WoolEase Cup Cozies

Lately we've been having very warm weekdays and drizzle or rain on Saturdays. It's been quite the adventure showing off projects for prospective customers without getting us or the goods wet. Almost as important has been trying to keep my mocha warm. Finally I remembered these cozies and found my directions here on the blog. They're crocheted with 2 strands of woolease. That makes them stiff enough to be able to insert a full cup without spilling and thick enough to protect the fingers. The wool part of the yarn keeps the drink warm and they are washable. My original pattern was 13 rows because I was buying ventes. These cozies are 10 rows so they work on smaller cups.

More Tams

I'm still crocheting tams. These first two were made with Sensations Rainbow Classic Pattern yarn from JoAnn's. The color is Green Rainbow Classic and it is self-striping. The yarn is very soft.






Just beginning from a different place in the yarn gives a whole new look to the hat.









This tam was made with Sensations Rainbow Boucle Multi (also from JoAnn's) and the color is Black Rainbow Boucle Multi. It is also extremely soft.







Here's my variation of the basic tam again. This hat was crocheted from Homespun Regency with a blue yarn as the contrast.








And this one was made with Homespun Harvest with yellow for the contrast. It was very exciting to see how the Homespun created rings of different colors.







If anyone wants to know how to make this variation, let me know.

Tams

After all of the cotton projects this summer, I'm ready for something different. This is a Tofu Cutie's basic tam made with Tudor Homespun. This hat was made according to the pattern but with an I hook.









The Mediterranean Homespun used on this hat seemed a little blah so I dressed it up with a contrasting color and some stitch variations.

Sock Summit

Living in Portland and being a sock knitter, I just had to attend the recent Sock Summit. I was lucky enough to get a class (one out of the six I wanted) and really enjoyed it. People I saw and met were very friendly. Most people, when observed sitting around resting or eating, were knitting.








I saw Stephanie (the Yarn Harlot) a few times and even got a picture with her (taken on a cell phone so don't try to enlarge it). This was taken on Registration Day before everything got nuts with knitters.




And I was able to attend the book signing and have her sign my copy of Knitting Rules. She was very relaxed and friendly. The woman ahead of me brought in a dishcloth of South Dakota, which Stephanie didn't have. She was very excited and willing to pose for a picture. She even suggested a second shot because she could tell her expression wasn't good on the first one. This was during the first 15 minutes. I read on Ravelry that later on she was so tired she wasn't sure what she was writing.



The Market Place was amazing and fun to visit but definitely overwhelming. Lots of gorgeous colors and socks on display and all kinds of patterns and tools and accessories available for purchase.

Fancier Summer Hats

These two hats are my basic bucket hat with a white band containing coordinating beads.

And this hat has a simple chain at the top with beads that match the hat. The colors remind me of sherbet.

This is the Textured Child's Spiral Hat with an added brim. It's very eye-catching with colorful yarn and the contrasting spiral.

Two New Cozies

My newest product at the Farmer's Market was a real hit. This is a Chapstick/Lip Balm Holder. It has a keychain ring attached and holds a lip balm. I took 4 of them today and sold 5.




Last week a lady asked me to make cozies for the handles on her refrigerator, microwave, and dishwasher. Her appliances are stainless steel and she was tired of cleaning up the handprints left by her husband and son.




Here is one of them. It is long enough for a man's hand.













And here it is on my refrigerator door. It's not something I would have thought of but I think it will do the job.

Masa Bag

While looking for simple purses to make for the Farmer's Market, I came across this bag. It's called the Masa Bag. The pattern is written for a full-size bag for an adult. My version, for a child or teen, is smaller and takes about 1 skein of Sugar 'n Cream.









The bag is a simple crocheted rectangle and the fun comes when you fold it into the bag. This second bag was made of 4 colors to give an idea of how it's folded.

Red, White and Blue

Since we're nearing the 4th of July, I've been working on appropriate hats. (The funny shape is due to the ceramic bird underneath the hats.)

My personal challenge has been to make each hat different from the others.

I'm liking the addition of stripes.

Sizes range from toddler to youth to adult.

The unusual settings are thanks to my neighbor Carol. She has an amazing assortment of things in her garden.

WWKIP Day

A customer at the Farmer's Market challenged me to make a hat with a smiley face. I found the smiley pattern and then made a minor adjustment to my usual hat pattern.






These small purses were my new additions last Saturday. One small girl lit up when her mom handed her the middle one with the purple flap. I started the day with four and sold four so it looks like I need to make more. It's a great way to use up yarn left from my cotton hats.





A week ago I started Caroline on a purse using the blue loom. She had 3 inches completed when the market ended. She continued knitting on the purse at home until it was 6-1/2 inches long. On Saturday she learned how to remove it from the loom and sew up the bottom. Then she learned how to do an i-cord and made her handle. I chained a loop for the closure and sewed on the beads she chose and her purse was done!






Here are Nan and me and Caroline showing off our work on World Wide Knit in Public Day. Nan is making golf club covers, I'm working on a small purse, and Caroline is wearing one of my hats and holding her purse.

Market Friends

A couple of weeks ago, we saw
Hannah (10) and Caroline (5) handing out samples of fresh-roasted nuts for their parents. Nan talked them into wearing my hats and sending people to our booth. They were so helpful and friendly we invited them to come over for a looming lesson when they got a break. We all had a great time looming and chatting.



After thinking about how the hats bulged around their ponytails, I made a modification to leave an opening. Hannah was busy last week but Caroline graciously agreed to model another hat for me.











Caroline had gotten a green loom so she could make something for herself. Here, Nan cast on a project for her.









Caroline worked very diligently on her project. She wanted something she could finish during the Market so we settled on a headband. She knit 8 rows and I took it off the loom for her.










We let the headband roll and attached a flower I made. She was justifiably proud of her accomplishment and happy to model it for the camera.

My hats are selling well. Seven-year-old Elizabeth bought one a couple of weeks ago and came back to get more colors. She chose a green hat but kept eyeing the red, white and blue self-striping hat I was working on. She finally asked how long before it was finished. On hearing it would only be a few minutes, she sat with us and bought it also.

Nan has a couple of returning customers (elementary and middle-school ages) who have each bought 2 hats and are anxious to buy more. The older boy asked her for a rainbow hat with fun fur and dreadlocks. She came up with some great hats for him (pictured on her blog). They didn't make it last week but the hats are ready. Last week she taught the lady in the booth next to us how to loom-knit. They both worked on a hat during the Market, then Nan did some more at home. Next week she'll show the woman how to take the hat off the loom.

Summer Hats

Our local farmer's market opened a couple of weeks ago. Nan got a table and drafted me to help supply projects. She wanted to see if her loomed acrylic hats would sell. We were excited when 6 of them did. Of course, we can't expect people to go on buying warm hats as summer comes, so we've both been busy coming up with other items. I decided to try crocheting cotton hats. It wasn't hard to find some great ideas on Ravelry.


This hat and the two in the next picture are from the pattern Gulf Shores. If you haven't been to this site, there are lots and lots of good patterns.
















Then this Crochet Rolled Brim Hat caught my eye. On this first hat, I actually followed the pattern. But then, as you can see, I began improvising. All were fun to make; here's hoping customers like them!

And still more hats

Playing with designs on this loomed hat.

I found this yarn last year and finally tried it on the green loom. The color is Peruvian Print by Red Heart. The yarn forms the patterns as it is knitted. Nan made a hat with it on the red loom that looks completely different.

Nan came up with this variation for the brim. It's done in garter stitch with 2 colors used in alternating rows.

This hat is needle-knit. The pattern is a variation of Candy Dots, found in the book Kids' Knitted Hats. I used size 9 needles and more stitches to make the hat larger.

And this pattern was found on Techknitting.com. The entry is called Gaugeless, guaranteed-to-fit MAGIC LOOP SKI HAT with a TKIO. My hat was done with size 11 circular needles and doubled yarn. It was fun to try something so different. Even though the hat folds flat, when it is on a head it looks like a regular round hat.