thankful

Mom has been visiting for a bit this fall, so of course I'm taking her to all my favorite crafty places and we have been busy in the craft room. Here we are enjoying all the color at Back Porch Fabrics in Pacific Grove.

I hosted Thanksgiving dinner this year with a couple of friends, and she had this super cute pattern for little turkeys that we used as place holders/party favors on the table. 

She also brought a season-appropriate project from her stash at home. It did not take us long to get this silly guy put together. It was a fun backdrop for dinner as well. 

Then to add to the fun, we each painted rocks for the town rock snake! From left to right: me, Mark, Andrea, and mom. 

pacific vibes

I have been in a knitting mood lately! I have apparently also been in a "let's do that again" mood. Having just repeated a cowl pattern, now it's this hat's turn. As I've been cleaning up my craft room this fall I have noted that I have a lot of printed patterns and books. Part of this is listening to the inclination to use my hard copies instead of zooming around online to try to find things in the moment. I'm glad I am finding some favorites. 

This hat is from a book called Slip Stitch Knitting. I have made a couple things out of it over the years, and there are definitely more I've got my eye on. It took me just a week to finish this fun project. The slip stitching makes it interesting, and a worsted weight hat is just so fast, so it's a quick reward of a finish. I really enjoy this lovely blue iris color, and there is just enough dye variation to make it interesting without overwhelming the pattern. I got this yarn on a trip down to Pacific Grove, and it gives me ocean vibes. Cozy it's chilly and I need a hat ocean vibes. My favorite kind! It's made for a bigger head than mine, so it looks kind of funny in the model photo, but I'm confident the fit on the actual intended head will be even better.

Pattern: Siska Hat by Simona Merchant-Dest (my Ravelry page)

Yarn: Sea Change Fibers Seacliff Worsted in Iris

Needle: US 5 and US 7

cupcake cowl

I started this fun project in mid-September and finished it yesterday. I have not often repeated a pattern, but casting around for a good project to use two single skeins of worsted weight yarn, I remembered the first time I made this pattern that I enjoyed it very much. It is called Newsprint and it is a great way to learn (or remember in my case) how to knit brioche. 

I had this yarn in my stash from a prize drawing I won at Uncommon Threads. I swear I also got a pattern for a different cowl at the time but cannot find anything that fits the bill anywhere in my patterns. So if I did have one it's gone now. I'm trying to use up what I have, so when considering what else I could make with these two yarns in combination the Newsprint Cowl occurred to me. I haven't done brioche in quite a while so it seemed like an interesting way to go. 

I really like the way the variegated yarn sparkles both behind the brown and more prominently on the reverse side. I would probably wear it the bright side out all the time! The colors look a bit like brightly colored cupcake frosting to me. I ended up sending this home with my mom who has been here on a visit for my birthday. I think she'll get great use out of it in the blustery winters in Chicago.

Pattern: Newsprint Cowl by Haven Ashley (my Ravelry page)

Yarn: Manos del Uruguay Gloria in coffee and cincuenta

Needles: US 8