owlsinstitches

Guess what?

I have a second Etsy shop!

www.owlsinstitches.etsy.com

What is it?

A shop selling PDF patterns as instant downloads.

What are they for?

For now it's only knit and crochet patterns but soon there will be cross-stitch as well!
The knit/crochet ones are also available as Ravelry downloads. (You don't need an account.)

An Etsy exclusive includes the 3 for $10 headband pattern bundle. (Thanks to the lovely Leia for modeling!)

Itching to Knit

With the cooler weather comes the uncontrollable urge to curl up with a cup of tea to make cozy things with colourful yarns. Last year I made seed-stitched cowls, cabled boot cuffs and braided headbands. What should I do this year? I am leaning towards stocking up on pillow forms, thick yarns and whipping up a batch pillows for my bed, but for now here are some fabulous patterns I've come across lately that would make amazing gifts:

Devonshire Cream pattern by Laura Aylor

Chic Easy Shrug by Fine Craft Guild (sign up to view the pattern)

Herringbone Cuddler by Kara Mayfield

Follow me on Pinterest to see more of my favs!

Knitted Cowls: A Love Story

This past Christmas, I wanted to do more handmade gifts. I always say I am going to do this but then life gets away from you and you're left with abandoned supplies, unfinished scarves and broken dreams. Since I was on a clutch-making rampage at the time, a bunch of people got those, but I wanted to knit a cowl for my mom.

I used this pattern and it came out beautifully. I've never used Bernat Roving yarn before but it quickly became a favourite. And buying my first pair of circular needles was awesome until I realized I bought too-long ones so knitting in the round as instructed wasn't an option. But I do love how knitting on the subway is no longer a hazardous activity. :)

I enjoyed this pattern so much that I immediately made another one for my friend in "Royal". Then another for myself. This time in Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick & Quick in "Butterscotch". Selfies ensued.

Cozy happiness.

And, eff it, after an impromptu post-work Mary Maxim trip I bought yarn and promptly started my fourth with Bernat Roving "Low Tide". Absolutely beautiful. But I did a basket weave knit stitch this time.

Yes, I am in love.

First attempt at the basket weave!

The number of knitters and crocheters at work has grown exponentially over the past while so it is always a good idea to have a project on hand for lunchtime knitting sessions. Now that I have exhausted the cowls, headbands are next!

Yellow Afghan: COMPLETION

Blog post for Jessica!

After 8 weeks, the yellow blanket of loveliness is complete! I bought 16 balls of yarn which was definitely too much for the original 48 pieces (6x8). This size was too small anyways so I pressed on and finished at 80 pieces (8x10) with 4 balls leftover!

Obligatory chair pose:

Horrible photograph of the whole thing:

Posing with the staircase:

And I just like this picture :P

THE END!

Ruffled Bib

Ravelry.com is by far one of the best websites around. A knitting and crocheting community full of patterns, photos, and yarn nerds from around the world. Not only a source of inspiration but also a means of organizing your projects, supplies, and joining groups in your community.

I found this pattern recently and just had to give it a try. Here are the results!

The colour is much more vibrant than shown (find me on Ravelry to see it better!), unfortunately it didn't translate here!

Birdies

All righty! Here is a quickly thrown together collection of some amigurumi pieces I have made since the beginning of the year. I have not made one for myself but I do have a random assortment of photos of ones I have made others.

Here is the purple bird I made my supervisor for her birthday and the orange I made my friend for hers.

My lovely friend Jessica (gorgeous blog found here) has already made a post about a bird I made for her and this is photo she took:

And last but not least, the two I made for my parents:

It would be nice to get them all together for a group shot! Also, I really need one for my desk! Dare I make yet another?

Yellow Afghan: Progress II

Some quick photos of the progress of my yellow blanket!

This picture gives a good impression of size so far!

I love this pattern.

Yellow Afghan: Progress

Yesterday was a glorious day. I returned home from work to see a large box of yarn awaiting me...

I set off to work straightaway!

Today involves more crocheting and Lord of the Rings boxsets. Perfection.

Head Start

I love to crochet, especially giant afghans. I have made two since 2008, one per spring (photos coming in a future post!) but I have had a slow start with the afghan of 2010.

The original plan was to make a thick and chunky blanket out of butterscotch coloured yarn but unfortunately, the yarn alone would have cost me well over $100.00. Waaaay over budget. While looking for yarn deals online, I came across this pattern. Immediate inspiration. It is so straightforward yet beautiful. I have decided to make it with yellow yarn, in accordance with my recent obsession with yellow. Mmm... yellow.

Anyways, the yarn has been ordered but I do not expect it to arrive anytime soon so, in anticipation, I did a test run of the pattern and was pleasantly surprised. It wasn't difficult and it certainly wasn't boring. Here is the end result:

I had so much fun making this piece, I cannot wait until my yarn comes so I can make *counts* 48 more! Yikes!