Turkey Feather Hat

This is another special holiday hat I cooked up for the niece and nephew.  I think he's kinda cute!  I have never typed up a "pattern" before but I thought this one deserves to be repeated.  I have knit this self-made pattern twice myself but have never had anyone try to replicate it.  Let me know your thoughts!

Hat:
Basic baby hat in worsted weight yarn.  I used Debbie Stoller's Bamboo Ewe in brown.  I used the basic pattern out of Susan B. Anderson's Itty Bitty Hats.

Needles: 16" circular size 7.
               Size 7 double pointed needles for the top

Beak:
Using bits of orange - Vanna White's Pumpkin
Needles: size 3 double pointed needles

CO 20 stitches
Join to work in the round  
Knit 4 rounds even

K3 K2Tog, repeat for one round
K2 K2Tog, repeat for one round
Knit 1 round even
K1 K2Tog, repeat for one round
Knit 1 round even
K2 Tog for round
K2 Tog until only 1 stitch remains.  Pull yarn through the stitch.  Use yarn needle to pull yarn to inside of beak.
Whipstitch beak to center of hat.

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Waddle:
Yarn: Bits of red yarn.  This is Debbie Stoller again.
Needles: Size 3 needles
CO 4 stitches - knit flat
1. KFB, K2 KFB (6)
2. Knit
3. KFB, K4, KFB (8)
4. Knit
5. K2Tog, K2Tog, K2Tog, K2Tog (4)
6. K2Tog, K2Tog (2)
7-21: K2 in garter stitch (or to desired length)
22. KFB, KFB (4)
23: Knit
24: KFB, K2, KFB (6)
25: Knit
26:KFB, K4, KFB (8)
27: K2Tog, K2Tog, K2Tog, K2Tog (4)
28: Cut yarn and pull through remaining stitches.

Fold waddle in half and sew onto hat below the beak.
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Turkey Feathers:
Debbie Stoller Stitch Nation Bamboo Ewe - various colors.
Needles:Size 7 double point needles
CO 24 stitches
Join to knit in the round

Rounds 1-4 knit even
5. KFB, KFB, K10, KFB, KFB, K10 (28)
6. Knit
7. KFB KFB, K12, KFB, KFB, K12 (32)
8. Knit
9. Knit
10. K2 K2Tog K12, K2 K2Tog K12 (30)
11. K2, K2Tog K2Tog K9 K2 K2Tog K2Tog K9 (26)
12. K2 K2Tog K2Tog K6 K2 K2Tog K2Tog K6 (22)
13. K2 K2Tog K7 K2 K2Tog K7 (20)
14. K2 K2Tog K6 K2 K2Tog K6 (18)
15. K2 K2Tog K2Tog K3  K2 K2Tog K2Tog K3 (14)
16. K2 K2Tog K2Tog K1 K2 K2Tog K2Tog K1 (10)
17. K2Tog throughout the row (5)
18. K2Tog K2Tog K1 (3)
19. Slip 1 stitch, K2tog, pass slipped stitch over.  Pull yarn through and pull to inside of feather. 

Stuff the feathers with poly-fil and whipstitch in place around the crown. 

On the second one I made I found it easier to "pile" the feathers on the top of the crown so that baby could fit in the carseat.  (I also didn't have enough red yarn to make the waddle for this one.)

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to our not-so-tiny, not-so-quiet, almost walking all over the place Hannah Mae!  (you may be thinking, wait, isn't she almost 13 months old now? and you would be correct, but we haven't been as up to date on this blog for a bit....)

 Then......

 Now!

 

Hannah has such a personality now.  She is sassy and independent.  She is friendly with other people and she LOVES animals.  She has quite the appetite (see above) and will eat Teddy Grahams all day. (so will her dad!).  She's not cuddly, and I miss the baby cuddles and I hate it when she pulls away (already!) when I'm trying to kiss her.  She is smart though, wicked smart, and we are in for some trouble.   At times she looks just like her Grandpa Schneider, at others just like her cousin, Larken.  She is a good traveler and is getting set for a trip to her 9-12th states. 

Then....

Now!

 Our little Peanut Butter Cup

 We can't thank our photographers enough.... and they happen to be great neighbors too!  If you are looking for a terrific photographer in the Milwaukee area, check out Nakasato Photography.  They do weddings, babies, maternity, family and commercial photos. 

11 Months

Oops, we haven't posted in a month.  We have been busy with learning to walk, eating "all by myself", swimming lessons, buying a new house and playing with toys.

10 Months

10 Months have just flown by!  We are enjoying Hannah's new independence - she's on the verge of crawling and insisting on standing/walking whenever possible.  She's eating loads of new foods (including ice cream and chocolate chip cookies!) and making a bigger mess than ever.  She's definitely more vocal now too.  In fact, sometimes too vocal.....

Quilting

I wanted to buy some cute fabric to make bowties for a friend.  So I went to Patched Works in Elm Grove.  And that was my first mistake.

My friend is due with a baby boy in 5 weeks.  She's a doctor, and her husband is a chemist.  So I asked if they had any dorky science fabric..... look at this quirky and cute Michael Miller print!

Curious Critters by Micheal Miller

Lab Animals in Turquoise

Coordinating binding Atoms in Black.

So I bought a yard of this and a yard of a coordinating print.  I bought blue minky for the back.  Since the print was so perfect I decided not to cut it and just to make a simple quilt.  I used 2 inch tape to mark out my lines and made up my own pattern that just happened to work out perfectly - I got lucky!

There was a little puckering of the minky, but all in all it turned out ok.  I even did my first HAND SEWN BINDING - which was a big deal and did turn out pretty nice (I need to work on the corners though.)  Again, I followed the Oh Fransson tutorials and was pretty happy with the result.  The Mother-to-Be also was quite pleased with it.

I liked this simple quilt.  1 yard of fabric was a perfect baby-sized blanket.  I did it all in about 3 days and would do it again.  I do need to buy some more 2 inch tape before I do another quilt, but it really helps and is super easy.

Swimming

We took a trip to Minnesota to see friends and family this past weekend.  While there we had a nice stay in Minneapolis at The Depot where there is a water park.  Hannah loves her baths, so we thought she might like the pool....and we were right!  She loved it!  She was fearless and tried floating, kicking and splashing.  Cousins Liza and Larken were less than thrilled with the noise, splashing and activity - but Hannah enjoyed it all.

We had a lovely visit with family and lots of fun.

We have now signed Hannah up for swim lessons starting April 15th - can't wait!

9 Months

 We've just returned from a trip to Nevada.  We stayed with some terrific friends, Kristin and Andy, who opened their house and casita to us.  They went so far as to borrow baby items for Hannah which she thoroughly enjoyed.  She also discovered cats - Keno and Sammy were very entertaining, although I'm not sure that they felt the same about Hannah.

We took a day trip to California and went to Death Valley National Park.  Hannah got her first stamp in her National Parks Passport.  Leave it to us to get to the hottest, driest, lowest place in the US only to find it 50 degrees and raining! We need to visit it in the summer to get the full effect as it was kind of lost on us.

 At Red Rocks outside of Las Vegas. 

 Hiking at Death Valley.

 Badwater Basin - lowest point in the US.

9 Months

Weight: 16.06 Pounds (25%)

Length: 27 inches (25%)

Head: 44 cm (50%)

Words: Screeching like a hawk, giggling, occasional "ma" and "ba" sounds

Activities: She loves jumping in her jumper (looks like an Irish Dancer), no crawling yet but she still enjoys being in the tub.  Notices Mom and Dad more often and is quite upset when they leave the room.  

Foods: BABY CHEETOS - aka "Puffs" - she will eat them by the fistful!  She hasn't found food that she won't eat yet but she does love fruits.