Be My Valentine...

To be perfectly honest, this hat was supposed to be ready a few months ago, but life took over and the project sat on the back burner for awhile waiting to be cast on. First it was simply going to be a warm winter hat (in October), then I tried to slate it as a Christmas hat (that failed for obvious reasons) but, finally it happened and it is now officially the Valentine's Day hat! Ever since the Royal Petites arrived at the store this last fall, I've been wanting to make the Buckingham Hat - not only is the yarn luxurious in color and texture, the sophisticated rib pattern and tailored crown decreases make this a classic handsome hat that I knew would be perfect for my hubby.

I'm thankful my dear husband understands that I have a few things happening on the needles -- shop samples, class projects, random experiments and the occasional project that is just for me -- and he very patient.

I did make modifications to the length so it would be plenty long to cover the ears -my notes for that can be found here on my Ravelry project page.

I've finished a couple other projects and started a couple more, I can't wait to share!

Did you make anything special for the Valentine in your life?

Cheers, Alisa

Simply Perfect... The Simple Beret

I love knitting and wearing hats. A great hat or beret is one of the most enjoyable knitting projects for me - fun, functional, great for chilly and/or bad hair days and nice to break things up when working on larger projects. I love Hannah Fettig's patterns because they are well-written and classic in styling - there's something motivating about knitting something that is going to stand up to the test of time. The new Knitbot Simple Beret pattern is classic, fun to knit and - quite simply - the perfect beret.

The pattern includes instructions for fingering, dk, worsted and bulky weight yarns and the finished berets in all of the weights are lovely! I started knitting shop samples before the printed patterns even arrived (thank you ravelry in-store sales) and I'm just about done. I started with the bulky and I'm closing in on the fingering weight now. I posted my original yarn and color selections last week and everything has stayed the same with the exception of the fingering weight - I'm testing out another yarn option for that beret that is totally making me drool.

This is also the perfect pattern for those of us that need a 'go-to' gift. You can easily match up yarn weight with the time you have available - I knit up the bulky weight for a friend yesterday in a matter of a few hours. It's been cold in Wisconsin so I knew a bulky beret would be well received.

I'll share the finished photos of the shop samples soon. I just have to say that I've loved knitting this beret multiple times and I can't wait to finally knit one that is for me to wear!

Cheers!

Alisa

Dyeing for a Gift

As a knitter, I find it challenging to give gifts to other knitters. I could knit for them, but that always feels weird. I could give something non-yarn related, but that just seems totally ridiculous. If it's store-bought, I just feel like I'm cheating them. So what did I do when a dear knitting friend recently had a birthday? I decided to dye for her! I've been toying with the idea of dying yarn for awhile now and this birthday was the perfect motivation. No matter how it turned out, I knew she would appreciate it and love it for what it was - you know, kind of like a kindergarten art project?

I've had supplies on hand for months now so I gathered them up and took a deep breath. This is what I came up with:

It reminds me of a sunrise or a sunset and I know she'll make something absolutely beautiful with it. I wanted her to be completely surprised so I had to keep it a secret. I'm not good at secrets so this was tough, but her over-the-top enthusiastic reaction made it all worthwhile and she was immediately looking for project ideas!

I'm not sure where this dying adventure will take me, but I know I will be back at it again in the near future. I really enjoyed doing something new just for fun and this experiment sure was fun!

For now, I'm excited to see what this beauty becomes. 

Cheers!