Fingerless Mitts

This pattern is from Isela's book, Loom Knitting Primer. It is an extremely easy and quick pattern to do, and the mitts are soft and warm.

Sassy Stripes 4

Another pair of socks are done. The legs are knitted in the Basic Chevron pattern from the book I Can't Believe I'm Knitting Socks. (Since buying the book, I've found several free chevron-type sock patterns on the web.)I bought this yarn for a friend. She thought it was too dull so I made them to fit my wider foot. One look was all it took to change her mind about them!

Loomed Hotpads

I wanted to loom a hotpad. Not a potholder, but the pad you put hot dishes on. I was thinking about something similar to the crocheted origami hotpad but I wanted to make it on a Knifty Knitter.

On my first attempt, I didn't cast on enough stitches. After knitting a flat panel square, I removed it from the loom and crocheted around the edges until it was 12 inches on each side. Then I folded all four corners to the center and stitched the edges together. Here's how it looks on each side.













On the second attempt, I cast on 24 stitches and knit until it was 12 inches on each side. This time I did one row of single crochet around it just to make the seaming easier. Then I finished it the same way as before.














Both hotpads are soft and thick.

Furry Hats

It's been really cold here lately so I've been making hats. This one is Caron's Allure combined with a matching worsted. The Allure has a soft, silky feel on both the inside and the outside. The hat was done with 5 rows of e-wrap followed by 2 rows of purl.

Fun Fur now comes in self-striping yarn. The hat on the left was done with 2 strands of that and 2 strands of worsted. It's a little stiff so I think I'll try just a single strand of worsted next time. Most of the fur was on the inside of the hat so I turned it inside out. Then I fluffed it with an old toothbrush. The hat was done on the green KK and the Fun Fur ran out with the top row of pink. I had to add some blue to complete the hat but it was worth it to see the hat so fluffy.

Sassy Stripes 3

My third pair of Sassy Stripe socks. These two aren't fraternal twins like the other socks were. They are made from different dye lots (purchased at different times and locations) so they're more like cousins. My feet don't care if they match and this yarn is great for practicing.

I love the Crazy Toes and Heels method. On these socks I tried a different pattern for the legs. It doesn't show much due to the stripes but I enjoyed learning it and plan to use it on other socks. This stitch design came from the Lace Top, Toe Up Regia Color Sock pattern found at http://www.woolandwood.freewebspace.com/lace_top_regia.htm .

Cabled Hat

Yarn Harlot had this free pattern posted on her blog. She called it the Unoriginal Hat. Her directions called for yarn I didn't have so I used 2 strands of ww yarn and changed the needle size to 10 -1/2. As you can see, it came out just a little long. The pattern was very easy to understand but I had to really pay attention to the cables for the first half of the hat. The hat stretches nicely.

Sassy Socks 2

A second pair of socks done with Sassy Stripes is done. Again, I used Queen Kahuna's toe up and short row heel methods. The cuffs of these socks are done in a K2 P2 pattern. Two rows were done and then the pattern was shifted over one stitch. If the sock is in the right light, you can see the slant in the ribbing.

Hats and Socks

My arm said it was time to take a break from looming so I've been crocheting lately. This is called the Chunky Brimmed Winter Hat. I had some variegated yarn in pretty fall colors I wanted to try and think it turned out nicely. The free pattern is located at http://www.yarnsandmusings.com/2007/01/chunky-brimmed-winter-hatchapeau.html .


Lion Brand published a book called Just Hats, Favorite Patterns to Knit and Crochet. It has basic hat patterns for both techniques as well as variations and more complicated patterns. This hat is called The Kiss and was as easy as the pattern promised. It's the first time I've used double point needles and they turned out to be quite manageable.

These socks have consumed much of my time lately. They are made of Moda Dea Sassy Stripes and were done on two circular needles. I used Queen Kahuna's methods for the cast-on, general directions for size, and short row heel (http://www.queenkahuna-creations.com/). I really like her technique. I've done other socks on circular needles but never quite got the sizing correct and hated the heelflap. The ribbing is a pattern of K2 P2 for 5 rows, then P2 K2 for 5 rows.

Fancy Fur Hat Brims

The Dollar Store near me had Fancy Fur. Here are a couple of the hats I made with it. The first hats had regular brims and a complementary color for the top. They were just okay. Then I made some with the same color as the fur and let the brims roll. I think these are much prettier.

Krystal's Afghan Project

Krystal makes afghans which are donated to charity. She has created this pattern and shares it freely. Her only requirement is that you agree to send her a completed square. Above are two of the squares I'm sending her. There are pictures on her blog of squares sent to her from all over the world and of some finished blankets. She has even started a Yahoo group to help people with the pattern. If you crochet, you might want to check it out at http://krochetkrystal.blogspot.com/ .

Row Counter

I saw a row counter similar to this on YouTube and decided to make one for myself. This one has 7 beads on it so I can use it while making mini socks and hat brims. I place the counter on the arm of the couch next to me. The Scottie bead at the top helps it to balance without falling off and the beads slide easily in either direction.

Mini Sock Bookmarks

Here's a good way to use the mini socks. I crocheted a chain 22 inches long, attached the sock to the center of the chain, and threaded the ends of the chain through a pony bead from opposite sides. The chain is long enough to fit around a large book. Pulling the ends of the chain snugs the pony bead up to the book so the bookmark keeps its place. By attaching a small metal ring to the sock and to the chain where the sock is attached, the sock hangs freely.