Good Friday Indeed!

yummy carrot and zucchini muffin

latte from my spot in the neighborhood

squishy project :: color - cove :: that is intended 

to wrap a squishy babe

PLUS!!!

It's sunny and going to be even nicer tomorrow. 

Ahhh, sun! please stay awhile!

My sister's friend requested the reversible shrug to wear over her wedding dress. 

I finished it last week and got sneak peek shots from my sis!

I can't wait to see more!

Color: Pigeon - Malabrego Worsted... yummmm.

tree couch.

Livi's been playing with the fairies in our tree.

 What little wonders did you find today?

It's a beautiful outside... prefect really. Sunny, happy, cool fall day. Ahhhhh. Content. I hope you feel the same way today.

Thank you,

to all you knitters who purchased my latest patterns. I can't wait to see pictures of your versions. This time of year always inspires me to knit more... you too?

I hear the chickens in my neighbors yard laying eggs... that reminds me... i need to go make myself some breakfast. ta ta

*i went outside to take pictures of the fall leaves and found this couch in the tree. so flipp'n cute!*

Free Pattern - Reverse Kerchief.

Happy October! 

To kick off my favorite time of year 

*ahhhh, fall* 

and to keep you toasty...

I have a gift ~~ a FREE pattern. 

Enjoy!

Sizes  OSFA

Yarn
60 yards of an Extra Chunky Yarn
(shown - Lion Brand Thick and Quick - color wheat)

Materials
• US 13 (9mm) 16” strait or circ
• 2 stitch markers
• tapestry needle (to weave ends)
• 1 button for closure

Gauge  9 sts in st st = 4” on US 13 (9mm) needle
  

Download Now

*upadte* the link earlier was my indesign file... woops! so sorry! All fixed now!

New Pattern Available.

Discovery Cap (Unisex) ~ Purchase HERE

I love the way reverse stockinette looks. But in the round… that means row after row of only purls. And if you’re like me, that sounds like a nightmare. This cap gives the effect of purling every row but you don’t have to. I hope your little ones enjoy wearing this cap as much as I hope you enjoy knitting it!

Sizes Newborn - 6 yrs +
To fit head circumferences 13-15 (15-17, 18-20)”

Yarn
1 skein Worsted Weight Yarn that matches guage.
(shown - cascade 220)

Materials
• US 7 (4.5 mm) 12 or 16” circ
• Set of 5 US 7 (4.5 mm) Dpn’s
• 1 stitch marker
• 2 split ring markers
• tapestry needle (to weave ends)

camilla baby.

I love this sweater! Simple, understated, beautiful.  

(aren't the photographs beautiful too!)

 And now there is a baby version. 

Oh I have to find a baby to make this for! 

 patterns and photos from  Carrie Bostick Hoge

PS. knitlulu joined twitter. finally. I know....

so if you're in to that...
you can follow my tweets.
(Oh boy... what did I get myself in to?)

 

New Pattern Available.

Reversible Shrug.

Available Here!


I love visible seams on sweaters and this was the perfect project for that... reversible and doubles as a chunky scarf! Simple enough for a beginners first cable project while at the same time holding interest for the advanced. This is a fast fun knit... and with all the fabulous color choices Malabrigo offers, I know you'll spend more time picking a color than you will knitting it!!

Sizes
XS-M (L-XL, 2XL-3XL)

Yarn
3 (3, 4) skeins Malabrigo Worsted Or 550 (650, 760) yards of any worsted yarn that matches gauge.


Materials
• US 8 (5 mm) 32’ circ
• US 10.5 (6.5 mm) 32” circ
if you prefer to use dpn’s for knitting in-the-rnd you will need a set of US 8 & US 10.5 dpn’s.
• 1 stitch marker
• cable needle
• tapestry needle (to weave ends)
• row counter *optional

Gauge
14 sts & 20 rows in st st = 4” on size US 10.5 (6.5 mm) needles.

Pink Brimmed Hat.

I finished the last test knit (of 3) today in the largest size. Livi modeled it for me today and i'm happy to report that she actually likes wearing it! yay!

Wasn't a fan of this color at first... but she picked it out so I went for it. So glad I did because she was right... it looks so cute on her in pink.

Pattern ready by the end of the week!

malabrig shrug.

I'm working on a reversible over sized shrug. I think it's going to be able to double as a giant chunky scarf too!




soft yarn + fall weather = happy rachel.



I'm so excited to get this done so I can wear it but even more excited to finish the patter. Because it's over sized and slouchy... each size covers a wider range. So I'll be writing this for 3 size options but they will cover XS - 3XL.


And this yarn.... yum! It's a worsted Malabrigo from my stash in color Buscando Azul. *swoon*


(so all you knitters... can I get a "proud-a-you girl" hug? I've been knitting from my stash for over a year now. That's right... no yarn purchases in what feels like a lifetime. Feels good, feels good! One of these days I'm going to have to take some pictures of my stash. It's kind of embarrassing! I have a stores worth of yarn in my spare bedroom. no lie!)

Blocked & Modeled.

I found an ADORABLE model for the baby cap. This is Ovid. My friend Lindsey's son. I'm watching him today while she is at work and I'm in love with him. He is the sweetest!

The cap is a bit small for him but does the trick better than the previous pictures.... non-blocked hat stuffed with tissue paper. hee hee. (It's amazing what a good blocking did for this hat... especially the brim!)

I'm going to test knit a larger size. Something that would fit a child Ovid's age. The yarn will be worsted instead of fingering and the brim of the hat will be wider for the larger size. I'll post pictures of that version next week and hopefully by then the pattern will be done as well.

little mr. hat.

I got a request last week for a miniature baby beanie with a brim. Here is what I came up with. It's the prototype... but not too shabby for the first one.

This yarn is fabulously soft! Stash yarn: Classic Elite Miracle in color 3375.

I wish I had a baby to try it on though... These pictures would be so much better if there were sweet baby eyes under that brim.

More Progress.

I finished up the body of the sweater...

pre-blocking of coarse.

Next up the sleeves.

I think i'm going to go longer on the body but i'm going to wait untill the sleeves are done to decide exactly how long.

Anyone else obsessed with belts for fall?
I can't wear anything with out a belt these days!

Red hair & Red yarn cakes.

images belong to the photographer, oprisco :: spotted via: knit creations of a curious mind

Beautiful photography, right?!
Check out more amazing photos at Oprisco's portfolio!

Second skein of yarn wound up and ready to go. I have about 4 more inches to go on the body of Liv's red sweater and then it's sleeve time.


Hope you all have a great weekend!

China Doll Update.

Livi has a very specific idea about what sweater i should be making. It's pretty cute.



red, check.

mandarin collar, check.

wrap like a kimono, check.



So far so good. phew!


I just slipped what's done so far on Olivia last night and the sleeves and chest fit great.

Not too big, but roomy enough that she could use it as a jacket this fall.

I'm loving this stitch. I've used it before in two tone on a sweater that I was designing but never ended up writing. It has a woven look on one side and seed stitch on the reverse.



Being that she wants it to be "a red Chinese sweater mom!" I'm thinking I want to add little Chinese Frogs for the closure. Like this...

...in a bright color or just a simple black. Haven't decided yet.


Slowly but surely this little number is coming along. I have some fun ideas in my head to embellish and make it more cozy. Stay tuned... it's going to finish up looking completely different!

Madelinetosh

Speaking of inspiring sweaters to knit... isn't this cozy and beautiful. I have to make time for this knit. I think i'd wear it year round!

m.I.a

Ok, so things have been a bit crazy over here... Been working, knitting, designing, cleaning (no really! The mopping dusting real kind too!) and on top of all this responsible stuff...

Livi is gone for TWO weeks. Boooo. It sucks and I miss her.

So I've been trying to stay busy and have let this blog take last place. But I'll be back soon and while I'm on this deep cleaning kick I hope I can find my camera charger. It's gone missing and life with no camera is... well... very sad. Not as sad as "no Olivia here with me" sad.... But none less, sad.

I promise a much more uplifting post soon... Like the pictures from the picnic Olivia and I went on last week and progress shots of the red number that livi and I designed.

Cheers!

China Doll.

Olivia requested a VERY specific sweater. No prob girl... I'm on it!

i love me a blocking sweater.

I woke up this morning to my Gnome getting an early start on blocking my sweater.
What a hard worker!

He is a casual blocker but darn cute...

don't you think?



ps. the top pic shows the true yarn color. The other two were from last night... shadowed evening light.

leg warmers.

Why not?!

Hope to be done with these bad boys by tonight.

The yarn is lambs pride worsted... All fuzzy and yummy.

The color is roasted coffee. For some reason this pic makes the yarn look purple...

But let me tell ya... grape leg warmers are not my thing folks. They are in fact coffee brown.

going long sleeved.

Here is what i've been knitting on the last week and a half.
Green Gable

I was in need of some better quality photos to place in the new pattern layout as well as the website. So i knit a new one. My original was just too short in the body plus i knit it 5-ish years ago.

I'm heading out to shoot some pictures of the sweater around town.

But first this suckers getting long sleeves. That way, depending on the time of year you knit the sweater you have options pictured.

Personally I think I'll wear it more long sleeved anyway. I'm also toying with the idea of trying out steeking... then I'll have myself a

long sleeved

cardigan

green gable.