Tiny Baby Bunnies!

I've been SO busy hanging a bajillion super cool clothes in the thrift store ... And in the wee, wee hours I'm also knitting these teeny tiny baby bunnies from MochiMochi Land. They're so sweet and according to MG they "like to nap in pockets". Perfect for the first week of preschool, hooray!
Hope all is happy with you!
- SWEET BUNNIES, HAPPY KIDDIES -

Latte Love Cup Sleeve Pattern!

Here's a little pattern that I'm teaching at Craft Social Workshop tonight, so you're getting a sneak peek, shhh... it's great for a rainy day or stormy night...

LATTE LOVE CUP SLEEVE KNITTING PATTERN:
aka. a little bit of sweater coziness for your coffee. It's the least you can do for a drink that brings so much joy!

Supplies:
~ Size 7 needles
~ Medium "worsted" weight yarn

Instructions:
~ Cast on 32 stitches
~ knit 2, purl 2, repeat til end of row
~ Continue in pattern until piece measures 3 inches, approx 14 rows
~ Cast off
~ Sew together the short edges using mattress stitch
~ go to your favorite coffee shop, buy something yummy & enjoy!

These are great little gifts for folks of all types and super quick to knit. They're a fun way to use up scrap yarn and look extra special when stripey. You could even give someone a set with a sleeve for each day of the week. How bout one for your favorite guy in his team colors or just a charcoal gray so that he feels manly? Mmm hmm, sure to make happiness. Hope you like it!
-HAPPY COZY COFFEE-

Spring Super hero!

Spring is in the air and I have a new personal super hero - his name is Raven Sutton! He dug out the yuckiest dead shrubs and turned over the soil in my flower beds in under 5 hours including a lunch break. That has to be a super power! I can't wait to get planting... oh the plans I have planned!

Uh oh, little McB is up. Here's a quick list of the latest at our tiny happy bungalow:
1. A new knit & crocheted cloche hat for MG adapted from this DROPS pattern
2. The paperwhites are growing! If you ever spy some at a local nursery, get a few. They're lots of Spring fun with no effort.
3. AND Briar is drawing on everything... except paper. Including all over our bathroom with waterproof mascara. Yes, it is just like grease! Creative channeling is in order!

Be back soon, Michelle
-HAPPY ALMOST SPRING-

Number 22 Wristlets Pattern!

As promised, here's a little bit of what happened on snow day two... Aside from watching the crazy kayakers go down our road at mach speed, I also had a moment to whip up a quick knitting pattern. It's VERY easy and super fast for those of you who are looking for a quick fix or a way to use up one skein of yarn that you've been saving. Plus it's the ultimate alternative to the dreaded scarf as a beginner project. So, introducing the Number 22 Wristlets - ta da!! They're inspired by this slouch hat that I found on Ravelry.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
• Size 11 needles
• Super Bulky yarn (1 skein)

Cast on 22 stitches. Knit 22 rows garter stitch. Cast off. Stitch together the cast on and cast off rows, leaving a hole for your thumb. Done!

For those of you in the Chattanooga area, please come hang at Craft Social Workshop on Jan 25th at 7:30pm. I'm starting a knitting series featuring the hat and wristlets. All welcome, more details here.

-HAPPY WARM WRISTS-

Happy Happy!

Happy Christmas & happy new year!! Thought I'd share a couple merry pics and my new favorite felted slipper pattern. If you're a beginner looking for something more exciting than a scarf to knit or experienced looking for the ultimate quick gift, the Duffers pattern is for you! Plus I think they're pretty cool cause the toe looks a lot like Keen shoes (a Chattanooga Favorite). Thanks SO much to Mindie at "Knitting if not Eccentric" for helping me give some great gifts this year!!

FYI - I used a size 11 needle and doubled Patons Classic Wool, worsted weight, which felts really well with a load of jeans in the washer. I also painted zigzags on the bottom of each slipper with puffy paint to make them skid-proof. The possibilities are endless, have fun!

-HAPPY NEW BEGINNINGS-

And I'm Back...AGAIN!

Okay, okay, you all may be wondering where I've wandered off to... I'm not laying on the beach (unfortunately) and I haven't had another baby that I know of! If you'd like to see a big piece of what I've been up to, go here.

And now for some happy Christmas leaves! My family has been celebrating "handmade Christmas" for years and I'm always on the hunt for new ideas. So you can imagine my joy when I discovered this pattern for knitted leaves. I'm not sure what they're supposed to be for, maybe embellishment, but I decided to knit them up in 100% cotton on #5 double point needles. Paired with a cute soap they make great natural face scrubbies.

Hope that helps for all of you that are looking for last minute gift ideas!
Be back soon, I promise!
-HAPPY LEAVES, SPARKLY FACES-

Yee-OUCH!

Well ladies and gents, it's been a doozy. Last week I finally had surgical steroid shots in the nerves in my back. Unfortunately the anesthesia didn't take and I felt the whole deal. Yee-ouch!!! I swore like a sailor while apologizing and explaining that I work for a church. Seriously! So with lots of medication I'm puttering along until the next round of shots Thanksgiving week.

Anyway, time for some happiness! I finally sent off a sweet little cardigan to my friend Feather Magoo for her new little one. It was knit using a pattern from the Debbie Bliss baby book. Once again, her patterns are easy, the construction is amazing and the end result actually looks like the picture. They're great for advanced beginner knitters!

Oh and I spied another slice of happy yesterday. Downtown Chattanooga has tons of public art, but this was an entire old building with every window covered. Such a cool visual statement - I almost crashed trying to spy what they all said!

Ok, I'm off to bed with meds. Hope all is happy on your end!

Knitted Cozy Barrettes - Tutorial

Happy Tuesday everyone! I'm finally getting around to posting some free tutorials / patterns for those of you who are crafty inclined or would like to be. Actually, I truly believe all people are crafty, they just need to find what suits their fancy and go for it.

So here's free knitting pattern number one - Knitted Cozy Barrettes (or clips if you prefer). They're super simple, take no time, need barely any materials and are fun to wear. Plus they're great little gifts for girls of any age...

What you'll need:
- 3 colors of baby or sport weight yarn (scraps are great)
- size 2 knitting needles
- barrettes of your choice
- hot glue gun

How to:
* Pattern is knit is stocking stitch (one row plain, one row purl)
- Cast on 6 stitches in color 1
- Knit 6 rows
- Switch to color number 2 and knit 4 rows
- Switch back to color 1 and knit 6 more rows
- Cast off
- Using color 3, tie a piece of yarn around the middle of your knitted rectangle. Knot it on the back and ta-da - it's a bow.
- Glue bow to the barrette using the glue gun
- You're done, hope you love them!

-LITTLE BITS OF HAPPINESS TO WEAR-

Sock blanks make me happy

Sock blanks are happiness makers. Seriously, they are! If you've knitted a ton of socks and are looking to spice things up a bit, a sock blank is your friend. My mom gave me one for Christmas (in pink - thanks mom) and it's so much fun to knit up. When you unravel it, it's just knitting with ramen noodles (which can be quite tasty in the right moment).

If you'd like to buy one already dyed Fiber Arts Cafe on Etsy has some great ones. I've been drooling on their green colorway one for a while now. Speaking of drooling, Knit Picks has bare sock blanks that are just begging to be dyed. One of these days I'm going to finally break down and buy a bunch. Oh the possibilities!

~DISCOVER A LITTLE KNITTING HAPPINESS~