1000 Fabulous Knit Hats

Last year, I submitted my photographs for a upcoming book by Annie Modesitt called 1,000 Fabulous Knit Hats. The whole book was going to feature 1,000 knit hats. All the photographs used in the book was going to be contributed by knitters like you and me. I figured it was a long shot, but decided to do it on the day before the deadline. I even had to delay my vacation to the Jersey Shore for 3 hours because I needed to format all the digital photos correctly. Many months later, I received a email saying that they wanted to use one or more of my photos. They needed me to resubmit my release form because it did not go through correctly. I was so excited when I found out the news. I kept it to myself because I wasn't sure if I was going to make the final cut. I know in the publishing world that not everything makes it into the final book. As the saying goes, I didn't want to count my chicks before they hatched.

A few months ago, I received a email from Quarry Books announcing that the book was going to released soon. I asked them if I could get a copy to review and I would give it away to my blog readers. They were so nice to send me a copy. Thank you, Quarry Books!

If you like hats, this book is the perfect inspiration book. In the beginning of the book, they feature 10 originally designed hats that designers had submitted. They were judged and prizes were given for the top 10 winning designs. The 10 patterns are located in the back of the book. The rest of the book is broken into sections: Hat Shapes, Stitch Techniques and Specialty: Babies and Children.

You will get so many ideas from this book. From color combos, stitch patterns and interesting shaping, it has something to suit every one's taste. Berets, Cloches, Stocking Caps, Cabled Hats, Crocheted Hats, Lace Hats...way too many to mention. Plus, it's amazing to see so many talented knitters out there and their well-knit creations. If you are a hat knitter, this book should be included in your library. I am going to purchase 2! One for me and one for Melody.
When I received the copy, I was delighted to find that 7 of my photographs were used in the book. And Melody is in 4 of them. In the above photo (left), Melody is wearing the Norwegian Sweet Baby Cap that I knit with Sundara Sock Yarn.Left hand side, is my husband sporting his heather grey, Seaman's Cap. I told him that his head made it in the book, but not his face.Top right, Melody is wearing the Baby Hat by Leigh Radford from the One Skein Book.Bottom left, Melody is wearing the Coney Hat by Vyvyan Neel.Bottom right, Melody is wearing the Simple Baby Cap 3 by Susan B. Anderson from the book, Itty-Bitty Hats.Bottom right is the Hat Ornaments I knitted for our tree. Pattern is called Santa Baby Ornament by Susan B. Anderson.
And my dog, Caesar, made it into the book, too! The hat is called Cable and Seed Stitch Baby Hat by Sundara Murphy.

So for a chance to win a copy of 1,000 Fabulous Knit Hats, please leave a comment by 11pm est, Oct 5, 2010. Anyone can enter even if you live outside of the USA. Good luck!

(Whoops, DH caught my mistake. The deadline to enter is Oct 5, not Sept 5. Sorry!)

She had fun.

So this was my first time Trick or Treating in an apartment building. I grew up in the South Shore of Massachusetts and had always Trick or Treated in my neighborhood on the streets by going door to door. This method wasn't bad at all. Everywhere we went was brightly lit and we had a list of which apartments were handing out candy. It was very safe.

I think Melody found it amusing that people were holding out bowls of shiny wrapped things for her to grab. She was actually quite timid when she was offered the bowl. Which is is funny since she can grab anything from the shelves of a super market before you can even blink. The people encouraged her and she chose a Mini Snickers with the shiny gold wrapper. Oh how she clutched onto that little chocolate like it was a prize. She loves wrappers of any kind and was far more interested in the packaging itself than what was inside. Hehehe..if she only knew what delights that the inside held.She didn't cry, but she was wary of this masked man.
Veronica was very cautious of the masked man. The masked man's little girl was dressed as a fairy and handed out the candy. So, Veronica chose to interact with the fairy, but she kept peeking over at the masked man to keep an eye out on him.

Veronica was the leader for this Halloween and we played by her rules. We went to a few floors and a few apartments, but she soon tired of it quickly and asked to go home. She had a cute costume, but had refused to put it on when the time came. But I think the pumpkin t-shirt was just as cute. Life has been difficult for Veronica and she hasn't been getting much sleep. That led to a cranky kid.This is the reason for Veronica's distress, the Usurper! My friend, Jen, gave birth to a baby girl on Oct 26th. She had only been home for a few days before Halloween and Veronica was still adjusting to the Usurper. They think that she is semi-traumatized. She ignores the baby like it's not there. And if you are holding the baby, you will be ignored also. She also has been waking up at night crying, so she is super tired on top of getting a new baby sister.The Usurper's real name is Penelope. They are calling her Penny. Isn't that cute? She is so tiny! I can't even remember when Melody was that small. After handling a baby for the last 9 months, I had no trouble picking up Penny even though she felt like a ball of dough.
What's this you say?Peekaboo! She loves that game.This is actually my latest FO, a new knitted blanket for her. She loves blankets. It's a comfort thing for her. Did any of you ever notice how she never has a picture of a pacifier in her mouth. She never took to it. During her horrible colicky stage, I tried and tried, but she would just spit it back out and cry harder. I even tried different styles, but I eventually gave up. Blankets are like a pacifier to her. She will clutch it and snuggle with it. When she drinks her bottle, she clutches it and plays with it in her hands. When she is tired, she will put it in her mouth. This leads to stinky blankets so the more blankets, the better. And she is not particular to one blanket, any kind will do.The pattern is called Easy Eyelet Blanket from Knitting for Baby and it really couldn't have been easier. You start off at one corner and knit and increase until it's half the size you want and then decrease and make the other half. You are making a triangle at first and then the other half to form a square. The eyelets formed by the YO's gives the simple blanket a decorative touch.

My friend, Betty, had given me the book, Knitting for Baby, as a birthday present the year after I got married. I think it was a hint, but who knew that it would take many years before DH and I decided to have children and for me to utilize this book. I have the old cover or version of the book, but I am sure the inside is still the same. It has many different baby projects for any level knitter, so it's great for beginners and for advance knitters. And you can work your way from the simple projects to the more advanced. I already have my eye on several of the sweaters in the book.The yarn is a discontinued Lion Brand Yarn called Color Waves. The yarn is very soft and lofty which makes the blanket very light and not heavy feeling at all.
Pattern: Easy Eyelet Blanket from Knitting for Baby
Needles: US 10 / 6.0 mm
Yarn: Lion Brand Color Waves, 4 skeins = 500.0 yards (457.2m) in Sunset Red
Size: 37 inches square

Having Fun

The days are getting colder as Winter approaches. There are not many days left to go to the park, so I am trying to squeeze in as many visits as I can. My girl just loves to swing. I love to see her huge grins and hear her cackle with laughter. Her laughing sounds like cackling, I swear.My sister, Jo, came to visit last week so it was nice to have a pair of extra hands while getting to and from the park. (She was the unofficial "Baby Wrangler" while she was here.) It was a pretty chilly day and when we got there, it was practically deserted.My sister and I had a fun time taking photos of her and swinging her. I think my sister was delighted to see how much Melody enjoyed swinging. Her laughter and smiles were heart warming, but then again, we all adore her. So, we all may be a bit biased. :-)
We had an appointment near the Chelsea Market, so we had to stop by after we were done. My sister has never been there before. This is also the home of the Food Network and a lot of shows are filmed in the studio portion of the building. On some of these pumpkins, Martha Stewart and Emeril Lagasse's faces were carved on it.We wandered into bakeries and markets, savoring the sights and smells. Brownies were bought at Fat Witch and a delicious Peanut Butter Cup Cupcake from Eleni's was consumed all by myself. Whoops, I forgot to save some for my sister to try.This is me with Melody. It's a very rare occasion that a picture of me is taken with her since I am usually the one behind the camera. Plus, I am not too fond of having my photo taken.

On Saturday, I left everyone at home to attend a workshop called Photographing Your Knitting (And Beyond!). It was hosted by Sit 'n' Knit NYC and taught by the famous Jared Flood, aka Brooklyn Tweed!!! I couldn't miss this opportunity even though I had house guests.Jared Flood was really nice and down to earth. He spoke about camera terms in normal everyday language so that anyone could understand. Usually, I start to get confused with a glazed look on my face when I try to read my camera manual, but Jared made everything approachable. And I had a Aha! moment when I realized I have been misusing my ISO function on my camera.

Towards the end, he gave us a bunch of his Tips & Tricks. It was about using everyday household things or cheap materials instead of buying fancy equipment or props for the camera. Lots of great ideas! I am so glad I went. It was $45 well spent.