Signs of a Knitting Obsession…

…you have given more than a passing thought to knitting a slipcover for your sofa. (Double points if you’ve gotten as far as drawing schematics and gauge swatching.)

 

… upon seeing ANYTHING your first thought is, “Could I knit that?” Houseplants? Carseat covers? Christmas tree? Hmm….

 

…when a non-knitter tries to engage you in small-talk, you’re left scrambling for something non-yarny to say.

 

…you can knititask. Definition: knit while eating…reading…playing…bathing…cuddling…

 

…you’ve considered having another child simply because yours are growing out of baby sizes, and you simply HAVE to knit those adorable little shoes…

 

…when your Significant Other sees you WITHOUT knitting in hand, they ask if you are feeling alright.

 

…your first thought in the morning (after coffee) is “what am I going to knit today?”

 

…you fall asleep drawing mental schematics of knitting designs.

 

…you read this list and are thinking, “So…what’s the problem?”

Added another free pattern…

…for my Boy’s Gone Loopy Hat! If anybody knits it, I would love to see pictures.

Here’s my latest finished one, in the child size for my 3yo…used up some bits of Paton’s Classic that I had in the stash.

The Boy’s Gone Loopy!

I said that my next post would be something boyish, and I didn’t lie! Here’s a hat I freestyled for C and liked so much that I’ve written it out for multiple sizes and will post within the next few days once I finish knitting up one in a child size for B…

I promise, it’s truly not wonky…I get freaked out by those styrofoam heads…so it’s just here all by it’s lonesome…tends to be a wee bit flopsy!

Frou-Frou, the Free-Form Four-In-One Frock

Say it five times fast, I dare you!

This was something that I had in my head and had to knit it out. The concept was a frock for my daughter that would work as a pinafore, sundress, jumper, and vest-like-thingy. It works.

The positives: no seaming!!!  It knit up quickly, about 4 evenings worth of work, including a few frogging sessions. Sizing came out perfect, yay me.

The negatives: bad yarn choice! The Bernat Natural Blends Soya feels divine in the skein and swatched well…but I was so excited to get started I forgot to torture the swatch. Midway through I was cussing at it for being so doggone slippery! Even blocking didn’t do much to help out my sloppy tension. Next time, I’m definitely making this one in a different yarn.  And I am NOT loving the bodice ruffle placement. Oops.

Without further ado…here’s the pics.

and this is the back, in buttonly beauty.

 

Oh, and I knit her a beret for Christmas, too.

Next post will be C’s goodies…can’t leave the little fella out!

Cartoonish, much?

I truly adored knitting this Butterfly Hat  — the stitch was fun, and the SWS is so soft.

Unfortunately, methinks that wearing it gives me a strong resemblance to those little mushroom-headed creatures in the Mario world games…don’t you think?

’tis the season for knitting!

…the weather is grey and blah, it’s damp and chilly out, and the holidays loom on the horizon — the knitting needles are flying!

Despite “parenting solo” this weekend while the hubby traveled, I got a surprising amount of knitting completed.

Caden & Ellyson’s “Christmas” mittens (matching hats still to be made)…

Both were knit from my free pattern for Thumbless Toddler Mittens – very quick! I embellished Elly’s with some embroidery, and a band of mosaic colourwork in  Caden’s.

Here’s the very-plain-so-hopefully-he-will-really-wear-it-man-hat for the hubby’s birthday, knit from Kody May’s Basket Weave Brother-in-Law Hat this was a very quick and easy knit, great for gift-giving…you can whip one out in about an hour.

And finally, here’s a peek at a couple WIP’s — a Butterfly Hat and Top-Down Raglan sweater, both for me.

 

Free pattern!

Finally got one up! Check out the Thumbless Toddler Mitts!

Because I like it hot, hot, hot…

 

…my coffee, anyway. Check out this cute Cabled Coffee & Hand Warmer. It worked up in an evening, super quick and gratifying. Keeps fingers and coffee toasty! The yarn is a bit of leftover alpaca/merino I had from another project.

Arsenic & Hairpin Lace

Gave a whirl at designing something for myself. Needs tweaking, but went alright for a first attempt I think. Definitely learned a few things.

This is truly a “Hooked Up Knits”, the front panel is worked in hairpin lace, the sides are knit ribbing, and then it’s all crocheted together. No sewing! I’ll probably write up the pattern (including the tweaks!) soon, if there’s any interest…or maybe even if there’s not!

 

Found my way out…

…of the endless wonders that is Ravelry …

’nuff said, right?

Am loving it over there! Entirely too addictive.  And definitely not good for my blogging habits!

To make up for it, here’s a wee taste of some of what I’ve made in the last month.

Behold, Dread Pirate Monkeybuns. Despite a peg leg, hook and fierce sunburn, this wee pirate manages to Argh and growl his way into your (or at least my!) heart.

And here’s my dear daughter’s Pinwheel sweater…the wool was dyed by me. I was attempting for the colours in the children’s storybook, “Goodnight Moon” but they came out a bit lighter than I wanted.  Oh well! I used a crochet cast-off and did a row of crab stitch around the edges instead of the loopy edging.