Can you spot the yarn in this picture?

There must be over 60 skeins of vintage yarn stuffed inside the ottoman. My dear sister is a genius at finding yarn for me in thrift shops. The last time she brought some over in a square plastic blanket bag. Just the perfect size for an ottoman. It was simple idea really to knit a cover for it. Knit from bulky acrylic yarn, it's a perfect and practical way to disguise my stash. Yarn covering yarn.

More Hats

I've been on a hat knitting binge. They're fast and easy. Each one using up a skein of yarn from my stash. I didn't have anyone in mind to knit them for, I just knit them because I wanted to try out the patterns (all free patterns ). Starting clockwise from the upper left is a basic beanie. From a pattern called turn a square - the stripes make a square pattern on the crown. It's knit of Wool-Ease, a washable acrylic blend and it turned out big, which is OK. The white hat on the upper right is called Sisters Hat. I used washable wool for this one. I fits my 21" head a little snug. The earflap hat pattern is named Thorpe. Knit from Bernat chunky acrylic. I really like how it turned out, but I knit the small size, so it's for a child. The blue hat, also knit from Wool-Ease has a trellis pattern made of small cables and the ribbing makes it stretchy. It's pattern is called Claudia. So - friends and family, you may find a hat in your stocking this holiday!

Slouchy Hat

This was a fun hat to knit from a popular pattern named Star Crossed Slouchy Beret. You can't tell from the picture but it has a little slouch to it. It's 100% wool so I plan to gift this to someone who won't throw it in the washing machine. But it will be more like a Cinderella hat, given to the person it fits. I have someone in mind. If there is any demand, I have another skein of this yarn, so maybe I'll just make another.

Baby Cardigan

I'm really happy with the way this turned out. The pattern is called First Flower from the book The Alchemy of Color Knitting by Gina Wilde that I had checked out of the library. I cast on right away with some washable wool yarn I had in my stash and finished it before the book was due (except for hemming and buttons). It is knit from the top down in one piece with picot edging and three silver heart buttons. I hope it will fit you know who.

I Went on Vacation and the Only Thing I Knit Was This

A simple dishcloth. On a recent road trip, ten days were spent zig zagging across the State of California and Oregon without much knitting to show for it. I really can't knit while riding in the car, especially the roads we took. We drove to Kings Canyon, Lassen and Crater Lake National Parks, all with very high and winding roads. Not conducive to knitting. Actually, I knit one dishcloth going north (given away) and another going south. Not even a dent in my stash.

My Hex Bag

My latest felted bag. This was fun to knit and I used yarn (Cascade 220) from my stash. Only three skeins, but still it's something. The pattern is from Interweave Knits Holiday 2008. Clever construction, each hexagon is knitted from the outside edges to the center and then the next one is attached by picking up stitches. No sewing was involved.

Love It, (or) Leaf It

That's the name of this pattern (without the or) from the summer issue of Knit.1. and I think I will leaf it or rather leave it. I should have known better after reading of other knitters having problems with the hat being too large. But I picked out some bamboo yarn from my stash and knitted away, even using smaller needles to adjust for the size. It looks good and feels very soft, but unless I find someone with a very large head (about 24"), I going to rip this out and knit something else!

If It Looks Like a Duck

And the knitting pattern said it was a duck, then it must be a duck. I checked the book Knitted Toys by Fiona McTague out from the library. I thought the duck was cute, and I had yarn in my stash that would work. Of course I didn't follow the instructions exactly because I wanted to avoid sewing seams. That made it much more difficult than the skill level 1 assigned to the pattern. The only sewing involved was in attaching the arms. A knitting challenge!

A Little Shawl

The pattern is called Little Arrowhead Shawl. This was a fast knit. The yarn started out as the Branching Out scarf, which I ripped out to make this shawlette. It wasn't hard, but I did have to watch out that I didn't forget my yarn overs.

The model is my armless mannequin. I had to drag it out in the backyard to get better light.
And I did have to avoid the gopher holes.

Which One is Cuter?

Gopher

or

Hedgehog

What do you think? A lawn wrecking gopher, or a soft hedgehog knit and felted out of wool? OK, I think my hedgehog is cuter. He didn't take long to knit, though I started him last year. He was left unfinished in a bag until I found the right kind of yarn to complete the project. The eyes and nose are needle felted. Unstuffed, he makes a fun puppet.
The gopher took up residence in my back yard last week, digging his way across the lawn. He kindly posed for this picture in the middle of digging a hole. I'm hoping he will find my neighbor's lawn tastier.

Random Photos

Favorite Sign

Butterfly on Avocado Leaf

Epiphyllum

Angora Bunny

Bag and a Half

One pattern, two bags. The smaller one is half the size and knit with half the stitches. It measures about eight inches square. I finally used up my never ending brown yarn. Recognize it from the Pinwheel pillow? I don't know what ever possessed me to buy this yarn in the first place. I think that I had some crazy idea it would look good as a sweater. It works fine for a bag, though.

Photo Shoot

Yellow Spiral Hat

Lavender Sweater

Pink Sweater

Warm and Cozy

Magic Mitts.

Weavers Wool Mini Shawl

Pinwheel Pillow

My three latest projects. My hands were getting cold while working on the computer so I knit these fingerless mittens in one evening. Knit of Patons SWS, a wool and soy blend. I never could figure out how they could spin soy into yarn. Easy pattern called Magic Mitts.

The shawl is to keep my shoulders warm. This took a little longer to knit, but was not hard. I used four skeins of Bernat Cashmere, which by the way only has a teeny bit of cashmere and is mostly acrylic.

The Pinwheel pillow is a pattern from Knitscene magazine. I used a chunky brown acrylic from my stash. I did think about stuffing it with yarn, but I used polyester stuffing instead.
Three projects to make me more comfortable.

Red and Pink

Two cute baby sweaters, just the right colors for Valentine's Day. Both have a hood. The pink one I knit for a friend's new granddaughter in Virginia. Knit seamless from the top down in an acrylic wool blend. I hope to get it sent to her before she grows out of it.
The red one is knit seamless from the bottom up, from Amore yarn, soft and washable. The pattern from Lion Brand. Notice the wolf? It kind of reminded me of little red riding hood.

Malabrigo Hat

I bought a single skein of Malabrigo Chunky yarn for this hat while I was in Northern California over the Thanksgiving Holiday. It's a brand of yarn knitters all over the country rave about and is hard to find in the southern part of the state. The pattern is one I have knit several times before. A simple yarn over, knit 2 together on 66 stitches using #10 needles makes a swirl design. Finished size about 21", and yarn left over , too!

2009 Off to a Slow Start

New Year's Day was spent in the sleepy village of Idyllwild, where we celebrated Christmas with family. So it only makes sense that I'm at least a week behind if not more.


My resolutions for this year are the same as last year. Reduce my stash! Finish my UFO's! (UnFinished Objects)
This is my first finished UFO of the year, a felted grocery bag. I don't know what ever possessed me to knit this. I have plenty of reusable grocery bags, and the Trader Joe's guys always comment on them. It did use a lot of yarn.