Current Project: Stitch N' Bitch Fingerless Gloves 2

I am still determined to finish my fingerless gloves this weekend. Thankfully, it has gotten warm enough that I won’t be wearing them for a year. However, I refuse to leave the project incomplete. With any luck, the plan is to go to the movies, buy a couple more movies, and then spend the rest of, what is supposed to be, a rainy day wrapping up this project and starting my next sweater! If it is not raining, the yarn may have to wait till after a trip to the park.

Best Day Ever!

Today, I left work to get a snack and was met with a surprisingly warm afternoon. So, instead of taken a left and going to the corner store, I crossed the street to prolong my sunny walk. About a half a block from my detour, I discovered a store window showcasing yarn supplies and thought I should take a peak inside. Turns out, there is a craft store, Purlchet, right near my office. Perfect! Now I can pick up supplies on my lunch hour (and, if I ever take a full hour, maybe get in some purlcheting too).

Of course, I can’t make it out of a craft store without a pattern book catching my eye, and, in this case, without the proprietor convincing me to buy the supplies. So it looks like the Prima, Debbie Bliss, Cruz Tennis Sweater is next. (check it out here: http://www.debbieblissonline.com/Book.asp?bid=44).

I am really excited for this project. It is going to be my most challenging project to date, but I know, WHEN I complete it, it will be soooooo satisfying. I am so excited to start this project that I have vowed to finish my current project by the end of the weekend.

Here goes!

Knitting is back in a big way!

These are the slippers that my mom made me for Christmas and Valentine’s Day. My love of yarn craft inspired Mom to reclaim her childhood skill and pick up her needles. According to her it was super easy and she remembered the pattern pretty much right away. (I will try and get the pattern later). Knitting is back in a big way!

Scarves for Every Outfit

Scarves! Scarves! Scarves! Clearly the simplest of all knits, the scarf is an easy project that is both fast and easy to spice up. Three simple choices go into making your very own scarf pattern.

Pick a YARN: The color and texture of yarn can make a big difference in how a scarf looks. Picking yarn with a built in pattern can make any scarf look more complicated without increasing the difficulty of the pattern.

Pick DIMENSIONS: Skinny scarf? Long scarf? Thick scarf? Changing the dimensions of a scarf can lead to very different looks. I like having a few extra skinny-extra long scarves and a few thick and fluffy scarves.

Pick a PATTERN: You can decide to simply knit; alternate knit/pearl; or create a ribbed effect by knitting 2 (or another number) and then pearling 2 (or another number) every row. There are other ways to create your own scarf pattern, but these are options for people at any skill level.

Scarves are so easy you’ll have a dozen before you know it. And, like me, your favorite part of winter will be how often people compliment your scarves and you get to proudly answer “I made it.”

These scarves were all made with textured or patterned yarns by either knitting or knit/pearling.

Funky Knits

An easy way to make a traditional (read stodgy, or old) patterns stylish and contemporary is to change up the color pattern. Take something traditional and knit/crochet it in bright color! Turn something neutral into something neon and unexpected. A change in color can make even this dinosaur look chic.

Crocheted using a pattern from the Happy Hooker