Poncho Completed

I all but finished the poncho this weekend, and I must say that I really like it. I wasn't sure at first; it was just something new to put up on Etsy. But now that I've finished it and got to try it on one of my precious models, I really think it's adorable!
The pattern calls for stitching up the sides a bit, which I didn't see any point in, until I saw it on him. It twists without arm holes...well, it'll twist anyway since it's way too big on my five month old, but you can see the potential problem. I'll finish that up and maybe try to borrow my friend's son for a couple of shots so you can see it on the correct size child.

Photo Shoot

These were some photos I took to update some of my Etsy listings. I may caption them someday, but today is not that day...

A New Spin on an Old Favorite

My best seller to date has been my removable Viking/dwarf beard, which is very popular among the LARP folks. I've even had inquiries regarding a large number of them for a group here in Kansas City.

While they have been great for funding my other yarn projects, I've been looking for a way to make them a little more exciting. When you make 10 or more of something in a row it gets a bit monotonous.

I was inspired by watching How to Train Your Dragon, among other influences, and wanted to have something a little more interesting, so I came up with this.

It's still not my ideal, but with the thicker beard and more braids, it's getting closer to what I had in mind. I may even throw in some other shades to give it highlights.

A Week's Worth of Hats

And I'm not kidding! After I finished my sweater, I had some miscellaneous hats I had found on Pinterest I wanted to make. So I spent all last week working on several different types of hats with yarn I (mostly) had lying around.

Knit Men's Beanie: Remake of the jogless stripes hat I previously made; it was a little small for the customer

Stash buster Rainbow Stripe Hat; per Pinterest pic, I did 8 increase rounds, starting with 10 dc; each color is 3 rounds, except pink, which is 2 in fpdc/bpdc ribbing; H hook and Red Heart yarns

Baby Cable Hat: This really looks much better on than it does here! It fits snugly. Per Purl bee pattern here; Bernat Satin yarn in sage and size 4 dpns

Slouch Hat: Also looks better on. Per pattern with shoe rug yarn and Red Heart in Aran

Hershey's Kiss Hats: for the boys! Still need to add ribbon. From pattern, I hook and 48 stitches on final increase instead of 44; I Love This Yarn in graymist

Stripe Pom Hat: An original creation! H hook and I Love This Yarn in navy, Red Heart with Love in iced aqua, Deborah Norville for the pom and edging, and Vanna's Choice in radiant lime; 8 stitches for 5 sets of 2 rows, then increase as normal until 54 stitches

My First Garment!

This morning I finished my very first full garment! I bought the yarn for this sweater over a year ago, and then, when I found out shortly after that I was pregnant, I abandoned the idea, knowing it wouldn't fit my growing belly.

I pulled the yarn out a couple of weeks ago and started on it. I love the color and the length. If I could change anything about it, I think I would have made the sleeves a hair shorter. I made them longer than the pattern called for to hide my large upper arms, but they look a little too long now.

It looks great with the feminine beanie I made with the extra sage yarn!

I finished it just in time to wear to my family gathering today, where I received tons of compliments.

Dolman sweater in Bernat Satin sage; per pattern (notes for size on pattern)

Kleyh family photo 3/23/14

New Technique

I watched a few videos on some simple techniques when I was learning about cable knitting, and I got to try one of them out on my Etsy order this week.

These are my first attempt at jogless strips in knitting. I have yet to perfect it, but if I ever make another striped stocking or something with an immense number of stripes, I plan to use it.

Finished!

I finished my rug today! I think it turned out great, and the cable pattern is beautiful on this color. It's ready for some shoes!