West Lynn Headwrap

Show off some retro flair with a chic headband that is both stylish and functional. Keep your ears warm and bust your stash at the same time! You only need a skein (less than 132 yards) to make this headwrap.

Materials:
1 skein of worsted weight yarn (Recommendations: Cascade 220 (Regular or Superwash), Berroco Vintage Worsted, Lion Brand Wool-Ease Worsted, Plymouth Encore Worsted, Plymouth Plymouth Worsted Merino Superwash, Classic Elite Portland Tweed)
US G (4mm) crochet hook
tapestry needles (for weaving in ends and seaming band)

Sizes:
Adult woman’s S/M(M/L)

Gauge:
4 dcs = 1″

Note:
I highly recommend you take the time to watch the videos and use the chainless foundation dc st to start this off. It’s super easy, and will ensure a nice, stretchy headwrap. You can start with making a foundation ch of 83+3 sts, but I find foundation chains to be rather taut. Stretchy is good for this project!

Pattern:

Wrap:
Using foundation dc method, make 78(84) dc sts (where the beginning ch3 counts as the first dc st).

Then join in the round.

Now you have a complete round of (78)84 dc sts (counting ch3 as first dc).

Rounds 2-7: Ch 3, dc in each dc to end. Join with top ch of ch3 at the beginning of the round with a sl st. (78)84 sts.
After 7th round, cut yarn, pull through, and fasten.

Band:
Using foundation dc method, make 5 dc sts (counting ch3 as first dc st).
Row 2-5: Dc in each dc. Ch 3, turn.

Finishing:
Weave in ends on wrap.
Put band around wrap, and seam ends of band together to make a loop. Center it around the joins of the round to conveniently hide them! Weave in ends on band.

Put on, feel très chic, and enjoy your cappuccino.

West Lynn Headwrap

Disclaimer: please make as many as you like, but don’t sell this pattern or the finished product! Thanks!

Queue it on Ravelry!

Lyla

A Slight modification of the new (and adorable) Puff Stitch Scarf, which in turn is inspired by Vickie Howell’s Urban Jungle hat. I had one skein of yarn and decided to use it up with this pattern. It wasn’t long enough to make a full scarf, but was perfect for a cowl. Added some buttons and … viola! This took me about an hour to make. Here’s my recipe!

Lyla

Materials:
1 skein of Stitch Nation Full O’ Sheep (100% Wool, 155yds/100g) in Aquamarine
US H (5mm) crochet hook

2 buttons
tapestry needle
sewing needle & thread

Gauge:

7 sts x 6 rows = 4″ in puff stitch

Abbreviations:

ch: chain
st: stitch
puff st: yo, insert hook into st and draw up loop (3 sts on hook), *yo, insert hook into same st and draw up loop* 3 more times. 9 sts on hook. yo and pull through 8 loops on hook, then yo and pull through last 2 loops on hook.

Finished Measurements:

Approx. 6.5″ (17cm) tall x 22″ (56cm) long

Pattern:

Foundation chain: ch 26.
Row 1: In fourth ch from hook, work a puff st, *skip 1 st, ch 1, puff st in next st* until end. 11 puff stitches. ch 3 and turn work.
Row 2:  In next ch1 sp, work a puff stitch, *ch 1, puff stitch in next ch1 space* until end. ch 3 and turn work.
Repeat Row 2 until you’re just about out of yarn. Fasten yarn and weave in ends.

Finishing:

Attach buttons one row in from the foundation ch on the third st in on each side. The ch1 spaces of the fabric are like built-in button holes.

Wear, share, and enjoy!

Lyla

Queue it on Ravelry!

Clinton

Clinton by Berroco. Uses 8 skeins of Vintage, and I’m pretty sure you can squeeze two cowls out of the 8 skeins.

Calm Cowl

Calm Cowl, a free pattern I found on Ravelry. Knit up with 1.5 skeins of Berroco Vintage DK in Oats. Love it.

Both are on display near their respective yarns at Hill Country Weavers. Feel free to check them out!

So, I figure I should set some goals for myself. Things I can do. Keep myself on track. etc.

1. Make and keep a budget. Oh my god, this will be painful. I may even meet with a financial adviser at my bank to help me out.
2. Use my damn stash. And here’s how.
a. I can only cast on something new when I finish a WIP.
b. I only get one extraneous purchase a month. Either clothing, yarn/fiber, or stuff for my new PS3. It has to be under $100. If I buy yarn I can’t buy a new game, movie, or clothes. And vice versa.
3. Spin at least once a month. I want to sit down at least once a month and use my spinning wheel. If I can’t justify having it I’m going to sell it. I’ll use up the fiber I have, and then fiber gets included in 2 above.
4. Re-commit to C25K. The curve was just a bit too steep for me, so I gave up on it. Also, this past semester was kind of crazy. So when I get home next week I’m giving it another go, and I’ll spend 2 weeks on each week of the program. I’m not interested in killing myself, and I’m not doing it competitively. I am doing it for myself, so I’ll use my own pace.
5. Eat out only once a week. I need to stop eating out. It cost me a fortune this past semester. So I’m going back to eating out only once a week. Exceptions: birthdays/parties/celebrations. Which, trust me, I don’t participate in often.
6. Be less of a flake. I have a tendency to commit to something, then when the time comes back out because I’m tired or I don’t feel like putting forth the effort. I don’t get much time to myself because I am working or going to school every day of the week. So I either need to commit to less, or be less flaky. We’ll see what happens.
7. Stick with the 365 Project. Damnit. I’ll make this happen.

I think these are good, realistic goals.

Austin: see you Tuesday.

To the rest of the Internet: happy new year. I hope it’s a good one.

Panda Hat

This is from that same Short & Sweet Earflap Hat pattern, and is inspired by the designer. I crocheted the ears as follows:
1: ch4
2: turn, skip first ch, 2 sc in each ch to end.
3: ch1, turn, 2 sc in each sc to end.
4: ch1, turn, sc in each sc to end.

ears

I left a tail of about 18″ or so and sewed them on. And naturally there is a sc edging around the hat using the black yarn. I also used one strands of the black in the braids.

I’d write more but I’m of to get Thai food! Peace out!

If you’re looking for a quick, easy project to use up stash cotton, this is a pattern for you! Using half-double crochets and working into the back loop, this little facial scrub has a thick fabric and texture surface perfect for washing up. The edging gives you something to hold on to while scrubbing, and also gives the scrub a great shape and look. The curved edging also makes this a fun homemade soap dish to put by your sink.

Experience crocheters will whip this out in under an hour! New crocheters will get valuable experience in creating new looks with familiar stitches.

Tahki Sky is an amazingly soft, 100% organic cotton and an absolute dream to work with! Naturally, any other worsted weight cotton will work, but Sky is a personal favorite and has a great look and feel.

Download now. You will need the free Adobe Reader to open the pattern file.

I made this partly for the shop, and partly because I wanted to make a cute, easy crochet pattern. I’d like to get myself designing more stuff, particularly in the crochet department. I’d love to make more charted patterns, but I have NO idea how to make charts on the computer. :/ I’ll figure it out someday.

You can download the pattern on the pattern page linked on the left. Or you can find it on Ravelry.

Proof:

Octopus Cephalopod Amigurumi

Cactus

They were made for the shop as samples. We started balling up Ella Rae Classic into mini balls of yarn (about 73 yds) to sell as our own little version of small balls. The yarn just wasn’t selling, as people tend to gravitate towards Cascade 220. So Suzanne asked if Brenda could crochet up something to help sell the yarn and generate more interest in crochet. I took over and made some amis. I think they’re pretty cute!

Now I’m back on a crocheting kick and want to make every ami pattern in my queue. And I may just do that, too. They are so quick and easy to make!

And if you couldn’t tell from the top of the page, I have re-embarked on a Season 12 scarf, this time around following the directions from WLK. It’s going swimmingly, and I have to admit, it’s getting to the point that its difficult to transport comfortably. Which is unfortunate because it has been my go-to bus ride project.

I’d say more but I’m pra tired. BYE.

First things first, I finally launched my Zoe Pattern! Take a look at it following the link to the right, or look me up on Ravelry! It’s a lovely little free pattern and a great way to use up your stashed sock yarn. That’s pretty much why I made it!

I have two more patterns in the works. The first is a super chunky cowl knit up on super bulky yarn that only takes about an hour to make. The second is a hat pattern that will be available in the pattern packet for the Hill Country Yarn Crawl. More on those in the not-too-distant future.

When I’m not reading for school, teaching, writing papers, or doing other homework I generally knit. But lately I’ve been reading a lot. It all goes back to my re-obsession with The Beatles that started back in July. I recently picked up Philip Norman’s Shout! The Beatles in Their Generation and have been totally devouring it. And I think it has rekindled my passion for reading, or maybe actually helped me have one. I generally hate reading. I think grad school ruined reading for me. But I really want to get back into reading, so I’ve made myself a To Be Read list.

to be read

It’s not quite as ambitious as M—–l’s (or anyone else that has made up a list of TBRs, to be honest), but this list does not factor in the 500+ pages I read every week for my graduate coursework. These are things I want to read For Me. Because I Want To. Not because I Have To. If you can’t tell I’m not a fiction book person. I stick pretty much only with non-fiction books. I’m hoping I can read all of these before the end of October. I think I can do it.

I’ve found some crochet patterns that have inspired me lately. I also just ordered a few new knitting and crochet books from KnitPicks that have fun patterns in them. (Gotta love 40% off book sales.) M—–l, there may be some crocheted weird creature things coming your way in the near future. You have been warned.

Until next time,
ek