Wednesday

by Joanna


Earlier this month I received some absolutely gorgeous gradient hand-dyed sock yarn from the very talented Jaala Sprio over at Knitcircus. The photo does not do it justice- it is just stunning. I have been knitting socks for about 10 years, and very avidly of late. I think I knit myself seven pairs of socks this winter alone.

So… I have decided to try my hand at designed a few sock patterns. I have this yarn to work with, plus some beautiful hand dyed yarn from a Colorado indie dyer I recently met, so stay tuned. Socks are coming, hopefully in time for fall knitting!

Yoga socks for the dance teacher!

by Joanna


Yes, it is another handmade gift post. I suppose I am on a roll! I wanted to knit up a little something for our daughter's dance teacher, and thought that a simple pair of yoga socks would be perfect. I confess I had a hard time parting with these sweet socks, they are just like a cozy little hug for your feet.

I used scraps of Paton's Kroy sock yarn, and made a pair of yoga socks from about 110 yards of yarn. You could easily get a pair of these socks from one 50 gram ball.

I simply cast on 48 stitches, worked 3-4 inches in k2 p2 ribbing, then shaped the heel by binding off 24, working 24, casting on 24, working 24, and continuing merrily on my way for another 3-4 inches. I have a feeling I will be making a lot of these in years to come… they were so much fun to make, are super comfy to wear, and will fit pretty much anyone!

Teacher Gift- The School Bus Scarf!

by Joanna


Lately I have really enjoyed making handmade gifts again. That is one of the trickiest things about taking up pattern writing as a profession-- sometimes you lose out on the joy of creating handmade gifts just for fun. Not me! People appreciate hand made gifts too much to skip out on it!

I found this adorable crochet pattern from Crochet Me, it is a free pattern which you can find here:


I used some Red Heart yarn from the stash and happily cast on, making a few changes like using white instead of gray for the center of the wheels. My crochet skills are very limited, but I had no issues with this project at all, it went very quickly!

The best part? I think the thank you note I got from our son's teacher was the nicest thank you note I have ever received! What a great way to end the school year.

Sewing again! A nifty retro apron

by Joanna

I have been in a sewing "desert" for a long while… I haven't stitched a single stitch on my machine in over a year! Last spring I cut out a dress (the Clara dress) for myself and it is still sitting folded up on my desk. I decided it was high time I got sewing again. And what inspires like a birthday for my sweet little niece!


Determined to make this a pure stash project, I found about 5/8 of a yard of this adorable retro zoo-themed fabric in my stash, and decided to use some red or yellow floral as a contrast. I have been organizing, purging, and cataloging my sewing patterns on pinterest, which is working out amazingly well, and quickly found this vintage pinafore pattern. Converting it to an apron was a breeze!


I created the pattern mostly as written… just adding a snap closure at the upper back instead of a zipper, and adding prefinished eyelet trim to the armhole edges. Zing! What a fun little project this was! 


Our niece loves to play kitchen and dress up. I hope she enjoys wearing it as much as I enjoyed making it!