theraineysisters knitting and so much more

Well, they did it again! Completely changed the blog set up. It is even harder to post than before, but I will try!

Thank you to everyone who commented after my last post. It really means a lot to us!!

Some of you may go way back. If you do, you may remember the Sock Monkey Dress I posted during the 2006 Minnesota State Fair. I did say way back! It went viral and put The Rainey Sisters on the map. Because of that post, I have been associated with sock monkeys ever since.

This ad hit my email a few months ago. You may have also seen it. It triggered my “sock monkey” response!

I decided to recreate the sweater in the ad. I don’t think I quite succeeded, but here it is!

I used Cascade 220. I started out with Joji Locatelli’s Basic Raglan, but it just didn’t work at the neck. I ended up needing to do major surgery to correct it. The neckline just didn’t drop enough in the front. I think that is a major problem with most top-down sweaters that rely on short rows to raise the back neck. It just isn’t adequate. The blue lines show where I machine stitched and then cut out fabric. I picked up the live center front sts.

I wish I had used a marled yarn instead of the color I chose. Also, I used a bluer red than the picture in the ad. I tried lipstick red, but this looked better to me. I do wear it because it’s kind of a workhorse sweater. And, just to let you know how I really feel:

PS to Samina: There’s not much of a story regarding the sock monkey dress. It was on display at the fair as an art installation, not an entry. The artist, whose name escapes me, used sock monkeys often in her work. Very fun and creative!

It seems our blog is petering out! No one posts. No one comments. So, I will send out this little post and see what happens. It does cost us hundreds of dollars a year to maintain this blog. I know. Surprising!

This is one of my recent FOs. It is my second Comfort Fade Cardigan, designed by Andrea Mowry. My first, more subdued rendition, can be found here. This color choice was actually not my own. I was inspired by a project I saw on Instagram. I ran to BeWoolen to get the same colors of Rios!! When I saw the actual colors, they looked different than the picture, so I substituted a couple of colors. Frank Ochre yellow just didn’t translate in the photos, but I wanted that acidy color in my cardi. I really like the results.

Another recent FO is my Melt the Ice Bandana turned Cowl. It was designed to be a summery alternative to the oh-so popular Melt the Ice Hat, with proceeds also going back into the community.

I converted the bandana into a cowl by working in the round after I got to a certain point. I am now knitting a regular bandana in a wool/cotton blend that will tie in the back.

I am still protesting. Still angry about what is happening to our country, but damn. It is absolutely exhausting. Every day they do something worse than the day before. It is impossible to keep up, and that is what they are counting on! So, I try to remain optimistic that we can weather this storm.

PS: Thank you for all the supportive comments! It means a lot. Don’t be shy about commenting as it is appreciated!

PS2: To Anne C. Anne asked about tips to fading sleeves to match the body. My advice is to count rows. Comfort Fade said just knit til they match, but I took notes on row counts and my sleeves match. Be sure you leave enough yarn of each color for the sleeves. Each sleeve row at its widest takes about a third of the yarn length of the body, then less as you decrease.

Yes, the day after Valentine’s Day. A much more important day. It’s Happy Surly Day!! Yep, Surly’s birthday has arrived again like clockwork.

if you have followed us at all, you know that Sally and I are besties, knitting peeps, sisties, and whatever else such a sisterhood implies. She is the smart one in the family, which landed her the dubious honor of being the executor of our dad’s estate. She has handled that thankless job tirelessly. We really appreciate her taking that on and doing so well with it. She also puts up with a lot from me on a daily basis.

Her birthday present this year wasn’t much. I sent her a Melt the Ice Hat because I knew she wasn’t going to have time to knit one herself. She looks so cute in it!!

Happy Birthday, Little Sister! Hope to see you in person soon!

I have been obsessing a bit about the Melt the Ice Hat phenomenon, but I think with good reason. I have also fallen off the deep end into the Mini Melt craze. These little cuties (2×2 inch) are used as pins that show you are pro-democracy, anti-ICE, and anti-this administration. Lots less knitting and great for indoor or sunny climate use.

I describe how I knit mine up on my project page. Even if you can’t knit the big hat, maybe a mini hat!

Hi, my supportive knitting friends! I wanted to provide an update on the Melt the Ice Hat phenomenon. It had indeed gone viral and is being reported on all over the country. Nearly 70,000 patterns have been sold! I think I know most of the knitters! 😉

There has been some backlash to the color red in the hats. “It looks like we’re wearing MAGA hats!” I disagree, but if you have a problem with that, there is the new Minnesota Strong Hat. The pattern will be free for a short time. The designer is encouraging donations to local charities, etc. This hat was designed in a bit of defiance to the red hats. It is still a strong statement of support for Minnesota as it represents the new Minnesota flag. I will probably knit this as well, because I really need another hat!

And unless you’ve been in hiding, you are aware that Bruce Springsteen wrote a song about the battle of Minneapolis: Streets of Minneapolis.

In Minnesota, we are being used as an example, a testing ground. The Trump regime is using brute force and gestapo tactics to get us to bend the knee to Trump’s “new America.” The Constitution is a mere memory. But guess what? They picked the wrong state. We are fighting back, in the tens of thousands, in brutal below zero temps. To those who say, it’s about illegals and criminals. That is a lie. If that was the case, they would be in Texas and Florida, not here. They are here because we are a blue state and Governor Walz has stood up to Trump.

How does knitting fit in? During WWII, Norway was occupied by German troops. In way of resistance, they wore red, pointy hats with tassels. Like Santa or elf hats. Eventually, the Nazis banned the wearing, making, or selling of these symbols of resistance. Well, they’re BA-A-A-A-C-K! Needle and Skein in St. Louis Park, MN put together a pattern called Melt the Ice. All proceeds go back into the community. Here is an archival photo of the original hats.

Here is the Melt the Ice prototype:

These are my two Melt the Ice Hats. They tend to run short, so I recommend knitting 8″ of ribbing if you making the original hat, or add some stockinette before the decreases. I don’t like to knit 1×1 ribbing, so I made my second one with seed rib (1×1 rib on row one, plain knitting on row two) and made it not to fold up. I wear the “fold-up” one unfolded and slouchy. The tassels and cord are my own modification, the original uses a braid. I describe what I did on my Ravelry project page, but if you have followed me at all, you know twisted cord and tassels are my signature embellishment!!

Red yarn is selling out like crazy here! The one on the right I made with Malabrigo Rios, Ravelry Red. The one on the left is Malabrigo Worsted, Cereza. I love them both and love the message. A MAGA turd ex-friend commented on FB that we were fools because these hats would get mistaken as symbols of MAGA. Nope. No one will ever mistake me for MAGA. And let’s take the color red back! Please make one of these hats. We need to take a stand against tyranny.

PS: If you are offended by this post, let the door hit you on your way out…really hard.

PS2 to Michelle: Thanks for commenting on the blog!  You asked about resources to help Minnesota.  Nicole Aufderhar (aka tenthousandbakes on Instagram) shared this link in a newsletter today:

Stand With Minnesota Donation Directory
https://www.standwithminnesota.com/

I became aware of Nicole because she was a finalist in the Great American Baking Show.  Her showstopper featured the Minnesota State Fair!!  She started getting recognition for entering her baked goods and winning ribbons.  I was gobsmacked to see our fair discussed by Paul and Prue!

PS3 to Celeste: I emailed you about your question. Basically all my notes are on my Ravelry project page.

Per my previous post, I reverse engineered the 2026 Winter Games Hat. I also looked at the Closing Ceremonies Hat. The Ralph Lauren version is knit at very tiny gauge, but I didn’t have any interest in that! So, I used worsted weight and created a “similar” rendition!

I started writing up the pattern and got too depressed to continue. I live in the Twin Cities and we are under siege. Our community is suffering. I just could not use my limited bandwidth to continue. However, I do share my charts on my project page. There should be enough information there to knit up this hat.

I will also be knitting myself a Norwegian Resistance Hat. Needle and Skein in St. Louis Park will be hosting a KAL for this. Apparently, occupied Norwegians started wearing long, red pointy hats with tassels to show a sign of their resistance. The Nazis finally made them illegal to make, wear, or sell. Needle and Skein is taking up the call. I’m not sure when the pattern will be available, but check back with them.

Lois asked me if I would be reverse engineering this year’s Olymp!c Hat. I hadn’t though about it, but when I saw how cute it was, I decided to go for it! It is another of Ralph Lauren’s designs as part of the Team USA Apparel line. Here is the original design, which retails for $328.

The hat itself was pretty straightforward. However, it was knit top down and seamed at the center back and the crown. I made mine bottom up without seams. The tassels, earflaps, and red wraps were the challenging part and do add a level of fussiness to the finishing. However, I think the tassels make the hat!

This time of year, I tend to make little silly projects. They can be knit or crochet. Here are a few recent examples that may inspire you to get some holiday cheer going!

This is a little Christmas gnome. It is Day One of the annual Drops Christmas Calendar. Drops “drops” a new free pattern every day throughout December. I have followed them for the past few years. All past years can be found on Ravelry.

This is the Gingerbread Love Potholder, also from the Drops Christmas Calendar. Knit in worsted weight yarn, it goes rather quickly. I used wool because I am not going to actually use it for food!! This same pattern is available in socks, mitts, a sweater and would easily translate into a hat, headband, or cowl.

This quick little project would make a cute hostess gift. I took Grandma’s Favorite Dishcloth and reworked it into stripes. I included my notes about how to do it on my Ravelry project page. The small bowls are from a great gift shop in Maple Grove MN called Good Things. Walking in there was an invitation that said, TAKE MY MONEY!!! 🙂

Another Drops design! This “Holiday Swirls” spiral crochet coaster or potholder is really quick. However, I could not make heads or tails out of the Drops chart!! I searched “two color crochet spiral” and found a simple video that walked me through it. I added the tapering and describe it on my Ravelry project page.

There’s still time to make any one of these!!

I love a fair isle hat and Alison Rendall does not disappoint. She is responsible for the wildly popular Buggiflooer Beanie from a couple of years ago. I absolutely loved her hat design called Yoxie. The dramatic colors really called my name. I was unsure about the pale blue and cream colored sections, but decided to trust her for the most part. The blue and cream add a lot!! I did a lot of adjusting to correct the jog, which you can see in this photo:

I changed the crown coloration quite a bit. I added more blue to make it look more like that section of the body. I love the final look of it but apparently the state fair judges were less impressed! It got 4th place.
I am sorry we have not been posting much lately. Call it the fall doldrums and political fatigue! I’ll try to do better!