Holiday Knitting and Crocheting Part 1

It's that time of year!  Holiday knitting and crocheting for the ones we love.  Hand made, yarny goodness for all.  I don't know about you, but curling up in a favorite chair, a hot cup of tea by my side, hooking or clacking away is pure heaven!  I never tire of bringing a hand knit or crocheted gift to life.  

Even though I make my living as a pattern designer, I enjoy other designers patterns as well.  More on that in a moment.

Please indulge me to first direct you to my designs.  These are my most popular patterns for neckwear.  The above photo is perfect for the beginner with spectacular results!  Chunky Twist Scarf.  You only need 162 yards of super bulky weight (6) yarn.  I always crochet tons of these under the tree for women, teens, men and women.  You could easily adjust it for a child size.

I've made so many of these Triangle Scarves in all kinds or yarn weights from crochet thread to super bulky!  A picot edge with beads makes it extra special.  In cotton, it's perfect for Spring and Summer.  I always take one to the movie theatre as they are usually freezing!  In sock yarn, it's just the thing for fall and winter. Long run yarn is stunning and worsted weight yarn makes a very generous size.

This is a TON of scarf at 16 feet long!  Super easy for the beginner.

Super bulky (6) yarn in many shades or...

just one is super chic!  Crochet a Mile Long Scarf for your bestie!  

Now, on to other designers...

the Crocodile Stitch Scarf by Bonita Patterns is one of my favorites for gift giving and craft fairs.  Crochet this in your long run yarn to show off the stitch at its finest.  

You can read my post about it here.

Make it shorter and more affordable.  Read the post and see more photos here.

I love all one color too, but keep it in a lighter shade to show off all your hard work.  Read more of this blog post here.

The Hitchhiker by Martina is also a fav of mine.  I must have knit a dozen of these and I always add charms to each point.  Find the yarn info in this blog post.  Sock yarn to...

worsted weight, you can't go wrong!  Here's this blog post.

Just add your charms with a tiny crochet hook as you knit along or sew them on at the end.  There's a photo in the Yarn Tip section below.  Here's the yarn info for this one.

The knit Lacy Baktus by Terhi is another.  You have to click through Rav to her Flickr page and write down the instructions, but it's worth it.  My story about this one is here.

I've made a number of these Lollipop Shawls as well.  Really easy and the color changing yarn keeps it interesting.  All the yarn information is in the post.

So, there you have it.  A number of easy projects to crochet or knit in time for holiday gifting.  Next week, blankets!  I hope you can join me.

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

Etsy here

Craftsy here

Ravelry here

Best,

Sheila

Yarn tip:

Here's a tip from Knitting Daily on how to add beads with a crochet hook.

A Decent Pair of Socks

This is the first decent pair of socks I have made....ever!  I've tried so many patterns, I can't tell you.  Maybe it's me....maybe I'm reading the pattern wrong....maybe I've picked the wrong yarn...maybe I ate something  bad!  Ok, maybe not that last one.  I finally found a great pattern!  Whipped up in Knit Picks Wild West yarn and size 2 needles produced this lovely pair.  However, the yarn is not very cushy, so, if you're like me and don't like to wear shoes around the house, these are not practical.

 Fiesta Baby Boom in Coyote delivered some cushy goodness and in colors I like....grey, black, cream and brown.

 The above and below are Fiesta Baby Boom in Harlequin.  You might remember my post using this yarn for Karen's Carnival Baktus Scarf, below.  Look how different the colors look depending on knitting in stockinette or garter stitch and dye lots.

 Knit Circus' Pixie Dust Fingering in Robin's Egg have a bit of twinkling goodness in them.  Gorgeous color and squishy soft!

Knit Picks Stroll Fingering in Frosting are a gift for one of my besties.  Her signature color is pink and she will love these.

Now, about the pattern.  Don't ask me why it took so long to get it out as I've had it for quite sometime!  It belongs to Susan B. Anderson.  I adore her and have all her books.  She has this easy way about her.  You'd want her as a sister, neighbor or best friend.  If you watch her teaching, she is relaxing and mesmerizing at the same time.  Patient and thoughtful in her delivery.  Her patterns are the same way.  Technically, beautifully written, but with that element that she is speaking to you from the page.  In this pattern, she makes it so easy to understand the dreaded turning of the heel!

The pattern is free.  Just pop over to her Rav page or blog.  

I'm working on her mitten pattern and will have a future post about that.  Another great and easy pattern.

Best,

Sheila

Yarn tip:  

If you have trouble getting started knitting socks in the round on those small needles, here's what I do.....work the 2 x 2 ribbed cuff back and forth on 2 of the double point needles leaving a tail long enough to sew it up when the sock is finished.  After you complete the cuff, start knitting in the round with the remaining needles.

DIY Shawl Closures With Buttons

 The winds howl this time of year in the midwest!  In an effort to keep my shawls and scarves from blowing down the street, I made these from my button stash with a bit of elastic threaded through the button holes and tied in a knot.

 So very simple and extremely effective.  I love giganto buttons!  Big, colorful and easy to store if you are a collector like me.  Easy and affordable to purchase from local yarn shops I visit on my travels.  Above is a Lacy Baktus from Ravelry.  You can find the pattern link on my Karen's Carnival Rav page.  

 I found this button in a local yarn shop in St. Louis, Missouri.  The Freesia shawl pattern is from Jumpers Cable Knitting.  Very easy and quick to knit up with worsted weight yarn.  Find the pattern link on my Rav page.    

 I love the color combination and can use this one on so many shawls.  That's the beauty of these closures.  You can use them on all your scarves.

 I often wear my Crocodile Stitch shawls around my shoulders and this button adds a bit of color and interest.  Find the Crocodile Stitch pattern via my Rav page.

So, there you go!  Get out those gorgeous buttons, tie a bit of elastic through the holes and knot.

Best,

Sheila

Yarn tip:

Can't find the right button?  Use leftover yarn to make i-cord buttons or frog closures instead.

Visit Creative Design's profile on Pinterest.

Baby Boom Vanilla Baktus

I know that many of you recognize this pattern from Ravelry.  I love it too.  Easy, FREE pattern with spectacular results!  If you follow my blog, you might recall that I knitted this up in bright colors for my friend Karen....Karen's Carnival Scarf, which she LOVED, by the way, yay!

This one I am keeping for myself.  I can't wait for cooler weather and my new jeans!  The 9" fringe is SO worth the effort.  Easy garter stitch pattern in gorgeous shades of caramel, vanilla, robins egg blue and cream.  I used size US 7 (4.5 mm) on 32" (81 cm) circulars.  Two skeins Fiesta Baby Boom in Vanilla.  Approximately 440 yards (402 meters) each skein in fingerling weight.

I purchased this gorgeous yarn in the Craftsy Yarn Shop.  It might be sold out, but you can find lots of options in there supply store.  This is a great time of year to find fabulous sales in all the yarn shops.

Here is Karen's Carnival Scarf in Fiesta Baby Boom Harlequin.

Click here for the link to Ravelry pattern

Click here for the Craftsy Yarn Shop

Click here for a nice substitute yarn from Craftsy

Have a great week,
Sheila
Yarn tip

* Use all those tote bags you’ve accumulated but hate to toss out as project bags! Keep everything all in one place for each project!