I struggled with these mitts (Spate pattern)!  But that just made finishing them finally feel so so good.  I started them just before heading to Camp Stitchalot and re-started several times after that.  I love the stitch pattern, but it took me a bit to get the hang of it.  After that it was a really fun knit!

I chose Quince & Co. Lark in Honey.  It’s such a pretty color (by the way, did you see Shannon’s sweater she knit for herself in this same color?!  Beautiful!) and not a very common one and I like that about it.

Hope they keep my wrists warm in this last bit of winter.  I’m having a hard time keeping them away from Natalie, she loves stealing them to wear.

Pattern: Spate Mitts found in the book Journey by Jane Richmond and Shannon Cook
Yarn: Quince & Co. Lark in Honey

I’m pretty sure this is the last Christmas gift I made, even though it was sort of a Christmas/birthday gift. This was so easy to make though!  My sister in law is a knitter and I’m really grateful that she’s one of the people that helped me get started knitting last year.  It was her birthday right after Christmas so I decided to make her a Lined Drawstring Bag (Project Bag size) and a little zippered pouch that coordinates for her knitting notions.

Another thing that made it easy was that I know she’s a huge fan of color, the more color the better!  Sometimes I really get stuck on a project when I’m unsure if the recipient’s color preferences, do you?  This time I got lucky I guess, I had a really fun time pulling fabrics and settled on this fun combo.

The zippered pouch is basically the same construction as my tutorial for the Lil Cutie Pouch.  So if you’re looking for a fun and fast little zipper project I’d definitely give it a try.  I chose to add some color blocking to the exterior pieces and added a little leather pull as a fun detail.

Fabrics: Cameo by Amy Butler, Lou Lou Thi by Anna Maria Horner, drawstrings are Architextures by Carolyn Friedlander.  Solids are Shot cotton by Kaffe Fassett.

Of course you already may know that I can’t stop at just two hats for my girls.  The Purl Bee Knit Hats for Everyone tutorial is such a fun knit.  My niece was born in July and she needed a hat that fit well to keep her cozy this winter.

I used leftover yarn from the girls hats to make these two.  I tried the infant size first and it looked a little small, so I decided to be cautious and make a larger one – the toddler size, too!  They’re the sweetest little hats and it was so fun adding the little pom poms on the top.

She got to test it out sledding (or rather watching the sledding) the other day.

Yarn is Malabrigo Chunky in Hollyhock (purple) and Molly (coral/pink) purchased from Eat Sleep Knit.