Chunky Chicago Cowl

Smooshy and lacy waves of warmth!
Difficulty Level: Easy!
Dimensions: 25" circumference, 12" height

I definitely stole this pattern from another fun knitting website I found (I'm constantly perusing the internet in search of new fun patterns...) here. Then I put my own spin on it. I am for sure going to try it with LionBrand yarn (I really like their "thick and quick") though as it's cheap and comes in tons of fun colors, but I had this really thick yarn and had been looking for something to make with it... anyway, here goes:

I used size 13 circular needles and a stitch marker. The gauge is unimportant.
I first cast on 55 stitches, placed the marker and joined to knit in the round.
Rows 1 & 2 - Knit
Row 3 - *(p2tog) twice, (yo, k1) 3 times, yo, (p2tog) twice; repeat from * 4 more times
Row 4 - Knit
Repeat these rows 7 more times. Knit one more row and then bind off loosely. Voila!

I have made four of these so far and given two away as gifts. I think they're a hit and are certainly easy to make! I finished one in about 3 hours, so it's a nice project to work on while watching tv in the evenings. I love the chunky yarn I bought from Cascade Yarns called Lana Grande- it is a super bulky weight yarn that came in a lot of fun colors.

This looks super cute with a coat and will be perfect for the upcoming Chicago winter! And, as my bff mentioned, is a GREAT double chin hider ;-)

Nick's Collegiate Hat

Nick's Collegiate Hat

I made this hat for one of my brothers, Nick, who just graduated college from Drexel University in Philly. They are the Drexel Dragons with the colors of navy and gold. I actually followed an older pattern and just cast on more stitches to make it larger.

I used the same idea as the Pumpkin head beanie, because this is actually a reversible pattern with one side being more of a beanie and the other shaping as more of a beret. If you check out the Pumpkin Head hats http://erincanknit.blogspot.com/2009/08/halloweenie-beanie-aka-pumpkin-head-hat.html you can see that this is in more of a beret shape. I flipped it to the other side for the little broski.

I just cast on 110 and followed the exact same pattern.

I added in two rows of gold into an otherwise navy hat. It turned out great and my brother said he would actually WEAR it!

Huffy Hat

I made this "huffy hat" in about 3 hours, which is probably a record for me. I call it the huffy hat as that is the childhood nickname for my stepdad, Richard, who this hat (and scarf when complete) will be for.

He is probably one of the few males in my life that will appreciate a hand made gift like this as he's got his own artsy side as well. My stepfather, Rich, has been a great father-figure in my life, and I say figure as I do have a Dad that is wonderful also, although I'm not sure he'd wear a hat that I knit. Huffy would. I am also known to him endearingly as "muffy"... so the name seemed appropriate.

I used a city tweed in chocolate that I bought on sale at knitpicks.com for about 3.99 a ball. I used size 7 circulars and cast on 72 stitches. After joining in the round, I followed the ribbing pattern of K2, P2 for about 9 inches. I have found that making really long hats works well as they can be folded over and can still cover the tops of ears.

I used a new decrease pattern I found and it turned out pretty cool, which is why I wanted to share this new design. The scarf will follow, at some point...

Any type/color of worsted-weight yarn (try several colors, and do stripes if you like!), cast on 72 st, and do the rib stitch (described above) for desired length (again, I like them long). To start decrease:

First: (This is the beginning of the cast off): k.2, k2 tog, repeat to end of row
Next row: purl
Next row: * k.1, k2 tog to end of row
Next row: purl*
Continue * *until there are 7-10 stitches left on the needle.

Sew in a circular pattern picking up all leftover stitches and wind through top of design to hide the end. That's all she wrote.

The Boss's Wife Wine Coozie

My mom raised me to never show up at someone’s house empty-handed (especially someone you’d like to make a good impression on, like your boyfriend’s parents or your boss’s wife…). It just so happens I was invited to my boss’s wife's home jewelry party and wanted to make something nice to show that I’m not only the best employee in the office but am amazingly creative, thoughtful and talented. HA. In my dreams. Let’s just say everyone loves wine and who doesn’t want to oooh and aaaahh over a little wine coozie.

I kind of did a variation on several wine coozie patterns that I found online to make one that worked for me. The whole thing from cast on to the bow tie finish on the cord took me about 10-15 hours over 3 days, so all in all, it was a pretty quick project. Since I’m still suffering from pain from the back surgery, I have been the loser of all losers and doing absolutely nothing on the weekends. The finishing of this little bobble made me feel like I was half-way productive this particular Friday and Saturday night!

To make the coozie- I used Lionbrand’s homespun beige yarn on size 9 double pointed needles:
Cast on 36 stitches and divide onto 3 dpn's. Place marker and join to begin working in the round.

Work 9 rows K3, P3 ribbing around.
Row 10: K3 *P1, yo, P2tog, K1, yo, K2tog* repeat between *'s around to last 6 stitches, K1, yo, K2tog, P3
Work 9 more rows K3, P3 ribbing around.
Knit all stitches on next and all following rows until work measures 12 1/2 ".
Purl 1 row.
Knit 2 rows and begin decreases.

Decrease rows:
Row 1: *K2, K2tog* repeat between *'s around
Row 2: Knit
Row 3: *K1, K2tog* repeat between*'s around
Row 4: Knit
Row 5: *K2tog* repeat between *'s around

Cut yarn and thread through stitches remaining on needles. Weave in ends.
To create the “berries and leaves” (they were supposed to be grapes but I got sick of making the little round balls after three, so thus, they are berries) I used a sock weight yarn called “Matsuri Lime/Purple”. Oddly enough I ripped out the purple part for the berries and the Lime for the leaves, but that’s why you can see flecks of all colors in each.

I used size 2 straight needles for both:
To make the Leaves:
CO 5 sts.
Row 1 [RS]: K2, YO, k1, YO, k2. 7 sts.
Row 2 and All WS Rows: P all sts.
Row 3 [RS]: K3, YO, k1, YO, k3. 9 sts.
Row 5 [RS]: K4, YO, k1, YO, k4. 11 sts.
Row 7 [RS]: K5, YO, k1, YO, k5. 13 sts.
Row 9 [RS]: Ssk, k9, k2tog. 11 sts.
Row 11 [RS]: Ssk, k7, k2tog. 9 sts.
Row 13 [RS]: Ssk, k5, k2tog. 7 sts.
Row 15 [RS]: Ssk, k3, k2tog. 5 sts.
Row 17 [RS]: Ssk, k1, k2tog. 3 sts.
Row 19 [RS]: Sl 1, k2tog, psso. 1 st rem. Bind off.

To make the berries:
CO 3 sts
Row 1: P3
Row 2: K1, YO, K1, YO, K1 (5 stitches)
Row 3: P5
Row 4: K5
Row 5:P5
Row 6: K2tog through the back, K1, K2tog (3 stitches)
Row 7: Slip 1, P2 tog through the back pass slip stitch over, thread end through to cast off

Tie both cast on and cast off ends together and use one end to sew base together and make a small ball

I used a twisted cord to finish and looped it through the ridge on the coozie while it was on a wine bottle to make sure it fell in the correct places. Tied in a bow and “ta-da”.

broken rib stitch scarf and ribbed hat

The Broken Rib Stitch scarf and hat set is made out of my new favorite yarn by Lion Brand called "thick n quick". It's super chunky and knits up really fast which is obviously satisfying that you can start a project and finish it so quickly.

The hat is a very basic pattern that I follow all the time for most of my hats. It's a simple rib stitch that I made extra long so there was room to fold over a brim.

The scarf is broken rib stitch which is just a version of ribbing in a K2, P2 pattern. So to cast on it is an even number (I did 20) and then add an extra 3 stitches (so I had 23). Follow the K2, P2 pattern till the last three, then do K2, P1. Follow this for every row. The extra purl stitch is what makes the "broken" rib for the next row. I added tassels on and... ta da!

This is a great yarn and an easy pattern for a warm set for cold Chicago winters!

Isaiah's Knits

Isaiah is the son of my best friend Erin, who with me is known as the other half of the "Urns". Isaiah is our love child and I absolutely adore him like my own. He has, however, gotten some of the the firsts that I've ever knitted including this wreck of a baby blanket...

This is the first thing I ever tried to make other than a scarf- and let's just say it's is more "cape" like rather than the symmetrical square size it should be. Whatever, it's soft and it's the thought that counts, right? Okay okay, he's got another one in the works that will be much nicer and fancier. For now, he's got a blankey that can be stuffed in the stroller or car seat to keep his little feeties warm on night-time walks around their Wilmington NC neighborhood.

I used a soft baby alpaca yarn (2.5 skeins) and with size 15 circular needles did a simple garter stitch for the whole thing. Then I used the slim knowledge of tassles to tie on some uneven ones as the finishing touch. It's not my best work, but I wanted Isaiah to have the first blanket I had ever made.

Erin and I also like to call him "pumpkin head" so he of course got one of those little caps too. He's too cute for words and I miss him (and his mommy!) everyday.

Baby Patrick Baby Blankey

This blankey was made for my Mom's Cousin Kelly's Son, Patrick... so that makes him my, uh, 3rd cousin once removed? I have no clue. Anyway, Kelly is one of my favorites and when she had a baby, I arranged a trip to see her while I was also in North Carolina visiting my friend Erin. It worked out great as I got to spend some quality time with her three sons, Tyler, Ryan and Patrick (and husband Shawn). This was probably my best knitting project to date just because it was fun to knit, the yarn was soft and easy to work with, and it came out really nice.

I cast on 110 stitches on size 11 straight needles. Work in a garter stitch for about 2.5 inches ending on a wrong side row.

The Pattern:
Row 1: K13, place marker, *yo, K1; Repeat from * to last 13 sts, place marker, K13 (you will have 168 sts between markers at this point)
Row 2: K13, purl to marker, K13
Row 3: K13, K2tog to marker, K13 (back to 110 sts)
Row 4 and Row 5: K13, *yo, K2tog, rep from * to marker, K13
Rows 6, 7, 8: Knit across

Repeat rows 1-8 until blanket measures approximately 32.5 inches, finish with another 2.5 inches of garter stich and bind off purlwise.

I used a worsted weight yarn in a soft cotten blend for this yarn in a color called "silver sage". It's washable and easy to work with!

Check out the cutest pics of Babby Patrick cuddling with his handmade gift from Cousin Erin :-)