19” circumference and 15” long
Gauge: 5sts = 1 inch                                                                         


Cast On 88 stitches
Place marker and knit in the round. (Be careful not to twist)

Knit the K2 P2 rib for about 4" (wide brim, you can make it shorter if you like)
Next Knit in stockinnete endlesly until about 8 or 9 inches. ( while watching a 2 hour movie :D
 Note: Place marker in every 8 stitches on the very last round before decreasing. Make sure you use a different color from the marker you use at the beginning of the round.
Crown Decrease:
Switch to DPN
R1 (k6,k2tog) x 11 (77sts)
R2 knit around
R3 knit around
R4 (k5,k2tog) x 11 (66sts)
R5  knit around
R6 knit around
R7 (k4,k2tog) x 11(55sts)
R8  knit around
R9  knit around
R10 (k3,k2tog) x 11(44sts)
R11  knit around
R12  knit around
R13 (k2,k2tog) x 11 (33sts)
R14  knit around
R15  knit around
R16 (k1,k2tog) x 11(22sts)
R17  knit around
R18  k2tog around (11sts)
R19  knit around

Finishing: Cut yarn leaving about 6" tail,Weave thru all the remaining stitches, pull tight. Weave in ends.
Wear proudly :)

Skaterhead  Beanie #2

Materials:                                                                                  

1 skein of yarn ,Heather Gray ( I used Simply Soft Caron)            
Size 8 Circular knitting needles 16"           

Size 8 DPN                                                            
Stitch Markers                                                   
Darning Needle.
Finished Measurements:    15” circumference and 12” long 
Gauge: 5sts = 1 inch   (stockinette)     
                                                                            
Cast on 87 stitches ( if you are casting a different amount of stitches it must be divisible by 3)
Place marker and knit in the round. (Be careful not to twist)

Work K1,P2 Ribbing until 11"

Crown  Decrease:
Switch to DPN
R1 (k1,p2tog)  repeat ( ) until end of the round
R2  k1,p1 until end of round
R3  k2tog around
Repeat R3 until 8 sts remain

Finishing :
Bind off using 3 needle bind off.This method makes the top of the hat flatter.
If you do not know how to do the 3 needle bind off click here
Weave ends.
OR
Cut yarn leaving about 6" tail,Weave thru all the remaining stitches, pull tight. Weave in ends.
 **** If you have any questions or corrections on the Instructions feel free to comment.
Have a nice day!!

Shawls Are Not Just for your Grandma.... anymore!

I have started knitting shawls since January when I joined the Ravelry KAL (Knit A Long) Group12Dozen shawls in 20dozen. I must say it is very addicting, we knit different shawl every month, most of them are on my previous blog post.
It was my impression before that Shawls are just for Grandma's and/or elderly people but NOT ANYMORE! Once I have seen the different construction, design ,variety of styles of the shawls available for knitting , for sale in store/online,Shawls have evolved into one of the hottest  fashion trend.Shawls are made from,Silk to wool, cotton or any synthetic fiber .It can be use on Weddings, Proms, Dinner Party, Cocktail party ,any dressy occasion or just throw a lacy shawl with a pair of shirt and jeans. You can use it as a scarf, a hood, as a belt tied on your waist, or even as a headband.The versatility is endless.Shawls can be worn any season. A lot of women wear Shawls for dressing up or down around the world. So next time you see a Shawl, check it out, you will be happy you did! You can also visit my website Four Seasons Knits for my knitted shawls.

Check out this collage that shows how shawls have been one of the hottest fashion trend. Most photos are from the Internet. Enjoy!

On being a Mom....

So its now December and I am trying to finish this baby blanket  that i want to give to my niece Carol , she is in Australia , her husband who is currently here in California will be leaving on December 7, halfway there and I also should be able to make hats and gloves. I should stay away from my laptop to concentrate on this. Knitting this baby blanket reminded me when my kids where babies. I use to tell my husband when they were little that I wish they would grow up fast so I can stop worrying, he will tell me that I should not wish for that since that would mean we are also older. Now that they are 21, 18 and 15 yrs old, I still worry and a million times more than when they were younger, now I wish that they are  still babies. It just comes to say that parents would really not stop worrying about their kids. I remember when they were younger , i worry about what kind of food to feed them,what clothes to wear, if they have enough sleep or if they are watching too much TV, when they are in school , are they having fun, do they eat their lunch, little things.When they  get hurt, most of the time band-aid, hugs and kisses are the cure.I miss the time when they come to my room at night and sleep with us. We are their best friend and best buddies. Now I still worry about pretty much the same things plus drugs,alcohol,sex, driving, if they are choosing the right friends to be with, if they are using good judgement, if they are telling the truth where they are going, if they are safe. I worry that I have not given them enough advised or if I was too loose or to strict on them. It pains me to think that my children will get hurt or will lie to me about things, I have always been open to them and assured them that they can always come to me no matter what. I'm not a very religious person, I do come to church and believe in God and I always pray to keep my children safe.I guess I worry too much but what can I do, I can only hope that they have listen to me and their dad about making good choices, my youngest one calls them lectures, every time we give them the parent talks.Now more than ever I understand why my mother was too strict with me when I was growing up, I miss her.