Holiday Knitting and Crocheting Part Two

As promised, Part Two of Holiday Knitting and Crocheting is all about blankets!  If you are here in the USA, kids are back in school, garden clean up begins, jeans, scarves and shawls come out of hiding and yarny blankets fill our laps!  

This is my most popular blanket pattern by far....Crocheted Reversible Blanket.  Super easy for the beginner and beyond, in any size and in any yarn weight.  The addition of fabric makes it extra special and I have new fabrics in my Etsy shop to help.

For little boys....

to Aneela Hoey, to

Cath Kidston inspired.

Something for the more advanced crocheter, the Uptown Stroller Blanket.  Two skeins of worsted weight yarn makes this family heirloom!  It's rather on the tiny side, but directions are given to make it larger.

Try it in more than one color to match the gender or nursery.

If you are a knitter, the Knitting Chevrons in Technicolor Blanket is an easy, two row repeat using worsted weight yarn in seventeen colors.  I have three knitting patterns and four crochet patterns in the Technicolor Series.  You can easily get up to 4 blankets out of all that yarn.  If you are a newbie knitter and ready to move on from scarves, this is for you!

This entrelac blanket is from Mary Maxim and absolutely stunning!  It comes as a kit in different colorways if pastel rainbows is not to your liking.  The color changing yarn does all the work here!  The pattern calls for an i-cord edge, however, I crocheted four rows in single crochet. I knit this using US size 7 circular needles.  You will knit back and forth, as you do on straight needles.  Circs are used to accommodate the weight of the blanket.

 I found this one on Ravelry by Louise Marina.  I adore the sweet border.

I could not find a pattern for this one, but you can use your scrap yarn, make scarves and stitch them together.  I love this effect.

What are you working on for your holiday, yarny goodness?

Find all my pattern stores at the top of this page or

Etsy here

Craftsy here

Ravelry here

Next week, head and hands!

Best,

Sheila

Yarn tip:

Here are some blanket sizes for you!

More Knitting in Technicolor Hats

I've got more Technicolor Hats to share!  This is one of my favs!  If you have my Knitting or Crocheting in Technicolor Blankets patterns (below), these are knit with the same yarn.

If you remember, they have a barrette attached on the bottom of the felt piece so it can be moved to another part of the hat and removed for washing.

I love this little owl too!

The colors on this flower match perfectly!

Click here for any of my patterns in my Etsy shop

Click here for Craftsy

Click here to Ravelry

Have a great weekend,

Sheila

Yarn tip:

When knitting or crocheting a hat for a newborn, I always make the hat for a 6-12 month old baby.  That way, no matter when the baby was born, this size will fit for the colder months.

Gift Giving - Hats in a Hat Box...literally!

How sweet are these?  The hat topper and the hat box!  Perfect for gift giving.  I find that sometimes the packaging is better than the actual gift.  Such was the case with my...... 

Fortune Cookie Baby Booties (pattern under "Free Goodies" at the top of the page)...

Take a simple knit hat, top it with a store bought felt piece and pop it in a hat box!  So quick to make up and looks so much more expensive than a plain hat in a gift bag with tissue.  

If you have any of my Technicolor Series Blanket patterns in crochet, 

or knit, the hats coordinate beautifully!

I found the boxes in a local thrift store.  They are designed by Mary Engelbreit and just precious.

The felt toppers I found on sale at my local Hobby Lobby for $1.43, regularly $3.99.  The flower, above, was sewn on to the hat itself and I added my signature button.

I tacked on a hair barrette so they can be put on the side,

or top of the hat. 

The black hat is not part of the Technicolor Series, so I whipped one up to go with the box.  I know, the felt topper is not a daisy like the box, but it's fine.  Looks cute on the side, or...

on the top!

So sweet!

Don't be afraid of black for a baby!  I get many custom orders for hats and I always ask the color of the child and what hair color......I'll tell you why.  In the world of fashion and color, you can't just put any color on a baby just the same way, as adults, we know what color looks best on us.  I did a gorgeous sweater set for my friend.  She was wanting something for her cousin who was awaiting an Asian baby girl.  I told my friend, "let me make something in black and add your signature color, pink buttons!  I promise she will love it".  She did and so did my friend.  It's a great color for an Asian baby.  The orange hat toward the top of the page, is perfect for a redhead.  Black babies, so lucky, can wear any color!  

Each of these was $1.43.  Would also look cute sewn on to a solid color baby blanket to give it something special.  If you have a knitted purse, snap it on there!  Or one of your hand knit shawls or scarves!

Just sew on a snap barrette.  Easy peasy!

Have a great week!

Best,

Sheila

Yarn tip:

I always have hair barrettes on hand.  They keep the tail in place on a ball of yarn.

Knit Some Sweet Hats

 Warm weather knitting can be a challenge to say the least!  Blankets...too heavy on the lap.  Bulky yarns...sticks to my fingers.   Shawls...lightweight, but still heating up my legs!  Give up on yarny projects till the fall....NEVER!  These sweet hats are perfect!  Newborn to adult sizes are just the thing to put down and pick up again.

Oh, and the choice of topper makes it fun!  Simple, rolled brim with a fantastic bobble on top are super easy.  The hat pattern is from knitting goddess Susan B. Anderson's Itty Bitty Hats.  That rosy topper on the first hat is why I purchased her book so many years ago.  A multi colored pom pom is so fun and a simple, one color pom is classic.  The Marley topper can easily be for a boy or girl.

Feathers are cute too!  You can purchase a feather clip, ready made, from most hobby craft stores and are very affordable at $3.00.  You can also make your own with a hair clip and some snipped feathers from a purchased boa, like the last hat shows.

Mix up the colors or...

go with classic white!

If toppers are not your thing, keep it simple.  All of these were made with yarn from my Technicolor series blanket patterns so they match perfectly, if you have any of those patterns.

Here's Susan's book that you can find in most books stores or on line.  

The reason I bought the book....a little black hat with roses on top!  Who could resist?

Her patterns are very easy to follow and I am never disappointed with the results.  

A solid hat with a Rainbow Marley topper makes me giggle!  Super easy!

Thanks for stopping by,

Sheila

Click here for my Technicolor Blanket  patterns in Etsy store

Click here for my Craftsy store

Click here for my Ravelry store

Find Susan B. Anderson on Ravelry here

Best,

Sheila

Yarn tip:

When I purchase yarn on line, I usually have a project in mind.  When the package arrives, I have forgotten what I wanted to knit or crochet with it!  To keep that from happening, I jot down the project and yarn type on a post it note and keep it by "my chair".  When the yarn arrives, I stick it to the package so I won't forget!