My lil' punkin

What would an autumn be without a pumpkin hat for the newest member of the family? When I first started loom knitting back in 2006, I made a very basic little pumpkin hat for Will & Kate, my now four year old twin grandchildren.  In keeping with tradition, I wanted to design an updated version for their new brother, Luke (picture above).

The Lil' Punkin Hat features a one inch rolled brim and six sections divided by a line of purl stitches. This project was made on the Knifty Knitter long green loom using loom clips to create the 42 pegs used for the body of the hat.  Using the loom clips to decrease created a smoother top and allowed the stem to be knitted directly into the hat.

To add some finishing touches, a leaf made on the Knifty Knitter Flower Loom and a curly tendril  made on 18 pegs of the KK long loom were each knitted separately and stitched to the top of the hat to complete the little pumpkin. The pattern is listed in the Pattern Box on the right as Punpkin Hat with Leaf & Tendril.

Hair today, gone tonight

Every have one of those days when you look in the mirror and just can't take it anymore? Husband's out of town; three year old is climbing everything in the house; five year old is running wide open with a barking Chihuahua in pursuit; house needs cleaning; knitting to be done; and a fifteen year old Maltese follows and watches my every move in case my lap becomes available. Oh, there's plenty more, but I'm sure you get the picture. Today was a day of drastic measures - the hair had to go before I pulled it out. I usually avoid cameras, but decided on a whim to snap a before and after picture so you could see the "lady behind the loom".

Noon today (before)


Tonight (after)

Also, I discovered two or three months ago that I have a severe gluten allergy, in addition to being diabetic. This has prompted another major lifestyle change in dietary habits since I not only have to limit sugar and carbohydrates, but I'm now eating a gluten free diet. However, this has all been for the better, because I have lost close to 4o pounds over the past few months; dropped from a 2X to a 16 in clothing so far (I had gotten much larger than I was in this picture here); and I've had to cut back more than half on the amount of insulin I was taking.

I'm feeling better and better every day! Now, I just need to work on the makeup & exercise. Getting older sure requires a lot of maintaince.