Blanket capers

A long time ago, I stumbled across a crazy baby blanket pattern called OpArt on Knitty. The pattern was fairly hypnotic, and I wanted to make one but really didn't have an excuse to. Fast forward to mid 2012, and when one of my best friends found out that he and his wife were having a baby boy, I knew exactly what I wanted to make as a present for him!

The Slouchy Mushroom Beanie

I love slouchy beanies. They make the perfect winter accessory - they keep you nice and warm, but they're still really stylish. I'm teaching a workshop on how to knit in the round soon, and I wanted to use beanie pattern that wasn't too complicated - just knit, purl, and some basic increases and decreases. After a bit of an internet search proved fruitless, I decided to just write my own.

I still had a ball of We Are Knitters yarn left over from my seed stitch scarves, so I decided to make a beanie that would match the scarf. This pattern doesn't use a whole ball - if you go buy yourself three balls and make the hat first, you can use the left overs to make your scarf a little longer.

  

Seed stitch scarf set

Seed stitch is a beautiful way to add some texture to a garment, and it's great as a beginner's first pattern - all it uses is knit and purl stitches. I first made this chunky infinity scarf about three years ago, and it seemed like the perfect thing to make with a batch of yarn I got from We Are Knitters. Then I decided to make a regular version too. They ended up being lovely and soft and very, very warm.

 

If you'd like a matching beanie to go with your scarf, go check out the Slouchy Mushroom Beanie pattern.

Cutie Booties

Aren't these booties just the cutest little things? Our upstairs neighbours just had a baby so I made these as part of a care package that Wes and I gave them. I adapted the pattern from one that's worked flat - they're a little fiddly to work in the round but not having to sew them up at the end is a great feeling!

 

Knitting stitch pattern: Honeycomb stitch

This hexagon stitch is a great first pattern for beginners who know how to knit and purl and want to start working with multiple colours. It's surprisingly easy to do but looks really impressive - a win-win situation if there ever was one!

Off With His Head!

Halloween's never been that big a thing in Australia. Unlike my American friends, I don't have any cherished memories of getting dressed up and going Trick or Treating. We had a Halloween party at work last year, though, so I figured it was better late than never and made myself a costume.

I originally wanted to go as Alice in Wonderland, but my friend Alice told me that she wanted to dress up, and it made more sense for her to be, well, Alice. We sat for a while and brainstormed costumes that I could make that would match her, and eventually we came up with the Queen of Hearts.

Project 365: A wrap up - Around the world

Day 22

This is part three of my Project 365 wrap up. If you haven't yet, go take a look at Part 1 - Sydney and Part 2 - Day to Day.

I was very lucky last year to be able to travel a lot overseas to some places I'd been to before and some which were entirely new. Travelling really is a lot of fun, and it's always very eye-opening; I find that I learn a lot. I have a lot of people I love living overseas, so it's always fun to visit them too!

(A small tip: if you just want to see the photos, click one and you can scroll through them.)