Curver Knit Collection

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas.  I certainly did.  Good food, good friends, family and health!  What more could anyone want?  

As I have been in the house for the last 6 days with holiday festivities and 12 inches of snow on one day and another 5 inches the other day, I am due to get out!

I had planned on a post showing some of my prezzies, but went to target to look for something, which I can't remember now because.....

look what I found.  Squeeeee!

How cool is this, I ask you?  By Curver Knit Collection, a bin with a lid/tray that looks like knitting.  It is on sale, as of today for $29.74.  Regular price is $34.00 I think.

A lovely taupe and an equally lovely cream.  Made of plastic, so it's good inside or out.  Be aware though, rain will get in as there are holes on each "stitch".

A nice size too 10.8 gal/41L.  Curver is made by Keter Plastic, Ltd. in Isreal.  I'm sure you can find them on the internet.  When I looked on Targets web site, they had other Knit Collection items, but not this bin.

Perfectly holds many of my WIPS! Also great for yarn storage, toys, small blankets, pattern books, just about anything and everything.

Next week I'll show off some of my presents that I love!

Have a Happy New Year,

Sheila

Purls of Wisdom:

Recycle that tea pot you don't use!

Sneaky Slouchy Hat for Men

I find gift giving for men so challenging.  They are pickier than women, more utilitarian.  As a general rule, they like to keep things simple.  Take shopping, for instance.  When then need, a shirt let's say, they go to a store and buy one.  No meandering around a store, let alone go to more than one store!

I wanted to knit something for my grown daughters boyfriend who is particular.  I offered up a scarf, fingerless gloves or a slouchy hat.  She felt he wouldn't like any of them.  She did say he needed a new hat.  Mostly because she hated the hat he has been wearing.  A beanie type.  I saw this hat, by Susan B. Anderson and sent her a photo.

She thought he would go for this "sneaky slouchy"!  I love that....sneaky slouchy.  I also love Susan's patterns.  When reading this one, she uses two strands of fingering together or one strand of worsted.  I knit mine using worsted.

And, they turned out great! 

I happend to be in a Hobby Lobby and found this new yarn they put out.

And I had some skeins of Knit Picks in my stash.

A tweedy one in black.

A gray one.

And a blue(ish) one.

This blue(ish) one is I Love This Yarn Colors in Cappadocia.  Blues, grays, browns and a bit of cream. I had quite a bit leftover and might get one more hat from the yardage.  Super soft acrylic, machine wash and dry.

Still from Hobby Lobby....Yarn Bee Glowing Naturals in Naturals.  Grays, black and a silvery color.  

You can only get one hat from this skein.  Soft, machine wash acrylic.

They all look SO much better in real life.  The boyfriend, Drew, is getting all three and fingers crossed that he will like them all!

Find Susan's pattern on Ravelry!

Have a very Merry Christmas,

Sheila

Purls of Wisdom:

No ruler handy?  Did you know that your pinky finger is about one inch from knuckle to knuckle?

Free Pattern - Mill Ends Cowl

I've been on a mill ends yarn kick lately!  I first found out about them from Stacey over at Freshstitches.  It's made by plying together random mill ends of yarns.  What a great way to recycle yarn that would normally end up in the trash.  They work up into this wacky combination of colors.

If you pop over to Stacey's blog, you can download a free cowl pattern.

It's so much fun to knit these up.  Super easy knitting in the round, and a very affordable gift as well.  One skein makes one cowl.

I like a snug fit, so I cast on 96.  I knit some with a 2 x 2 rib on the cast on and bind off edges.  I knit a seed stitch edge on some and a simple rolled edge on others.

To change it up a bit on some, I added an eyelet row when the yarn changes color. When you get to the place where the colors change, add a stitch marker to the right needle, then *yarn over, knit 2 together (repeat from *) for one round.  Remove your stitch marker, then just keep knitting until the next color change.

I think Stacey is on vacation for awhile, but she might have some skeins left if you hurry over there.

My local yarn shop Personal Threads had some on hand.  You can see here what they look like in hank form.  

Thanks for stopping by,

Sheila

Purls of Wisdom:

I use snap barrettes to keep yarn tails in check!

Easy Eyelet Cowl Knitting Pattern

 

I've been so busy the last several weeks.  My husband was let go from his job as a food broker (not to worry, he found another one within two weeks), the cold is making my bones ache, and getting ready for Thanksgiving and now Christmas is tiering.  I do have two fun trips coming up....a wedding in the Washington, DC area this weekend.  Then a family bridal shower is St. Louis next weekend.  Also, I still have to keep designing and filling orders for my business.

So, I've sneaked in a simple cowl. 

Who doesn't need a quick knit, one skein cowl for the holidays?  Actually, you can get two from one skein of Patons Lace.  Yay!

Knit in the round with a k2, p2 ribbed edge, add some knit rows and some eyelet rows and you're done!

Two row repeat for easy memorization.  Cozy up in front of the television or listen to your favorite podcast and knit away.

Lightweight and oh so toasty warm.  I'm getting ready for tons of traveling this month and this will be so easy to wear and pack in my suitcase.  

There's still plenty of time to whip some up for under the tree.  So affordable for your hairdresser, teacher, secret santa, boss or hostess.

Something from you sock yarn stash would be gorgeous.

This one is a skein of Moonlight Sonata by James C, Brett.  You can't tell from the photo, but there is tons of sparkle in this yarn.  Perfect for the season and the coming New Year.  

The pattern is $2.00 for the entire month of December and can be found in my shops on

Etsy

Craftsy 

Ravelry 

Happy hump day,

Sheila

Purls of Wisdom:

When working with fine yarn and doing a lace or eyelet pattern, your knitting will be much more enjoyable if you use really pointy needles.

Heirloom Mitts & Headband Patterns

I've been busy working on some fingerless mitts patterns, all in worsted weight yarn.  They are such a great gift and when my church has fund raising events, they are the first to be snatched up.  Affordable to make, easy to whip up and loved by so many.

I've added iron-on appliques for a unique twist.  They don't interfere with the fit or distort them in any way and are so easy to apply.

Four super easy patterns for one price of $6.00.  Most of my patterns are $5.00 each, so this is a great bargain. 

One with a thumb, one with a slit and is adjustable for size, and one with no slit or thumb.  I've also included a checkerboard headband in black and white, but you could easily knit it to coordinate with any of the mitts.

The pattern for this plumb and lemongrass pair is knit flat with a crocheted edge.  The buttons allow the wearer to adjust the size.  No button holes as the small size of the buttons just push through the fabric.

Open one button and slip your thumb through or.....

just wear them as wrist warmers.

And because you still need some in the spring and summer months because of too cold, air conditioned offices, these are pretty in pastels. This pair is knit in the round and I think is so feminine and delicate. 

All four patterns are super easy for any advanced beginner or better. 

To save a bit of money, I strategically cut the appliques so I could have one on each mitt.  By doing so, they are slightly different on each mitt, which is fine by me as I don't like things to matchy, matchy.

I love a checkerboard pattern in any color combo, but black and white is a fav of mine.  

I give you all the instructions on how to apply the appliques.  I found mine at Joann Fabric.

You can find the pattern on 

Etsy

Craftsy

and Ravelry

or click  

Have a great week, and if you are in the USA, Happy Thanksgiving,

Sheila

Purls of Wisdom:

Do you suffer from one-sockitis?  Think of them as a gift bag!  My daughter doesn't mind mismatched socks, especially in the winter as no one sees them.  I'm gifting her these chocolate smelling votive candles from Root in a vintage espresso cup with a lighter from Target.  These candles are pricey but the chocolate smell is like no other I have found.  So worth the money.

Free Pattern! Tiffany Cowl & Headband Knitting Pattern

Free pattern on Craftsy

The wonderful folks over at Craftsy and working with Cloudborn Fibers, a new yarn company.  Their yarn is exclusive to Craftsy and can't be found anywhere else.

A few months ago, Cloudborn asked me to design something using their yummy yarn!  A privilege indeed.  They sent some super soft Baby Alpaca Bulky fiber in light blue and cream.  I immediately saw Tiffany's signature blue!

Cloudborn has made this yarn in a perfect blend of baby softness and a lovely halo for the most luxurious feel around your neck.  It has great stitch definition and no splitting as you work.

The cowl is knit in the round, no purls, except for the rib sections.  Wear it down or wrapped around your neck....

(if you look closely you can see me in my daughters sunglasses)!  I always think this is funny for some reason.  Anyhoos....

The seed stitch headband coordinates beautifully without being too matchy, matchy.

I wish you could feel the softness of this squishy goodness!

This is a beginner pattern, however, still satisfying for all levels of skill.

Find the free pattern only in my Craftsy shop

Find the yarn, Cloudborn Fibers Baby Alpaka Bulky only at Craftsy

There are 11 different weights to choose from and all are on sale!

If you do not want to invest in 4 skeins, you can easily make this with two skeins and a shorter cowl.

Here are some pattern details for you:

Measurements:

Cowl circumference - 72” (183cm) 

Cowl width - 11” (29cm) 

Headband circumference - 18” (46cm) 

Headband width - 4” (10cm)

Needles:

*US size 10.5 (6.5mm) 32” circular needles 

*Optional needles: if the circular needles are a bit fiddly when knitting the headband, use US size 10.5 (6.5mm) straight or even double pointed needles will work.

Yarn:

*Cloudborn Fibers Baby Alpaca Bulky (5); 109 yds/100g (100m) 

Two skeins in Sky Blue (A) 

Two skeins in Ivory (B)

Notions:

*one stitch marker 

*tapestry needle

Thanks for stopping by,

Sheila

Purls of Wisdom:

As gift giving time approaches, think about adding some tags to the gift bag!  I found these by searching on Pinterest.  I'm sorry I don't have the links for you.  While you're over at Craftsy getting your free pattern, type "free tags" in the search box and a bunch will pop up for you!

Print them off, cut them out and you're done!