Gretel hats

I am addicted to knitting and crochet blogs, which is why my project to-do list is never-ending. When I saw this post, I fell in love and immediately purchased the pattern. I've bought a few of her patterns, and they've all been great - her designs are so cute, and the patterns are easy to follow. I had the pink and brown hat pictured in my head and couldn't wait to make it for my baby niece. The rust/off-white combo is for Averie...I had grand plans for Christmas card photos that fell through, but it's so cute with the outfit I got her that I may need to get her all dressed up and take her pictures anyway!

Basket weave accent pillow

Knit pillows are all the rage in the home decor world right now. This knit pillow was another of my mother-in-law's Christmas gifts. They recently remodeled their kitchen, including a built-in seating area. As soon as she showed me the fabric she chose for the cushions, I wanted to make her some accent pillows to go with it. This is knit in a super chunky yarn using a knit-purl basket weave stitch pattern. It makes for a squishy, huggable, plush pillow!

Long stockinette cowl

This cowl was one of my mother-in-law's Christmas gifts. When I saw the yarn in the store, I immediately thought of her...but later dragged my hubby in to confirm that it was the right one before I bought it! I knew I wanted to make her a cowl (she'dmentioned wanting one more than once), and after finding this yarn I decided to keep it simple to showcase the beautiful colors. I love the versatility of such a long cowl - it can be worn long like a scarf, wrapped double to be nice and bulky around the neck, over the head like a hood, or wrapped around the shoulders.

Fuzzy buttoned cowl

I apologize for the bad picture...I dream of some day having a nicer photography setup, but for now I do what I can. This simple cowl is for my grandma for Christmas. It's a nice thick, fuzzy yarn, knit in garter stitch and then sewn together. The buttons are just there for looks, but I like what they add.

Pink garter stitch Moebius cowl

I made this cowl for myself in October to wear to the Utah Grizzlies' "Pink in the Rink" game, which they hold every year to raise money for breast cancer research. They wear fun pink jerseys that they auction off after the game, fans are encouraged to wear pink, and usually the ice is pink...but it wasn't this year, which was disappointing because that's part of the fun of the game! Anyway, this picture doesn't do the cowl justice. It's really cute on, but I just wasn't up to taking pictures of myself this evening sans makeup and decent hair.

It's knit all in garter stitch, which makes it super easy. Then when sewing the two short ends together, I gave it a half twist to make it a Moebius - remember those paper strips with just one side? Kinda cool in a geeky way.

And since I had yarn leftover, I whipped up these easy wrist warmers to match. They're super easy: Just knit a rectangle in garter stitch with 2x2 rib on either end, and leave a hole for your thumb when you seam it up the side.

Buttoned up cowl

Anyone sick of cowls yet? Not me, obviously! This one was inspired by a cowl I saw in a catalog for a local clothing store. It's hard to see in the picture, but it buttons partway up the side and then folds over. I love when a project comes off my needles looking just like I pictured it in my head!

Ear warmer headbands

These are just a few of the many headbands I've made in the past few months...they're addictive! Two of these are for me (the cream and rust), the green one is for my mom, and the pink one is for my niece. I've made many more, but I usually forget to take pictures before I give them away!

Diamond lace scarves

I recently ordered this book from Amazon, and this was the first new stitch I tried (#168 if anyone has the book and is curious). The stitch patterns don't have names, so I've named this one diamond lace because that's what it looks like to me. I made the gray scarf for myself and have received so many compliments on it...which is always nice when you're wearing something you made yourself! Another bonus, these scarves are SO fast to crochet. I made two last night, start to finish, while watching TV! My sister-in-law ordered three of these to give as Christmas gifts...my first official custom order and sale.

Crochet snowflake tees

After seeing this tutorial, I ran right out to buy the sparkly yarn and crocheted the first two snowflakes that same night! They work up really quickly and turn out so cute. I love how they're kinda fluffy. Now Averie and her cousins Aurora and Melody will all have cute matchy-matchy snowflake tees, and I can't wait to take pics of them together.

Basket weave baby afghan

This afghan was a long time in the making...and then I gave it without even taking a picture! Thank goodness it stayed in the family. This was made using a simple knit-purl basket weave stitch pattern. I then crocheted a ruffled border and added a few crocheted flowers to make it girly once I found out I was getting a niece.