Yarned Goodies

Here are a few knitted/crocheted pieces that I made for my girl in Chicago and her beau, or as my kids fondly refer to them as Aunt Jess and Uncle Joe.  :-)

Slouchy Beanies are all the rage, so I made one for each.  I had to alter both patterns because the published patterns were insane!!!  No offense to the writers of these patterns, but I found a more obvious way easier/more even way  of doing these.  Here is the book that contains both patterns:

This one is for Jess.  She has light blond(e) hair like me, so I thought that this blue would look great.

 This one was for Joe, which is the hat on the cover above.  I am calling this the "Brad Pitt" hat.  This was intended to be a funny gift, but if he finds it useful then that would be a bonus.  I actually considered getting him a pair of aviator sunglasses so that he could complete the "Brad Pitt" look... then I remembered that he wore prescription glasses :-)  I had the hubs try it on for size and I was planning on having him model for a photo, but the hat instantly gave him a "homeless" look.  :-)  Not sure if it is his shaved head or the scruff on his face but it definitely wasn't his look.  So I had my BFF, Brad (ironically), model for the pic.

I might have to make Joe a real beanie, since this might not be his look either :-)

Remember this scrap cowl that I made for cousin, Nanner?

Well, I made one just like it for Jess, but in Black/Brow/Cream/White/Gray....  so that it would match everything, hopefully.

And last but not least is my favorite, the ear warmer.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE knitting this headband!!  There is a similar one that is popular in the knitting world but it is made with short rows, which is commonly used to make sock heels (seriously, look at your socks....  see the heel?  See how there is that line that creates the middle of the heel?  and see all those tiny holes along that line?  the rows creating those holes are short rows).  Anyway....  hate is a strong word.... but I seriously NO LIKEY knitting short rows!!!!  So this head band is knitted width wise (as opposed to lengthwise for the short rows), so I like it much better!  I have knitted 2 already and I have 2 balls of yarn to create 2 more.  I also like that this headband creates a reason for me to rummage through my vintage button collection :-)

Technically, these next few pictures are of the headband that I made myself...  knitted also in gray, but this one is in a different yarn.  I took pics of myself wearing the one above but my hair, evidently, did not want to cooperate.  :-)

I have a crocheted flower pin that I (ghasp) bought to add to mine....  I might have to make one for Jess's to send along with Joe's future beanie so that she can add a girly touch if she prefers.

And while we are on the whole "head wear" topic....  I never did post this cute knitted slouchy beret that I made for my girl, Jenny.  She pinned this on her Pinterest as a "wish I knew how to knit" project.  :-)  I was looking to make her something for Christmas and this was a perfect project.  Normally I don't buy patterns, but I am glad that I bought this one.  There were a few knitted tricks/techniques that I had not done before.... and once I got my head around it, this was a piece of cake to make.  I brought it into work to show everyone and it got a few admirers...  my boss in particular tried to steal this one a couple of times :-)   I must also mention how freaking warm this guy is (made out of Alpaca yarn).... I only had it on for a few seconds taking these pics and I was sweating :-)

With all of those done and given to their recipients, I have time to work on more stuff.  I am simultaneously working on 2 knitted projects.  The 1st one I am intending to give to someone (if I ever get it done), so here is just a peek.  (side note: this guy is going to take me FOREVER to finish)

The next one is a mustard shrug for me.  I am using an "easy" pattern that I got from a book...  while it is easy, I decided (after knitting almost half and then ripping it out) to complicate it up just a bit to save me time in the end so that I don't have any seams to sew up in the end.  Here is my Anthropologie inspiration:

And I use 'inspiration' loosely, because my knitted shrug will look nothing like the jacket... it will just pretty much cover the same areas and be in about the same color :-)  Here is what I have so far:

That's it for now. Happy yarning!!