Elefante

I recently finished my junior year of college and am officially a senior (woowoo!!). I drove home as soon as my last final was over last week and as per usual I am the first of my friends to finish and come home so I spent the past few days basking in the fact that I had no obligations, appointments, homework or need to get out and do stuff. I've had my eye on the ravelry pattern "Elefante" for quite some time and have been waiting till I had a good chunk of time to dedicate to the pattern.

First step was making the 4 legs.

I then knitted the body, which took more time than expected, and stuffed it.
Then I  sewed the stuffed legs to the body.

This was a great project for spare yarn-- I used only scrap pieces and stash yarn!

Instagram photo shoot for this little cutie.

This was my first knitted stuffed animal and I'm super happy with how it came out. If I could redo this, I would use poly-pellets as well as stuffing in the legs and body instead of just stuffing in the entire thing-- because the head is a little bigger than the body it makes it hard for Elefante to stand up straight without falling over or resting on something. I'd recommend this for everyone-- it would make a great baby shower gift, or just a cute addition to anyone's room! 

Any suggestions for other stuffed animals/amigurumis? Let me know!! :)

Update! Xeranthemum Hat

For those of you who are friends with me on ravelry, you may have noticed I started a new project: the Xeranthemum hat. This pattern was shared with me by the new group I joined "Calling All Knitters: I Dare You to Knit This!". Twice a month there are forum posts open where knitters who want a challenge and unique pattern can sign up to be dared to knit the pattern given to them.


I have 1 month (March 16-April 16) to complete this hat and unfortunately was not able to start it till a few days ago because of so much school work, etc.

Right side of the hat. Will have "flowers" shooting up along this side.
The first "flower" can sort of be seen on the far right. 

I'm actually really happy with the progress so far, I haven't put too much time into it but I changed the gauge and used size 11 circulars (instead of size 7 or 8) and it really helped this hat knit up quickly.

This is the left side of the hat, a simple stockinette pattern. 

I'm home this weekend for Easter (and a break from all my assignments at school!) so hopefully I'll have plenty of time to work on this. I can't wait to finish it, check back soon for updates!!

Finished Chevron Cowl

Just in time for this windy and sub-zero February is my knitted Chevron cowl! It's knit on a reverse stockinette with two worsted weights knitted together (cream and stone) alternating with a bulky sky blue Lion Brand yarn. Because this is so thick it knitted up really easily, and I especially love how you can see the zig zag pattern on the light blue portions.

Here's a few close-ups...

Right Side...

...Wrong Side

Overall this was a fun knit, the pattern is a 6 row repeat so you'll never get bored-- and alternating colors adds a nice twist! Instead of breaking the yarn when changing colors I just carried the spare yarn up the side of the work which turned out great! The pattern for this cowl can be found here :) I repeated the 6 rows 4 times and then changed colors. Enjoy!

2012 Reflection: Stash and FO's

Past works and current stash... I didn't realize just how much yarn I had accumulated until it was all laid out in front of me (whoops!)...

Looking back on when I taught myself how to knit in July 2012, I think I've come a long way from just regular garter stitch scarves! ~From left to right: basic socks; seed stitch infinity scarf; striped stockinette scarf; Angel Hair ear flap hat; cabled head band; cabled scarf~

Some of my biggest goals for 2013 are to learn how to felt, use the magic loop knitting method, and to complete an entire wardrobe made from knitted items... oh, and to learn a few more unique stitches/patterns. What are some of your knitting resolutions?