Rustic Cowboy

Well this came out cuter than I hoped! I was a lil worried about the color combo, I wanted a darker more chocolatey brown, but the mocha was all I had. I really love it now! Now if only the weather would get a little cooler so my little man can wear it :)

L'illo round 2

My 2nd time knitting the pattern. This time, it's for my son. It's an adorable pattern. It's fun to knit. I hate SEAMING it! But I love the end product so I suppose I will do it. Going to knit the sleeves today and hope to be seaming the thing up this evening. Maybe he can wear it for the next cool front. I love the Cotton Fleece yarn, it shows such great stitch definition. And with the cotton/wool blend, it should be just right for our Texas winters.

Infant Mouse Hat

I made this last week for a friend's new baby. I looked online and couldn't find a pattern I really liked so I made my own. Keep in mind that while I've designed alot of my own knitting patterns, I've never really written them out and shared them. So if you have any questions on it, just send me an email or post here. :) Sizing is easily adapted by using smaller or larger weight yarn and/or adjusting needle size.

Materials :
About 1.5-2 oz of worsted weight wool I used Cascade 220 in white
A small amount of pink worsted weight wool.
Size US#4 and US#6 16" Circular and Dpns (or size to get gauge)
Yarn needle
Stitch Marker

Gauge :
5.5 sts per inch on larger needle

Size :
Roughly 4-6 months, approximately 18" head circumference.

Directions :
Cast on 88 sts on smaller needles. I used the Twisted German Cast on for it's stretchiness. Knit in 2X2 rib for 1.5".

Change to larger needles and knit stockinette until it measures 5" from cast on.

Decreases rounds (switching to dpns when necessary)
Rnd 1 *Knit 9 sts, k2tog* repeat to end of rnd.
Rnd 2 Knit even across.
Rnd 3 *Knit 8 sts, ssk* repeat to end of rnd.
Rnd 4 Knit even across.
Rnd 5 *Knit 7 sts, k2tog* repeat to end of rnd.
Rnd 6 Knit even across.
Rnd 7 *Knit 6 sts, ssk* repeat to end of rnd.
Rnd 8 *Knit 5 sts, k2tog* repeat to end of rnd.
Rnd 9 *Knit 4 sts, ssk* repeat to end of rnd.
Rnd 10 *Knit 3 sts, k2tog* repeat to end of rnd.
Rnd 11 *Knit 2 sts, ssk* repeat to end of rnd.
Rnd 12 *Knit 1 st, k2tog* repeat to end of rnd.
Rnd 13 K2tog to end of round. End of leaving 6" tail. Put tail on yarn needle and thread through the remaining stitches on the needles. Pull tightly and secure inside hat.

Ear Directions (Make Two) :
Using a dpn, cast on 5 sts.
Turn dpn with right side facing you and upside down so that the live stitches are down and the bumps of the cast on are facing up. Using another dpn, pick up and Knit 4 sts in those bumps.
Using a third dpn and starting on the 1st needle again (5 sts on this needle), Kfab, knit 4 sts.
On 2nd Needle (4 sts) Kfab, knit 2, Kfab in last stitch.
You should know have 6 stitches on each needle, 12 stitches total.
Next round - Kfab, K across to last st, kfab.
Rep this round on each needle until you have 12 stitches on each needle - 24 sts total.
Then increase like this on every OTHER row until you have 18 sts on each needle, 36 sts total.
Knit even until Ear measures 2" from cast on.
K 1, ssk, knit across to last 3 sts on first needle, k2tog, k 1. Repeat for 2nd needle.
You should have 32 sts total now - 16 on each needle.
Duplicate stitch using the pink yarn on the ears to make the inner ear.
If you want stiffer ears, you can lightly stuff with polyfill before closing. I like floppy ears, so I didn't.

Graft ear stitches together and secure to top side of hat.

All done, and ready for the cutie! Feel free to use my pattern to sell the hats made from it :) Just please link here if you do.

First Year of Homeschool

Dakotah is now almost 5 (wow how'd that happen?). So I thought it was time for her to be "officially" homeschooling. We started 1st grade a couple weeks ago. Going well so far. She absolutely hates math worksheets though, so I'm planning some projects to help her enjoy learning math. I can't really blame her too much, I hated math too! But we all gotta learn it. I know this year is going to be full of learning curves for both her and myself as we map out this road together. In a few years, the little boy will be joining her. If any of you have really awesome websites for homeschoolers, (free ones are even better!) I'd love to hear about them!

My Corona!

Finished this sexy, comfy little number last week. Free pattern, easy knit, fits perfect, what more can a girl ask for? At least 2 more of these, that's what! Love love love it! I can't wait for cooler weather so I can wear it out. It only took 4 skeins of Cascade 220 and I cast on for the XS size but knit the length for the largest size. I tried to round the hood out by decreasing according to another Ravelers specs but it didn't work. That's fine with me, I'm not a hood person anyway. I just loved the look of this particular "hoodie"

Super Swappers Magic Ball swag

Picture 2357
Originally uploaded by Tootsiemomma

My goodies from the Magic Ball swap on SuperSwappers (Ravelry)
Included:
1 skein of Malabrigo in Purple
A skull patch
Assorted chocolate and sheep chocolates
Lip balm and hand cream
black seed beads
2 skull buttons!

KP Winter Swap swag

KP Winter Swap swag
Originally uploaded by Tootsiemomma

My swap swap from the Knit Picks swap group Winter swap from Sue. It includes
7 Skeins of KP Pallete in different colors
Breast Cancer Scarf kit (which was knit up by a friend of mine and donated to Relay for Life)
The Anticraft book!
A tin of Juicy Fruit with some gum in it
Ghirardelli chocolate
A tin of Knitting girl apple mints
A notions bag
Memo pads
Knitter's fix it tool
A pumpkin scented candle
A little bag of buttons.

Thanks again Sue!

Will's Green and Black Fake Isle Hat

Picture 2361
Originally uploaded by Tootsiemomma

Finished this a couple weeks ago. My knit group usually meets at Hastings, in the Hardback Cafe area. One meeting, one of the guys that works there saw us knitting and approached us about making a hat for him. So I accepted the job and this was the product. He wanted elastic in the brim, I did put that in, but after I took this pic. It fit him well. Yarn for this was Lion Brand wool-ease in black and Paton's Merino in green.

Peace Shorties

Picture 2391
Originally uploaded by Tootsiemomma

These are shorties I just finished for a WKFY trade. They are knit with Marr Haven, striped, rolled cuffs, with an elastic waist and a peace sign embroidered on the bum. I have to say I really disliked knitting with the Marr Haven in it's unwashed state. It blooms and softens nicely after washing though, so I haven't given up on it. I just think I might wash the skein before knitting with it next time. All in all I think they came out cute.

Now, to knit the yarn I received in the trade, custom dyed Cestari. Going to do some shorties for my own boy.

Purewool for Crystal's Newborn sets

Picture 2284
Originally uploaded by Tootsiemomma

Got these in a few weeks ago for some newborn longies and hats. I have them finished up just need to get pics of the hats. I forgot how little newborns can be.

Reorganized the Yarn Stash

Picture 2327
Originally uploaded by Tootsiemomma

I spent a good 2-3 hours reorganizing my yarn stash. It was getting pretty messy and I had yarn everywhere. So I took it all out, laid it all out on the bed, took some pictures and separated everything into their own little bags (moth free, gotta love that!) Summer is coming and I definately don't want moths having a free lunch at my stash's expense. These are my wools/blends/some cottons and the bottom shelf has some novelty yarns as well. I need a new shelf, my daughter has already lost one of hers to my yarn.

Cole's Commander Socks

Cole's Commander Socks
Originally uploaded by Tootsiemomma

For Andrea's 4 year old. Cute socks, yarn is Adrafil's Knit Col in camoflauge colorway. The pattern I used is a free pattern called Mossy Ridge Socks.

My daughter wants a pair now ;)

L'illo

L'illo front
Originally uploaded by Tootsiemomma

Interesting construction for a sweater. I thought the seaming would be a real pain in the toosh because I hate seaming, but it wasn't really too bad. And I love the outcome. Thinking of making one for my son in light blue and chocolate colors. Yarn for this one is Cascade 220 Superwash in Lichen and Pumpking Spice :)

Austin Newsboy hat

Austin Newsboy hat
Originally uploaded by Tootsiemomma

This one was a fun one! Very quick to knit and interesting enough to keep me focused but not complicated at all. I knit this up in just a couple of hours and that included having to rip it out because I wanted it a bit longer. This hat is going to Rebekah along with her L'illo sweater and another newsboy hat for her son. I hope she loves it!

The yarn is Plymouth Boku in colorway number 5 and band is Cascade 220 in black. Took less than 1 skein of the boku for the hat.

Newly Single and Adjusting = Lotsa knitting!

So I am newly single. Separated from my 10 year relationship with my kids father. It's a painful process and in going through this I have found that knitting is once again a mindsaver. I don't think I have put the needles down since I found out about the infidelity in September. I think it's a healthy way of dealing with it. I have a gazillion and one projects going right now, but it's keeping me busy and I like it. Currently, I'm working on 2 hats, a pair of toddler socks, a pair of longies, 2 pairs of fingerless mitts, another pair of socks, a baby sweater and going to start some small longies soon. It's a little crazy I must say, but I'm aiming to be done in a few weeks!