Let’s start by saying: this was supposed to be an ordinary granny square. Just one great big granny, worked from the middle outward. I had half-skeins of blue and white, remnants of other projects, so I planned to do blue and white stripes surrounded by a third color. (Originally the third color was going to […]
beginner
5 Quick & Easy Hats
Over the last few months I’ve been sharing the patterns for the hats I’ve made as Christmas gifts for family members, but I thought it might be nice to round them all up into one post so you can see them side by side. I designed them with a lot of similarities. They’re all made […]
Beginners Brioche Hat, Adapted
Cross my heart, I started my Easy Color Block Brioche Scarf with the intention of donating it to charity when I was done. I wasn’t as enamored with brioche as so many people—it was never on my knitting bucket list. In truth, I learned because of my readers. I put out a survey in July […]
Peace on Earth Hat
Is it acceptable to admit that this hat was frustrating? It was honestly one of my favorites to knit. I love the stitch pattern–it’s waffle-ish and so easy, and it’s based off of a blanket I saw on Ravelry. But trying to get decent pictures was just about impossible. I’m still not happy with them, […]
O Holy Night Hat
I’ve been knitting for over 25 years, and I still find the simplest stitches that I’ve never seen before. I came across the hurdle stitch on Pinterest (seriously, what on earth did we do before Pinterest??) and had to try it. It’s incredibly easy, alternating knit rows, purl rows, and p1, k1 rows. And the […]
Newborn King Hat
This is my husband’s favorite gift hat that I’ve made this year. It’s simple but the ribs still give it a little interest. And the simple stitch pattern lets the colors in the yarn take the stage. This was the first time I’ve found this color of Wool-Ease Thick & Quick, and I really love […]
In Excelsis Deo Hat
This is my second finished gift hat, and I totally love it. I saw a similar stitch pattern on a washcloth on Pinterest, and I just had to use it. Theirs used slip stitches, but I kept mine to basic knit and purl. It’s really simple, but it’s so cozy and textured. It has a […]
Herald Angels Hat
How early do you get started making Christmas gifts? Are you one of those super plan-ahead people like my friend, who started back in February? Or do you wait until November? August or September tend to be my ideal time—when school is starting and fall is arriving and winter’s approach is inevitable, that’s when it […]
All-Season Blanket Shrug
I hate bandwagons. If something is trending, I stay away. I don’t consider myself a non-conformist, necessarily, I just avoid doing things simply because they’re popular. (I suppose that’s a very non-conformist thing to say, though, isn’t it?) This applies to my knitting too. I was knitting long before it became a cool thing to […]
Sunset Shawl
I last saw my grandmother on Thanksgiving a few years ago, before we had kids. We drove eight hours into a snowstorm (it dumped about a foot of snow on the east coast the day before Thanksgiving) so that we could be there in time to have Thanksgiving dinner at the nursing home. It was […]
