Knitting needle case

Wow, I can't believe I haven't posted in two weeks...oopsie! I didn't mean to have such a long absence, but I made a hat that just took off and ended up with bunches of orders to fill. So I took a bit of a hat hiatus, but I'm back now!

My recent foray into hats led me to purchase a new set of double-pointed knitting needles, which came in a boring box...so a new case was needed! I made this pretty simple rolled case, kinda making it up as I went along.


I'm still not much of a sewer, but I am getting more acquainted and comfortable with my machine, slowly but surely! I want to make at least two more cases - one for my interchangeable needle set, and another for my crochet hooks.

Valentines wreaths

I just can't get enough of Valentines projects, it seems. I had a major craft fail with my first attempt at a wreath for my front door...I flunked making crepe paper roses! I had to come up with something else because I didn't want a bare front door, and this is it.

Some time after Halloween I got an idea for knitted wreaths, and went to our local thrift store to get some picture frames to as the base. They were so happy someone was buying the empty frames, they let me take all I wanted for only $2! Needless to say, I bought A LOT of frames. For this one, I attached one-inch foam with hot glue to make it a bit thicker and softer. Then I cut some gingham fabric I already had into strips, and wrapped it around the frame. I used felt and embroidery floss for the banner - cutting the pennants and letters by hand, then sewing around each one just to make it look more finished. It's hung with a piece of red velvet ribbon I had lying around, which I attached to the back of the frame with the staple gun.

After this one was done, I fell in love with a Valentines wreath I found on Pinterest and decided I had to make that one, too. It incorporates so many of my loves: gray, hearts, yarn, and argyle.

I found the instructions here. Wrapping the wreath form with the yarn is time consuming, but I just sat down in front of the TV and watched the news, so it didn't seem so bad. I didn't use any hot glue for the yarn part at all, I just tied it in a knot at the beginning and end, and it seemed secure enough to me. I did hot glue the felt hearts on, but again didn't use any glue on the yarn crosses, just tied them together. I tied a bit of extra yarn onto the back to hang it from, and voila! It now lives on the closet door in our living room.

Faster than a speeding crochet hook!

I can't believe I finished this afghan in two weeks...and a distracted two weeks, at that! I did quite a few hats and at least one cowl and one mitten (I really should make the other one soon) while this was in the works. I dreaded sewing in all those ends...17 colors, with four stripes of each color, equals about a zillion little ends! I sat down this morning determined to finish it, though, and it took just over an hour. I'm so glad it's done! Averie and I have both spent time snuggling with it already. I wish I could get a better picture, but it's overcast today so lighting is less than optimum. The colors are vibrant and gorgeous, and they make me happy!

Earflap hat

I've been wanting to make an earflap hat for quite awhile, but never could settle on a pattern, so I made one up off the top of my head Saturday night and it actually worked! It's worked in the round down to the flaps, which are done back and forth, all in half double crochet. I threaded lots of yarn through the ends of the flaps and braided it together, then finished it off with a fun pompom on the top, all done in the same gray/cream tweed wool yarn.

Crochet cowl and Terzetto hat

The Terzetto was my first ever knit hat, and it turned out great! I found the free pattern at Goodknits. We made a trip out to Hardware Ranch Sunday, and I decided I also needed a new cowl to wear with it - even though it didn't end up nearly as cold as we expected.

The cowl was a really quick crochet I whipped up in a day. It's two strands of worsted weight yarn held together, worked in a loop, doing half double crochets through the back loops only. Easy peasy! It's long enough to wear double like I did, but you could also just let it hang long.

A close-up of the Terzetto, which has a fun triangle pattern. If I did it again, I'd make the ribbed brim a bit longer - but it's great just the way it is. I was inspired to try a knit hat thanks to Luvinthemommyhood's winter knit along, which you can find on her blog here, or here if you're a Ravelry member.