My Hat
So...I started knitting this hat in May and then I finished it in October and now I am sharing it with you now in December. It wasn't that I didn't like this hat, it just seemed to be never ending. Maybe that's because I knit a row here or there and didn't really force myself to get it finished in a timely manner. Knitting in the summer for a winter object in a too small for you size really gives a girl zero motivation to get anything done.

About the pattern, this was Purl Soho's free Traveling Cables hat and it was lovely. The pattern was really straight-forward and easy to follow. I liked how the pattern had the cable pattern written out too instead of having to follow a chart. Plus they included some good pictures on how to do the cables which would be helpful if this was your first cable project.

I used Malabrigo Merino Worsted in Azul Buscando. I love this yarn. It's so soft and easy to knit with. Easily one of my favorite yarns.

It's been unseasonably warm here in Indiana but if you're looking for a cabled hat to try, you could give this a go. Plus if it's been warmer than usual where you're at, maybe this will be done by next winter if you finish projects as slowly as I do! :)
My Project Details
Pattern on Ravelry 
Kollabora
I knit the body of this hat way back in the fall....probably Octoberish. Then I made the pompom for this hat in December and put it on the hat. Now I am sharing the project with you....I can't tell you how many compliments I have got on this hat already....I've been wearing it a lot. 

It's warm and soft and super cute. Who said you have to sacrifice style to stay warm? Another huge perk is that the project instructions are very clear and easy to follow plus the chunky yarn means you can knit one in a night! That's a win. I used yarn that I had on hand (win for not buying more!)

What you need:
1 skein chunky yarn (I used
US 15 circular or DPNs
Pompom maker 

Instructions:
See pattern on Ravelry for more details.
Check me out on Ravelry
I ordered the yarn for this project last winter. I had never ordered yarn online but I decided I wanted to invest in some higher quality, nicer yarn. So I did. I hadn't touched the yarn until Christmas break when I found this pattern and the yarn matched the pattern gauge.

Lately I have been getting more adventurous in my knitting. I learned how to two color knit or fair isle for this hat and used double pointed needles as well! They were both much easier than I had anticipated-just like cable knitting! I am really excited to keep continue adding new techniques to my knitting repertoire.

Yarn used:
Malabrigo Merino Worsted in Emerald, Molly, and Tiger Lily.
(I got these from another site.)

Close Up

I had made a pompom for the hat but it wasn't as big as I had hoped for and did not want to waste anymore of the emerald yarn for another one. I really like it sans pom too!

With all the polar vortex chills and blistering winds, this hat has really came in handy. I also took it up to Michigan for a ski trip. Super warm and soft!

Switched to DPN at decrease round 


I took apart a thrifted sweater using the method I showed you how to do in this post: Making Yarn Sorta for this hat. I used this pattern from Wool and the Gang!

You will also need needles that will meet the pattern's gauge of 6 stitches per inch. This is IMPORTANT! My gauge matched but I think I was supposed to use two strands of the yarn because I ended up with an infant sized hat.

I was excited for this to match my cowl and boot cuffs so I may have to knit another one in the correct gauge to wear around. This was my first try at knitting a hat though so I was pleasantly happy with how easy it was to make. It would have been nice for it to fit on my head but I know a couple of babies whose moms may want a hand knit hat! :)
See my project on Ravelry!

Because my first adventure in cable knitting was such a success, I just couldn't help but go back for more! So here's another go using a different pattern. I'll have to say that I like this one even more! We just got a bunch of snow at school so I have been wearing this pair and people have been complimenting me left and right. They are even more impressed when I share that I made it myself. :)

This headband/ear-warmers looks great with your hair up or down!

Yarn used: Bernat Roving in Lichen

One skein was enough to knit two ear warmers too plus extra yarn!

Needle Size: US 11

This is bad lighting, the color of the yarn is true to the photo above.
I began thinking about this back in November. I was thinking of things I enjoy doing and ways to save money. I decided that thrifting was obviously my favorite way to save and shop! I thrift the vast majority of my clothing so this year I am going to try to take it a notch up. This will help me save even more money as a shop and I am also helping the environment by loving someone else's old items. I am going to try and go a whole year of just thrifting! If I need it, I'll thrift it. 

I already have two exceptions though:
1. Underwear. I already have way too much but if I get a free underwear coupon from Victoria's Secret, I will use it.
2. Running shoes, you need to replace your shoes as they break down to avoid injury so I won't be thrifting someone else's.

Places I will be thrifting during 2014:
Salvation Army
Goodwill
St. Vincent de Paul Society
Local Shops
Garage Sales
Antique shops
Consignment stores
Auctions
If I need something else, I will try eBay and Craigslist.


To make things a bit more interesting, I gave myself an extensive list of things to try to find throughout the year. I will plan to check back in at the end of every month to show off what treasures I found second hand and how much I spent on each item. 

Here is a copy of my list.
You can save or print this to take thrifting with you.
Here is a copy of a blank template if you want to make your own thrifting list.

By the way, I found the template I used here.

Good luck, go out there, save money, and have fun!

Happy 2014!
Look at me on Kollabora!

It's getting cold here but friendship bracelets can add a little bit of summer to your outfit even in the winter months. They are a snap to make and look so much more fancy than they really are. 

See the fishes?
All you need is three colors of embroidery floss. I also like to use buttons to finish off bracelets but you can just as easily secure the bracelet with some knots too.

How to:

REMEMBER WHEN MAKING FRIENDSHIP BRACELETS YOU ALWAYS USE DOUBLE KNOTS!!!!

I made this pattern on on this site which is a great place to find friendship bracelet patterns and tutorials. You can also generate you on patterns on the site and it's free!
On row 23, the first knot should be a backwards black knot, NOT A FORWARDS  GREEN KNOT!


I made this pattern but it would not allow me to modify this so, I actually started on the second green fish again after the two rows of blue stripes after the first blue fish. If you look at the flat picture of my whole bracelet, this might make more sense.

What the arrows mean:
The Left Diagonal: FORWARD KNOT
The Right Diagonal: BACKWARDS KNOT
The Left then Right: FORWARD BACKWARDS KNOT
The Right then Left: BACKWARDS FORWARDS KNOT

Arrows explained:
Here's a great video explaining the 4 basic friendship bracelet knots that are used in this pattern and all friendship bracelet patterns by FrootLoopable
This was a fast bracelet a made over the summer using up some extra beads and leather cord. It took about 30 minutes to make and it's adjustable in length. 

You can check out how to make it here on my Kollabora page!


You can also check this project out on Kollabora here.
What you need:
12 skeins of embroidery floss
Scissors
Safety pin 
(I like to pin my laces <bracelets> to a pillow, jeans, or blanket as I work)

 A note on picking your colors, you will be working with two sections of three stings each. If you want your laces to match you will want 2 skeins of each color (one for each lace.) With that in mind, you could arrange your strings:
123, 123
121, 121 
122, 122 
123, 456
111, 222, etc.


How to:

1. With the 6 strands, tie a knot about one inch down. Separate your colors into two sections of three strings. For the sake of simplicity color A and color B.

2. Holding all three strands of color A, make ONE* forward knot around all three strands of color B.

3. Keep color A on the side it was originally on.

4. Holding all three strands of color B, make ONE* backwards knot around all three stands of color A.

5. Keep color B on its original side.

6.Repeat steps 2 through 5 until you have reached your desired shoelace length. Tie a knot and cut so there is one inch of string after the know.

7.Repeat again for your second shoe lace. 


This is a really easy beginner macrame/friendship bracelet pattern and its really stretchy which is great if you make your laces a little short. Experiment with colors and then show them off on your shoes!

 *For any other friendship bracelet, you always make two forward/backwards knots around one string, but for this pattern you only make one knot!

Enjoy :) 

See my cowl here
I love Ravelry! It has been a wonderful resource for me as a knitter. It's free to be a member and gives you access to hundreds thousands of free patterns for both knitting and crocheting.  There are also patterns available for purchase. You can search for them on the site too! You can also stash your yarn and needles on the site so you can view your inventory online.

 What I love most though is you can queued things so you can go back and knit them later. You also have a projects portfolio where you can add pictures and notes in case you modified a pattern you used. You can also create your own patterns for others to use or purchase. 

In the patterns, you can also view yarn ideas where you can see what yarns have been used by other knitters and how many times. You can also view pictures to see if you like how that type of yarn knit up for the pattern. This is great for me because so many patterns call for super expensive yarn that I can't afford at this point in my life. (Cough cough, gorgeous Purl Bee patterns.)

One of the patterns I had queued was the Drop Stitch Cowl. It only took me about two hours to finish and was so easy to follow. What I loved is that it is knit in the round so it is seamless and you only have to weave in the ends! It also called for a bulky yarn and big needles so it knit up super fast. I love one skein projects!

Find the how to HERE!

What you'll need:
A Stitch Marker
Size 15  20 inch circular needles 
One skein bulky yarn- I used Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick and Quick in Lemongrass
An hour or two


Awhile back I order some tiny little glass vials on eBay for a project I have yet to get around to. Strangely the seller sent me some studs. I sat around with the studs and tried to come up with some clever idea but couldn't. Eventually I came up with these. They are easy and fun and you can get the suede cord in any color. There is real leather suede and vegan suede so this is also a great alternative for vegans. 

I have this cord in black, olive green, camel, dark brown, light blue, burnt orange, and purple, but there are so many other color options out there!

You can see these bracelets here on Kollabora.


I made ear warmers last winter. It knit up really quickly and was an overall easy project. It used less than half a of skein of yarn so can't complain there. They are great to wear in the winter and are totally in style too! You can also check this out on Kollabora here or on Ravelry here!

I modified this pattern for my ear warmers:



What you will need:
Size 10 Knitting Needles
1 Skein Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick and Quick (Mine was in Charcoal)

A Brief Rundown:
This project is knit in a berry stitch (Row 1: K1, P1, repeat; Row 2: P1, K1, repeat.)
Since my yarn was thicker, I only used 1 strand vs the two used in the pattern.
At the end, I knit a small piece in the berry stitch instead of wrapping yarn around the seam. I made a button hole and used a button for closure to make it pop!

For my seam coverer:
CAST ON 6
Row 1: K1, P1, REPEAT
Row 2: P1, K1, REPEAT
Repeat Rows 1 and 2 until the piece is nearly long enough to cover your seam.
(REMEMBER: you want it scrunched, keep this in mind when you measure!)
Row 3: K1, P1, K1, YO, P1, K1, P1
ROW 4: P1, K1, P1, K1, K1, P1, K1
(Yes, I realize this throws off the berry stitch a bit.
ROW 5: CAST OFF

Pre-assembly

Friendship bracelets will always hold a soft spot in my heart because they are the first craft that I got really interested in and because they are the first craft that I got good at making. Seriously, not to brag or anything but in junior high and high school people would buy me string, show me a picture, and ask me to make the bracelet. And I would. So here is my rainbow leaf bracelet I made this summer. I made two versions, this button closure one and one that had braids on both sides to tie a knot for closure. I wore the braided one all summer on my ankle. You can also check this project out on Kollabora here.


How to:
This "leaf" braclet is a more sophisticated version of a chevron braclet. If you can make a chevron, you can do this! It's bascially a reverse chevron (working from inner strands to the outer vs a normal chevron working from the outer strands to the inner strands.)
  • fk=forward knot
  • bk=backward knot
  • ALWAYS, ALWAYS remember to do double knots
Choose five of your favorite colors of embroidery floss. Cut a long length of each and fold in half with a knot.
Arrange the strings: 1 2 3 4 5 5 4 3 2 1 
(for my braclet, orange=1, yellow=2, lime=3, aqua=4, and purple=5)
Step 1: With the left string 4 make a  fk around 5. With the right string 4 make a bk around string 5. Join both string 4s with a fk.
Step 2: With the left string 3 make a fk around 5, then a fk around 4. With the right string 3 make a bk around string 5, then a bk around 4. Join both string 3s with a fk.
Step 3: With the left string 2 make a fk around 5, then a fk around 4, and then a fk around 3. With the right string 2 make a bk around string 5, then a bk around 4, and then a fk around 3. Join both string 2s with a fk.
Step 4: With the left string 1 make a fk around 5, then a fk around 4, then a fk around 3, and then a fk around 2. With the right string 1 make a bk around string 5, then a bk around 4, then a fk around 3, and then a fk around string 2. Join both string 1s with a fk.
Step 5: Repeat steps 1-4, reassigning the numbers based on the current position of the string. 
Continue until your bracelet is long enough. End with a button closure or braided strands to tie around your wrist. 
If you get confused just remember that its a chevron bracelet working from the inner strands to the outer strands.

Good Luck :)



Knitting was something I always wanted to learn how to do but up until a few years ago, it was a mystery to me. Here is something I learned how to make last winter. I am no where near an expert but this was a fool proof cowl. You can also check out my cowl here on Kollabora.

As you know, infinity scarves are all the rage so this is a perfect scarf.

Lemongrass and Charcoal


What you need:
1 Skein Lionbrand Wool Ease Thick and Quick Yarn (P.S. I buy this yarn at JoAnn's with a 50% off coupon so it ends up costing me around $4 a skein or $4 a cowl!!!) 

This entire scarf is knit in a garter stitch. If you have any knitting knowledge, then you should be aware that the garter stitch is the most basic of all stitches.


This is a helpful video from PlanetPurl

However knitting the garter stitch with circular needles is a little different. Instead of inserting the needle into the back for every row, you alternate between inserting into the back for one row and then inserting it into the front for the next row. Now if you were doing this with straight needles, this would create the stockinette stitch. (SO if you knit into the back for every row with circular needles, you'll end up with a garter stitch pattern.)

This pattern will use the whole skein of yarn which is awesome as you won't have yarn scraps around.

How to:
Cast on 60 stitches
Place a stitch marker and join in the round.

This video is from WynnKnit

Row 1: Knit all stitches taking care not to twist the stitches
Row 2: Purl all stitches

Repeat rows 1 and 2 for pattern. 

When almost all you yarn is gone (a few yards left) cast off the stitches.

Weave in your ends.

This is a mindless scarf and it takes a few hours so it's a great scarf to make for Christmas or birthday gifts. 

I recommend if you have any questions on knitting to head over to youtube, I have learned so many stitches and techniques through videos over there!

Good Luck!
I really like Anthropologie. They offer timeless clothing and jewelry. I like that they have things that you can buy and they won't be out of style before the package arrives at your door. I don't like their price range. But I LOVE how easy more of their accessories are to recreate.

Take these barrettes for instance:
They cost $28 
Now look at these:

They cost less than $2 a barrette and you can make a ton.

I made these about a year ago and have a tutorial posted on Kollabora.

P.S. most craft stores have tons of different colors and styles of elastic sequins but who says you can't use ribbon or fabric or anything else you can think of?

Happy Crafting!