Pretty little hottie.

 This little hot water bottle cover was gifted to my sister, Mrs. W. for her birthday this year. The pattern is available here for free. I chose to make it striped, but I'm thinking of making another one with a cable down the middle. The yarn was in my stash and was perfect for it. I love the pretty colour variations on the contrast colour.

 I've got a few things knit up I can't share until December, so you probably won't see any posts on here until then. Right now I'm waiting for some yarn to arrive, and I'm feeling a little lost with nothing on my needles. I might have to just start something before my Christmas present yarn arrives. I don't think I'll get a lot knit for Christmas this year. I always have high hopes, but leave it too late. If my yarn doesn't arrive soon, there may be no hand made gifts this year. Shocking I know!

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!

Progress and prizes!

 I've been working away on my Colour Affection. Here are a couple of progress photos. It's going faster than I imagined, and I'm loving it more and more as I go along. It will definitely be finished before the cooler weather hits, though I think I could use it in some of the air conditioned buildings I have to spend time in now!

 I entered two items in my local fair this August and look I got two ribbons. Second prise for my Owls sweater.

 A third place for my Hermione everyday socks. I won a whopping eight dollars! Since it cost twenty five cents per item entered, I'd say that was a pretty good return. I saw lots of my friends items on display as well. All of which were beautiful. It feels good to know so many talented knitters who inspire me always. Now I'll go back to work my colour affection, which I think may just win a ribbon next year. What do you think ?

Pretty things

 I told you I'd be back with something pretty after my husbands weird beard hat. Well here it is. My third time making the Grrlfriend Market Bag. It's a great free pattern, for a great bag. This one was for my sister, Miss C. She had requested it for her birthday. The yarn is O-Wool Balance in the cinnabar colourway. I thought it looked like coral to me, which is one of Miss C's favorite colours right now. I'll have to make one of these for myself eventually.

 
Right now I'm working on a Colour Affection shawl for myself. This is what it looked like last week. I've gotten a little further on since then. I picked up the yarn for it while we were visiting family out in Utah from a great yarn shop called Knit Unique. If you are ever in Logan, I highly recommend the place.

I find knitting a great creative outlet and stress release. I think everyone needs a hobby like this to keep sane. This week I've really needed it. I already have a 'Keep Calm And Carry On' poster hanging in my house, but I've been thinking I need one of these too.

Weird Beard Knit.

 If you're my friend on Facebook or Ravelry, you will have already seen this hat/beard combo I made for my husband. A couple of days before his birthday my other half requested this. He never asks me to make him things, so I felt kind of obliged. It's about the silliest thing I've ever made. He saved it for a camping trip. We've been out west this past couple of weeks. He wanted to give his family a laugh.

The pattern is available as a free download on Ravelry. I'll warn you that it's not a great pattern. I wouldn't recommend it. There are a few other beard patterns out there that you should probably look at first. I had to restart this several times, and made quite a few adjustment to the pattern. I used Lion Brand wool-ease and held the yarn double and knit on US size 8 needles. It is really dense and therefore very warm.

 My husband thinks it's great. He even went to chase a grizzly bear while wearing it. He came back alive, so maybe it's good for scaring bears. I wouldn't suggest you test that theory though.

Just for a laugh I took a picture of me wearing it too. It's pretty ridiculous. I'll be back with something a little prettier soon.

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.