anna knits - red hope hat

After knitting this hope hat, I was commissioned to make another. It is for a man, so I decided to make a solid red one.

I used the same HOPE design from Knit Circus, which you can find here, but I changed the way I knit the body of the hat - I was not super happy with the fit of my first hat. 

Instead of following the Knit Circus pattern, I used the Turn a Square pattern (minus the color work) by  Brooklyn Tweed, which you can download for free here. The pattern got great reviews on Ravelry and it was easy to follow. 

Here are a few pictures of the progress:

Because the back of the hat was red and not blue, I knitted the red sections of the pattern fair isle style and then used duplicate stitching for the blue. 

anna knits - hope hat update 2

I finished my hope hat today:

I did the 21in picot version using worsened weight Cascade 220 yarn via the knitcircus pattern available here. 

It turned out smaller than I anticipated - I have to admit I did not measure my head first. It will be perfect for a child, but is definitely not adult sized. If I make this again, I will knit the 24in version. 

You can see my progress in an earlier post here. 

anna knits - hope hat update 1

My hope hat is coming along:

I am trying a red version inspired by this one by mrspeterson, which I first saw on Ravelry:

You can find the pattern for the hat here. 

On an Obama related note, my Obama cup cosy is now for sale in my Etsy store! Check it out here. 

anna crochets - obama cup cosy

I love making these crochet cup cosies (free pattern here) because the decoration choices are endless. I recently made an obama symbol one:

What would you make?

politics, etc. - knit obama symbol

I saw this knit Obama symbol on the Obama for America Tumblr and had to share:

My roommate just left to spend a week volunteering for Obama in New Hampshire, so I am feeling like I too should be getting involved... I could at least make some Obama inspired knitwear this weekend.

In 2008 I knit an Obama hat:

On my way to the inauguration! Brrrr.

You can get the pattern and read more about it here.

Not an Obama supporter? Check out these bipartisan stitch markers, avaliable on Etsy.

Such a cute idea!

anna diys - veep debate party signs

Last night my roommate and I had a few friends over to watch the Vice Presidential Debate. In preparation, I made some DIY veep face signs for guests to cheer with.

Here's how I did it - Materials:

• Half-a-page cut outs of veep candidates (I used their official portraits)
• Red and blue straws
• Tape

1. Cut out the heads, 2. Tape the straws to the back 3. Voila! VPOTUS face signs!

The Biden signs got much more use since Biden dominated, but we enjoyed cheering for Ryan when he tried to incorporate weird anecdotes...

We also played TIME’s Vice Presidential Debate Drinking Game, which was fun. 

politics, etc.

With Rick Santorum out of the race, it looks like Mitt Romney is going to be the Republican nominee for President. The general election can now begin in earnest! I'm looking forward to making some politically-inspired knitwear. In 2008, I knit an Obama hat, which I wore to the inauguration.

(this picture is kinda making me want to rock some heavy bangs again!)

My friend Sara and I were waiting for the metro before the sun was up to make our way downtown, and it was COLD!

My brother has since co-opted the Obama hat. 

The pattern I used to knit this hat is available here from the blog Knit Circus. You can also find a bunch of Obama-inspired patterns here. 

I don't have the patience for this, but I am super impressed by this Obama sweater from 2008 (pattern is available as a free Ravelry download). 

Here is the chart:

Perhaps this year I will knit something with the 2012 logo. 

I have some time though, since I won't be wearing too much knitwear until the fall!