Finished Objects Parade: Knitted Squares, Donation Hats, and Spring Projects

 

Parade on, little sheep, parade on…

I was a busy girl last month. This month, not so much.

I love spring, do not get me wrong. I love seeing all the birds again and all the pretty flowers. However, with all that comes my arch nemesis, pollen. Pollen is my kryptonite. It can take me down fast. I have had nothing but watery red eyes, a snotty nose, and that dry cough that makes you sound like a dying seal.

Since my last post, I have finished quite a few projects, so let’s talk about finished objects.

---

First up is another square from The Harmony Guides Knit and Purl book. I have talked about this book before, and it is packed with stitches to learn and grow your knitting skills.

This time, I worked the Loop Pattern. It is very similar to the free Honey Cowl pattern by Madelinetosh that I made a while back. I used Caron Simply Soft yarn in the Pistachio colorway.

You can see my yarn review and more thoughts on the book here:
http://yarning4asmile.blogspot.com/2014/03/i-have-been-on-red-kick.html

---

Next, I completed the Love of Knitting February square made with Lion Brand Heartland yarn in the Glacier Bay colorway.

I really like this yarn. It has a beautiful two-tonal effect and is very soft with a nice bounce. I even picked it up in the Joshua Tree colorway for a future project.

Each skein is aran weight and comes with 251 yards (142 grams), which is plenty for a good-sized project. My square measures 14 x 14 inches and used about 96 yards and 46 grams, leaving plenty left over for something else. I can definitely see myself using this yarn again.

---

I also made another Barn Raising Quilt square using scrap yarn.

This yarn was a club colorway from September 2012 by Mind’s Eye Yarns. She was an indie dyer who did beautiful work. Sadly, she closed her shop last year, but I was lucky enough to score some of her yarn scraps in a destash specifically for Barn Raising squares.

---

I completed another donation hat for Halos of Hope as well. This is my second time donating to them.

You can see my first donation set and the pattern I used here:
http://yarning4asmile.blogspot.com/2014/01/a-little-break-and-big-mess.html

This time, I was inspired by the Spring Chicken Hat by Laura Brown, a free pattern on Ravelry. I added a pom-pom on top, and since Halos of Hope was collecting hats in a Safari theme, I used the Violet-Backed Starling as my color inspiration.

I used Hobby Lobby’s I Love This Yarn in Mulberry, along with scrap yarn for the eyes and beak. I was able to drop this hat off at Stitches South in Atlanta.

---

My current work in progress is a hat from the Hitch book, which features knits inspired by Alfred Hitchcock films. You will be seeing more of that in my next post.

Happy Yarning!

---