Bobbled Cowl

I love knitting with big yarn. I was able to whip this little guy out in a day and a half. I've wanted to knit myself a cowl for a while now, but I hate knitting stuff that's just a lot of the same. No measuring, just knit until you're out of yarn and you have yourself a scarf. Knit it in the round and it's a cowl. Booorrriiinnng. So, the day before yesterday, I wandered into my local yarn shop, Knitpurl (whose email list is less like spam and more like a rad knitting blog) to pick up some yarn for my new cowl. I needed something thick so that my attention span would last longer than the project, and I stumbled upon some very reasonably priced merino wool in so many beautiful colors that I could only narrow down to two. I took it home, and in a matter of hours I had this:

It was my first time knitting bobbles, and I have to say, they might be the easiest thing ever. This could be because I skipped all of the hard stuff my knitting books told me to do, but who can really tell, right?

No Longer Gloveless

With fingerless gloves all the rage right now, I really had to get some for myself. My problem was that I am way too picky for my own good. All of them were either too short, too weird, not the right color, or they had too many holes in them. That's when I conceded to just make myself a pair. I began my pattern search. I quickly found out, though, that the pair of gloves I wanted didn't exist yet. I was too picky to even find a pattern I liked, so I decided to just wing it. And oddly enough, these were born:

It's actually a pretty easy pattern for anyone who is ready to start knitting cable stitches or using double pointed needles. It's also very easy to modify to use any type of cable panel you want or any length you want. And if you're worried about that weird lump on my left wrist, that's just my watch. I swear. The pattern is under the cut.

mail call - stenciled bag

every time i leave the office to get the mail, i wish i had a bag. we usually have a pile of outgoing letters and even more incoming. the p.o. box is usually stuffed with catalogs and magazines, and i tend to drop ten things before i get back to my car. and i usually misplace the box key. i've been known to take it home for a long weekend every once in a while, wash it in my jeans, etc... well, no more! behold, the mail bag:

i made it with a super easy stenciling method.

here's the how-to:

If you can knit a scarf... you can knit a bow cuff

Beginning knitting can be an extremely frustrating process. While you're imagining all of the beautiful sweaters and complicated patterns you can create, you find out that you are far from knitting anything more than a straight line. Some people never make it past scarves, knitting more for relaxation or something to do with their hands. However, scarves can get a little boring, and they can take forever. Besides, how many scarves do you really need? Here's a project that a knitter of any skill level can make quickly, using scrap yarn.

Here's how to make it:

the case of the missing wooden earring

i bought these earrings last summer while on a road trip with a friend. they're made of redwood and have what must be a nonstandard sized post - because the backs are impossible to replace, everything is too big. needless to say, i lost one and haven't been able to wear them everyday. pretty heartbreaking.

to remedy the situation, i've made a few new pairs. they're not redwood, but i think i might prefer the fine grain douglas fir look. and they could always be stained...

here's the how-to: