Bernat – Yards of Happiness

Choosing Joy

I’ve had one of those weeks where a perfect storm of things left me feeling like I had a rain cloud over my head all week. Part of it was that my husband was out of the country for work and that always seems to throw me off a bit. And the other part was just life stuff: work craziness, being tired and feeling a little overwhelmed. I hate feeling overwhelmed. I like to be in control.
Commute
This morning I was going to drive to work and I decided I was too tired and over it. I just wanted to sit and knit. So I took the Metro to work. I got to sit and work on a new project for 30 uninterrupted minutes and I started to feel that acidity I’d been holding on to all week melt away (added bonus, my husband got back last night so I slept like a log for the first time in a week). A young man even told me I had a great butt – not in those exact terms LOL (I was wearing new jeans) but it was still a compliment. Of course on my walk to my office from the train station a bird pooped on my head but you know what? It could’ve been worse AND it is considered good luck. Perhaps my tide is turning.

I realized in that moment when I shrugged off being pooped on I was deciding to choose joy today. It isn’t always the easiest thing to do but sometimes you just have to or the acidity will swallow you whole. So happy Friday to you. I hope you have a joy filled weekend.

FO: Ultimate Fan

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This is my husband. He is a super NY Giants fan.
Ready for football!
The purchases he loves for the dogs are all NY Giants gear. Cher has a coat for winter, both dogs have jerseys and Cher has a bandana because her jersey is getting too big for her. So the other day we were in Lids and my husband saw this NY Giants hat…
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And he asked me, ‘you can make this for me, right?’ It’s just a simple ribbed knit cap and I immediately thought of the free Purl Soho pattern for the ribbed cuff hat that I’d made before. Yup, I can make that. Before we went home he took me to Joann’s to get the yarn I needed to make it for him.
Super fan
This is his beloved (and I sincerely mean beloved) NY Giants hat. On Black Friday I ordered a NY Giants sew on patch to add to the front…I still haven’t gotten it yet and the company isn’t responsive. Ugh. So for now there’s no patch but that doesn’t stop him from wearing it.

It was a quick knit and I used a Deborah Norville worsted weight yarn in a bright Giants blue as the main body color. I added in some acrylic fingering weight yarn I picked up at Joann’s and I had some Cascade 200 fingering weight in the perfect shade of red to finish it off. I just held the strands double while I knitted and I got this heathered look like the original. He is so happy about this hat. I even caught him taking a selfie in the hat. LOL And that kind of happiness is why I love making stuff for the folks I love. He’ll still get a sweater but clearly this hat was more of a priority.

What’s a favorite item you’ve knit for someone you love?

December 14, 2016February 27, 2017 by IamDWJ Categories: Bernat, blue, Cascade, Cher, Color, FO: Finished Object, Hats, Jellybean, Knitting, My Dogs, neutral (black/grey/white), Premier Yarns, red, YarnTags: #yardsofhappiness, knit hat, knitting, NY Giants, Yarn 8 Comments

FO: The Rain Outside Shawl

The Rain Outside shawl
In October, one of my aunts who lives in Memphis mentioned to me how much she liked the sweater I made my Auntie Helen for her 90th. My aunt is in her 80’s and very coyly said to me, “I don’t need a sweater but I do enjoy a good shawl to throw over my shoulders.” Oh I was so tickled so I knew I had to make her something special because she’s an absolutely special lady. Plus, if you’re over the age of 70 and you’re my family you’re allowed to make special requests. It took me months to find the right pattern but as soon as I saw the Rain Outside I knew I was going to make it for my aunt.
Blue Heron yarn in Chesapeake
The main yarn is Blue Heron in a metallic colorway called Chesapeake. I bought it last year when my husband took me to the Eastern Shore for my birthday. I thought it was pretty, it represented Maryland and it had 500 yards of dk weight and I figured I’d make something out of it. I wasn’t really sure what but when I saw the Rain Outside pattern and that it was in dk weight I immediately went to that skein of yarn. I also scanned my wall of yarn for another dk weight skein that would pair nicely and this Bernat Cotton-ish yarn was a deep charcoal and matte grey, which turned out to be a great contrast to the metallic.
The Rain Outside shawl
This pattern has cool lace short rows that we easy to follow and added such a lovely detail to the shawl. It’s a dk weight and the yarn is a rayon blend so it has this absolutely lovely drape to it and it looks so delicate.

I had to include a close up of the lace panels. I want her to make more patterns incorporating this I love it so much.
The Rain Outside shawl
And then here’s the balance of the garter stitch side. Seriously this was a quick and easy shawl pattern. I already know I’m making it again for myself in green! The only thing I omitted was the edging because my yarn was so slippery and it just kept looking like it was clumping. So I bound off the normal way and called it a day – no need to fight with a project. My gauge is slightly smaller but this still draped over the shoulders nicely and for Memphis this will be a perfect little piece to wear all year.
The Rain Outside shawl
And I had to throw it on to show it off – excuse me for not having on a stitch of makeup. This was post dog walk on Saturday morning – this is me. LOL I definitely want to do more shawls to help use up some of my single skeins of yarn. I just saw this Ice Cream Shawl on my Instagram feed and I’m so in love! What other shawl patterns are your favorites? Please share!