Be Safe Beanie Pattern

Materials:
Worsted weight yarn, 1 ball black, 1 ball pink or red. Size 6 and 7 circular needles, size 7 dpns.

Instructions:
With Size 6 needles and black yarn CO 108 sts and join for knitting in the round.

Edging:
Work k1p1 rib for 6 rnds.

Body:
Change to size 7 needles, knit 2 rnds black, 1 rnd pink or red, 2 rnds black, work 14 rnds from chart. Knit 2 rnds black, 1 rnd pink or red, continue knitting in black until hat measures 5 inches from cast on edge.

Next rnd: *K27, pm; rep from * to end of rnd -- 4 markers in place.

Decrease for top:
Rnd 1: *K2tog, k23, ssk; rep from * to end of rnd--100sts
Every even rnd knit.
Rnd 3: *K2tog, k21, ssk; rep from * to end of rnd 92 sts.
Continue decreases every other rnd until 12 sts remain.
Then cut yarn, thread through rem 12 sts.

Finally done with the shawl

I just finished working on the shawl for the yarn shop. I was working on it for about a month. It had to be about 6 foot long so it did take a while, and I had a hard time finding time to sit down and work on it. Its a little easier during winter to just sit and knit all day since the weather is cold and nasty outside most of the time. But its summer now and I have a toddler. When its pretty and sunny outside I feel bad keeping him cooped up in the house all day. We both feel better if we go out during the day. So I think I'm down to working on knitting in the evenings while listening to an audio book with my husband or watching a movie. I swear every time I picked up my knitting my son would start crying and screaming at me. He'd want to sit on my lap or play the moment I'm occupied. I tried taking my knitting with us to the park one day, sitting on a bench knitting while Lucas played. Still not quite the best option I'm afraid, as I have to run after him to make sure he doesn't get into trouble.

Project for Yarn Shop

I'm still not done with my sweater yet. I haven't been knitting this week, I've been busy spring cleaning. I've got the body done and 1 sleeve done, I'm working on the second sleeve. I'm going to have to put that on hold for a little bit because I have another project from Black Mountain Yarn Shop. I'm knitting a shawl with this extra fine mohair yarn. This stuff is kind of a pain to work with, I hope it looks good when it's finished. The yarn itself is really pretty, the project is a pain. I have 5 balls in different colors, it will be striped. The brand of yarn is Be Sweet. On the label it reads,
"This yarn was hand spun and dyed by women in South Africa under a job creation program that has offered opportunity in an economically depressed rural region with a 75% unemployment rate and little opportunity aside from hard labor in pineapple fields...Enjoy this beautiful product knowing that you have brought hope into a South African community and that a portion of your purchase is helping support the local school!"
I think this is a good brand of yarn to invest it, I wouldn't mind taking a look at what other yarns they have.

Magic Loop

My current project I'm working on is a sweater that I bought the pattern for and really wanted to make for myself. Its an owl sweater, the cowl of the sweater has owls all around using cabling to create the owls. It is a really cool design so I really wanted to make it. The worst part about knitting sweaters is that when you are done with the knitting you have to sew all the pieces together before you can enjoy it, which is a slow tedious process. The best part about this sweater is that it is knit in the round, no seeming for me to do. I got to the part where I have to start working on the sleeves which of course are also knit in the round from the cuff up. I had to start with size 10 needles, I have those in circular but not in dpns. So I had to figure out the magic loop method I keep reading about in these patterns. I found this wonderful website with instructional videos for all kinds of knitting techniques and found a video that showed me exactly how to do it.

http://www.knittinghelp.com/videos/advanced-techniques

Now that I know how to do magic loop this is so easy to do! Even though I have several years now of experience knitting, there are all kinds of things I still need to learn. Now that I have enough experience knitting, its fun learning more advanced techniques. Moving on to more advanced stuff makes knitting challenging and more fun.

Frogged the owl

I have all the pieces for the owl knit, but I couldn't figure out how to put it all together, and then I remembered I hate knitting toys because they are such a pain. So I have frogged that project for now and may pick it back up at a later time.
I just got back from yarn shopping, and got a bunch of yarn. I found a sale and decided to stock up. So now I have plenty of options but I don't know what to work on next! Hrm, should I make something for myself, or something for my shop? That is the question.

My next project

I'm making a snowy owl like Hedwig in Harry Potter. I always thought Hedwig was a beautiful owl and wanted a snowy owl of my own. Actually, I'd like a cross between Hedwig and Pigwidgeon, a tiny snowy owl, but I'll just start with this. I have some left over white sparkly wool yarn from knitting snowmen this past winter. I'm thinking the white wool will give her that soft fluffy look. I'm still trying to decide how to do the eyes, I guess I figure that out once I get there.

Finished!

I finally finished my hat and I just added it to my Etsy store! Now I just have to figure out what to make next.

I hate working on lace!

Its always pretty when it turns out, but it is such a pain when knitting it. Last night I think I spent like an hour or so undoing a few rounds and trying to figure out what I did wrong. And then of course my husband came down with the flu and my son wouldn't go to sleep, so it was a fun night. So now I'm almost done with the hat.

Back from Black Mountain

I just got back from taking a sweater to Black Mountain Yarn Shop. I've been knitting samples for the store, this is my 3rd sample now. Donna, the owner, said she'd have more for me to do in about a week. So I have a week to work on knitting some stuff up for my Etsy store! I'm working on a cotton hat right now, hopefully if my son lets me get some knitting in today, I can finish it tonight.