Tuck the turtle

This guy is pretty adorable ... but then, you realize that all his appendages can tuck into his shell and you're really in love. Quite small - will be perfect for a little baby who is having his one month birthday party tomorrow. Here's the pattern. While over at the Spud and Chloe blog, check out a lot more cute, free patterns. This is my third project from the website but I'm sure there will be more soon.

Another addiction

This is my 4th cowl scarf I've made, and there are sure to be more in the near future. Nothing inspires knitting cozy scarves like 100 degree weather. (Too bad there isn't an ironic font...) Oh well, I'll be ready for winter. Here is a new pattern for me:

Here's the pattern. I used this yarn with size 9 needles. I ended up doing 5 pattern repeats (the pattern recommended 4 repeats but it didn't seem enough).

An addiction

Knitting toys is becoming an addiction of mine. Well, all things considered, I would said it's a healthier addiction than some. Here is my most recent:

He's a small guy so he was pretty quick (though those toes did take a bit of time to sew on individually). If you want one, here's the free pattern.

Just in time for summer???

Oh well, bad timing but fun to try a new project nonetheless. I'll be ready for next winter.

These are a pair of Mary Jane slippers from Purl Bee's website. They have lots of cute knitting patterns there, as well as crocheting, sewing, and embroidery patterns. I knit these with Cotton twirl yarn from Crystal Palace.




For this project I got to do the provisional cast-on for the second time (my cowl scarf was the first time) - good practice for me. I also learned something new - knitting an attached I-cord. Much slower than a traditional I-cord but makes for a polished looking seam. I realize how much I enjoy learning new crafting techniques - it makes my brain feel like it's still working, even if most of my daily tasks are the same every day.

Twirl hat

Thank you to Big Brown Bear for modeling the hat. It just didn't look right flat. This is a pattern from "Knit for Peace" book. I knit the child's small size in hopes that it would fit my 5 year old son - nope. It's more of a 2 year old size. I will try the child's large next. This one will not be wasted though - I already have plans of who to give it to.

Hats

I have been watching A LOT of the T.V. show "24" the last few weeks. I have 8 seasons to catch up on, which means I've got my evenings booked for awhile. Knitting is a great companion for T.V.- or movie-watching. Lately I've been working on several hats during my T.V. time. This is a nice pattern that is very stretchy, which means it will fit the recipient for quite awhile. Here's a girl and a boy version. Obviously I opted not to do the stripes according to the pattern. I thought the multi-colored yarns didn't need a stripe since they were pretty on their own.

My youngest son modeling his new hat - it's a little big but could be rolled up if he wanted it completely out of his eyes.

A gift for a friend - I added a knitted rosette (taken from the book "Knitting Little Luxuries" by Louisa Harding) to make it a little more girly.

Lion Brand Animals

My latest craze has been knitting toy animals - mainly for my kids and all these little babies who I know who are being born this year (seriously, I have a TON of friends that are pregnant right now - so exciting!) Here's a catch-up post with several of my favorites from Lion Brand's website. You do have to be a member to view the patterns though.

City mouse toy

Frida the fish

Wise old owl