epic fail on my end, sorry guys

A couple months back I promised that today I’d have free Harry Potter house scarf patterns for you all, since today is Harry’s birthday (happy birthday, Harry!), but I haven’t finished the scarves.  I’m still on the first one, in fact:

Harry Potter knit scarf

I do apologize.  I’ll let you know when they’re up but to be honest they’ve kinda fallen on the back burner for the time being… I’ve got a big crochet project coming up, I just started a fancy lace knitted scarf, I’m trying to plan a wedding with my fiance and my mom, I’m trying to do more at work, and I’m doing supervision hours for my official SC counseling licensure, not to mention trying to still fit in a good amount of quality time with Chris.

In the mean time I do still have the crochet versions of both scarves from the HP films available for free here, if you’d like to check those out!

Again, my apologies.  I’ll get them up ASAP and give updates occasionally if it’s going to take a while.  Thanks for stopping by, and happy Harry’s birthday!

 

gentille #2: blocking!

Already!  Even though this is a fingering weight yarn this pattern seems to fly by!  I love it!  Here it is pre-wetting:

gentille cowl pre-blocking

I decided to block before grafting the edges together so that I can lay the whole thing flat without having multiple layers of fabric.

gentille blocking

The color is hard to get right seeing as how these photos were taken at night in a room with halogen lightbulbs (not to mention the yarn was wet).  It’s not quite this green, but you can see the lace pattern nicely here:

image

Someday I’ll do this in a solid color, but I love this KnitPicks yarn so much and it really looks neat; the colors pooled nicely like they did in my first Gentille cowl.  Once it’s dry and stitched up I’ll share the finished product!

Thanks for stopping by, that’s all for today!  See you soon!

gentille cowl #2: begin!

I love my first Gentille Cowl so much, I had to make another with another lovely yarn (in fact, the same yarn, just a different colorway)!  The pattern costs but it’s worth it.  I’ll probably make more of these in the future (I’d like to try one in a solid yarn, since it would define the lace better).

Gentille Cowl beginnings

I love these KnitPicks Hawthorne yarns.  Can’t wait to try the DK weight (or is it sport weight?  I can’t remember… well, I’ll be anxious to try it either way)!

Well that’s all for now, thanks for stopping  by!

garter stitch blanket: ta da!

Started in May of 2014, this blanket really seems to have been a long time in the making.  I am so, so pleased with how it turned out!

garter stitch blanket

 

Using KnitPicks’ Comfy Worsted yarn (75% Pima Cotton, 25% Acrylic), this stretchy, cozy, soft blanket measures about 42″ wide by 66″ high, perfect for a lap blanket or curling up in a chair (in particular the leather chair pictured).  I used 3 skeins of each of the 5 color blocks and 1 skein for the darker gray border:

garter stitch blanket border

 

It’s crocheted!  I thought after posting about the books that included both knitting and crocheting I would mix it up a bit and try something new, and I really like it.  I only wish I’d had enough yarn to go around a 3rd, 4th, or even 5th time, but I’d have to order more yarn and I’m so excited to be done after over a year that I can’t wait anymore!

The border is not nearly as stretchy as the body of the blanket, though, and I hope it doesn’t become a problem in the future.  It wouldn’t look very nice if the knitted portion expanded a great deal over time or in the wash and the crocheted border stubbornly remained the same size.  We shall see.

Now I’m all ready to go and start a knitted sweater, but I have a feeling my enthusiasm would not last the full time required by the project.  Crochet really is so much faster!

Well that’s all for today, thanks for stopping by!

what’s on the bookshelf? books with knitting & crochet

My mini-series of posts about crafting books is coming to a close.  My knitting books and my crocheting books are great, but I have a couple  left to share that actually have both in them (& more).

Hannah's Crafty Books

 

First up is a book called Freeform Style, and just by the name you can probably tell it’s very whimsical.

Freeform Style

 

I have not made anything from it yet, but some of the ideas and techniques are cool and can be applied to other items.  Who else kinda thinks the hat looks like octopus tentacles?  I really like the wrap she’s wearing, though, so that might be a nice pattern to make!  Here’s another example:

Freeform Style example

I do like the idea of using both knitting and crochet in the same piece.

This next one though, while it has knitting, crochet, and embroidery patterns, doesn’t really mix them together like that.  This is more of a traditional book that, while older, is a great resource.  It’s the Better Homes and Gardens Complete Book of Knitting Crochet & Embroidery.  My ex’s mom gave this to me and I’m really glad I still have it:

Knitting Crochet & Embroidery

 

It has samples of various techniques for all of these specific crafts, and it even has specific methods such as aran knitting:

Knitting Crochet & Embroidery example

Another specific method it demonstrates is filet crochet:

Knitting Crochet & Embroidery example

 

And then of course it has full patterns, too.  I really want to make this hat (I tried back when I first got it but was still too new to crochet to understand the slightly older way of writing patterns):

Knitting Crochet & Embroidery example

 

Well, that concludes my bookshelf tour (well, my knitting and crochet book section, at least)!  Hope you enjoyed it.  Thanks for stopping by, see you soon!