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!! :)

FO Friday.. Sort Of

I finally finished my "X" hat, the pattern I was dared to complete from the rav group "Calling All Knitters". Overall I'm okay with this FO (which I actually finished Friday but haven't gotten a chance till now to blog about it)... it's definitely not my favorite hat but I'm glad I was able to learn a new skill from it (increase from 3 to 5).

I swatched before I knitted this hat because I wanted to use my size 11 circulars and worsted weight yarn and was too afraid to just wing it considering the pattern called for DK yarn and small circulars. Although this hat came out as a slouchy beanie, it wasn't supposed to. Even with swatching I overestimated the stitches, but I actually like the shape it turned out to be (and hey, life's all about rolling with the punches, right?).

If anyone wants to try out the Xeranthemum hat, the pattern can be downloaded for free here :) I'd recommend this pattern not for the finished product but for practice with different and unusual techniques (such as the 3 to 5 increase that creates the "flower petals" on the hat).

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!!

Tiffany Infinity Scarf

Once all this snow melts it will finally start to transition into spring, and eagerly awaiting the arrival of spring is the Tiffany Infinity Scarf! This scarf is knit with Patons Lace yarn in "vintage" (although any lace weight yarn works) and is very light and fluffy-- the perfect companion for a cardigan or tee shirt!

The Pattern:

You will need: lace weight yarn (0.5-1.0 skeins, I used 0.75); size 13 needles

CO (LOOSELY) anywhere from 20-40 stitches

Row 1-7: knit
Row 8: purl
Row 9: knit
Row 10: purl
Row 11: knit

Repeat these 11 rows for the entire length of your scarf. You can alternate stockinette and garter whenever you'd like, I chose to do 7 rows garter and 4 rows of stockinette for the majority of the scarf mixed in with larger and smaller intervals.

At end, BO LOOSELY! Sew both ends together with excess yarn.

Although this could be knit in pure stockinette (as long as you block out the curls), I think the "stripes" that the garter stitch creates adds a nice variability to the scarf. Ravelry page found here.

My scarf turned out to be 5 feet long which sounds like an awful lot, but ends up being quite short. I double wrapped the scarf around my neck and it nicely drapes for 15 inches.

This is the perfect spring or summer time scarf because it is so light weight (you'll forget you're even wearing it!) and the lace allows for plenty of breathing. 

Strawberry Fields Forever Cowl

It's the first week of March and I am very pleased to announce I have an FO! After over a month of picking up and putting down (and picking up and putting down), I have finally finished my Strawberry Fields Forever Cowl! This is an original pattern that I improvised as I went along. I love how the tops and bottoms curl in slightly and how nicely this bunches when worn.

Gauge: (after blocking) 5 stockinette stitches = 1"; 7 rows = 1"

Piece Measurements: 14" x 12.25" at bottom of piece; 14" x 11" at top of piece

Even Beau wanted to be pictured with this cowl...

The Pattern: CO 114 stitches with size 8 DPNs and worsted weight yarn (you can use use this to determine your gauge if you change your needle/yarn size). I used Berroco Ultra Alpaca.

Row 1-6: With contrast color ("CC"-- brown in my case) join in the round and knit (this creates stockinette stitch).

NOTE: After this beginning portion, you will knit both MC and CC together at the beginning (and only at the beginning) of every round. This creates a faux seam (shown in picture 3 above) and is an easy way to carry the colors up the side of your piece so you never have to break the yarn!

Row 7-18: With both colors, knit the first stitch of the round. Continue to knit with only the main color ("MC"-- pink in my case).

Row 19-22: Start beginning of round by knitting both MC and CC together. Knit rest of rounds with CC.

Repeat rows 7-18 and rows 19-22 about 4 times (or for desired length).

At beginning of final MC portion *knit 10, K2tog*. Repeat this decrease every other round for 12 rounds.

NOTE: Decreases don't have to be exact, work as many of as few as you would like for desired top width (I went from 12.25" to 11").

Once your 12 rounds of MC are complete, drop MC and weave in ends. Knit with CC (do not create faux seam) for 6 rounds. BO loosely and weave in all ends. Block piece.


Ravelry page found here. Like this piece? Try it out for yourself and post photos below! :)

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!