Haircut Cowl

  I got 10 inches cut off my hair back in January. My neck felt kind of cold after that. I know, I should have probably waited for warmer weather, but I was inspired by two of my sisters and a niece who gave their hair for cancer victims. I was kind of sick of my hair anyway, and so I went for it.

I bought the yarn for this cowl back in April of 2013, so it was time for it to get made. The pattern is called 'A Very Braidy Cowl' and is available as a free Ravelry download. I made one for one of my sisters a few years ago.

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The yarn I used is Debbie Bliss Cash Merino Aran in Mustard. I ordered it online from Webbs. It is nice, soft, and warm.

I think my little Miss M. is planning on borrowing it when she can.

I'll be back with more to share soon.

Herbology Socks

 Last year I bought myself 'The Unofficial Harry Potter Knits' magazine from Interweave. This is the first of the projects from it I have completed. It won't be the last! I love all things Harry Potter, and the knits in this magazine are beautiful.

These socks were designed by Rachel Coopey. You can read her blog here. Her sock designs are amazing! There are two more of her sock patterns in the magazine that I will be trying out in the future. These are the 'Herbology Socks'. They have tiny, little, cables and lace. On the first sock I messed up a few of the cables and didn't realize until I was quite far along. At which point, I decided not to fix the mistakes. The second sock appears to be perfect, but don't look too close. The yarn I used came from a yarn swap, but didn't have a label. I believe it is 'Knit Picks Imagination', that has sadly been discontinued. I used this yarn for my 'Hermione's Everyday Socks', and I really like it.

 I love how they turned out. I'm sure they will get a lot of wear this winter. I've got a couple of other finished projects to share with you soon, I just haven't photographed them yet. See you soon.

Everything since The Witch

 I haven't knit anything for the past few weeks, but when I look back at everything I made in December and January, I realize I got a bit burnt out. Take a look at it all and you understand why I've been taking a break.

Three fun, and bright bibs for a baby boy. The pattern is available here for free. They were knit using dishcloth cotton from my stash.

My little Miss M. wanted a purple beret for Christmas. I finished that on time, and the coordinating scarf came a few days later. Both free patterns, just follow the links if you're interested. They were both knit in Lion Brand Wool-Ease.

 Another baby, this time a girl. I thought this cardi was quite feminine even though the pattern is called Baby Boy 5-Hour Sweater. It's available as a free Ravelry download. It's made in Knit Picks Swish Bare. I enjoyed shopping for the buttons at a local thrift shop. While I was there I got chatting with a woman whose daughter in law, like me, is from Bournemouth. What are the chances of that !?!

This baby girl hat drove me a little crazy. It was supposed to have little bear paw mitts to go with it, but I only finished the hat the morning of the baby shower, so the mitts never happened. The pattern is here for free if you are interested. It's not the greatest pattern, though it is cute.

I decided I needed a new hat for me. It's been a long and snowy winter here. I've had to dig out my driveway more times than I can remember. This hat keeps my ears nice and warm. I've used this pattern before for a friend. It's called Hinagiku Hat. It's a free Ravelry download. My friend posted a picture on facebook in which she is wearing hers, and I decided I really wanted one for myself. I knit with HiKoo yarn that was given to me at a yarn swap. I love the colour.

Well, I need to get my motivation back, since birthdays are looming, and there are a couple of really important ones this year. I'll be back soon.

The handmade part's of Halloween 2013

 For this years Halloween, and knit up just a few accessories to complete our costumes.

Little Miss. I. was little pirate. I made her hat from this free pattern. It was fun to knit. It was supposed to have a knitted eye patch with it, but I just used one we already had. She made a great pirate, don't you think?

Mr. M. was a stealth ninja. I knit him his balaclava. The pattern is available as a free Ravelry download. I wasn't paying enough attention while I was knitting this one, so it turned out less than perfect, but my boy loves it. He's been wearing it to the bus stop on those colder mornings we've had.

I had the tiniest accessory of all. Just my little red bowtie for my Mary Poppins costume. It's another free download on Ravelry.

Every thing was made using Lion Brand Wool-ease yarn. It just goes to show, a little can go a long way. I hope you all had a fun Halloween. It's such a fun celebration.

Mission Colour Affection Complete!

 I get to share pictures of my completed Colour Affection with you today. I've been working on it for about two months. The pattern is available to buy here. I knit it up in Cascade Yarn Heritage in shades of Charcoal, Lemon and Snow.

I thought this shawl would take me at least three months to knit, so it was a pleasant surprise to get it done in in two. I have shared a couple of progress pictures with before, but just in case you missed them, here they are again.

When I first bound off, it was way too tight, so I had to unpick it and try again. I had never done a super stretchy bind off before, and it's clear to me I need practice. So although this shawl is not perfect, I still really love it. Best of all, it's for me!

Hermione's Everyday Socks

 These are what I worked on for most of June. Socks always take me a while, but I love handmade socks so much, so they are totally worth it. These are for me, and I'm looking forward to wearing them once the weather cools down again. The pattern is available as a free Ravelry download. The yarn is Knit Picks Imagination Hand Painted Sock Yarn in the Wild West colourway.

I started the heel on the first sock and did not really like it. I picked it back and re-knit it using the pattern from the Susan B. Anderson's socks. I also followed her pattern for the toe.

I love the way this yarn looks with the texture created by this simple pattern. I feel sure I will use it again.

Tomorrow I'm off to visit family in Utah for a couple of weeks. I'll have something fun to share with you when I get back, and of course I will be taking a project along with me to work on when I have a chance. I just hope I won't have any problems taking my knitting on the plane with me.