I'm knitting myself some new socks! They are really fun too!

The pattern is the Snicket Socks pattern and can be found for free here.

Of course I am using my lovely "Never Not Knitting Green" Wool Candy

yarn to make this project.

I just love the way it looks knitted up. The shades are blending very well in my opinion.

The little bit of variegation makes it almost look like its sparkling.

I cannot wait to wear them!

Psssttt.. The "NNK Green" limited edition colorway is now SOLD OUT!

But you can still preorder it here if you'd like to snag some for yourself from the next dye batch!

I cannot quite convey how I excited I am to introduce this yarn to you...

This is Meringue Merino by Wool Candy in an extra special limited edition colorway!

*NEVER NOT KNITTING GREEN!*

Isn't that sooo cool?

I am so in love with this color! It's the most lovely blend of my favorite green tones.

I've started a pair of socks with it, I'll be sharing pictures very soon!

This yarn is exclusively available here through The Fiber Fix online yarn shop.

I had the pleasure of signing and writing a little message on each skein. What fun! :)

Enter to win a skein of "Never Not Knitting Green" provided by

The Fiber Fix by leaving a comment (with contact information) under this post.

Only one comment per person please.

Additionally I will also be giving away a copy of my

Amelie sock and Molly hat pattern to the winner.

Both patterns would be perfect for this yarn!

The winner will be announced on April 15th, 2010, so please check back to see if you've won!

Gain an additional drawing entry by posting this phrase on Twitter.com

" I entered to win a gorgeous skein of the "Never Not Knitting Green" yarn on nevernotknitting.com! @nevernotknittin "

Drawing now closed! Winner is Pandoras Box of Fiber. Congratulations!

Episode 33

Shownotes:

The Fiber Fix

Francis Turkey (cute or creepy?)

The Organic Cotton Kids Collection

Lamb

Wrap-Me-Up-Puppy

Itty Bitty Toys

Snicket Socks

Wool Candy Meringue Merino

Never Not Knitting Green Colorway! Yay!

Preorder NNK Green HERE

Kellie on Ravelry

Kellie's Knitting Blog

The Never Not Knitting Ravelry Group

Follow Me On Twitter!

The winner of Episode 32's drawing giveaway is

Teri P

! Congratulations!

*Check back in a few days for a special drawing blogpost for you to enter to win a special prize!

Download the Mp3 for Episode 33

here

.

One hat out of the Thistle yarn wasn't enough,

So I made this sweet little hat for my daughter out of 2 balls of the Old Rose colorway.

The pattern is the Dindy Beret by Kate Oates of TotToppers.

What a cute little hat this is. The leafy border is such a nice detail.

I made a few modifications for my daughter's version.

The pattern calls for 2 adorable body styles, but I chose to leave her hat plain on the top.

Also I knit the leafy band with a size 7 needle, and the body in a size 8 which created a slightly slouchier look.

I love the swirly decrease pattern and the bobble on top.

The small little details really add to the design.

If you like this hat, check out Kate's blog here.

She has a ton of great hat designs for adults and children.

For all of the great photos I get of my daughter, there are twice as many...

uh... uncooperative photo taking experiences. :)

It seems that the more of a deadline I am under with the photo taking,

the goofier my 4 year old gets during our photoshoots.

But I will get my revenge someday.. these will be great to show at her high school graduation party,

or if she ever has a boyfriend that I don't like.

Cute hat though!

I just had the pleasure of knitting the 16 cable beret by Circe Belles Boucles.

What an amazing pattern!

The pattern is simple, quick and not fussy at all..

There are only 4 cable crosses in the whole hat!

I love these how these over sized dramatic cables look..

Such a fun knit!

I made a few minor modifications to my version. I made the largest slouchiest version and added one extra cable cross before decreasing. I just felt that it should be there.

Also I eliminated some of the plain knit rounds in the decrease portion.

I'm really happy with how it turned out.

Its so soft and cushy and WARM.

Perfection.

The lovely yarn I have to thank for making this hat possible is Louisa Harding Thistle.

It offers a truly decadent knitting experience.

This hat took 3 balls, but if you were to make the smaller version,

you could definitely squeeze this pattern out of 2.

I just barely had to dip into that 3rd ball of yarn.

Check out my latest podcast episode to hear more about this yarn and

how to enter to win both yarn and pattern!

Episode 32

Shownotes:

Loops

Stitches West

My Stitches Yarn Purchases

Cedar Leaf Shawlette

16-Sixteen Cable Hat

Circe Belles Boucles Blog- "16" designer

Dindy Beret

Kate Oates Blog

Louisa Harding Thistle

Louisa Harding Pattern Books

My Terese Sweater

"

Little Cake" Book by Louisa Harding

Grace

Mulberry

Loops T-shirts

Andrea on Ravelry

Andrea's Knitting Blog

NeverNotKnitting Ravelry Group

Follow Me On Twitter!

*Don't forget to enter this episode's drawing giveaway!

Get 20% off all Louisa Harding yarns at

Loops

by entering the code "NNK" in the checkout process! 

Offer valid until April 15, 2010.

Download the Mp3 for Episode 32 here.

So I went up to Stitches West a few weeks ago or so.

And a few skeins decided to come home with me...

Well.. maybe a lot of skeins. I guess it depends on how you look at it. :)

I am in love with all of my new yarns. I have no idea when I'll get the chance to knit all of them.. but for now I am greatly enjoying just having them in my possession.

Each picture links to the vendor from which I bought from.

(Starting at top left: 1: Miss Babs Yummy Monochrome-2 ply Superwash in Moss, 2: Malabrigo Worsted in Paris Night, 3: Becoming Art Handspun in Auburn Reconcile, 4: Pigeonroof Studios Heavy Laceweight in Black Walnut, 5: Becoming Art Celio Sport in New Moon, 6: Anzula Cloud Laceweight in color #206, 7: Becoming Art Mar Lana in Sandalwood, 8: Madelinetosh Vintage in Victorian Gothic, and last but not least

9: Knitting Notions Classic Merino Superwash Sport in Lichen.)

Be sure to listen to my upcoming podcast episode on March 15th to find out more

about my trip to Stitches West!

Out of the kindness of my heart, I've adopted

two more RoseKnits bags into my knitting bag family.

My RoseKnits 'Box Tote' was pleased to have a little sister.. :)

I just love the size of this 'Cube' project bag! Its perfect for a sock or hat project and the little notions pouch fits inside perfectly!

And.. aren't these fabrics just the cutest?

I've been working on 2 new hat projects recently, so I've been using this little project bag a lot.

I packed my little zippered notions pouch with all of the things I would need for the projects:

Dpns, measuring device, cable needle, stitch markers and scissors.

It was great having all of those things in one place with my knitting..

and in a matching bag too. Just love that!

I hope to adopt more in the future.

Get ready for Springtime knitting with this lovely, yarn-filled "Fortune Cookie" style bag by RoseKnits and this brand new copy of Nicky Epstein's Crocheted Flowers.

The shape of this project bag with its large triangular base, is perfect for setting beside you while you knit. While you are knitting, you can leave your yarn in the bag and zip it up almost to the top. That way your yarn stays nice and clean while you work and

you don't have to worry about your yarn rolling all over the floor.

This bag is also very roomy and can easily hold a small to medium size project.

With this giveaway you will also have the chance to win this lovely book by Nicky Epstein.

Crocheted flowers are perfect for adorning your Springtime knitting projects.

Look at all of the pretty flower patterns found in this book!

Enter to win the complete "springtime collection" by simply leaving a

comment under this blog post with some contact information.

Gain an additional drawing entry by posting this phrase on Twitter.com:

" I entered the RoseKnits Springtime Drawing Giveaway on nevernotknitting.com!

You should enter too! @nevernotknittin "

There will be only one winner selected at random.

The winner will be announced March 15th, so please check back then!

This drawing is now closed.

The winner is Jen G.! Congratulations!

Episode 31

Shownotes:

Roseknits

Cosette Wrap

Cedar Leaf Shawlette

Madelinetosh Merino

Madelinetosh Eyre

Side Slip Cloche/Therapy Hat

Boutique Knits

Blue Sky Alpacas Alpaca and Silk

Tea Leaves Cardigan

Ravelympics

Stitches West

Roseknits Cube

Roseknits Box Tote

Roseknits Fortune Cookie

My Box Tote In Action

Annie Saltsman on Ravelry

Roseknits Blog

Leslie Gordon on Ravelry

Leslie's Blog

Never Not Knitting Ravelry Group

Follow Me on Twitter!

**Get free shipping on your

Roseknits bag

purchase by mentioning the code "NNK" in the checkout process! Offer valid until April 15th, 2010.**

Check back soon for a chance to win your very own

Roseknits

bag filled with goodies and a copy of Nicky Epstein's book Crocheted Flowers!

Download the Mp3 for Episode 31 here.

I've finished knitting this little puppy his very own knitted blanket...

And that, my friends, is the completion of my Ravelympics projects for this year!

This pattern "Wrap me up Puppies" is also from the book Itty Bitty Toys.

I just love this book. This is now the 3rd pattern I've knit from it.

I'm pretty sure that Susan B. Anderson is a toy knitting genius.

My daughter absolutely loves putting her stuffed animals and dolls to bed.

That is by far her favorite playtime activity. From the first time I flipped through this pattern book, I knew that this is a toy that I would definitely make one day.

I just love how you can wrap this little blanket around and fasten it up like a little puppy burrito.

Very clever.

This puppy and blanket only took a few days to knit,

and was the easiest toy out of the 3 to make. I would definitely consider making this one again.

My daughter is of course thrilled to add puppy to her knitted toy collection..

...which is growing quite large these days...

Almost done with toy #3!

This little sleepy puppy just needs a knit accessory from me before it is completed.

He's awfully cute, isn't he?

I've now gotten started on toy #3 for the "Ravelympics"!

This time I am pleased to be using up some partial skeins of yarn from projects past.

The tan skein is leftover from my daughters knitted horse from ages ago.

The blue is leftover from the reversible blue bird I knit up recently.

It feels so good to knit things from scraps!

Yep! Its a Lamb! Isn't he cute?

This was a pretty fun pattern to make.

It only took me a couple of evenings to create. I knit my Lamb from the Itty Bitty Knits book,

but you can also find this pattern for free online here in Petite Purls magazine.

What knitter doesn't love a knitted lamb?

My daughter loves him too.. especially since she didn't have to

wait a long time for him to be done.

I used Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Astrakhan for his nubbly woolly body, and O-wool Balance for his legs and face. The combination makes for quite a cuddly little toy. I love the boucle texture of the Astrakhan yarn but it was sort of a pain to knit with on such a tight gauge. The results were well worth it though! I think that the textured body really makes him extra special.

His I-cord legs are stuffed with pieces of a plastic drinking straw to make them rigid so that he can stand. I think that I made my legs a little too long, so Lamby is not so great on his feet. My daughter helps him though.. :)

Well.. its 11 days into the "Ravelympics" and I have 2 out of 3 toys completed!

Don't Francis and Lamby look so cute together on my daughter's shelf?

I've been working very hard on my Ravelympics projects and I'm glad that I'm ahead of the game. I didn't plan the end of this month very well.. and now I have Stitches West, the Ravelympics and a new podcast episode due all at the same time! Ahh!

What exactly was I thinking?

I am almost done with "Ravelympics" toy #2!
I just have 2 more legs to attach and a face, ears and tail to knit.

I think I might be able to finish it tonight!

This little guy is from one of my favorite toy books, "Itty Bitty Toys".

Anyone know what kind of animal this one is?

I've started my next "Ravelympics" toy!

Working with this soft boucle yarn is a welcome change

from the thin cotton I was using for Francis.

I think that this new little animal will work up awfully fast!

Meanwhile.. my daughter is having a lot of fun with her new turkey friend.

I love the way Francis the Turkey turned out..

but I don't think I would ever want to knit him again.

The pattern was a bit fiddly with lots of pieces, sewing, intarsia and woven in ends.

Was it worth it? Yes! Was it fun? Not exactly. :)

On my last "Ravelympics" post, many of you guessed what kind of creature I was knitting up. Great guesses! Many of you thought I was making a chicken or an ostrich.. and one of you guessed that I was making a kiwi. :)

But only one of you (Christina) guessed correctly.

Its a...

Turkey!

And isn't he so funny and ugly-cute?! I love how fat he is.

We have a lot of Wild Turkeys around where we live.

They really are ugly things in real life, but fun to watch and listen to.

This "Francis Turkey" pattern is from the book

The Organic Cotton Kids Collection put out by Rowan yarns.

All the patterns in this collection are super adorable, and all use Rowan purelife organic cotton.

This book seriously has some of the cutest toy patterns I've seen.

If you like Francis you will love the other patterns too.

But more about Francis tomorrow.. its getting late and he's off to roost...

My Tea Leaves Cardigan is done, and I absolutely love it! It fits great!

The only thing I'd change about the pattern is the buttonband. I would

definitely pick up fewer stitches next time.

This current buttonband could use some shortening.

I might fix it one of these days.. if I feel like it... maybe.

This cardigan is super cozy and wonderful, one that I will wear often for sure!

What? You want one too?

Well the...

beautiful pattern is found here. Soft madelinetosh yarn is found here. Fabulous lightweight buttons are found here.

He has legs! And don't you just love those knobby knees?

Any guesses yet to what kind of little creature I'm knitting for the Ravelympics?

This little toy that I am making for the "Ravelympics" requires many knitted I-cords.
So that's what I was doing today. I-cords. And lots of them.

I-cord trivia: Do you know why they are called I-cords?

Answer: Elizabeth Zimmerman named these little knitted tubes "Idiot Cords" in honor of her accidental discovery of the simple technique. "I-cord" for short. :)

So there you have it... an idiotic mistake turned knitting invention!

Learn how to knit one HERE with this video tutorial.