Merry Christmas!!

Who's Rob?

So, today, while we were in the car, we were discussing about how it would be hard to see if air was colored, and Aaron said, "Well, it be good, because burglars couldn't rob a bank." and then said, "What's a burglar?" and Dad explained that a burglar is someone who robs things, and Ginny replied "Oh. Who's Rob?"

Dinner Time Advice

The kids were having a kids only dinner tonight, while the grown-ups were relaxing in the living room. Here's a snippet of their conversation that left me in tears of laughter...

Alli (being all grown up): Ginny, you need to finish your food.
Ginny (being 4 and ornery): Why? You're not the boss of me.
Alli (being reasonable): Well, you don't have to, but it's good advice.
Ginny (being inquisitive): What's advice?
Alli (being helpful): It's a suggestion; something that is a good idea.
Ginny (being logical): Well, Alli, here's my advice. Go to timeout!
Aaron (piping up): Worst advice *ever*!!

Socks

So, this morning, I overheard Ginny talking to Dad about what she wanted for breakfast, when out of the blue, Ginny said, "Dad, I love you.....But I don't have any socks."
Which is odd, because Ginny DOES have socks.
Tons, in fact.

Mom Can Make Anything

Ginny was pretending to whistle and blow on a flute yesterday... After awhile, it must have gotten old not actually *having* a flute, because Ginny asks, "Mom, can you knit me a flute? You can make anything!"

Volleyball 2

So, following the other privious post, this is Chardy!! I still can't believe we won. I mean, this is first place out of all the fith grade girls in our area, and a HUGE improvment from last year, where I'm pretty sure we ranked dead last. And now, a year later with pretty much the same team, we rank first and bring home meadals and a trophy. One word I can say. Wow.

Volleyball Champs!!!

Way to go Chardy and the all the Lancers ladies!!! You girls rocked tonight!!

Sweater of Many Colors

I finally finished Ginny's sweater adapted from my Honeycomb Waves Blanket pattern. It looks so cute on her, but let's see how long it lasts before it gets accidentally tossed in the wash and shrunk...!

Talk About Your Short Term Memory Loss

Apparently, 3-year olds are affected as well...

Ginny: Let's go on a trip, Mom.
Me: Ok, Ginny, where do you want to go?
Ginny: I don't know, it was *your* idea!

New Sweater

I adapted my Honeycomb Waves pattern to make a sweater for little Ginny. I still need to make the sleeves, but it's pretty cute as is, too.

HONEYCOMB WAVES BLANKET: FREE PATTERN!

After months of working on this, it is finally ready to publish! Enjoy.

MATERIALS:
• US 9 (5.5 mm) Needle (I used a 36” circular)
• 7 balls Noro Taiyo (220 yds/ 201.2 m each) or other bulky weight self-striping yarn in an assortment of colors that you like. I used 1 ball of each of the following colors: 5, 6, 11, 14, 15, 17, & 18.
• Tapestry needle & scissors

GAUGE: While gauge is not particularly important for this project, inquiring minds often want to know! My gauge was 3.5 sts per inch in stockinette stitch.

ABBREVIATIONS:
CO: Cast on
BO: Bind off
K: Knit
P: Purl
Sl: Slip stitch

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS:
50” (L) x 45” (W)
Note: This will vary depending on your gauge, desired length, and weight of yarn used.

NOTES:
1)Please read the entire pattern before beginning. The pattern is easily memorized once you get started, but it really helps to take a close look at the pattern notes first.
2)This pattern is comprised of three knitted strips that are later sewn together. If you prefer, you can forgo sewing strips altogether by casting enough sts to create the desired blanket width. However, the contrasting color changes may not be as dramatic unless you can find a yarn with particularly long color changes. As can be seen in my pictures, the Taiyo yarn resulted in a color change approximately every honeycomb repeat (i.e., about every 15-20 rows).
3)The honeycomb pattern is created with multiples of 12 + 3. Each strip has 4 pattern repeats, resulting in (48 + 3) = 51 sts. Out of personal preference and to make sewing up easier, I added an extra 2 sts for selvedge edge sts, resulting in a total of 53 sts for CO.
4)I slipped the first stitch of each row (i.e., the selvedge sts) to create a nice even edge for sewing.
5)See chart below for additional pattern guidance.
 

HONEYCOMB WAVES PATTERN:

Using Main Color (MC), CO 53.
Row 1: P.
Row 2: K.
Repeat Rows 1 and 2 once.
Row 5: With CC, *K6. With yarn in back, Sl 3. K3*. Repeat ** 3 more times. K3.
Row 6: *P6. With yarn held in front, Sl 3. P3.* Repeat ** 3 more times. P3.
Repeat Rows 5 & 6 two more times.
Row 11: With MC, *K6, P3, K3*. Repeat ** 3 more times. K3.
Row 12: K.
Row 13: P.
Row 14: K.
Row 15: With CC, *With yarn in back, Sl 3, K9*. Repeat ** 3 times. Sl 3.
Row 16: *With yarn in front, Sl 3, P9*. Repeat ** 3 times. Sl 3.
Repeat Rows 15 & 16 two more times.
Row 21 (corrected!): With MC, *P3, K9*. Repeat ** 3 more times. P3.
Row 22: K.
Row 23: P.
Row 24: K.

Repeat Rows 5-24 until desired length is achieved.
BO on right side in purl.
Knit two more strips.
Sew strips together.
If desired, pick up sts along outer selvedge edges and knit 4 rows of reverse stockinette st to match CO and BO rows. This will create a nice edge all around the entire blanket. (I did not do this on my blanket, but it probably would have been nice touch!)

Honeycomb Stitch Pattern Notes:
1)Chart below shows pattern from the RIGHT side. For example, the first 4 rows below show Purl sts. This is to indicate that there should be 4 rows of reverse stockinette stitch showing on the right side.
2)As noted above, the first and last sts in each row are selvedge sts and are NOT shown in the chart below nor in the instructions above. This is because some knitters like to include selvedge sts whereas others prefer not to.
3)The shaded boxes represent the Main Color (MC) yarn, whereas the light colored boxes represent the Contrasting Color (CC).
4)The outlined box below indicates one complete pattern repeat.



A reader requested a picture of the back of the blanket, so here you go! Hopefully, this will help with knowing how to carry the yarn when slipping sts.

What about Medium L?

Ginny: "Mom, how do you make a medium L?"

Me: "Huh?"

Ginny: "A medium L. Mr. Campbell taught us the big L and little L. How do you make the medium L?"

Well, isn't that such a great question?! I can't believe none of my other kids ever asked that!

Special Friend

"So, Ginny, how is school going? Have you made any friends?"

"Well, I do have one special friend at my school who always lights up my day...Corabella."

Too cute!

Sisters

So, last April, Alli gave Chardy a book of customized coupons for her birthday. Things like "I will...let you use me as a test subject for one of your cooking experiments...because I love you" and "I will...let you use the computer when I'm on it unless I'm doing school work...because I love you." So sweet.

Fast forward to this weekend. I go up to Chardy's room and she has accumulated about a month's worth of dirty laundry. Of couse, I tell her to do it...immediately. A few hours later, I hear the two sisters arguing over something fierce. I go upstairs to see what's going on and find Chardy with this totally wicked look on her face waving the coupon below...

New Pattern Coming Soon!

Almost done with my latest creation... Will post as soon as I get the pieces sewn together and the pattern written up!

The Joe Biden Hat

I happened to see Joe Biden being interviewed on TV today and it reminded me of something I always meant to blog about but never did.

So, a few years ago, I crocheted this hat for my daughter, Alli.


She wore this hat all the time. One day, she was at some event that then-Senator Biden was at. Of course, being a senator, he was surrounded by all sorts of people who wanted to shake his hand and chat with him, etc., etc.

But, here's where it gets neat: Joe Biden caught sight of Alli's hat from across the room, left the crowd of people, and walked over to speak to her. She came home that night all excited because "Joe Biden liked my hat and said his granddaughter would really love it!"

To this day, I think, no matter your politics, it was pretty cool of the guy to make a little kid feel special in a room full of adult bigwigs... Sadly, the hat itself is now long gone...lost at school a few months later...sigh.

First Day

Summer went by so fast...as usual. It's back to school, and this time (for one year only, folks) all the kids are at the same school! So, without further ado, here are the obligatory first day of school pictures:






And, yes, they were *sooo* embarrassed that I took a picture of them in the school hallway! But, c'mon, it is Ginny's first day of preschool. One day, they will understand...

Throwdown!!

So, Chardy is addicted to the Food Network Channel. After Next Food Network Star, Chopped, and Iron Chef, our favorite show is Throwdown with Bobby Flay.

After watching a few episodes, Chardy and I decided to do our own slightly-modified version of a weekly throwdown. Each week, we pick a new dessert and main course to make. She's the "Head Chef" on one dish while I'm the "Sous Chef" and vice versa for the other dish. Then, we cook up a big meal, and have the rest of the family be our critics!

So far, it's been a huge success...except for the fact that we have never writen down any of our menus!! So, here's the list of our earlier throwdowns, and as soon as I get a camera, we will start posting pictures of our meals, too!

Throwdown #1: Chicken Tikka Masala and Lemon Cupcakes
Throwdown #2: Vegetarian Samosas and Lassi
Throwdown #3: Potato Jumble and Irish Soda Bread
Throwdown #4: Mozzarella Sticks and Creme Brule

Next Up??
Possibly Beef Stew (Chardy's had a hankering) and either Buttermilk Biscuits or Dumplings...

Two Wishes

Ginny says to me, "One time I wished on two stars."

What did you wish for??

"A butterfly garden and a fire truck with a long ladder to save kitties."

Mt. Rainier -- Happy 40th!

No, Mt. Rainier is actually about 1 million yrs old. But, Tim turned 40 last week and what better way to celebrate than to spend the weekend at Mt. Rainier hiking, glassading, and playing in waterfalls!

Hear Me Roar

As I was cleaning out the huge pile of old bills, receipts, kid's homework, etc., I came across this great Haiku that Chardy wrote:

The wind blows my hair
Into a lion's great mane
Now I have courage.

Bubbles

Potty?

Today while we were playing a card game, Dad was trying to get information out of us about where we are going for his birthday. Dad asked Ginny and she replied with a huge smile on her face, "Potty!" We eventually figured out what she meant was "Party," which makes a lot more sense.

UFO Guilt

Lately, as I've been knitting, I've been having this nagging feeling of unease and guilt. Not at all the sort of feelings you want to be having when you are engaged in your favorite craft. In trying to figure out why this was happening, I realized it is because I keep starting new projects while never finishing the old ones.

I took an inventory today to see just how bad things had gotten and realized I have a whopping seven projects on the needles with no end in sight for any of them!!

First up are the Mountain Socks. That project is so old, I don't even know when I started it...which means in truth I equally have no idea when I am going to get around to finishing it!

There's the Brioche Cardi that is a "new" design I am working on. I like the sweater, but I've been laboring over it for months now, trying to get the design just right. Besides, who wants to knit a sweater in the summer? So, I'm taking a break.

Then, there's the Shoe Rug. When we come in from the garage, we have this rug that is just a little bit too thick. So, it always gets caught in the door, which drives me crazy (I know, it's weird, but it bugs me because I always have to straighten it out...) I'm making this Shoe Rug in the hopes that it will work out a bit better. Problem is: I don't think it actually will...hence the hibernation on this project...

Next up, Spiral Rib socks. Gorgeous green yarn from last summer's Sock Summit. I love the yarn, but the socks are too big. Basically, I have just been too lazy to rip out the project (and too horrified at the thought of all that wasted time with those tiny stiches and teensy needles...)

I almost forgot the Lace Ribbon Scarf. That one is curious, because I haven't even *started* that project, but for some reason, my Ravelry project page says I'm at 5%...was that wishful thinking on my part?

Then, there's the Entrelac Scarf... I've always wanted to try Entrelac and my mom bought me some really nice Noro yarn from her LYS. So, I immediately started on that project, but it too is hibernating, only because I got distracted by my next project...

Honeycomb Waves! This is the one that is "most currently"
on the needles, meaning I haven't started a new project since I began that one. (Actually, that's not quite true...I did start and finish a little cozy for my iPod Touch yesterday, but we don't have to dwell on that.) I feel committed to this project, although I know eventually I am going to have to sew the pieces of the blanket together, and darn it -- I am a knitter, not a seamstress, for a reason. I hate to sew!

So, where to go from here? Should I buckle down and actually finish these projects? Should I commit to "no new projects" until the UFOs are completed? Or, should I compromise? Say, one new project for each old one completed??

In the end, I know myself, and I will just continue on my merry way starting new projects when I feel like it and completing my old ones all in good time (or not).

After all, isn't that the point of a hobby? I mean, this isn't my job or anything! No one cares if I finish these things (or not)! How bad is it, when even your hobbies start making you feel guilty??

So, my commitment to myself is: no more guilt over those UnFinished Objects!!

But, I do need to buy some more Ziploc bags to hold them all...

Yummy

Every morning, I make Ginny hot chocolate before breakfast. This morning, she was sitting in my lap on the couch drinking her milk with the most thoughtful expression. After a while, I asked her what she was thinking about. She replied with one word: "Yummy".

Never Doubt the Wisdom of a 10 Year Old

So, I have written about the culinary skills of my daughter before...but she once again has amazed me. Yesterday, I baked a batch of chocolate chip cookies (with ground oatmeal and lovely bits of dark chocolate) and, as usual, after they were done baking, I was lamenting the fact that my cookies ALWAYS turn out flat as a pancacke (or as my son pointed out, even flatter than a pancake...thanks for that, buddy)...

Anyway, my daughter chimes in, "Well, you should have used baking powder instead of baking soda!" Of course, I (who always follow recipes) reply, "But, the recipe doesn't call for baking powder - it called for baking soda." So, she gives me this knowing look...like, ok, don't trust me, but your cookies will ALWAYS turn out flat.

So, today, my DH brings home a new can of baking powder, and I think, this is the perfect opportunity to test Chardy's theory. Without further ado, we mix up a batch of Gingersnap Molasses cookies, but this time, using baking powder instead of the called for baking soda.

Well, wouldn't you know??! These were the tallest, roundest, un-flattest cookies you have EVER seen! Perfection!*


Moral of the story: Never doubt that your kids can be better cooks than you.

*It probably didn't hurt that Alli put in an extra tsp of baking powder by accident!

A Haiku

After producing such whimsical haikus last year and the year before, the kids produced this gem today on the way to school:

Seventeen little
syllables all in a row
a Haiku - big whoop

You Know You're Rushed in the Morning When...

1) You try to drop off your 7 yr old at school, only to realize he has no shoes on... (Aaron, last month)

2) You drop off your 10 yr old daughter at school, only to get a phone call 15 minutes later from the office letting you know she is still wearing her pajamas... (Chardy, today)

3) You come back home after dropping your kids off, only to find a spilled/broken cup of coffee on the driveway because you once again forgot the mug on top of the car... (Dad)

Dandelion Wishes

Ginny and I were taking turns blowing wishes off a dandelion today.

Here was my first one (said jokingly):
"I wish Ginny doesn't pee her pants today."

Ginny grabs the dandelion for her turn and wishes (very seriously):
"I wish Mommy doesn't pee her pants today either."

Luckily, both of our wishes came true.

NEW FREE PATTERN: Cables & Garter Cardi

As promised, here is the new pattern. It has not been tested (except by me), so please send me any errors and I will correct asap if needed.

CABLES & GARTER CARDI
(For the Ravelry .pdf version, click here: download now)

MATERIALS:
• 3 balls Lion Brand Wool Ease (197 yds/85 grams each) or other worsted weight yarn in Forest Green Heather
• 3 buttons (1 ⅛”)
• 8 stitch markers
• Tapestry needle & scissors
• US 8 24” circular needle
• US 7 24” circular needle

GAUGE: 17 sts and 36 rows per 4” in garter on US8 needles

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS:
Bust (bottom of garter section) = 29” around
Cables and Garter Body = 33” around
Length = 23”

Note: I have only made the one size. To increase to a larger size, you might try increasing in the garter stitch section until desired bust width. Then, increase for underarm sts as written, as well as evenly around to accommodate the number of chart pattern repeats needed to achieve desired body measurements. Each complete chart pattern repeat will add approx. 3” around.

ABBREVIATIONS:
CO: Cast on
BO: Bind off
K: Knit
P: Purl
k2tog: Knit two together
M1: Make 1 (I used the backward loop cast on)
C4B (Cable 4 Back): Slip next two stitches to cable needle and hold to back. Knit next two stitches. Knit two stitches from cable needle.
C4F (Cable 4 Front): Slip next two stitches to cable needle and hold in front. Knit next two stitches. Knit two stitches from cable needle.

CABLES & GARTER CARDI PATTERN

YOKE:

With larger needles, cast on 82 stitches. Work 3 rows in garter stitch.

Row 4 (setup row): k 14, pm, k1, pm, k 11, pm, k1, pm, k 28, pm, k1, pm, k 11, pm, k1, pm, k 14.

Row 5 (increase row): *k to marker, m1, slip marker, k1, slip marker, m1* Repeat * * 3 times, k to end.

Row 6 (WS buttonhole row): k 3, BO 3 sts, k to end.

Row 7: (RS) *k to marker, m1, slip marker, k1, slip marker, m1 (two stitches
added)* Repeat * * 3 times, k to bound off sts. CO 3 sts, k to end.

Row 8 (WS): knit all sts.

Row 9 (increase row): *k to marker, m1, slip marker, k1, slip marker, m1* Repeat * * 3 times, k to end.

Repeat rows 8 and 9 six times.

Then, work rows 6 and 7 to make second buttonhole.

Repeat rows 8 and 9 six more times.

Then, work rows 6 and 7 to make third buttonhole. [Buttonholes completed]

Repeat rows 8 and 9 until 242 sts total.

Work one more row 8 (WS).

BO sleeve sts purlwise (on RS).

Remove all markers.

BODY:

Increase row for underarm sts (WS): *Knit to bound off sleeve sts. CO 12 sts.* Repeat ** once. Knit to end.

Begin cables and garter pattern (see chart and notes at botton before beginning!).

Row 1 (RS): Knit 7 (pm), *K2, P2, 6-stich cable pattern, P2, K2, K3*. Repeat ** until 21 sts remain (i.e., last pattern repeat plus garter stitch band). For last pattern repeat: K2, P2, 6-stich cable, P2, K2 (pm), K7.

Row 2 (WS): Knit 7, *P2, K2, 6-stich cable pattern, K2, P2, K3*. Repeat ** until 21 sts remain (i.e., last pattern repeat plus garter stitch band). For last pattern repeat: P2, K2, 6-stich cable pattern, K2, P2, K7.

Repeat Rows 1 and 2 following 6-stitch cable pattern over 8 rows until desired length. End with a Row 1.

HEM:

Switch to smaller needles.
Decrease row: K2, *K7, k2tog, K6, K2tog*. Repeat ** until last 9 stitches. K9.

Note: If you do not switch to smaller needles or do the decreases, your hem will flare because the garter stitches have a wider gauge than the corresponding cable stitches above.

End with 10 rows (or desired amount) of garter stitch for hem.
BO all stitches. Weave in any ends and sew on buttons.


Cables & Garter Stitch Pattern Notes (worked over multiples of 17 sts):

Notes:
(1) All rows begin and end with 7 knit stitches to form the garter stitch buttonband. It helps to mark these with stitch markers.
(2) Body pattern is worked over multiples of 17 stitches (on RS): 2 stockinette, 2 reverse stockinette, 6-stich cable, 2 reverse stockinette, 2 stockinette, 3 garter.
(3) Chart shows complete pattern on RS. All odd rows are RS. Below is a close-up of how these stitches will look once knit. Area in red represents the complete chart below.

Chart Abbreviations:


(Click to enlarge chart)

Spring!

Free Doughnuts

I was sleeping over at my friend Jenny's house and her grandma was over. We were all telling stories and I told one that our neighbors had told us about when these newspaper people were trying to interview anarchetists. Jenny's little sister, Emmy, said,"What's an anarchist??" Jenny's grandma was explaining that anarchy is just chaos, no rules,etc.. Emmy who is in second grade, looked enthusiastic, and said,"That means free doughnuts!!!" Jenny's grandma luaghed and said," People have been looking for a defionition of anarchy, and there you have it! Free doughnuts!!"

But It's Thirsty!

Ginny and I were playing outside today when all of a sudden, she starts doing the potty dance. I said, "Ginny, let's get inside to the bathroom." She replied, "No, I want to pee on the grass". Ummm...you can't Ginny. Her reply? "But, it's thirsty!!!"

New Pattern...Coming Soon!

I've been working on a new pattern tentatively called the "Cables and Garter Cardi". It's my first sweater pattern starting from scratch with a sketched design...


lots of math do-overs...


and a first time making charts.




The work in progress:


Come back soon for the complete pattern and let me know what you think!

Forearms and Four Arms

We were playing on Wii Fit Plus today, and Aaron was doing the Plank Challenge, which is when you put your forearms down and lift your legs like this: /. Its really hard, and Aaron kept putting his forearms down before they said so, so the trainer kept saying,"Please put your forearms down." Aaron was getting really mad. I was getting impatient, too and said, "Just restart it and put your forearms down!" By then Aaron was really mad, and yelled at me, "I don't have four arms!!"

Rainbow Punishments

In he car today, we were asking Aaron if he was good and did his work. He gave his usual vague, really avoiding the real subject way, and eventually we wound up talking about color cards. In his class, if you're good, you're on green. If you slip up, you're on yellow, if you slip up yet again, orange, and the worst, red. Aaron said,"If I was a teacher, I'd have first green,'cause the land and grass, then blue, like the ocean, then yellow, like a little fire, then orange like a big fire, the ones that are so hot you have to step away, then red, like a forest fire or when your house burns down. I don't think that he gets what the card system is really just based on what color you choose.

Cute Misunderstandings

Every night, Tim or I rock with Ginny and sing her songs before going to bed. Every night, while we are singing, she keeps up a running commentary on her interpretation of the songs. Here are a couple of cute misunderstandings from last night's songs.

The first was You are My Sunshine. When I got to the line about, "You'll never know, dear, how much I love you, so please don't take my sunshine away", Ginny asked in a very concerned voice "A deer took me away?"

The next was Rock a Bye Baby, when I was singing "and down will come baby - cradle and all." Ginny asks in a surprised voice, "I'm a doll??"

She's also convinced that the Ramone's song "Sheena is a Punk Rocker" is actually all about her ("Ginny is...a punk rocker...Ginny is...")

A little catch-up

Mom hasn't been posting in forever, and I kept bugging her about it, until finally she set this up for me. Anyways, I'm going to do a little catch-up for all the stuff that happened over the holidays. This first one is on Christmas Eve, which is when we open our presents. I got a pocketknife from Dad, and I gave him a book of prayers. (No kidding! It was a total coincidence.) I also got a remote-control F-8 Hornet that doesn't break whenever it lands. Yay!! Aaron got a remote control monster truck, whereas Alli got a ton of drawing supplies. Mom's big present was pictures from Alli and mine's art class that we go to. Alli drew an awesome person, and I drew an abstract painting called Beasts of the Sea by Henry Matisse. Mom loves abstract.
The second one, also on Christmas Eve, we were all patiently waiting for Aaron to fall asleep. Dad had told us that when he told Aaron to go to sleep, because otherwise Santa won't come, Aaron replied,"Well, Santa's probably in China right now, so I'm okay." The third thing Mom hasn't told you about yet was Crystal Mountain, also known as the best ski resort EVER!!!!!!!! (Well, except this one in France that we went to when Mom was on sabbatical, but that's a different story.) Anyways we had an awesome time there, Ginny beating us on blues,(but she has a tether)just Dad, Alli, and I, having an awesome day skiing down lots of diamonds, and of course just relaxing lazy days. We also spent New Year's there, and they had fireworks that they shot from just up the bunny hill, so close, that I admit that I hid behind Dad at the finale.

Kindle Pocket -- Free Pattern

My husband and daughter got me a Kindle for Christmas! Since my 2 oldest daughters immediately absconded with it to read for the next few days, I figured I'd at least do something Kindle-related. So, I designed a felted Kindle Pocket to protect my new gift.



Materials:
Needles: US 8 / 5.0 mm 16" circulars
Yarn: 1 skein Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted in Cranberry Swirl (or desired colorway)
One colorful button or set of velcro strips (depending on preferred closure on top)

Gauge: not particularly important since you will carefully felt to size.

FINISHED DIMENSIONS: 6.5" W x 9" L

Abbreviations:
sts: stitches
C8F: Slip first 4 sts to cable needle and hold to front. K next 4 sts, then K 4 sts from cable needle.
K: Knit
P: Purl
BO: Bind off
CO: Cast on

Note: This pattern is for the regular-sized Kindle, not the larger Kindle DX.

KINDLE POCKET
CO 56 sts.

Edging:
Working in round on 16” circs, work 4 rows of garter st. (K one round, P one round, K one round, P one round).

Buttonhole:
(Note: If you prefer to use velcro strips as a closure, you can skip the buttonhole directions, and instead do 2 more rows in the previously established garter st pattern)
K 13 sts. BO 2 sts. Knit 41 sts.
P 13. CO 2 sts. P 41 sts.

Begin cabled front panel:
Rounds 1-2: K8, P2, K8, P2, K around.
Round 3: K8, P2, C8F, P2, K around.
Rounds 4-8: K8, P2, K8, P2, K around.

Repeat 8 rounds 6 more times.

Divide sts onto two needles: 28 sts for front and 28 sts for back (with cabled panel centered in front). Turn inside out so right sides face each other. Using a 3-needle bind off, BO all sts to create flat seam at bottom. (If you don't wish to do a 3-needle BO, you can also use kitchener stitch to graft the two edges, or you can bind off as usual and sew the two edges together.)

Felt lightly or to desired shape and size.
Sew button (and/or velcro strips if preferred).