Healing Crochet: Fortune’s Shawlette

Fortune's Shawlette

Pattern: Fortune’s Shawlette from Moogly Blog
Yarn: Hawthorne Fingering Kettle Dye Yarn in Slate
Hook: 5.00mm (US H/8)

Hi, guys. Remember me? I want to talk about this shawl and soothing crochet in general.

Stitch patterns like the one in Fortune’s Shawlette create an environment for your mind to relax. After the first few repetitions, you don’t really have to think about it anymore; your hands know what to do. That’s what makes a good comfort shawl pattern–a stitch pattern you don’t have to think about, so you can pray for/about healing. Each stitch is free to transform from an “over, through, over, through” in your mind to a “thank you, God” or any other thought/prayer you need to put out there. I don’t think this was necessarily meant to be a prayer shawl, but it certainly was a great pattern to use as one.

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fortune4

fortune1

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Crochet is such a pwoerful tool to use to bring comfort and healing to yourself and others.

#BulkyHatKAL with Blue Sky Alpacas

Blue Sky Alpacas BULKY

The good folks over at Blue Sky Alpacas are hosting a really lovely Bulky Hat knit-a-long, right now, in their Ravelry Group. Through December 15, you can get a coupon for $5 off their Bulky Knit Hats for Kids & Adults book by Sarah Smuland. For every completed hat you post, you are entered to win a cool prize that includes a knitting kit AND needles from Knitter’s Pride. Pretty sweet, hmm?

I was sent enough yarn to knit the amazing “Trapper Hat” from the book. I LOVED the ear flaps and was intrigued by the fluffy bits under them and on the brim. I chose the colorway Atlantis because my kids both love blue and it’s totally grown on me. I’ll take a blue of every yarn ever, thankyouverymuch.

Trapper Hat, knit

It took me about 3 hours to knit this baby up. You start with the ear flaps and brim, then they get joined and you work the rest of it. It was a super simple pattern to follow and I was almost ready to call it a day right there. BUT THEN…I remembered the fluff. I really wanted to see how much cuter this hat could get.

trapperhatprogress2

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The answer was “pretty damn cute.” It took me about as much time to attach 300+ pieces of fringe as it did to knit. I thought it would be a tedious process that would bore me to tears, but I was SO wrong! I found my groove while working and with each piece that was attached, I got more and more excited.

I let out an actual squeal when it was done. I sewed up the front brim and plopped it on my head. SO DAMN CUTE. My son walked in a few seconds later, I suppose to see what the ruckus was, and I pretty much threw it on his head and squealed again. What could make this cute hat cuter? This dude’s cheeks.

Knitting: Trapper Hat

Knitting: Trapper Hat 2

trapper-a3

Knitting: Trapper Hat sides

Knitting: Trapper Hat back

Knitting: Trapper Hat 4

I knit the largest size, so it is definitely too big for his head. It even fits me a bit over-sized, but I think it works well with this style of hat. I let him ride his scooter with it and giggled pretty much the entire time.

riding

blue headed

Knitting: Trapper Hat cutie

We hate our sidewalks. Look at that face! Sigh.

Check out the KAL and maybe join us? These quick knits would be great Christmas presents!! This is the project that put me on an extreme bulky knits kick. Did I mention I’ve knit like five cowls in the past 2-3 weeks? I knit TWO more, today. It’s just SO nice to start a project and finish it the same day. Bulky yarn for the win!

Disclaimer: I was sent yarn and needles to complete this project. All opinions in this post are most definitely my own.

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Crochet: Cropped Cardigan

craspedia cropped cardigan

Pattern: Craspedia Cropped Cardigan by Linda Permann (also on Ravelry here)
Yarn: 6 skeins KnitPicks Comfy (fingering weight) in Planetarium
Hook: 3.75mm (US F-5)
Modifications: Had to go up in hook size to get gauge. Only 5 DC in each scallop instead of 7.

side detail

cropped cardigan

I finally made myself something to wear. This is the first time I have crocheted a garment in pieces. I did some legit blocking and seaming, guys! I wanted a lacy, but not too lacy cardigan. I liked the cropped-but-past-my-boobs look of this one. The rounded, scalloped front is adorable and the gathered sleeve caps are killin’ me. It was a fairly easy pattern to follow, too!

front detail

craspedia cropped cardigan

craspedia cropped cardigan back

The yarn isn’t anything fancy, but I like it. The color is brighter in natural light, as above. It looks a little navy-ish in darker environments. It’s soft and washable, though I haven’t put it through my machine yet. I wore it, this weekend, to a graduation. I put all our other clothes to wash and left this out. I’m ALWAYS nervous to wash my crocheted stuffs. I have these visions of opening the washer and finding a ball of yarn. It hasn’t happened yet, but still… it could, right? Please tell me I’m not the only one who feels like this!

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“All is Full of Fluff” knit pillow pattern

All is Full of Fluff knit pillow pattern

Pillows are my jam, right now! With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, a heart pillow was naturally on the top of my list. I wanted something fun and most definitely pink. This is the first time I’ve used a fur yarn and I kind of LOVE it.

Materials
2 skeins Lion Brand Luxe Fur in pink and 1 skein of worsted weight acrylic. I’m not 100% sure of the brand–I just looked for a hot pink in my scraps that blended well with my fur yarn. I would guess it was about 100 yards.
9 mm (US 13) needles
yarn needle for sewing/weaving in ends
poly-fil stuffing

Abbreviations
CO: cast on
K: knit
Kfb: knit in front and back loop of stitch
K2tog: knit two together
SSK: slip slip knit (slip each of the next two stitches separately, then put them back on the left needle and K them together)

Pattern
Make 2

Bottom of heart
With BOTH yarns, CO 2
Row 1: Kfb across, turn. (4)
Row 2-3: K, turn. (4)
Row 4: Kfb, K 2, Kfb, turn. (6)
Row 5-6: K, turn. (6)
Row 7: Kfb, K 4, Kfb, turn. (8)
Row 8-9: K, turn. (8)
Row 10: Kfb, K 6, Kfb, turn. (10)
Row 11-12: K, turn. (10)
Row 13: Kfb, K 8, Kfb, turn. (12)
Row 14-15: K, turn. (12)
Repeat the process of increasing in the first and last stitches and knitting two even rows between the increase rows until you have 24 stitches on your needle. Knit 3 rows and then move on to the lobe directions.

Lobe
Row 1: K 10, K2tog, turn. (11 stitches, leave 12 un-worked on other needle)
Row 2-3: K, turn. (11)
Row 4: SSK, K 9, turn. (10)
Row 5: SSK, K 8, turn. (9)
Row 6: K, turn. (9)
Row 7: K 7, K2tog, turn. (8)
Row 8: K 6, SSK, turn. (7)
Row 9: K, turn. (7)
Row 10: SSK, K 3, K2tog, turn. (5)
Row 11: K, turn. (5)
Row 12: SSK, K 1, K2tog, turn. (3)
Bind off 3 stitches.

Attach yarns at outside edge of remaining 12 stitches, arranging them on opposite needle. Repeat Rows 1-12 for second lobe. When you turn after Round 12, the wrong side will be facing. Bind off all stitches. Weave in ends on this wrong side.

After making two hearts, arrange them with wrong sides together and whip stitch them together with the worsted weight yarn only. Leave a 2-inch gap for stuffing. I stuffed mine almost until it was a little too stiff. From my experience, over-stuffing is better because it will get compacted with use. Sew the gap shut once you are satisfied with the amount of fluff.

All is Full of Fluff, knit pillow pattern from goodknits

I’m not sure if this pillow will be out all year, but for now, it’s sitting pretty on my couch, which I am still loving. I want to make a million pillows for it but at the same time I just want to stare at the bare couch all the time. Maybe I should just knit a pillow for every season/holiday so I can have a nice selection from which to choose!

All if Full of Fluff, knit pillow pattern from goodknits

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Christmas: the happy card

We are barreling toward Christmas and I just want things to slooooow down. For like a day, at least. Please? We put up our tree, this weekend, and I realized I haven’t bought ANY gifts. I finished knitting one glove, then moved on to deep cleaning/organizing both my living room and office (we FINALLY bought a couch! Another story for another day). I’m still not finished with that, but at least you can see my floor, now! I’m going to be one of those poor souls out shopping the weekend before Christmas. Maybe crying a bit in the car. We’ll see!

Anyway, I say all that to get to this: the Christmas card! In years past, I have taken and edited photos by early November. This year, we were a week into December and I still had no idea what we’d do! On Sunday, I started getting a little anxious about it, so I went outside with my boys and just took a bunch of shots. It was a cold+gray day, but they still had fun and we were all giggling around the yard. This shot ended up being my favorite. It isn’t perfect and they aren’t even looking at the camera, but it so wholly captures their joy for this season!

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Last year, I entered my card into the Holiday Photo Challenge at thepapermama.com and it was great fun, so I’m entering this year, as well. She always has a quirky card to share. I kind of love that her chickens are in her photo, this year. Seriously. Go check it out: 2013 Holiday Photo Challenge @thepapermama! Enter your own card for a chance to win some super prizes.

Here are some outtakes from this year:

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boys3boys4
boys-trip
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With a full heart, we wish you a happy Christmas! If you’re on my address list, you’ll hopefully get a card before the big day. If not, consider this your e-version!

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