This is by far the most popular hat that I’ve ever knit. Ever! Everytime I wear it out around the Bay Area I have TONS of people asking me where I got it. When I tell them I made it, they go ape shit!!

As a knitter, we all have a long laundry list of people who have asked us to knit things for them – So of course I’d be happy to add to it with this awesome hat. :)

The pattern is Golden Gate Bridge Hat by Sophie Kurnik <–click to find it on Ravelry. Vixknits on Ravelry added the SF insignia, which makes this hat so much more awesome!!

People love this hat so much, that I am actually teaching a San Francisco Giants Workshop at the yarn store this weekend, and this is 1 of 3 SF Giants-themed projects. The details are on the Cast Away website here: Go Giants! Workshop

I also had a fun photo-shoot courtesy of Alisha Bright. <–Check out her awesome designs @ http://illuminknitdesigns.blogspot.com/ Finally! Someone my same age who enjoys knitting just as much as I do! It’s like we speak the same language :) So sad I met her right as I’m about to leave… but we will definitely be keeping in touch. Love that I have someone to proof my patterns and brainstorm with!

Beware- I throw a mean fastball AND I'm armed with knitting needles!

Today , in preparation for the coming workshop, Alicia and I knit up some samples  to work on our intarsia/fair isle. Granted- intarsia NEVER gets easier, lol It always seems to end up being a pain in the a**!! Such are the woes of knitting, I suppose. Anywho, I am SOO excited for this weekend I can hardly stand it!! I mean what could be better than putting my two favorite things together – Knitting and the SF Giants – AND getting paid for it!!! Really, I’d like to take a moment to look back on the real reason why I quit my job- what I was searching for – Happiness, fulfillment, joy. I mean, this is it. I hope I am able to find a way to fill my life with the kind of passion I get out of things like this, and always find a way to incorporate them into my life. Because I really don’t think I’ll be happy otherwise. But I’m sure there will be an outlet I’ll find in Seattle – because there are plenty of rocks to be unturned, and doors to be opened. :)

Wow. That was really sappy and corny. I promise I won’t do that again.

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Yes, I know. I’m a total knit nerd.

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Created for my LYS, Cast Away, in the heart of Santa Rosa.

**This pattern is available for free with purchase of yarn at Cast Away!!**

When knitted using the Tahki Truffles Yarn, your cowl will be soft, plush, and scrumptious! It would also look beautiful in a merino wool or other blend of fiber.

This chevron pattern is perfect for beginners looking to increase their skills.

Techniques used in this pattern:

-Knit in the round
-Color changes
-K2tog (Knit 2 together)
-Sl stitch (Slip a stitch knitwise)
-PSSO (Pass the slipped stitch over)

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I scream, you scream, we all scream for… JARED FLOOD!!

Why is Jared Flood better than ice cream?

Because his brain creates things like this:

and this

So I think that’s ’nuff said. Probably the most fantastical thing I have knit in my life.

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This hat was a very pleasant knit.

First of all, I decided I wanted to make the hat with chunky yarn because I was so sick of 4-6 hour knits.

I wanted some instant gratification already!

And that’s what it was- instant gratification within an hour.

I was inspired by the Robin’s Egg Blue Hat by Rachel Iufer.

I really liked the button-tab hat, but I used a larger gauge, garter stitch band instead of seed stitch, and a textured body instead of just plain knit.

By the way, the stitch pattern I used is so NIFTY!

Here’s what it looks like:

Taken at my LYS, Cast Away

If you ever get a chance, sneak this stitch pattern into something that you’re knitting:

-You need a multiple of 4 sts plus 4.

Row 1 (RS): K1, [T2L,K2] to last 3 sts, T2L, K1.

Row 2: Purl

Row 3: K1, [K2, T2R] to last 3 sts, K3.

Row 4: Purl

Those 4 rows make up the stitch pattern! Repeat as desired!

Abbreviations:

T2L: K into back of 2nd stitch, then k into front of 1st stitch, slip both sts off left needle together

T2R: K into front of 2nd stitch, then k into back of 1st stitch, slip both sts off left needle together

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Thinking about writing up the pattern, what do you think?

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Seed Stitch Cowl in Eggshell

I made this cowl with the desire of doing something quick, simple, and inexpensive.

So I went to Michaels, *cough*, picked up some Bernat Roving and went to town in Seed Stitch.

I do have a love of fine fibers- heck, I work at my LYS! But you know, every once in a while I think it’s okay to satisfy an experimental craving by picking up some cheap yarn and going to town.

And now that this cowl is completed, back to silk it is! ;)

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Stolen Moments Shawl

This was made for my boyfriend-at-the-time’s Step-Mother (confusing much?) as a Christmas gift.

I wanted to choose a color that accented her beautiful fiery-red hair.

What do you think?

I think I hit the nail on the head.

The colors are GORGEOUS, and definitely not a color scheme that I would pick out for myself.

I’m more of a jewel-toned type of girl.

So I think this was definitely nice for a change. You should try it! Next time you go to the yarn store try picking out a color that is the OPPOSITE of what you are normally drawn to. Chances are, you’ll fall in love with that project. Because it’s different!

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Sadly, I lost a lot of my knitting pictures when I broke up with my last boyfriend.

So this is the only photo that I have of this scarf. And I had some great mid-project shots!

My LYS, Cast Away, lets their customers knit samples for the store in exchange for store credit! This is one of the first projects that I did.

This was the FIRST time I had ever worked with Malabrigo- you can just imagine what a mind-blowing experience this knit was! (Hardy-har-har)

I kindof laugh when I think of how it would be reading this post as a non-knitter.

“WTH? Why is this girl talking about having a mind-blowing experience with yarn?”

IT’S BECAUSE IT’S MALABRIGO!!!!!!!!!!

Lol, anyway… a year later I took some pics of Cast Away when I was working there one day.

Here’s a pic of our sailboat full of yarn (all Malabrigo) and my very-aged scarf on display:

It’s gotten lots of love, and that makes me happy. :)

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Oh, what a happy knit this was!

It was my best friend for quite a long while, I’d say a year or so.

And so many memories!

I took it with me to my piano performance class- 3 hours of listening to your classmates perform in a theatre, while I sat, listened, enjoyed, and knit on my shawl-friend.

If you are wanting a large project to tackle, but still relaxing- this is the one.

Unlike intricate lacy shawls, this pattern is easily memorized after the first couple repeats, and from there- all else is history!

I would probably even knit this project again, that’s how much I loved making it.

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I actually didn’t block this shawl- I like the bunchy-ness of the fabric the way it is.

And if you’re wondering, the yarn I used was Malabrigo Yarn Silky Merino.

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Baktus Scarf

The Baktus Scarf is the most popular scarf pattern on Ravelry.

I made mine with Plymouth Yarn’s Baby Alpaca DK.

I then got a message from Plymouth Yarn Company asking if they could feature my project on their blog!!

How exciting is that? If you click on the blog link, you can still see my pictures there, even though it was over a year ago :)

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Round 2 of knitting my design, Strappy Stella Gloves.

Knitted with Blue Sky Alpaca’s Suri Merino yarn, a baby suri-wool blend.

I’ve always been in love with this deep ruby color, but I opted for a more Sonoma County name:

Strappy Stella Gloves in 'Merlot'

My model’s name is Mary, a friend of the family.

Don’t the gloves match her outfit beautifully?

She always looks impeccable, so I didn’t hesitate to ask if she wouldn’t mind being an art subject while I snapped a couple photos.

To date, I think these are the BEST photos of my knitting!

I just love the rustic feel, lighting, and mood of the photos.

Loving it!!

These gloves are also available in my Etsy Shop if you would like to own a pair yourself.

:)

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