The Great Garter Head Hugger Knitting Recipe

I told you I'd post it, and so here it is:

This is knit using size 13 straight needles, but you could use circulars. I chose Lion Brand Hometown USA in Sante Fe Tweed, any super bulky yarn would work.

Cast on 6 stitches


Row 1-2: knit across

Row 3: knit 3, yo, knit to end, (this row has created your button hole)

Row 4-5: knit to end

Row 6-7: knit 2, m1 (use your preferred method of increase), knit to end

Row 8-12: knit to end

Row 13-14: repeat row 6

Row 15-18: knit across

Row 19-20: repeat row 6

Row 21-31: knit across

Row 32-33: knit 2, k2tog, knit to end

row 34-38: knit across

Row 39-40: knit 2, k2tog, knit across

Row 41-44: knit across

Row 45-46: Knit 2, K2tog, knit across

Row 47-49: knit across

Row 50: Cast off

Finishing: Attach a button to the headband at the cast-off end to use for securing the ends together.

Embellish with whatever, buttons, flowers, pins, leaves, or leave it plain...whatever!

Ravel it here!

I wanna see pictures, so please let me know where I can see your progress!

Finishes, and Baby Showers

I have an endless list of holiday knitting, but woke up this morning from a dream about knitting designs...

But that is for a later moment. For now, I need to update you on some finishes, some gifts I have been waiting to blog about until they were given, and some decent weather to photograph some of my finishes from last month.

So, here is all is!

We will start off with Fynn and his baby shower gifts. My friend Taylor is expecting her first child. She and her fiancee are a very non-orthodox couple. They requested that nothing be "typical baby". The nursery theme is pirates, and the baby shower was themed Jungle.

That got me thinking, every new parent I know has a blanket that they really like to put on their baby's crib or to wrap them up in when they are running about town with their little one. I wanted the blanket I made for them to be a representation of their personality as much as a gift for the baby.

Here you have it:

Yep, that is right, those are pirate skulls on a hand embroidered baby quilt...I wish I could have gotten better pics of that, but the pic I got of the skulls up close were a bit too blurry to save.

I also gave with this set, a handmade card (should have gotten pics of that too), as well as a granny square blanket crocheted out of Joann Sensations Rainbow Boucle in Blue (self striping) and a matching hat, as well as a couple of outfits, and I will be taking washcloths and burp cloths to her in the hospital when she has baby Fynn, I didn't finish making them before the shower.

Next, I have been trying to get some photos of some of the finishes I have done, the main one being the climbing shells scarf that I did over a month ago.

With school and the weather being so annoying, I couldn't get anything decent.

This was my first attempt:

Not so great, right?

How about this one?

I decided to try something, I decided to go into the bathroom, turned on the light, used the mirror to see my digital screen and used the auto setting on my camera... That way, your camera isnt fighting the light facing you, it is only using that light.

 Next thing I wanted to show... I have seen those adorable ear warmer headbands that have fun buttons or cute flowers offset to one side or the other, they wrap under your hair and cover your ears for those cold mornings, and frosty nights walking the dogs or heading to school.


Here is my rendition:  The Head-hugger!

Really simple garter stitch with big needles and super bulky yarn... I will post a recipe for this design in my next separate post...


You will also be able to find it on Ravlery. It is SUPER warm, and I got so many compliments today at school.

I am about half way through my diagonal garter baby blanket with eyelet border, but didn't get photos yet, and I think I might do another version of the Back-2-School with Flair scarf in Lion Brand Homespun, also, I may have found an adequate yarn replacement for the suggested, but discontinued Moda Dea Dream I used on the original for this pattern...

Pretty New Toys!

Yes it is! I just bought myself the Cricut Expression, now all those lovely ideas floating around in my head will have a method of being expressed.

My first REAL project was a challenge over at My Pink Stamper  where she has challenged her readers to create a "winter" themed card, scrapbook page, or gift.

Here is my submission

This was done on generic Walmart Cardstock, Colorbok brand. The JOY and the reindeer are done on Create A Critter. The JOY was done at 2.5 in, and the reindeer was done at 2 in. I added silver glitter in the snowflake of the O and I used a Bic Mark-it permanent marker to emphasis a shadow effect on the left side of the letters.

The inside is blank for personalization.

Let me know what you think!

Gifts to a dear friend

are always the best kind, and even more so when they are handmade.

My friend Kristi is expecting her first child, (and she says only child), on Halloween. She and I drifted apart through my attending college and her starting a family, but came back together during this joyous time in her life.

She is expecting a little girl, so I did what I do best...I started crafting!

 Here is the score:

 6 burp cloths, hand-sewn, 4 matching blanket, 2 accenting blanket

 1 sewn blanket at 45 in x 48 in, Flannel on 1 side, and quilted pink plaid on the other.

 1 store bought jumpsuit, and 1 handmade card...

1 Crochet granny square blanket in Sensations Boucle Pink

Of course, I forgot to take a photo of the card and the blanket in detail before I gifted it, but I might yet get pics of baby Lily wrapped up in it all.

Progress and plans...and some stuff about studying

This week, I have had too much to do and not enough time or energy to do it in.

Thursday, I started showing signs of a headcold.

Not to be put out of commission, I slammed a vitamin C pumped smoothie and went about my day...I worked through the discomfort and feelings of fire in my sinuses, and now I am without voice, or energy. I really should have taken the day off and slept...

Yesterday, I had a baby shower...the day before, I realized that the fabric I bought for the shower gift was still un-sewn and in it's original bag...whoops.

So I sewed like crazy through the baby blanket, fought with my sewing machine, and finally finished. I had a ton of extra fabric from the blanket, so I found my stash of terrycloth and made 4 matching and 2 coordinating burp cloths.

I would post pics, but my memory card reader has disappeared...

While I was in the next town over, I got an invite to another baby shower...on the same day as the one I am planning. So I have moved my friends shower 1 day back, and will be in the next few weeks, crafting for 2 showers at the same time.Starting with the Granny Square Blankie for Gavin

All of these crafty activities have forced me to put my own projects on hold, as least for a few weeks. I have been commissioned to make up a scarf and 2 hats for my neighbors grown son and his fiance. Those should be easy, once I get the motivation...

And in all of this, I have to remember that I am a college student and must keep up on my homework...speaking of, have you ever noticed that college professors get very jaded after a while...I was assigned an entrepreneur to research and write a report on, and it turns out she only did 1 thing worth reporting on...and I had to BS my way from a 2 paragraph paper to a 2 page paper...

I have put my Cropped Cardigan on hold for the moment being, simply because there is not enough time in the day to do it all...

Back-2-School with Flair Scarf - personal design

This is a wonderfully warm and fashionably acceptable scarf...for any occasion.

Great for beginners to work on increases, decreases, and double crochet.

More of a recipe than a pattern, but bear with me.

With a J hook,

Foundation: chain 38

(flair 1)
Row 1: dbl in 2nd chain from hook and in each chain across, chain 2 turn

Row 2-5: dbl in each stitch across, chain 2 turn

Row 6: dbl2tog in each across, chain 2 turn

Row 7: repeat row 6

(skinny)
Row 8-112 (as many as to row 125 for longer scarf): dbl in each stitch across, chain 2 turn

(flair 2)
Row 113: 2 dbl in each stitch across, chain 2 turn

row 114: repeat row 113

row 115-119: dbl in each stitch across, chain 2 turn

row 120: dbl in each across, bind off and weave in ends

Wear without anything, or make a scarf pin with a hair-tie and button. (I if you want a tutorial on this technique, just leave me a comment, and I'll put one together.)

Wanna track this project on your Ravlery? 

Fall is here...but I wasn't ready

Today, fall came. Just like that. Abrupt, sudden, and cold. A bit drizzly too.

Yesterday, I found some beautiful yarn I had stashed during culinary school, when I had no time to work on it, but I knew I wanted it for something. Then I stored it and forgot about it.

Mom and dad asked me to get my stuff out of their storage, and so I am slowly going through things. I found some unknown silk/bamboo blend in black and tan. I found 3 mixed skeins of Red Heart Light and Lofty in blue, turquoise and black. 2 skeins of eyelash yarn, and 2 wonderful balls of Moda Dea Dream Solid in Raspberry. I fell in love, and want more, so I just looked on ravlery and etsy to find as much as I can of this discontinued yarn. (if you have any you are willing to part with, I'd like to discuss a trade or purchase if able...)

Here is what it inspired me to make (remember the cold wetness of the day...) I started a scarf...a soft long fuzzy layering scarf.

This photo does not represent the color correctly.

Here is one of the photos from Ravlery of the yarn.

What do you think? Is the weather turning your hands busy with warm winter projects?