little sock monkey cozy

This was a super cute pattern! It turned out a little small for a cup but it fits one of my candle votives perfectly. The pattern is free but you must sign up on the website to be able to view the pattern.

Click here for the sock monkey cup cozy pattern

handspun doily

Last Friday my husband spoke at chapel at the school he used to work at so before we headed home we stopped at the little yarn shop where I learned to crochet and I bought some roving. I chose to keep it simple and just 2ply it. I then found a sweet little doily pattern to use this yarn for.

learning to knit on circulars & dpns

I have tried and tried to learn to knit on circular needles but I just wasn't getting until a few weeks ago it just clicked. That seems to be how I learn things. I just keep trying until it works.

I had this banana fiber yarn for about a year now with no idea what to do with it. I finally decided to just make a simple cowl using it. I used size 15 circular needles. I love the drape it has using that size. It was fun yarn to work with but I always had blue fingertips every time I knitted with it!
I bought a pair of size 10.5 double pointed needles (dpns) from GlenEchoDesigns on etsy. I really wanted to learn to knit using dpns. I started by practicing with baby hats. I have been on fire with making these adorable little hats! My favorite was the hat I made using baby alpaca yarn. Wow! That yarn is so soft!
I also crocheted a chiefs hat for my son. My husband loved it so much I made a royals one (not pictured) for my son as well! My husband is a huge KC sports fan so now we can represent both sports!

granny hat

This pattern was for a child's hat but once it was finished I decided it was too big for a child. I think this is more of a women's hat.

Hat pattern: Autumn Hat by The Green Dragonfly
Flower pattern: Six-Petal Flower Motif by Lion Brand

heart scarf

Using up scrap yarn = valentine's day scarf!

wassupbrothers

A while back I did a swap with Olga of Wassupbrothers. I made her this hat. Doesn't she look lovely in it? I hope it keeps her warm this winter!


(This is the adorable little owl she sent me!)

Find her shop here and her blog here

free pattern: granny cowl

Anyone who makes handmade gifts for Christmas knows how stressful it is getting it all done in time so we always appreciate a quick project that is useful & pretty. This cowl is really easy and looks beautiful when worn. I love how this yarn drapes with this cowl! I am posting this pattern for you guys that I wrote for those last minute gifts.



Materials
1 skein of Lion Brand Homespun
Size N crochet hook
Size J crochet hook
Tapestry needle

Abbreviations
CH - chain
Sl st - slip stitch
DC - double crochet
st(s) - stitch(s)
sp - space

With N crochet hook
chain 80. Sl St to join being careful not to twist.
Round 1: CH 2. DC in each chain. Sl St at top of beginning chain to join.
With J crochet hook
Round 2: chain 2. DC in next 2 sts. CH 1, skip 1 st. *DC in next 3 sts. CH 1, skip 1 st.* around. sl st at top of beginning chain to join.
Round 3: Sl st to 1st chain space *3DC in chain space. cH 1* around. Sl St at the top of beginning chain.
Round 4 - 14: Repeat round 3 12 more times (13 rounds of granny stitch total)
Round 15: Chain 2. DC in each st & sp. Sl st at beginning DC. Cut tail and weave in ends.



I am no professional at writing patterns so if you see a mistake please let me know! If you make a cowl leave a link with a picture. I would love to see your creations!

I give you permission to sell what you make using this pattern as long as you provide a link back to this pattern in your listing. Please do not copy or sell this pattern. Thank you!

lumberjack beanie

A friend of mine asked me to make her a beard beanie so I looked around Etsy and found this fun pattern by  SimplyCollectible. It wasn't a really hard pattern but with the Lion Brand Homespun yarn it was kind of difficult to see the stitches however the hardest part was probably sewing the beard on straight. It is a great pattern though and I LOVE the finished hat!

navajo plying

It is funny how once I got my spinning wheel I actually use my spindle more than I did before. I bought some fiber and once I received it I realized it was going to be a pretty rough yarn so I thought this would be the perfect chance to practice navajo plying. I am spinning singles on the wheel and plying using the navajo method on the spindle. Once I feel like I have the hang of it I want to try navajo plying on the wheel.

As a crocheter the navajo method is really fun. It is really just making long chains and spinning it to make a 3-ply yarn. It's really fun on the spindle and I can't wait to try it on the wheel!

neon cowl

oooh this cowl was fun to make! I am such a fan of Spun Right Round! Her colors are so beautiful and bright and I love bright colors! Her fiber is always so nice to spin!

This cowl was spun from Spun Right Round's handpainted merino wool in Rainbow.

my first handspun yarn

I am LOVING my new wheel! I have been using the fiber that they included to practice since I have only even touched a spinning wheel once before. While an experienced spinner may be disgusted with my first yarn I am super excited about it! It is really slubby which I actually like... it makes crocheting or knitting with it interesting. While I love beautiful even handspun yarn there is something fun about crazy over-twisted slubby yarn as well!


So what did I do with that first yarn? I crocheted a sweater for my candle of course!

some FOs

I have finished a few small projects already this week. There is nothing that makes me feel more accomplished than finished projects and small ones like these are great for that!

I made a slouch hat using the yarn I had bought from Arrow Rock last weekend.


and with the leftover yarn I made this ornament using the simple statement ornament pattern  by Lisa Gutierrez of Goodknits.

I finished this handkerchief scarf by Lindsay Haynie of Love City yesterday morning.

granny square pillow

At the beginning of the summer I had planned on making a granny square blanket and be done with it by fall... well...

That didn't happen but I didn't want to waste the squares I did make so I made a pillow cover with them instead.

It's a little lopsided and uneven in places but I think it's charming in a way. It makes me smile every time I walk by my couch and see it. It reminds me of my great grandmother!

Octopus's Garden Cowl

I just finished this very colorful cowl last night. I will be sad to let this one go!


The yarn used in this cowl is by Brown Bag Yarns. This yarn was a dream! The colors were so bright and vivid!

salamander soup scarf

I finished the scarf made using the handspun yarn I bought last week!


It's for sale in the shop!

for sale

I put this beautiful blue wool scarf in the shop last night for $35.00. This wool is so nice to the touch and would be the perfect winter accessory! Buy it here!

knit night

I finally got the chance to go to a knit circle here in town. I had been wanting to go for a few weeks but something was always going on. Panera just opened up in town and they started meeting there. I worked on a light crocheted spring scarf but mostly admired the amazing work of the other girls! I really enjoyed myself and loved meeting some other yarn crafters!

When I got home Seth had already gotten Blake to bed so I got to continue crocheting. I started an adorable fuzzy bear hat by Alli Hyer of Alli Crafts. It worked up really fast and I think it turned out adorable!

I also used the same yarn to make a few simple coasters.


And today I used some scrap yarn I had to make a cover for a can using Rachel's of Cornflower Blue pattern.

flower & pearl headband

Flower & Pearl Headband made using this pattern by Jay's Boutique Blog.

some finished projects

I have finished a few projects this past week and I wanted to show you what I had been up to!

First off I made this cover for some jars that I had been saving. I used this pattern by Nature Nut Notes. It is a really simple pattern and I finished it in no time. Since then I have covered a plain votive candle  and a baby jar with the same pattern! It looks so lovely when the candle is lit!

Then I made this warm beverage sweater using this pattern by Color My World Crochet. This pattern is crazy simple and I love how the combination of SC & HDC stitches shape it to fit the cup nicely. I found these wooden buttons on sale at Walmart awhile back.

I saw this adorable flying disc toy by  LittleWoollyThings on Etsy. I thought I could easily make one for Blake to play with when he gets a little older. I added bells on some of the beads for a little extra fun! He already enjoys playing with it because of the bells!

I bought some pencil roving from a local seller awhile back and spun it up but because it was just a small amount of yarn I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with it. I thought it would make an adorable star ornament. I used this pattern by A Foothill Home Companion to make it. This pattern is so cute. It's simple and can be worked up so fast. I crocheted two of them and sewed them together to make it thicker and it keeps the edges from curling up.

This last one has been done for awhile but I haven't gotten around to posting about it but remember the handspun yarn I bought from the yarn shop while in Iowa? I finally decided what to do with that. I needed a cover for the strap on my camera. All I did was do rows of HDC and when it was long enough I sewed the edges together to make a long tube and slipped over the strap! I love how it is functional by making it feel softer around my neck (and in the winter it will also keep my neck warm!) plus it looks really cute!


Whew! That is what I had been making lately! Do you have any recently finished projects?

yarn-y pretties

I noticed how pretty my coffee table was looking with all my yarn-y projects going on this afternoon. I tend to have 4 or 5 projects going on at once. I like to work on a project for awhile and then take a break from it to work on another. It keeps my attention better. Do you like to work on multiple projects or do you need to work on only one at a time?