Chateau

I finally have done it!  I have successfully made myself a garment and I actually like how it looks on me.  I have made a few things in the past with bad results.
I had 6 skeins of Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in a bulky weight sitting and waiting to be used. The colour is Wallaby and this yarn is 100% wool.
I didn't need all 6 skeins, only used about 4.25 skeins.  The worst part about that is trying to find another project for the left over yarn!

Click here for the pattern

Chateau

Gaptastic Cowl and other Goodies

The famous Gaptastic Cowl.  This pattern was written by Jen Geigley(she has patterns on www.ravelry.com) after she saw a cowl at the GAP and knew she could make it.  She provided the pattern for all knitters and the rest was history.  It is one of the most popular patterns on the web and I am sure almost every single knitter out there has made it at least once.

I have made it a few times, but today I am posting the Cowl and a hat (Autumn) that I knitted for one of my BFF's for her birthday(isn't she beautiful!). Oh, I also improvised and knit up some matching mittens, they turned out very cute!

The yarn used was Lion Brand, Wool-Ease Thick & Quick in the colour Claret.  For the cowl I cast on 99sts and only knit for 9" since my friend is petite I didn't want the scarf to eat her up.

Orchid Cowl

I knit up this lovely cowl for a fantastic friend's Birthday.  Happy Birthday!!(it is today)

It was fun to knit and very satisfying, it flew off my needles.
The Orchid Cowl pattern was free.  I used Knit Picks Palete in fingering weight, Colour Blue. Palete is 100% Wool hand wash yarn. Not easy care, but well worth the effort for such a yarn.  I Love the Palete yarn, it comes in about 150 different colours, so your options are endless!

For the Love of Colour

Sadly, it is going to be that time of year again.  But I have to admit, I LOVE knitting winter items and just could not wait to get started.  

I knit up this cute little set for my daughter.  Original pattern is the Noro Striped Scarf.  I knitted the scarf and hat in Knit Picks Chroma Worsted in the colours Roller Skate and Natural.  There are 34 fantastic and fun colours to pick from.  The yarn is 70% wool(soft and squishy) and 40% nylon, which is great for holding the shape of the garment.

A Sweater - for Me?

Yes, I am finally doing it, knitting myself a sweater!

First I picked out a pattern, Blish by Berroco.  Then I picked out the yarn.  I am rather a frugal yarn buyer, but I love really nice yarn and I knew I would need a lot of yarn to make a sweater for myself.  I choose Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Tweed (80% wool, 20% Donegal Tweed), in Rabbit Heather .  I will post an update when I am done, with the finished sweater.

Happy Birthday - Tunic

A Gift for my Daughter's 7th Birthday

By far, this has been one of the nicest items I have made(so I think).  I dabbled in a little bead work as well for the first time and added beading to the neck line as I knitted.  I wanted to use very subtle beads, I didn't want anything to stick out and be too obvious.  So I used clear beads to give a little bit of sparkle to the top.

Yarn used was KnitPicks cotlin, which is a DK weight. Colours used were Flamingo and Swan.  This is a cotton/linen (70 /30) blend which is perfect for the summer months.  The original pattern is the Sydney Lace Dress.  I decided to make this project into a long tunic and for my daughter to wear it with a skirt of pants.

Teacher's Gifts!

One thing I love most about knitting, is knitting gifts for people.  I truly enjoy it and honestly hope the recipient likes the gift.  But if not, I am ok with that too.

End of school year is always busy, so I try to plan out my teacher gift giving early so I can get things done.
This year I wanted to try making some lace scarfs for a couple of teachers.  Here is my first ever lace scarf.  Made with 100% Merino Araucania Botany Lace made in Italy and in a very stunning orange colour.

I had fun making this chevron pattern as well as blocking the scarf to show off the pattern detail.  Here is the pattern if anyone is looking for it. Pearl-barred Scalloed Scarf  and it is free!