Fluffy Bunnies Finito

With my angora/merino blend yarn that came from Maine I made a scarf by crocheting a single stitch then a scalloped edge.

Delicious And Delightful Done

Even though this project was meant to be a "Cap-Puccino" I'm a beginner knitter and was not yet ready to follow a pattern for hats. So a basic knit stitch for this yarn until it ran out. I have since learned a few other stitches but still staying in the safety of scarves.

Chunky Monkey Complete

I turned last years Birthday present into a hat and scarf set. I made them using Sam's knifty knitter loom that comes in a set of four different sizes. With close guidance from Sam (also modeling the hats and scarf) I quickly finished the brown hat, it went so well I made the white hat with plenty of wool left over to make a matching scarf.

Fluffy Bunnies

My present all the way from Maine, two skeins of soft snuggly 40% angora/60% merino wool.

Sams Knifty Knitting

Sam made this hat and scarf using her Knifty Knitter tool.

Delicious And Delightful

Whether the reason was not enough room in their luggage or not enough passion for the needles does not matter to me. Jonathan brought back from college this little present he found abandoned in a dorm room. A great find too as the price is still on the bottom at $20.

Lots Of Bobbles

With the third and final yarn my Auntie sent me I crochet a scarf. Keeping count for the bobble stitch slowed me down and despite doing several rows a night I felt like it was taking forever. The spring sun is warm but the wind off the ocean is chilly keeping it in the 40's so I wore my newly finished scarf today.

Things My Auntie Should Have Told Me

In my adorable basket of crochet themed gifts was a pair of shiny wooden knitting needles. Little did my Auntie know that she had planted a seed of addiction. But I couldn't remember how to knit! Thank you YouTube...after a long search I found a tutorial on how to knit from someone I could understand and got to work knitting this scarf. The yarn was lovely to work with but I was very careful not wanting to slip a stitch having no idea how to fix that issue. There was enough yarn left over to make a crochet hat, but I had never made one before so I searched for an easy pattern on YouTube. It was stitching up too large so I decided to salvage it by continuing to make it larger turning it into a beret. Even though it's now March there's still plenty of chilly days left to wear and show off my newest projects.

Fluffy Puffy Shawl

My Auntie Christine got me three different kinds of yarn for my birthday. I made a shawl with this one, it was difficult to crochet with the size hook they suggested, but switching to a much larger hook solved the problem. I crochet three rows of single crochet then three rows of double crochet skipping every other stitch to give an open look (remembering to chain in place of the skipped stitch). To make the shape of a triangular shawl I decreased at the beginning of every row. I kept crocheting until the two balls I had were finished. My plan was to make myself a pretty shawl for the summer nights that get chilly here living near the water.

My Fancy Scarf

My Auntie Christine knitted this scarf for me. It's ambition in life was to be a blanket, but it had very expensive tastes and therefore became a lovely comfy scarf instead. I will ask Christine if she remembers the pattern and put it on here at a later time.

A Blue And White Beanie

By Christine Neary

Stylish Beanie

This is another beanie, but the difference is I knitted one half and crocheted the other just to give it a bit of style. Again it knits up easily. The wool is from Peru, the colour is called tintada, it is 40% wool, 40% acrylic and 20% alpaca. The hat pattern is under "The Red Slippers".

By Christine Neary

Fun Beanies

These two hats (which are really called beanies) that Logan is modeling for me were knitted with spare wool I had left. They knit up very quickly and just fun to wear. From the same pattern already on The Craft Basket under "The Red Slippers". The blue hat is made from Lion Brand Yarn in cobalt, it is machine washable and dryer safe, made of polyester and acrylic. The multicoloured hat is made from what I call my "freaky" wool. The brand is Moda Dea Yarns using Jai Alia yarn in damsen. It is 100% polyester. This is a fun hat for fun things!

By Christine Neary

Betty's Creative Crochet

These are the three blankets and cushion I made just before Christmas.

By Betty McCreadie

Purple Poncho With Matching Hat

Oh...my Aunties are so clever and creative! This is my chenille poncho and matching hat my Auntie Chris made for me as a Christmas present in 2005. She was not following any pattern so for them to fit without seeing me (I have a large noggin) was well done.

I'm Ready To Roll

My fingers have defrosted at last (see post below this one) and I have made 120 chains. The first few rows are always finicky but once past that hurdle it's "flying fingers fun!" It's going to be a plain single crochet stitch as I have two other crochet projects on the go, using a "ridge" and "bobble" stitch. I have to concentrate so much on those that I want to watch TV while making this blanket. I can't remember how I used to make a knot to begin the chain but I now use the one shown on "The Art Of Crochet". If you love crochet go have a look, she has so many great projects and easy to follow videos.

The Red Slippers

I knitted these two wee hats thinking they would turn out to be two big hats for adults. But I may have used the wrong size needles so now they will fit a child. I will have to try again. I also knitted some slippers (see "Going Green" Slippers blog entry). These two items knit up very quickly, so if you have lots of slippers and hats to make then try these.

Hat Pattern:

Use 6.5 mm needles with bulky/chunky yarn.
Gauge: 12 st x 24 rows = 4" square.

Cast on 60 stitches (for slightly tighter hat, cast on 56 stitches and adjust following counts accordingly; a child's size should start 52 stitches).
Next 4 rows *K2, P2* repeat.
Next 16 rows stst to end.
To decrease:
*K2, K2tog* repeat to end (45 stitches on needle); purl row, knit row, purl row.
*K1, K2tog* repeat to end (30 stitches on needle); purl next row.
*K2tog* repeat to end (leaving 15 stitches on needle).
Purl row then cut yarn and draw end back through remaining stitches. This will leave a little hole in the top which will make it easier to attach a pompom. Sew the seam together from the inside of the hat.

By Christine Neary

Purple For Macklin

This purple blanket was crochet for a little girl I used to babysit for. Her name is Macklin and she now lives in Delaware. I made this for her Christmas. It was a single crochet stitch in her favorite colour. I did a scallop edge, the same as my yellow blanket. Once you get started it crochets up very quickly. Macklin loved it.

By Christine Neary.

"Going Green" Slippers

These are the slippers I made for Emma (a young girl I used to take care of). They are made of green organic wool as she is into saving the world. The colour is called pistachio. They knit up very quickly. There isn't much to it, plain stitch all the way. I made them a wee bit different by adding a charm on the front. It says peace and love, just perfect for Emma. Here is the pattern below.

Cast on 54 stitches.
Knit every row until the piece measures 5 inches.
Next row cast off 9 stitches, knit to end.
Next row cast off 9 stitches, knit to end.
Next row cast off 3 stitches, knit to end.
Next row cast off 3 stitches, knit to end.
Next row knit every row until measures 4 inches from the last 3 cast off stitches.
Next row knit 2 together to end of row.
Knit one row.
Next row knit 2 together to end of row.
7 stitches remaining.
Cut wool, thread through remaining stitches and sew slipper.

By Christine Neary.
Pattern from Betty McCreadie.

My Christmas Gift To Alcina

This is a crochet yellow blanket I made for my friend Alcina for Christmas. It is very simple to make. I started off with a thick yellow wool then I ran out of it and the wool shop didn't have any more left. So I chose a different yellow and it's texture was a lot thinner. It worked out pretty well with the thicker wool and when I finished the blanket it almost looked like lace. I usually put fringes on my blankets but this time I made a scallop by going into every third hole six times, it worked out pretty well. I gave Alcina the blanket for Christmas and she was delighted with it, she said she would treasure it forever so that's nice to know.

By Christine Neary