FOs: Tapping Penguin and Grad Hat

I had two knitting projects with ticking clocks on them for this last week. The first was a hat for a friend who was having a Grad Party on Friday night. He's a friend that climbs often at the gym, and has never asked once for a hat before. He's also a debonair type of guy, so I wanted to knit him a hat that wasn't just a simple beanie with stripes out of heathered yarn. I used a pattern that has worked before, and was able to knit it up in two days! Hence, the Grad Hat:

Pattern: Frequency by Donna Arney, available through Ravelry

Yarn: Cascade 220 Paints/Hand dyed, in a pretty dark blackish/purplish with flecks of brown in it. I've had this skein for awhile, waiting for the right project.

Time Frame: May 17-May 18

Needles: Size 9 (Pattern calls for 8, but Zach has a bigger head)

Best Part: I really do love this yarn- it's so pretty when it comes out, and it works really well with the cables.

Worst Part: This hat pattern still knits up a little on the short side. I added two rows before starting the cable pattern and I'm still worried it won't fit his Scandinavian head. No word yet on the fit...

Besides the Grad Hat, I had a present for my solo tap student I wanted to finish up. She danced the tap dance to the final song from the movie "Happy Feet", so naturally I had to knit a little stuffed penguin for her as a "Congrats" and "Thank you" for all the hard work she put in!

Pattern: Penguin by Susan B. Anderson, from her book Itty-Bitty Toys

Yarn: A complete mish-mash of randoms I had leftover from other projects, including lots of different Cascade 220's, and the Plymouth Worsted Merino for the wings and bow tie.

Needles: size 5

Time Frame: May 11-May 19, 2011

Best Part: I added little "taps" to the bottom of the feet, made with thumbtacks. I folded over the pin part of the tack and used pliers to blunt the end and make sure it wouldn't come off- a toe tap and a heel tap for each little penguin foot!

Worst Part: I'm not terribly happy with how the head turned out- it's a little boxier than I wanted.

She really liked him, and I'm really happy with how he turned out!

Next project with a deadline- some owl mittens I'm making for the owner of the dance studio, Stacey, before our June 11th recital. The way it's going, I should be okay with timing, though, and makes me feel comfortable to pull out the ol' Vivian sweater to finally finish up the last bits of it! I've been listening to the foghorn rolling across the Duluth harbor all morning, which makes this a perfect day to stay inside and get some crafty projects done... :)