Basic Ribbed Hat

Today, I'm knitting a basic ribbed hat. This will fit teens to adults and it has incredible stretch for warmth and comfort. Scroll down for the link to the PDF file.

US13 DPNs
Wool-Ease Thick & Quick from Lion Brand Yarn

Cast on 48 stitches and K2, P2 around until the piece is 8-10 inches deep - this will allow you to choose the amount of 'slouch' you'd like.

For the decrease rounds:

K2tog, P2tog around (you will have 24 stitches at the end of this round)

K1, P1 around

K2tog around (you will have 12 stitches at the end of this round)

Pull yarn through to close.

Click here for the Ravelry link and PDF file. If you make one, email me a photo to be featured here...I'd love to see it!

These Days Are Golden

They really have been! Just yesterday, I was at the lake with my son Kevin and we enjoyed walking around, absorbing the beautiful Autumn colors. This is our "peak week" and it seems as if each leaf is a different color. To me, it's so important to get out and experience the seasons and all they bring with them before they pass you by. Too many people tend to complain their way through these spectacular days.

The gardens here have been cleaned up and readied for the cooler weather but inside, I've found myself baking cookies, cakes and biscuits. Lots of small things for the guys to snack on or bring along with them for the cooler days. I baked an apple spice cake last night but they finished it before I could snap a photo to share with you.

 

We've Been Featured!

Tex has been featured on the awesome ionlylikemonsters site! A big thanks to the j-monster for adding him. Tex is letting it get to his head a bit. We've been a fan of this site for a while and it's a huge compliment to be included with such fantastic creations.

How to Reseed Your Sunflowers!

This is how my sunflowers keep coming back each year. As I clip the spent flowers, I place them at the base. The bees are still happy and my flowers keep growing:

Jarmafali

Deep in the Atlantic Ocean is the island of Jarmafali. The creatures who inhabit the island live a rich life full of dancing, friends and the freshest berries. Depending on which berries a native of Jarmafali eats, their colors or shapes may vary. 

 

These measure between 6-8 inches and they're perfect for little hands to carry, hold and play with. There are some currently in the shop.

Tiny Chickens Tail Add-On

I recently found Anna Hrachovec's pattern for Tiny Chickens and they've been so fast and fun to knit up. Some of you who recently received orders may have found one. 

In making these little cuties, I've come up with a quick add-on tail for them. You can easily use different colors and skip the comb at the top of their head to have the look of many other birds. Below is my version of a pigeon, made using this very pattern. 

The add-on tail is very simple: 

Flip the chicken upside-down and with color 1, pick up and knit 3 stitches on the bottom center of the body, just where a tail would be. 

Row 1: Purl

Row 2: KFB, K1, KFB

Row 3: Bind off

Break yarn and weave in ends.

When you're finished, it should look something like this. Happy knitting!

"Magic" Crayons

I'm enjoying the day babysitting for my twin nieces and their older brother Alex. He and I enjoy learning new crafts together so, while his sisters napped, we made "Magic" Crayons. 

It's a quick and easy kids' craft: Take the ugly, broken crayons from your collection, remove their paper wrappers, break into smaller pieces and place inside a muffin tin. You can do each one multiple colors or solid colors. Bake in a preheated 275°F oven for about ten minutes or until they're melted. Once cooled, they should pop out.

Alex was enjoying seeing them melt through the oven window and this is a great way to teach children how to recycle and re-use old, broken objects. 

This post was inspired by a post seen on Instagram. If you're on there say hello and please feel free to post if you've tried this craft. 

The Bee Keeper's Quilt

I've done it! I've finally started The Bee Keeper's Quilt. It's been in my queue for far too long and I was inspired by Thea at Ladybug Hill Farm. The photos from her instagram feed were wonderful. 

It consists entirely of 3 inch "hexipuffs" made from sock wool. It's pretty difficult not to quickly become addicted to these squishy hexagons. This is all I've finished so far, having just started yesterday. These make for a perfect small traveling project as they take up very little space in a purse or bag and knit up very quickly.

They are a great way to use up some of those tiny bits of wool from other projects. You know you have some of those pretty little scraps wound up in your stash, come on. This quilt is going to take some time and I'm looking forward to creating some custom hexipuffs to make my quilt very personal. 

Have you worked on this project? How far have you gotten? Are you in hexilove? I am!

Slithery!

Captured on a snowy morning in the suburbs, Slithery enjoys hiding under the bed and guarding the laundry. They say you can tell their age by the number of stripes. He is fun for children of any age. More photos here.

Happy 2013! I've officially become one of those bloggers who doesn't really update often enough. The truth is I was a bit overwhelmed with the holiday season and I'm happy it's a fresh year, a new beginning. 

I've been busily working on some new designs and some new monsters too! So many monsters are in the works and some have been added to the online shop too. It's been fun to run wild with new ideas and refocus where I'd like to take this little business.

 Wynter

The Little Ladies series is also available in the shop. These ladies were completely handmade by my lovely mother and I. We designed the dolls and created one-of-a-kind outfits and accessories for each one. No two are alike! Some have already been adopted. These were so much fun to do and it was so nice to work so closely with my mom. 

 Little Ladies