Toasty ears and other things

Another baby knit for a friend. These went to baby Lily along with the Mary Jane booties I posted about a week or so ago. This hat was my backup gift in case Lily turned to be a boy and I couldn’t give her the booties. I thought the green and white was pretty gender neutral. Once it was finished, I decided to add the crochet flower to sort-of match the booties.



I used this great pattern which I found via Ravelry. The designer of this hat also has free patterns for an adult-sized earflap hat which I think I need to add to my knitting to-do list. I used a soft merino-silk blend 8ply which knitted up pretty quickly on circular needles. The flower is based on one from the SNB Happy Hooker book.

When I was adding my pictures to Ravelry I noticed that my hat bears a very striking resemblance to this one, which I had favourited in Ravelry some time ago, though I can’t remember doing so. Here I was thinking I was being all unique with the stripes and the flower, but obviously I was drawing on one I’d seen before…

Other things:

- I haven’t mentioned Ravelry much on this blog, but if you are into knitting or crochet, even in a small way, I recommend you sign up for an invite. It’s an online knit and crochet community where you can, among other things, post your projects, keep track of your stash and meet other crafty peeps. It’s still in testing, but I got an invite after only two weeks. I love the fact that you can search through hundreds of patterns, a lot of them free, and see all the different versions that other people have made. It’s also great for discovering new yarns.

- I’ve nearly finished knitting a winter hat for me. Photos next week. Next up is a scarf. I needed a change from all that baby knitting

- I got an email earlier in the week advising me that the Knit World Studio is now open – looks like a fancy yarn store with designer yarns and classes. Plus, it’s in my neighbourhood! My credit card is quivering with excitement already.

- Tomorrow I’m attending a pattern making course all day. I’m going to learn how to draft skirts and trousers that will actually fit! Looking forward to making some winter skirts.

- I discovered a new online bookstore a couple of weeks ago: The Book Depository. They have a wide range of craft books that are not readily available in NZ and free worldwide delivery. Their prices are also much cheaper than Amazon.