Hats and Mitts

I figured I should get at least one post in before the month ends!

Newest resolution, try to write at least 3 posts a week. I know if I commit to "every day" it will become really old really fast. That's just me.

Just because I haven't been writing doesn't mean I haven't been knitting! the Warm Up to Winter KAL hosted by luvinthemommyhood and nook has given me a great excuse to dig into my yarn stash and go hat and mitt crazy:

 Camp Out Mitts

 Habitat

 Capucine

 Sucky thumb mitts

Bella's Mittens (inspired by Twilight...eek!)

Shannon from luvinthemommyhood also wrote a great cowl pattern, the Mallory Cowl, and I just had to whip one up. I ended up giving it away to a good friend, but here's a pic of its squishy goodness...

Mallory cowl

The KAL is for hats and mitts, but I've finished other scarves and cowls as well. Here are two of my favorites:

Noelle in the mini Stockholm Scarf

Rae

reboot

The holidays went by in a flash, and we had too much fun. The New Year has arrived, and I've made my resolutions.

love, trust, gratitude.

keywords to keep my head and heart out of the clouds where they so often drift to.

Still looking for a Key Verse to further anchor myself in Him for the New Year.

best pals.

Happy New Year everyone!

Yay!

I got second place in the Celebrate Color contest's Yarn category!

Super excited!

I've added a couple new women's hats to the shop, simple and wearable, with just enough interest:

The Hannah and the Sarah...hee hee.

Hannah Beret

Sarah Hat

Also, Shannon of Luvinthemommyhood's new pattern, Mallory, is sweet and simple, and I just had to make one as soon as I saw it! 

Noelle loves her squishy new cowl:

Celebrate Color - Granny Stripe Sweater

Granny squares had quite a presence in my childhood. Our house was positively covered in them; throw rugs on the floor, couch coverings and bed coverings. 

My grandma was the one who churned out these things in her sleep, it seemed, and she is the reason I learned and love to knit and crochet. She was like my second mother. Especially around the holidays and when I look at my children I wish she was here to share it all together with us. When we go home to my parents' house the rugs are still there on the floor and throws are still on some of the couches. It's a small but very warm reminder of her love and care for me and my family.

I wanted to create a colorful, granny inspired sweater for Noelle but it turned out to fit Ellie much better. It's top down, seamless, with a granny stripe bottom and buttons in the back. I used Wool-ease and I love the vintagey feel of the colors.

This is also my entry for Celebrate Color.

"I saw it in the win-duh..."

and I couldn't resist it.

That's how I felt about the Jane Richmond Shannon pattern. It's such a clever, simple, quick knit. I didn't have the right materials but I knitted up a version in red alpaca and I love the scaled down version anyway. Looped three times makes a perfect fit on my neck, and indoors looped twice looks very "sheek". 

My future's so bright, I gotta wear shades!

Two Little Elves

I made this hat for myself but it turned out way too small, so I bequeathed it upon my little elf:

Of course another little elf wanted to join the party.

happy little elves.

reminded me of another pair of mischevious little elves...

It's officially November, which means it's time to get crackin' on Christmas presents. I actually have a plan, which means there's a greater chance that all the presents will actually get done. Yay for handmade goodies!

Bloomin' Coffee

When Ellie finally crashed after waking up for the second time at 4 a.m., I couldn't get back to sleep. My head was so full of so many new ideas for things I wanted to create. My problem is always I have so many ideas that I can't settle and nothing actually ever gets made.

After fumbling around in the dark and, after several failed attempts, making a cup of coffee (forgot to pour the water in, then forgot to turn on the darn machine) I dug my heels in and made something I actually needed to make: coffee cozies. My sister in law (well, my sister-in-law's sister) asked me to make her a cozy, and I figured it was the perfect opportunity to practice magic loop. It's like a cuff for coffee in 2x2 rib. 

Here's what I made:

I will be adding these to the shop as soon as I can get a few more knit up.
Here's a picture of the girls in the Halloween garb...

May the Force be with you. hee. hee.