Pineapple Socks

I have been a fruit fiend for as long as I can remember. I was always the sticky-fingered child at birthday parties, eating more then my fair share of the watermelon. I think this may be due to living in the arctic for part of my childhood, where good fruit was expensive and only a treat. I remember one day during a summer day camp up north when one of the boys got an orange in his lunch, the other kids and I were so envious that we followed him around during the lunch period begging for a piece of the peel. The peel! Not that we didn’t have plenty of food to go around when I was young, but fruit was definitely special in a place where it doesn’t grow.

And to this day I can’t get enough. I lug heavy bags of melons, peaches, and berries back from the farmer’s market to my apartment. I can’t get over the abundance of it! Fruit is so bright and happy and it has inspired my latest pattern, the Pineapple Socks. This pattern is available now on Ravelry!

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Get the pattern here: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/pineapple-socks-2

Baby Booties

One of my best friends is having her first baby, and so it will be the first chance I have to shower a mother with gifts. At the tender age of 22 she is having her first with the man she’s been with since we were in high school. I wanted to buy something off the registry, especially since I am not a mother and know nothing about what parents need, but I also really wanted to gift a handmade item.

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I went with baby booties because they were easy to make neutral (they’re letting the baby’s sex be a surprise!) and I thought they would look cute on top of a present, a decoration and gift in one. I’ve linked the pattern I used at the end of this post, I changed a couple numbers in the pattern to make it work out which I talk about on my Ravelry project page. They turned out so cute and I chose a nice cotton yarn so they are also very soft.

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I also decided to include a book in my gift, a collection of short stories put together by Kristen Hedges called mama, bare. The short stories are all written by new mothers about their experiences following birth, in the early days of motherhood. From the registry I picked out a baby carrier and all together I’m really happy with the gift and excited for the shower. I think adding something handmade to a gift makes it so much more special.

Pattern: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/stay-on-baby-booties-archive

My project page: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/ashleygeneral/stay-on-baby-booties-archive

WATG and the Luna Throw

Knitting with super bulky yarn has become one of my favourite things, the project works up so satisfyingly fast and it’s super soft to work with. I’ve ordered from a company called Wool and the Gang twice now and I’m addicted to their Crazy Sexy Wool.

Most recently I ordered a giant box of the wool in white, grey, and black, because I had this design in mind for a phases of the moon blanket. The finished blanket turned out perfectly, it’s heavy, thick, and amazingly warm. The pattern, called Luna Throw, is available on Ravelry if you want to make one for yourself.

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My first order from WATG was last summer when I ordered a couple of their knit kits. I’ve finished all of the kits from that order and each of the pieces turned out beautiful. The three I ordered (from left to right in the image below) was the Hold Tight Clutch, the Khaleesi Bracelet, and the Zion Lion hat. Their patterns are written so clearly and I love working with the big rosewood needles you can get from their site. Next I plan on ordering one of their sweater knit kits. I’ve been knitting since I was a little girl and after all these years I still haven’t made myself a sweater.

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 If it’s your first time ordering from Wool and the Gang you can get 15% off your order by following my referral link and signing up: http://watg.co/s/j96c8

Links:

A First Attempt at Yarn Bombing

After almost a year in the making, and with all my housemates helping out, the yarn bomb was finally installed on the bench where I’ve been picturing it. Because I knew that there would be so many helping hands I decided a patchwork design would be the easiest, that way everyone could knit simple squares and rectangles whenever they had time. I measured and remeasured and after sewing most of it together at home we walked to the bench and sewed it on. I had originally planned on finishing it last summer but this project was definitely one that dragged out because of all the other projects I had going on at the same time. It felt amazing to finally put it all together last night and have it fit it’s bench perfectly.

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Last Yarn Bomb Post: Planning a Yarn Bomb