If you are in need of a last-minute gift this is a quick handmade scarf perfect for a sister, mother, or wife. I would be so impressed if my husband made me a scarf for Christmas. All you need for this is a ball of yarn, and a skein of embroidery floss (that’s what a thing of embroidery floss is called which you can get from the dollar store) and about 20 minutes.
I used Patons Cobbles in Chargrey for the one pictured and black embroidery floss.
Thanks to Meaghan Patterson for this craft.
In the spring I made some outdoor poofs to be used on the deck. When they migrated indoors for the winter the colours didn’t jive with the indoor decor, so I knit one of them a winter coat. I don’t need any extra seating for the holidays because I am a bit of a chair junkie. But the kids like the knit poofs and they are slightly more sophisticated than bean bag chairs. I made this one using Red Heart Grande in Oatmeal which might be my new favorite yarn. I made up the pattern as I went, and knit 6 squares which I sewed together. The pattern is a K4, P4 basket weave.
Wat
ch out Rudolf Logan’s in town. Logan is 2 and rarely stands still, most of my recent pictures of him are blurry. This one is no exception. I love that this reindeer hat is so simple, and I also love that the pattern was free, thanks to Ashleemarie.com. Even though he is sporting the hat backwards he’s the cutest reindeer in town and I am only a little biased.
On the second day of Christmas my true love made for me a Santa cap. I ended up making 3 of these this year with one fitting me by accident. I was reminded once again that checking the gauge before starting a knitting project is important. I was trying to make one for each of the kids. The hat I made for Sasha is too big but Sasha has informed me that he doesn’t need one because he has a Santa hat from the dollar store. Perhaps once the dollar store hat has ripped or the glue seam dries out he will want the knitted one. I can only hope.
If you are interested in the pattern, it was free from Lion Brand and can be downloaded here. I had to edit the pattern to get the right gauge for the bulky yarn mentioned below.
I used Lion’s Pride Woolspun, Red (body) and Fisherman (band and tassel)
P.S. Ericka the one for Grace was knitted just for her 🙂
Today is our 4th second anniversary for 2014 which sounds complicated. We were legally married in Canada and then went and got married in Mexico with our friends and family (my mom sent me this great collage today of pictures from the wedding). Looking at these pictures today I am longing for the beach but I will have to settle for Café Mexico for dinner. Today is our Mexican wedding anniversary and to celebrate I made my husband love socks. We both happen to have the same initials and not because I took his last name, it just worked out that way which is why both feet have SP in the hearts. It’s getting to be the time of year that wool socks are so warm and cozy inside winter boots (or rain boots if you live on the west coast of Canada) so I thought he might like a pair of warm woolly socks branded with my initials or his or both depending on his mood. Cheers to love and hand knit wool socks seems like a great combination to me.
We haven’t turned the heat on yet mainly because I have good intentions of vacuuming out the base board heaters. You never know what you might find inside the heaters with 2 little people and before we set the house on fire it’s advisable to give all of the heaters a look through. But instead of doing the easy task of cleaning out the heaters it made more sense to me to knit myself slippers. Yes I know that’s not very logical, but it’s way more fun. Here I am knitting them yesterday, and lounging in them today. They do resemble big foot paws but they are warm and comfortable. I couldn’t find a pattern that worked with the yarn I wanted or the suede fleece lined soles so I made one up. All that means is that one slipper is symmetrical and the other is a bit of an experiment. I am giving myself A for effort, sometimes things don’t turn out exactly as you might want them to but I am going to wear them anyway because baby it’s cold inside.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING.
I am feeling in the giving mood today. If you would like to win a custom knit pumpkin hat please:
1) Like Making a Life on Facebook – Click on the Facebook box on the right hand side of this blog post
2) Share the post on your facebook feed
3) Post the size that you would like as a comment on the facebook post, or the age of the person that it is for
I will do a random draw once I reach 100 likes on Facebook.
My boys in their pumpkin hats last year.
Years ago I opened an Etsy online craft store called Block Parent Designs. It surprised me when my first orders were in parts of the US, for some reason I thought that only Canadian’s would buy my stuff. I have no idea why I though that. It has been a long time since my site has been active, with 2 little kids and working full-time I barely have time to get dressed everyday, never mind making and selling things online. BUT because of your overwhelming support I have updated my Etsy online store to showcase some of the items that I have been asked to make recently. If you should order any of my creations I might just have to make them in my PJ’s, priorities you know. Thanks for your support.
Here is the link to my online shop https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/BlockParent
Recently, my four-year old and I hoped on a plane to meet the newest edition to the family, Miss Ruby. It’s refreshing after three nephews and having two boys myself to have a little girl in the family. Don’t get me wrong a healthy baby is always the most desired type of baby, it’s just nice to throw a little pink in the mix. My youngest stayed at home with dad but is showing his excitement about becoming a big cousin by sporting his new “Big Cuz” shirt.
When I arrived my sister informed me that we would be having a photo-shoot, she had pinned some ideas and gotten headbands and tutus, and would I mind taking some pictures. I used to years ago, have the same passion for photography as I do now for crafting. My passion for photography has faded and I now take pictures to document our lives, and the rest of the time my camera sits untouched. So I took my sister up on the photo-shoot challenge. After we had completed the photo-shoot I was questioning why I didn’t do this with my own kids more often.
I don’t remember who had the idea but I don’t mind saying that it was a pretty good one, to take a picture of little Ruby, with her button name sign. Ruby is also sporting a pink knit flower hat, made by moi. Reading is a family hobby, we all share books, and read as much as we can, so it’s only fitting that Ruby start young.
In my mind I think of photography and crafting as two separate hobbies, but on this occasion they meshed together to accentuate the beauty of Miss Ruby.
Keep crafting, creating and celebrating.
I saw a super cute picture of a blanket with a heart on it so I searched Ravelry and Pinterest for a pattern and came up empty, so I used a plain blanket pattern and incorporated a heart. This is the perfect Valentine’s gift for my two littlest loves. I hope they get lots of snuggles in these warm wooly blankets.
You can find instructions below. Enjoy! Check out the knitting tab above for more knitting projects.
This pattern is intended for personal use only. I offer this pattern for free but I request that you do not sell it or any product made from it.
Valentine’s Day Blanket
Materials
The Pattern
Cast on 75 stitches. When introducing the alternate colour (AC) carry the unused yarn along the wrong side. Wrap it while knitting with the active colour to carry it. Keep the unused yarn relaxed while carrying it and don’t pull, or the project will become distorted.
Row 1-9: Knit
Row 10: K6, P63, K6
Row 11: Knit
Row 12-26: repeat Rows 10-11
Row 27: Knit
Row 28: K6, P31, P1 Alternate colour (AC), P31, K6
Row 29: K37, K1AC, K37
Row 30: K6, P30, P3AC, P30, K6
Row 31: K36, K3AC, K36
Row 32: K6, P29, P5AC, P29, K6
Row 33: K35, K5AC, K35
Row 34: K6, P28, P7AC, P28, K6
Row 35: K34, K7AC, K34
Row 36: K6, P27, P9AC, P27, K6
Row 37: K33, K9AC, K33
Row 38: K6, P26, P11AC, P26, K6
Row 39: K32, K11AC, K32
Row 40: K6, P25, P13AC, P25, K6
Row 41: K31, K13AC, K31
Row 42: K6, P24, P15AC, P24, K6
Row 43: K30, K15AC, K30
Row 44: K6, P23, P17AC, P23, K6
Row 45: K29, K17AC, K29
Row 46: K6, P22, P19AC, P22, K6
Row 47: K28, K19AC, K28
Row 48: K6, P21, P21AC, P21, K6
Row 49: K27, K21AC, K27
Row 50: K6, P20, P23AC, P20, K6
Row 51: K26, K23AC, K26
Row 52: K6, P19, P25AC, P19, K6
Row 53: K25, K25AC, K25
Row 54: K6, P18, P27AC, P18, K6
Row 55: K24, K27AC, K24
Row 56-57: repeat row 54-55
Row 58: K6, P19, P12AC, P1, P12AC, P19, K6
Row 59: K25, K12AC, K1, K12AC, K25
Row 60: K6, P20, P10AC, P3, P10AC, P20, K6
Row 61: K26, K10AC, K3, K10AC, K26
Row 62: K6, P21, P8AC, P5, P8AC, P21, K6
Row 63: K27, K8AC, K5, K8AC, K27
Row 64: K6, P63, K6
Row 65: Knit
Row 66-80: Repeat Rows 64-65
Row 81: K6 P63, K6
Row 82-90: Knit
Row 91: Cast off
View of the heart from the back.
Happy knitting, crafting and creating.
Making A Life 