Requests!

I have extended the offer of handknits to any Facebook fan for little to no cost! So far I've done three requests and am looking for more. Only one has been delivered so I don't want to share too much on the others yet...

Number one was a slouchy hat, to cover poufy hair :-). I got some lovely yarn from one of my LYS, Lizzie Ann's. It turned out to match the winter coat perfectly. I used a cable hat pattern I got in a knitting e-newsletter and it worked up just right. I blocked it like a beret and it gave just the right slouch after that.

Next up was a hat and/or wrist warmers in bright colors. I had recently picked up some yarn that fit the bill perfectly, and I had enough to make both requested items. I used a cable pattern for wristers but modified it more to my liking, and then took that idea to make a hat pattern. Those still need to be rinsed and blocked before I can send them off.

Lastly I made some super warm mittens. They are your basic mittens in black but were needed in a larger size than can be found in stores by the requester. An extra touch of cross stitched BCA ribbons were added in pink. Those also need to be rinsed an blocked once I confirm that the finished measurements sound like the right size.

So what next? Looking for more takers so I can keep busy with items people really want and not just a bunch of hats that sit around my house!

New Knits

I have decided to start putting all my knitting talk here as opposed to the "Knitting on the Road" blog for just personal things, because I'm no longer "on the Road" for work :-)  So... here is one of my recent personal knits:

 I had two small skeins of shades of purples yarn bought from a lovely Etsy shop, http://www.etsy.com/shop/syrendell.  I had been contemplating what to do with the yarn in shades I loved when I was finally struck with knit-spiration, use both for a striped hat!  It was fairly simple and I really loved the striping technique.  I hadn't done my own striping before and it really kept my interest.  It totally rocks and matches my favorite sweatshirt in a charming way :-)

I also had the opportunity to do a special request recently... a llama ear flap hat!  Wow... it is really hard to figure out how to make yarn look like a llama!  The snout/nose area was the trick part for me... I finally tried a sock heel technique and it worked!  I will post pictures later or on my facebook fan page for sure.

I've gotten a couple of cowls done that need to be photographed for sale on etsy and I'm working on another.  All my recent yarn purchases have been small amounts so cowls work great...  I would like to do more hats though because they are about the same amount of time and there seem to be a lot of cowls going on :-)

Well, back to my cushy white cowl!

Special Requests

I've done a couple special request knits recently and they aren't posted on Etsy.  I'm always open to try something new or even a variation on something already in the shop.  There are also some things that I've done before but just haven't listed in the shop.

My first request was a dishtowel set.  The main component is a hand towel with a flap that can be looped around a fridge or drawer handle and buttoned on.  That was accompanied by two matching dish towels.

Next up was a couple of variations on shop items.  The across the body purse in the shop was knit in a gray yarn, the special request was for the purse to be black.  This actually was perfect because I happened to have the same yarn in charcoal!  The cozy cowl was also wanted, but in red.  I was able to purchase the same yarn in red online and am currently waiting for it to arrive to complete the request.

Special requests are fun to do because it's exactly what the person wants, not just close enough.  Even if it's just a color change, I'm happy to comply!