Willoughby Wallaby Woo

"Willoughby wallaby woo.  An elephant sat on you.  Willoughby wallaby wee.  An elephant sat on me!"  (lyrics from one of our favorite Raffi songs.)

Every time I hear the word, wallaby, that song pops into my head.  Maybe that's why Carol A. Anderson's timeless Wallaby hoodie appeals to me.  I picked up the pattern at a cute little yarn shop in Salt Lake City last summer.  The boys love the casual, cozy look of the sweater and have been asking me to make them each one.

I finally cast on for Hudson's last night.  He chose an earthy, moss green for the project (dyed onto my worsted, superwash merino, Supernova base yarn).  I think I will add a few stripes on the chest like this one I found on Ravelry.  Maybe charcoal gray and aqua?  Definitely something modern and fun.  I must say, I love this yarn.  It's super soft and knits up so nicely.

Oh, and if you haven't done so already...Head over to Mackenzie's blog to enter to win a skein of Orion yarn.  You can enter up to five times!

My Ravelry Notes

A New Hat for Mama

Following my frantic, less-than-relaxing, holiday knitting race to the finish...It was high time I cast on an easy peasy project just for me.  I have knit myself exactly one hat in all my years of knitting.  Who really needs more than one hat anyway?  The one I have worn every winter for the past several years is Emilee Mooney's Foliage Hat - a free pattern off Knitty.  This hat was my first lace project.  So, it holds a special place in my heart.  It was knit out of some of the softest yarn around, Misti Alpaca Chunky.  

Several months ago, I picked up a copy of Classic Elite Quick Knits from the library.  My library has a very limited selection of mostly outdated knitting books (what's up with that?).  So, this book was a lucky find.  There were several patterns that caught my eye.  Especially the Lattice Ribbed Hat by Sharon Brown.  I love that it was knit in bulky yarn and had just enough detail to keep things interesting.  While being simple enough to knit while visiting with other mom's during my son's karate class.  I finished the hat in two days (a couple of hours of knitting each day).  Yeah!  I love projects like that.  Talk about instant gratification!  I chose Luna Grey's Spectra yarn in the colorway Calm.  It's the first Peruvian Highland Wool I have found that doesn't itch.  Woo Hoo!  I would love to knit my husband a sweater out of this yarn but can't seem to find a good, raglan-style, top-down pattern.  I am 100% committed to the seamless sweater thing.  I am embarrassed to admit how many projects I have that are totally finished being knit.  But, await seaming.  I mean...some of them have been in my work-in-progress bag for years!  Long enough for my kids to have long since outgrown them.  So sad.

My Ravelry Notes

It's Good to be Back!

My Ravelry Notes

It feels good to be back in the swing of things.  Our holiday break from school meant that not much was getting done in the way of yarn dyeing, blog posting, shop organizing, etc.  Yesterday was the boys' first day back to school.  I am not sure who was more excited about it, me or them.  Either way, it's nice to have a little time to catch up on things.

As the holidays are over and all friends and family have received their gifts, I figured it was safe to share this project.  It's the Birthday Cowl by pattern designer, Nova Seals (cool name, right?).  Knit for Ms. Joy, my 4 year old's beloved Pre-K teacher.  You know you've done well when the recipient cries upon opening their gift.

What a super fast, fun project.  The yarn is Luna Grey Fiber Arts Bellona, a single-ply, worsted weight, merino wool and silk.  This luxury yarn is light as air and arguably the softest yarn I have ever knit.  While not ideal for items that will get lots of abuse (kids sweaters, mittens, etc.), it sure makes an amazing cowl!

I will be dyeing up more of this gorgeous yarn this week.  Watch for it in the shop : )