Knit Bow Ear Warmer With Pattern/Tutorial

Last week I discovered a new-to-me blog, and completely fell in love with it. It's Rebekka's blog, Dear Friend (found via Stephmodo). Go check it out! You will not be disappointed. Rebekka writes in such a sweet way, and she has beautiful photos. In addition to that, she has started to knit, and knits up the most wonderful things. On Friday, as I was looking back through her archives, I saw this bow ear warmer that she had made:

Photo from Dear Friend, used with permission from Rebekka.

I just knew I had to have one for myself, but there was no pattern to go with it, so I made one up. I thought I would let you know how I did it, in case you would like to make one, too! (And I heard from Rebekka that so many people wanted to make it, that she's writing up a pattern for it and is hoping to post it soon. I wonder how similar our patterns will be?)

This is one of those projects that is so satisfying. As soon as I saw the photo, I looked through the yarn in my stash, and grabbed this one. Then I knit here and there over the weekend (by the fire...), and then had my guy take photos of the finished ear warmer for me on Monday. So quick and easy!

I didn't think to take photos of the process until I was almost done, but I'll do my best to explain what I did. The yarn I used is Vintage Chunky by Berroco, and the color is 6165 (if you're local, I'm pretty sure I got this at The Yarnery. I just had one skein - if I remember correctly, it was an impulse buy. I just couldn't pass up the color!).

If you want yours to turn out with a similar look, you do need a chunky yarn. Mine called for size 10 needles, but I used size 11 (when I went to grab my 10s I only found one. Not one pair, just one. And I couldn't wait to start the project, so I used 11s).

The main difference that I see between mine and Rebekka's is that I knit a decorative edge on, which you can do or not. Basically, I purled the first stitch in each row, and knit the rest. So here's what I did:

Cast on 16 stitches.
Row 1: knit 15 stitches, slip remaining loop onto needle holding previous 15 stitches.
Row 2: purl first stitch, then move yarn behind needle so it is ready to knit. Knit 14 stitches, slip final stitch onto needle.
Repeat row 2 until your desired length. You want it to have to stretch a little to go around your head. I just kept holding mine up to see if it was long enough. Once you reach desired length, cast off.
[If you don't want the edging I did, skip slipping the last stitch and purling the first, and just knit all stitches.]

I then used a tapestry needle to sew the ends together.

This is what it looked like when they were sewn together - then flip it so the seam is on the inside.

To make the bow, I just took a long length of yarn, and wrapped it around the band over and over, then sewed the ends in. Originally, I thought to wrap it around where the seam was so that it wouldn't be visible, but the seam was a little stiff and didn't gather well - but you could definitely try it on the seam and see if you have better luck!

I've never written a knitting tutorial before, so if you have any questions or if anything is unclear, let me know in the comments.

Also, if you are interested in a photo tutorial for the edging, let me know. I'm visual and learn better if I can see what I'm supposed to be doing, and I would be happy to put that together if anyone would find it useful!

Do let me know if you end up making one of your own.

Happy knitting!
xo

{this moment} - fireside knitting

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

- SouleMama

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

- SouleMama

darn. knit. {anyway}

About, oh, a year-and-a-half ago, my mom's friend gave me her old sewing machine when she got a new one. She knew that I had been wanting one, and I was so excited to receive it! I had quite a number of projects and ideas building up, and just needed a sewing machine to complete them.

Oh, and I also needed to learn how to use it.

So all those projects and ideas waited... and waited... until yesterday. I had recently discovered this fantastic store in Stillwater, Minnesota called darn.knit.{anyway}. (Check it out - so cute!)

Yesterday, they were offering a sewing class where you could bring your own machine in and learn how to use it. Perfect!

I had a fantastic teacher who showed me what I needed to know to work my machine, and then we got going on one of my projects: hemming some curtains!

I found these wonderful curtains at an antique store I love going to. They are most definitely homemade (love!) and it wasn't until I was buying them that I realized that they were two different lengths. Drastically so. But no more!

I cut and pinned and ironed and finally sewed! On my machine!

I didn't think to take a 'before' photo of the two different lengths, but I will show an 'after' when I get them hung. For sure.

And no visit to Stillwater is complete without stopping in at Tremblay's Sweet Shop for some of their salt water taffy...

...and visiting a few of the numerous antique shops. Here's just a sneak peek at some treasures that came home with me:

It was a wonderful outing, and now you can be sure you'll see more machine sewing around these parts before long!

Happy December (and a Giveaway!)

Today is the first of December, and that means:

I put up the advent calendar (handmade and bought years ago by my parents - this is the one I grew up with)...

Put out the Christmas books...

And chose a tree!

(I knit that hat myself! More about that soon).

Twinkly lights at the tree place.

The lights are on the tree now, and so is the angel, but the rest of the ornaments will have to wait till the weekend.

But now, on to the giveaway! I have three, that's right, three different prizes you can win. And three ways for you to enter - read on.

One prize is a set of three ornaments made by me (inspired by ornaments in the December 2008 Martha Stewart Living).

The set includes:

a wreath,

a candy cane,

and a snowflake.

Remember the handmade wrapping paper I posted about here? Well, I am also giving away two yards of hand stamped wrapping paper, in two different patterns:

one yard of candy canes,

and one yard of trees.

And finally, I am giving away a set of ten hand stamped cards (similar to the ones in this giveaway):

with ten matching envelopes.

The set of cards will come tied up with a pretty ribbon. The cards feature red, poinsettia-esque flowers with a little glitter in the center. The winner will have a choice of what else is stamped on the cards. If you win, you may choose to use them as thank you cards:

Or Christmas cards, with a stamp on the outside that says 'Merry! Merry!':

Or a stamp on the inside that says 'Merry Christmas':

The words are shown stamped in red, but can be stamped in green if you prefer. The cards can also be left blank.

So here are the three different ways you can enter:

1. Leave a comment on this post telling me something you've made for Christmas, or something handmade that you hope to get for Christmas (links to your blog or elsewhere on the internet are more than welcome!).

2. Follow me, and then let me know that you did by leaving a second comment. (If you already follow me, let me know that with a second comment!).

3. And finally, link to my giveaway on your blog, and then leave me a comment letting me know you've done so.

Three prizes. Three ways to enter. Your chances of winning are great!

Happy December to you all.

Edited to add: I will leave comments open for a week, and draw the winners on Wednesday, December 8th.

A Day at the Apple Orchard

This weekend was MEA, so teachers had Thursday and Friday off. Hooray; a four day weekend! Lots of fall-ish activities happened this weekend, but we started it off with a trip to the apple orchard on Thursday.

Knitting in the car on the way to the orchard.

We went to Aamodt's Apple Farm, in Stillwater, MN.

Unfortunately, we were past the 'pick your own' season. But there was plenty to see and do there, anyway.

There were goats to pet...

And fabulously delicious apple treats to eat (and drink)...

Apples to bring home...

As well as apple donuts...

And apple cider...

We also brought home apple cookies and goat cheese. Yum!

It was a great way to start off the long weekend.

A Wonderful Weekend

Happy October to all of you! It is definitely feeling like fall around here, and I'm loving it!

I could not have asked for a better weekend to start off this month. I work a few jobs in addition to teaching, so I frequently work at least one day of the weekend. But this weekend I didn't have to work at all, and it felt rather indulgent to have two whole days to do whatever I wanted! Saturday was packed full of things I love:

The leaves have started to change, and we had glorious weather. Perfect for crunching through leaves that have already fallen!

My first stop was The Red Balloon, a fabulous children's bookstore.

I went to see an author I absolutely adore - Patrick Ness. If you enjoy YA lit, or have a teen in your life, please, please check out his books. He is amazing. It was incredible to meet him, and he was so nice! He signed all my books and we got to chat a bit.

Then I figured since I was in the neighborhood anyway, I better stop by a few of my favorite shops. Just down the street from The Red Balloon is Cooks of Crocus Hill. Can you see their colorful window display?

I better show it closer! I love Le Creuset, and seeing it lined up together in all its rainbow-y goodness makes me so happy!

Next stop, just half a block up, is The Yarnery. More beautiful rainbow colors!

I couldn't resist a little yarn treat for myself. I even got to wind it all on my own, for the first time ever! I was thrilled to bits, probably more so than I should admit...

Then a stop at Bread & Chocolate for refreshments - I needed a break from so much excitement! ;)

I had their Fabulous Fudge bar (it does indeed look fabulous, doesn't it?) and a chai tea latte while I read my current book.

After my little break, off for a bit more shopping along one of my favorite streets.

I just had to stop in at Everyday People:

But my main reason for heading over to these cute little storefronts was that my friend J was having the grand opening for her new clothing store! It was so wonderful, and she has done such a nice job that I think it may deserve a post of its own.

Finally, I finished off the day with a walk by the river with my guy, admiring the gorgeous fall colors.

Today was great, too. Not as exciting, perhaps, and certainly not as indulgent. But it was wonderful to spend the day at home, working on the house and yard, and fitting in a lot of reading, as well.

I'll be back soon with more photos of the goodies from this weekend, and the beautiful fall colors. See you then!